I know many of you count on reading my hunting updates to give you ideas of how things are going in the Delaware woods, fields, and waterways, but I also record my hunts on HuntingTheFirstState.com so I have a record to refer back to in future seasons. As usual at this time of year, I forget to record info about my hunts on this site.
However, I make sure I jot down hunting notes on scraps of paper and post them around my office so I can record them later. Here are my quick notes about my various woodcock, pheasant, duck, and deer hunts over the past several weeks.
11/17 New Jersey Woodcock and Snipe Hunt – I headed to New Jersey public land with my vizsla Gus to hunt woodcocks and snipes before work. Gus pointed and flushed several woodcock in one public hunting field, but I just couldn’t get shots through the thick brush. I then went to another public location that typically holds snipes. Gus and I found no snipes, but I somehow managed to lose the controller to Gus’ e-collar from my lanyard. I spent 40 minutes walking the field until I found it.
11/19 New Jersey Woodcock Hunt – I hunted woodcock on New Jersey public ground with daughter, my friend John, and his son. Gus pointed about 7 birds. John shot 2, and I shot 1. Again the cover was so thick in areas that we couldn’t get good shots.
11/21 Delaware Duck Hunt – I hunted a private Delaware pond with my friend Bill on Monday 11/21. The fog was extremely dense around first light, so we couldn’t see birds, and I am sure they couldn’t see our pond, let alone our decoys. We heard some shooting, and after about 90 minutes, a pair of wood ducks buzzed our blind. They flew over our heads, and we lost sight of them. About 20 seconds later, the two wood ducks dropped in from my left on the edge of the wood line. I fired at the lead duck, and ended up dropping both with one shot. Not wanting to push my luck, I packed up and headed to work.
11/24 Delaware Deer Hunt – I bowhunted deer on Thanksgiving morning in North Wilmington and saw nothing.
11/25 Delaware Woodcock Hunt – I brought my neighbor’s 22-year old son Sean on his first woodcock on Friday 11/25. Gus pointed several birds, and Sean got a couple shots that were close misses. I bagged one woodcock.
11/25 Delaware Deer Hunt – I hunted deer with my bow in North Wilmington. Saw nothing but 2 red foxes.
11/26 Stocked Pheasant and Chukar Hunt (with bonus woodcock) – My daughter, six others, and I hunted stocked pheasant and chukars over Gus. Gus had his best day of all time. He pointed and retrieved 36 birds (yes, 36), and got every hunter a limit. After the stocked bird hunt, my daughter, my friend Bill, Bill’s son, and I drove to a Delaware public hunting spot for a quick woodcock hunt. I arrived later in the day than normal, and the birds moved to the edge of the woods and into think briars. Gus pointed two woodcocks, and we harvested one.
11/26 Delaware Deer Hunt – Went to Greenville with the bow. Six does came into the meadow about 10 minutes before the end of shooting time, but none came closer than 100 yards.