My vizsla Gus and I slipped out for our first woodcock hunt of the season this morning. Since Delaware woodcock season is not open yet, we went to my favorite spot in New Jersey.
Boy, did I make the right call! It was the greatest woodcock day of all time! If it wasn’t my first hunt of the year and if I wasn’t shooting terribly, I would have had a limit in 10 minutes.
I started hunting at 6:45, and did have a limit by 8. I missed about 4 birds, and managed to get about 15 more up. There was no wind early, so I didn’t know which way to push the dog. I was hunting in really thick cover, and birds were everywhere. Gus would go on point, and I would blow a bird or two while walking toward him! The cover was so thick in some places that I couldn’t even shoot. I have never seen so many birds in one spot.
If you notice from the photos, I dropped the third timberdoodle into a small pond. Gus had to wade out in the water to retrieve him.