This morning teamed up with one of the NH Boys, Pete Lester to do some duck hunting on the Oyster River in southeast NH. Morning temperatures were 20 degrees. Scotty and Billy were on Bellamy River nearby.
Although I wish we could report the success Scotty and Billy had, Pete and I had a rough morning. Getting to the boat ramp and loading our gear, the "recently refreshed and all gone through seasonal checkup" outboard motor decides to not want to work. After multiple pulls on the rope to no avail and checking fuel lines, it just wouldn't start.
We decided to try to salvage the morning to go back to Pete's house to get the back up motor and head back to the loading dock. We lower the boat again and she didn't want to turn over either. Luckily, we found that seemed to be a stuck check valve to the fuel line, let her warm up for a while to ensure she wouldn't stall out on us, and headed out.
Ducks were few and far between this morning but we did get some shots. We watched geese fly over us for hours without one winging in. Unfortunately, we didn't get anything though. I shot my Grade 3, five frame hammer gun and Pete was equipped with his Remington 1894 10 gauge determined to eventually get a duck with it after already bagging a few geese and busting a good share of crows with it.
But that's hunting. You rise early, do your best and take your chances.
Here is a picture in front of Pete's boat I think deserves to be framed. It was the highlight of the day.
You rise early....
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