Took advantage of the amazing weather in the Okanagan to make a trip out of the valley up to a favourite lake this afternoon. I packed a .270 in case I stumbled upon a deer, vintage Browning A5 scattergun for waterfowl & the fishin' rod for good measure. Paddled up a creek from the lake to go for a little hike in search of Bambi, no joy. A couple of Donald's friends fell victim to Mr. Browning before I put ashore.
Once I got over the nasty mess of deadfall close to shore, I found a high point & some fairly open country to glass for antlered critters. Not much sign though. Found more dried cattle dung than deer droppings haha.
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As things didn't look too promising on the Bambi scene I made my way back to the canoe. Paddled quietly to the lake hoping I might spot something in the woods just off shore, but nada. Even the ducks had left Dodge. Plenty of daylight left so I decided on a round trip of the lake hugging shore in hopes of getting lucky. Made a couple casts with the fishing rod, hooked a little guy that got off before I could get him to the boat. Couple ducks flushed at the south end of the lake well before I was anywhere near enough for a shot. Then the sound of honking geese caught my attention, had never heard or seen any on the lake before. They were quite a ways off and headed to the other side of the lake from where I was. Nevertheless, noted.
The 2 ducks that flushed earlier did so again as I reached the south end of the lake. It was about time to head back to the rec site so off I went, again hugging the shore in hopes of catching sight of antlers. I had spotted a moose feeding at that end of the lake about a week ago. Every so often I'd stop paddling & have a peek around with the binoculars. Heard a few more honks in the distance so I thought what the hay, let's head in that general direction. Near an island on the lake I picked out a flock of fowl, but turned out to be ducks that had my number & flushed too far away.
Meanwhile, having been so focused on the ducks I hadn't noticed another swampy protrusion in the water with the geese watching me on high alert. Got the A5 ready to go & was able to get close enough for a couple shots as they flushed. 2nd shot brought one down! Sadly he wasn't finished so I had to fumble to get more shells into the Browning as he swam away slowly & the wind pushed me the wrong way. Got myself sorted & was able to finish the job. His companions had of course flown off. I was pretty stoked having got my 1st ever goose, so content to start paddling back. On the way I noticed a long neck poking up near another small island. Binos confirmed it was the geese. Well, why not, who knows when I'll get another chance so I snuck up on them & bagged another.
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