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.


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.