Give a 'Tip of the Hat' for me when you roll thru Medicine Hat... was born there when my Dad was posted to the Air Base at Ralston...
Have a safe trip and may the Hunting Gods be good to you !!
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Roger MikePal
Can you keep this post bumped to top when I am gone or link if new hunters what in.
Bumping this again. Just lurking and hoping to meet y'all soon.
I got out to the ponds on Sunday and was worried about the high water changing the structure of the ponds. To my surprise they have not changed in borders (pond outline) at all. Lots of Rice on one pond, and old duck blind is still intact. The main ponds are full of life and food. Seen my first Diver duck on one (Red Head). Learned my Leopold Bino's main focus ring is broken...good thing I still had a spare set in truck.
All the road systems have survived with no real washouts. The berry crops are best I have seen in years. Seen two groups of turkey babies, which I thought was strange. Must have been two nestings this year with lots of rain. The food cover is the best I have seen in 3 yrs.
Should be a great year for small game.
As I said earlier, I am away 6-17 Sept (Alberta) and wont be on these means until then. If you know of anyone looking to get out, just refer them to this post.
Have fun during early goose, be safe, shoot true and honor the kill.
Mark
do you know how deep the water is in the ponds? Would someone need a boat/canoe or would a good pair of chest waiters suffice if shooting from shore?
The ponds I've been on with line052 are too deep to wade through., You could shore hunt but it'd be dicey retrieving downed ducks. A small canoe or kayak is enough to get around if you have access to one.
If hunting with line052, he usually has a canoe with him (I can't make promises for him.) He's ferried me around (and others.) I bring a little pelican kayak on my car to avoid being a nuisance.
I was in there scouting this past Sunday and quickly realized the ponds off Heaphy road are pretty deep...I would most likely be hunting from shore, unless I could mooch a ride with Line052 but, like you, I don't want to be a nuisance...I have a solid dingy that i'm contemplating using for short distances if I get some birds down over water.
You can always swim to retrieve a duck or goose. I did that once in early Nov don't think I'm doing it again.