Over the past 20 years, Jim Bright and I have shared dozens of fishing and hunting adventures. Lots of chuckles to be sure, though admittedly at least a few are probably best described as harmless mishaps.
Such as the time we miscalculated the distance to a public goose blind in Dorchester County marsh and were forced to slog at least 100 yards at a snail’s pace through waist-deep detritus. It seemed like 100 million yards, and honestly, I’ve never been so exhausted. I tell ya man, that one was a real treat. I almost swore off marsh mucking forever.
The vast majority of our waterfowl outings have taken place on public lands. This past fall he pulled a winning ticket to secure a waterfowl blind for a day via the lottery the Department of Natural Resources holds to allow public a very small number of people to hunt geese at the Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area in Queen Anne’s County.
Jim graciously offered me a spot to join home over the holidays, but I got jammed up with work and family obligations, so I had to bail. I’m glad I did.
Freeing up a spot allowed Jim to take his teenage son and daughter, a far better experience for all. Sam is a high school senior and already a seasoned and dedicated waterfowler and all-around outdoorsman. His younger sister, Julia, loves to fish and crab, though this was to be her first waterfowl hunt. I caught up with Jim to get the skinny on their outing.
“The geese cooperated all morning, and were there in large numbers, more than I’ve seen in years. My son Sam, daughter Julie and I sat in the pit and waited. Not long after legal shooting time the geese were already responding to our calling and working our spread of two dozen decoys. It didn’t take long before we had some (birds) in the bag. This was Julie’s first goose hunt, and she wanted to watch the first few tolls,” Jim related.
“By the end of the morning, she finally got the hang of busting through the switchgrass, raising the 12-gauge, and putting the bead on a goose. But geese are deceptively fast birds, at least that’s what I told her. Of the five (other) groups that hunted that morning, everyone had success. I’m sure we were all grateful to be chosen for this awesome lottery hunt. Hunting a waterfront bean field on the Wye River was an experience my kids will remember.”
Wye Island Natural Resources Management Area sits on 2,800 acres between the Wye and the Wye East rivers. A heavy emphasis at Wye Island is to provide suitable habitat for wintering waterfowl such as Canada geese, Tundra swans and ducks.
Hunting is available for both Canada geese and white-tailed deer through managed hunts and lotteries. Another key objective at Wye Island is to sustain efforts to stabilize an eroding shoreline, no small feat. A partnership between the DNR and several environmental advocacy groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Trust, schools and scout groups, makes much of this effort possible. For more information, contact the facility office at 410-827-7577.
Calendar
Jan. 15-Feb. 1: Second split, migratory Canada goose (Atlantic Population). The bag limit is two geese per day.
Jan. 18: Free State Fly Fishers (10 a.m.-noon) at Davidsonville Family Recreation Center. John Keough will discuss rod maintenance and minor rod repairs.
Send outdoors calendar listings and photos to cdollarchesapeake@gmail.com