Doves

Dove season ended yesterday while I was at work.  It's surely been a while since I've posted but It has been a busy summer.  We've done a lot of fishing, mostly rod and reel but a little spearfishing too, and a little backpacking perhaps I'll post up some pics but not right now.  I got together with friends to hit the dove opener in Bakersfield and had a great time, then was able to go out with my family(wife and dog) before the weekend to Maricopa/Cuyama where we also had a wonderful time...My wife is becoming quite the wingshooter and was able to pull off some terrific shots on a couple of doves that evaded me.

 Hunkered down in a bush waiting...and enjoying the scenic California oilfields.

 Here's my modest decoy spread, I can't believe how well it works, those delicious little birds sure are gullible!

Cody dog wiped out from the heat, lots of water and rest in the shade, we both can't wait until fall cools everything off

Sespe Hotsprings

Last week the wife and I took Cody dog backpacking for a few days out to Sespe Hotsprings.   We had to pack a little heavy since we had a winter storm forecast to blow through, but had a great time and a nice hot soak here's some pictures from the trip

North Coast

Cody on the beach at Russian Gulch

The coast of Mendocino has a way of always making me want to go back.  I just recently returned from a trip camping at Van Damme State Park, and I'm already looking forward to my next trip up there.  

Chukar Season Finale

Our upland bird season is over, we are a week into the hunting doldrums that is February.  Last weekend Cody and I went out to the desert with our friend Steve for one final chukar hunt of the year.  We covered a lot of miles and had a great time.  A great finale to the upland bird season can be bittersweet because it just leaves me wanting to get out for one more weekend with the dog, but there is a long 9 month wait until the season reopens in the fall.

Chukar!

     It's hard to describe chukar hunting in a way to make it sound fun to most people.  It is a masochistic pastime that involves waking early to spend the day in some of the driest, steepest, most baron, rocky terrain on earth, tromping up and down the ankle twisting hillsides in pursuit of a small bird that can be heard cackling in the rocky precipices far above with a call that sounds distinctly like a taunting laughter.  

     If you are lucky enough to get within shooting range before they flush, and then get a shot  that connects and retrieve the bird, the sense of accomplishment is overwhelming, and will give you the energy to tromp the hillside for another couple of hours, and hopefully connect on another bird or two.

Big Sur weekend

My friend Mike and I took a quick weekend trip up the coast to Big Sur for a quick camping and spearfishing trip. We were blessed with some awesome weather, for great camping and hiking, but spearfishing did not go as well.  Poor water conditions and some gear failure(Mike's weight-belt broke) made our dive pretty short, so sadly no fish. But on the upside, we hit the lowest tide of the month and were able to scour the rocks at low tide, and still gather some really tasty eats.