Over the past 4 years, Mike “Tuck” Poddo has made a trip to Oklahoma to come duck hunting with me. Without going into details of each of those years, basically our success rate has fallen each time Tuck shows his face around here. Somehow he brings bad luck with him everywhere he goes or at least it seems that way. This last weekend was no different. Although the ducks are few and far between right now, there’s always those spots you can scratch out a few. The first morning we hunted my creek. I had just scouted it the day before and it was holding a couple dozen mallards and gadwall. Friday morning we didn’t fire a shot other than Tuck jumping a few that had landed down stream. He missed of course. We scouted a few spots I’ve been to in the past and found a backwater holding a few birds so we setup on that the next morning. Saw 2 and they never hit the decoys. I sent a message to my buddy Scotty and asked if he had a place that we could kill a few. He took us out to one of his spots that always produces. Saw 3 that never hit the decoys. On the way back last night, Tuck and I decided that he would sleep in his last morning here and I would sneak down to the creek and see if I could get him a duck to take home to his kids (they told him he better bring a duck home). Here’s the story of this morning:

I woke up at 7:45, grabbed my gun and took a walk with Cody, my old lab. I checked 3 spots along the south side and not one bird on the creek. I walk over to the north side and checked a few spots and nothing. Not one bird on the water. As I walk towards the point where my two creeks meet, I hear a drake gadwall make their notorious buzzing quack. I look downstream and he’s down there quite a ways feeding. I decide to make a sneak attack out to the point of my property to see if I can get Tuck a duck to take home. As I get out there hidden behind the last tree, he’s still about 60-80 yds away and there’s also a drake mallard with him. I stand up and as they get up I make three hail mary shots at them which was obviously not successful at that distance. I look down in disgust and I look back at them as they fly way. Well, for some stupid reason the drake mallard ends up flying towards me instead of away. I grab one shell out of my pocket, chamber just in time for one shot. I dropped him dead on the ground on the other side of the creek. After several attempts, Cody finally picks up the scent and makes the retrieve. As he brings it back to me and drops it on the bank, there was a shine on his bright orange leg that I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a band! I just stood there and laughed and thought to myself “The Poddo Factor”

Kill em!

Rooney

It didn’t take much to get Connor away from Saturday morning cartoons after telling him I was going to our property to check my newly planted food plot and set another trailcam

After checking our newly planted Frigid Forage Wildgame Buffet and seeing that it was sprouting nicely after the rain we got last night, we headed to the other side of the property to set another trailcam

As I was setting the camera and testing the positioning, Connor found his first shed. What a great morning to be in the woods

Several years ago I got interested in lifting weights and overall fitness partially due to my job as a police officer, being a “little guy” and good stress relief. As I’ve become increasingly obsessed with every type of hunting I can do, I’ve learned that the fitness side of me has helped tremendously. Carrying decoys through mud, walking long distances through tough terrain, carrying gear, dragging deer, and the list goes on. The two combined make me just a little bit better in the outdoors.

Which brings me to Warrior Dash Oklahoma 2013. A month or so before the event I was talked into doing it by a close friend, and all the way up to the event I was dreading it. Warrior Dash isn’t your ordinary 5k, it’s a 5k on steroids with obstacles, mud, climbing, jumping, swimming, crawling, running, ropes, heights, up and down hill runs through rocks. All in all, a tax on your body! And you get a Viking hat, beer bottle opener/medal, and a free beer at the end of the race!

Once we arrived, got signed in, lined up, and on the track, I felt great!! And by the end of the race I had a complete blast with it and intend on doing it every year it is in Oklahoma and others like it. I have to give a shout to my friend that talked me into it, Deanne Randolph, we had a blast! We finished in the top 50% of over 4000 people! And it keeps me outdoors and having fun in the off season.

Lincoln “Angry Andy” Anderson

It was mid-April and the sandies (sand bass; aka white bass) were running. I had a day off from work right after a hard rain so I headed to a known spot, the mouth of a running creek dumping into the lake. Throwing a three inch white grub, it only took a little under two hours to land 18 sandies. The family and I had a nice fish fry

Tight lines

Hoss

Turkey season 2013 in Oklahoma was tough. Thanks to the up and down weather and the fluctuating temps, it seemed like the birds just didn’t gobble as well. The number of birds seemed to be down as well, blame the last year’s drought or the hog invasion. Later in the season after a 5 hour trek through the woods, an extremely experienced turkey hunting friend of mind thought that with the drought and the weather, the birds were more than likely congregated around large standing bodies of water. The problem was getting to those public land areas because a lot of them were closed for various reasons.

I did however manage to strike once on some public land with a good friend. It was a tough morning, lots of gobbling, but the birds didn’t want to work well. After getting busted and watching a tom perch on a tree limb and gobble at us for an hour, we managed to get some takers at about 10am. 1 yelp, a gobble back, set up, yelp again, and he came in on a rope from about 150 yards out. Held up at about 47 yards and then it was lights out. 23 pounds, 1″ spurs and 10″ beard.

As tough as the season was, it was still great to be in the outdoors and have fun with friends and chase these gobblers through the woods.

Thanks for reading,

Lincoln “Angry Andy” Anderson

The family and I took an impromptu weekend away up at the lake after snatching up a coupon good for 1/2 off a couple nights at a state park cabin. I grabbed the boat and all the fishing gear I could get my hands on including my tub of catfish juggin’ gear. I wasn’t sure if the lake would be calm enough to get the kids out in the boat but Sunday afternoon presented that chance and we took it. Not having time to catch any fresh bait, I went to the bait store and picked up some worms, crappie minnows and frozen shad. The boys, Cody and I launched the boat with intentions of fishing for crappie and sandies at some of the mountain run-offs since we got quite a bit of rain the night before. With no success and the sun dipping below the mountain top, we decided to explore and find a spot to set a few jugs to “soak” overnight. We found an island that had a nice sand flat around it, baited 4 jugs and threw them out for the night. I went out solo the next morning early to snatch them up and, to my surprise, we got ourselves about 15 lbs of fish! Fantastic end to a relaxing weekend away with the family.

Kill ‘em!

Rooney

With my parents in town visiting for Christmas, I decided to take the opportunity afforded to us with a free babysitter to take my wife, Erika, duck hunting. My options of blinds were limited due to the fact that she does not have all the proper gear so I chose a little slough that has easy access and a decent bottom for her to walk on. I’ve been to this spot quite a few times so I figured it would be the quickest setup and it was easy access by boat.

The wind was hard out of the NW which made the ride a little rough but we made it into the backwaters without too much hassle. As I approached the slough, my 18′ flat bottom rode up on an underwater stump. We struggled to get the boat off the hazard with no success. I decided to check the depth of the water against my waders. Seeing that it was shallow enough to get out, I slowly slipped over the edge of the boat only to find out I couldn’t touch bottom! I was hanging onto the rail as my wife tried to pull me back in. It wasn’t working. I took a chance to rest a second and remembered my outboard had a planer fin enough for me to get my foot on. I slid around and get positioned on the outboard and instructed her to raise the trim. I was lifted right into the boat with only a little water seeping down into the back of my waders.

We were able to finally work the boat off the stump, get to our spot and setup just before shooting light. My wife shot her first duck today even if she was mad at me for being “stupid”. Good quality clothing and my hunting partner possibly saved my life today. Be careful out there, there are so many factors that go into having a safe and successful hunt. The weather is turning cold on us. If you don’t have the proper gear for it, don’t go!

Kill ‘em!

Rooney

The FLG Down Patrol crew is dedicated to getting youth into the outdoors. This year’s Oklahoma Youth Waterfowl hunt was just one example of this.

This past week proved to be tough for scouting. A cold front moved in later this week and we thought birds would be plentiful. It actually got cold enough to push the fair weathered teal out of the area but it did bring in a few big ducks.

The major hurdle with picking a spot for a youth hunt is it must be accessible by these kids. Most do not have waders and we do not take them in a boat so it is a walk in hunt only. We chose one of our favorite sloughs on public land and made the best out of it.

After getting setup, I presented the kids with a short safety speech and we were into shooting time. Right away we had a flock of 20 mallards working our decoys. One nice drake was quickly taken out of this flock and the kids were on the board. Next they took a green wing teal out of a flock of ten and then a lone drake gadwall decoyed right in and they made a nice crossing shot on it. After the bird action slowed down, we cooked them up a field breakfast, chatted a little and packed it in.

What an amazing feeling it is to get those kids out away from home and into the outdoors. The smiles…the wide eyes watching those birds. One of the older kids made the decision later in the day that he wanted to hunt more with us throughout the year. Our work paid off!

A big thanks to the parents for letting us have their kids for the morning. Thanks to Hoss for running camera. Also thanks to Earnie and Lincoln for helping keep the kids safe and doing most of the calling. This year’s youth waterfowl hunt was a complete success.

Thanks for reading and get a kid outdoors this season,

Rooney

Hey y’all! Rooney here reporting on one of the best early teal seasons we’ve had yet here in Oklahoma. I personally was only able to hunt 7 times in Sept due to a trip to Michigan for a wedding but those 7 hunts were spectacular.

Almost every hunt our straps were full and those limits came quick and early. As some of you know, teal are my favorite duck to hunt and they make great table fare. They decoy well and respond to calls. Most importantly, they taste good on the grill.

The boys and I here at the FLG Down Patrol ended up harvesting 85 birds in September. We’re just getting warmed up!

Happy Hunting,

Rooney