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

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

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