AWSome

“No, it’s not an anything-Doodle.”  That is my thought when someone asks me if my puppy is a Labradoodle, Goldendoodle, or some other modern high-priced mutt.  I’m less offended when asked if he is a Cocker Spaniel.  At least English Cocker Spaniels can be field-bred as hunters.  I usually respond, “No, he’s an American Water Spaniel.”

A year and a half ago I had never heard of an American Water Spaniel, or AWS for short.  I read a short paragraph in my Ducks Unlimted magazine about AWS’ being great retrievers and upland dogs.  I didn’t realize they are the state dog of Wisconsin.  As a history buff and a lifelong Wisconsin resident I’m embarrassed I didn’t know that.  Who knew such a designation existed?  What I didn’t know at that time was that the breed largely originated in Wisconsin and specifically in the Fox and Wolf River Valley areas.  They’re one of the few sporting dog breeds that were entirely developed in the United States.

The breed began in the mid 1800’s and was bred from a mix of different breeds to handle a variety of tasks.  Many dog breeds were developed by European nobility, but the AWS was a blue-collar dog from the start.  The breeders of the day were farmers, market hunters and other early settlers to the area.  AWS’ were often pack-bred in their early days by these breeders.  Although this would be unacceptable by today’s standards, this practice is believed to be a significant contributing factor to the relatively few genetic disorders that afflict AWS’.  AWS’ are believed to have links to breeds such as the now-extinct English Water Spaniel, Irish Water Spaniel, Curly-Coated Retriever, Sussex or Field Spaniel, possible Native American dogs, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and Poodle.  Some people believe AWS’ are the parent breed for Boykin Spaniels, but a lot of Boykin aficionados will dispute this. 

AWS’ were often the chosen hunting partner of market hunters from the era.  With a breed standard size of 25-45 pounds AWS’ were perfect for hunting from a small skiff and sneaking up on rafts of ducks.  Their double waterproof coat protected it from the cold water of the upper Midwest and they were bred to have motors capable of fetching a hundred ducks in a day.  Some early accounts indicate that AWS’ were also responsible to guard the market hunters equipment while the hunters were away.  Since many early AWS owners were not wealthy, the dogs were also expected to flush upland game, and even chase down the occasional muskrat scurrying along thin ice.  Upper Midwest inhabitants couldn’t afford to waste a chance at any income or food source.

                                                                                                                                                         

As a rare breed, there isn’t a distinct split in genetic lines between show-bred and field-bred dogs.  This has allowed the hunting instincts to remain prevalent throughout the breed.  Many dogs that compete in the show ring will often have advanced hunting titles.  For example the winner of “Best of Breed” at the prestigious Westminster Kennel Club’s 2016 show holds an AKC Senior Hunter title.  Few of the other sporting breed winners contained such titles.

Duck and upland hunters would be remiss not to consider an AWS as their next dog.  They can require a firm, but fair hand in training.  They will become bored and stop working when they tire of rote drills.  They are also known as a smart breed, and as is the case with my dog, he learns especially fast if a piece of hot dog is involved.   AWS’ are known for having a mischievous side, as they like to attempt to assert their domination over the household.  Although they may not be suitable for everyone, they are worthy of consideration as a family member and hunting buddy. 

At Meskousing Boats, we ask questions and aren’t afraid to come to conclusions that are different from prevailing thought.  That is why you’ll be seeing a lot more of Aldo in our boats.  He was too young to hunt this past season, but we are progressing on his foundational skills and obedience.  If his trainer (me) learns as fast as he does, Aldo will be ready for next season.  You’ll be seeing more of him on Facebook and we plan on updating the pictures on our website, too.

Book Review: The Gordon MacQuarrie Sporting Treasury

In a first for this blog, I'm going to submit a book review.  Truth be told, this will be the first time I'm doing a "book report" since I was in high school.  Not sure which book that would have been, but I'm sure it had a lot of pictures.  I recently completed The Gordon MacQuarrie Sporting Treasury.   A co-worker of mine loaned it to me after a recent conversation about good books.  I had never heard of Gordon MacQuarrie.

MacQuarrie was an outdoor writer for the Milwaukee Journal in the 1940's and 50's.  Prior to that he was an outdoor editor in Superior, WI.  In this book, he mostly writes about two things:  duck hunting and trout fishing in northern Wisconsin.  Many of his trout fishing stories take place on the River of Presidents- the Brule River.  MacQuarrie is credited with being one, if not the first, full-time outdoor writers in the country.  Unfortunately, he died in 1956 at age 56.

MacQuarrie's partner in his exploits is his father-in-law, who is referred to as Mr. President, or some form thereof.  Mr. President is the head of the Old Duck Hunters Association, Inc.  As MacQuarrie explains, Inc stands for incorrigible.  Mr. President frequently leads MacQuarrie on trips on the Brule and first exposes him to duck hunting.  Mr. President took MacQuarrie on his first duck hunt on one of the last days of the season in frigid weather, but great hunting.  Mr. President told MacQuarrie that he had waited to take MacQuarrie duck hunting because, "Too much of a good thing is bad for a growing boy."

MacQuarrie's descriptions of his duck hunts are vivid and paint images that we have all dreamed of and occasionally experience.  The stories are over 60-years old, but they are told in a manner that make them timeless.  He describes canvasbacks dropping into decoys in a snow squall.   The descriptions of the wooden decoys and putting on his Mackinaw field jacket takes you on an old-time hunt.  His hunts are all from long before people conceived of posting their hunts on Facebook or texting bragging pics to friends.  No, he hunted in a time when hunting was serious, uninterrupted by modern distractions of technology, and live decoys were legal.

In doing some research, I learned where some of his haunts were.  In his stories, he's always vague about where he actually hunted.  The places have names, but I'm sure they are self-applied locations.  Unfortunately, these places are no longer the honey holes MacQuarrie experienced.  He wouldn't even recognize his Hole in the Wall blind.  Where MacQuarrie was hunting stands of wild rice and wild celery grew to attract mallards and canvasbacks, today there are large homes and developments that have denigrated the water resource and made it unsuitable for those plants.  In turn, the ducks don't visit the same either.  This is, of course, the worst thing that can happen to a honey hole.

It is winter and many of the states' duck seasons are closed.  Reading some Gordon MacQuarrie hunting and fishing stories will be just the elixir you'll need to get you to another duck season.  Maybe next year I'll have my own "The Bluebills Died at Dawn" story.

Happy New Year!

Bonus Hunt

Time flies!  I'm not sure what happened to the Wisconsin waterfowl season.  It seems like a few weeks ago I was on a self-imposed "No fun stuff" stint.  Prior to waterfowl season I swore off doing anything that could be too much fun, so I could get house projects and adult responsibilities out of the way before the fall harvest season.  A few duck hunts, a trip to NoDak, tossing out some steel, and suddenly the waterfowl season is in the rear view mirror.

About three weeks ago winter arrived in northern Wisconsin.  I had hopes of getting in one last duck hunt with a 10-year old.  We checked every spring pond and stretch of flowing water in hopes of finding a few late migrating ducks.  No luck.  Everything was locked tight.  So, I begrudgingly put my gear away to get to the snow blower and began thinking about next season.  To say I was disheartened to put my stuff away with over three weeks to go in a 60 day season would be an understatement.

Then, I got invited by my friend, Eric, to go duck hunting on Green Bay.  He had been having some success on divers and was kind enough to recognize an addict suffering from withdrawal.  We left for Marinette about sunrise, which included about a 1.5 hour drive.  It was about 3-below zero when we left, so we had some concerns about the Bay being froze tight.  We arrived and realized our concerns were real.  There was a slight wind blowing out and we could see the ice was breaking up.  There was enough open water near shore for us to give it a try.  As we got ready we discussed how foolish duck hunting is.  Who goes and sits in the wind, gets their hands wet, stands in water, and lays in the snow when the air temperature is below zero?  Duck hunters, that's who.  We both agreed that we take pride in hunting when everybody else is sitting at home.  Needless to say, we had our choice of spots.

We didn't get a limit in almost a full day of hunting, but we got to see thousands of duck flying around the Bay.  We scared some ducks and killed a few.  Zeke, the 11-month old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, made some fine retrieves.  I have never said a bad word about Zeke and won't after I watched him fetch one of my ducks that had drifted out to over 100 yards.  Zeke earned his keep and my admiration after that.  It was cold enough that we each had to take a few walks and do some calisthenics to warm up.

We hunted a second day, but called it quits after we each reached the point where we required a "warm-up walk."  After we loaded up, I felt a bit more satisfied about the season.  It was short and not as successful as I had dreamed in August, but getting to hunt in a new locale when I hadn't expected to hunt anymore made the season a lot better.  

Only 10 months until waterfowl season!

The worse thing to happen to a honey-hole

I recently ventured out a few times for one of my favorite fall activities- wild ricing.  Yes, you can find wild rice in a lot of grocery stores in northern Wisconsin, but going ricing is a good reminder that food doesn't come from a grocery store and reconnects us to the natural world.  Wild ricing is not terribly difficult.  I've threatened a number of people with taking them ricing over the years.  Some I've taken, others I haven't been able to connect with.  So often people remark that they don't know how to rice.  The biggest hurdle in ricing is finding a good spot.

 I went once with a crafty veteran ricer and we did pretty dern good.  It weighed out to 58-pounds of green rice.  As a rule, finished rice weighs about half what the green rice weighs.  I learn a lot by ricing with a seasoned vet of the rice beds.  We talk about great harvests, bad harvests, great lakes, acceptable lakes, and how peaceful it is to be out.  Often times, ricing involves being in difficult to reach areas.  Wild rice doesn't like polluted water or disturbed sediment.  This requirement rules out many lakes as suitable for rice growth.  A motorboat stirring up sediment or heavy wave action during the floating-leaf stage can ruin a bed.

I also took a novice wild ricing for the first time.  Prior to going he asked about ricing in a particular flowage that we've trapped.  I wasn't certain of the quality of the rice, so I told him I do know of a good spot that I am certain of the amount.  We walked in a half-mile from where we parked with the canoe on a hand-pulled trailer.  When we got to the landing, Travis looked out across the bed and asked, "Is that all rice?"  Yes it was.  He was immediately impressed with the amount of rice and said he has never seen so much rice before.  I put on a quick clinic on proper ricing and how the "motor" needs to time the pushes on the push-pole with the action of the knocker.

After about 15-minutes of taking turns between doing the knocking and pushing, most people enter into the advanced stages of wild ricing.  It isn't rocket science.  It helps to be a harvester and to recognize that there are only so many days the rice is ripe and will fall.  Travis fit the bill nicely.  One of the few requirements in wild ricing is that you must be tolerant of bugs.  There are lots of bugs.  Lots.  After ricing, the rice is literally alive and jumping with all of the bugs in it.  The spiders scurry around and weave webs.  Wild rice is more than an annual grass.  Its a living organism with a lot of facets.

Travis is a harvester.  He helps me teach trapper education and understands that deer antlers make thin soup.  He's got a garden, fruit trees, and makes maple syrup.  As he said when we were ricing, "I like to eat anything that mother nature provides."  Many of us harvesters like to keep our harvesting honey-holes to ourselves, whether its a good berry patch, oak stand, mink trapping spot, or a great patch of wild rice that holds a lot of ducks.  Some may question the wisdom of taking someone to a honey-hole, as I did with Travis.  How many people is he going to tell?  How many times is he going to go there without me.

The locale I took Travis can be found on a map and is known to a lot of people as a good duck hunting spot.  I've even ran into other people I didn't know that were going ricing there.  I'm not worried if Travis goes there with some other friends or family.  Heck, he's got two boys, so I hope he takes them there.  Wild rice habitat needs protecting and is a fragile resource.  The only thing worse than going to "my spot" and seeing four other boats, would be going there and finding the rice beds destroyed.

If people can place a value on natural resources, they are far more likely to find value in protecting it.

Travis may never go with me again (I hope he does) but if he takes his kids out, then that's just as good as me taking them.  It seems to be trendy to take kids out harvesting, but consider taking a novice adult out, too.

Take someone new out harvesting!

Bang for the Buck

What's a good buy or value for your money?  Are you a waterfowl fanatic?  Or, are you a person that gets out a few times and maybe takes some vacation to hunt away from home?  When purchasing equipment it can be easy to think, 'I only hunt a few times per year, so I'll buy the cheaper version.'

It can be tempting to buy less expensive gear for waterfowl hunting.  If most of your hunting occurs on a week long trip away from home it can be easy to fall into the trap that a quality hunting jacket is not a necessity.  That is, until you only hunt the first hour in the morning of a major fall flight because you're soaked to the bone.  The rest of the time you sit in the truck shivering and trying to get dry while your partners knock down greenheads.  The next time that happens, ask yourself, 'Am I getting my money's worth now?'

Do you look at spending money on a professional trainer for your dog as an unnecessary expense?  Do you think, 'I can train the dog well enough myself.'  However, on hunts you call the dog names you wouldn't say in mixed company.  If you spend almost a $1000 on a puppy, hundreds of dollars on vet bills and food annually, and the dog lives for 12 years, then maybe its worth dropping a few hundred bills on a well-trained dog.  After 12 years, a few months of professional training will be a small expense compared to the other dog expenses like food and vet bills.

Is it worth hunting with a less expensive shotgun?  If you're on vacation and your shotgun jams on a pintail with a full sprig, will you wish you had splurged five years ago for a better swamp cannon?  Do you dream of going hunting with your children and their children?  If that's the case, be sure to outfit your kids, when they're young, with quality gear.  It is difficult to convince a 12-year old hunting is fun in 35-degree rain when a jacket and hat aren't rainproof.  If you want them to hunt when they're 40 and you're in your 70's, be sure they're having fun at 12.

What seems like a good buy in the short term can be costly in the long term.  When making a hunting equipment purchasing decision weigh a lot of factors.  Will I hunt more frequently?  Will the hunt be more enjoyable?  Will I be more successful (however you gauge that?)  Is the equipment a long-term value?

Take all of this into consideration when making purchasing gear decisions.  If you spend half as much money on equipment, but also hunt half as much because of its quality, then is it really a good buy?  A great purchase is when your gear causes you to want to get out and hunt and makes it more relaxing.  Check out www.MeskousingBoats.com and weigh these questions when making your next duck boat decision.

Take a kid harvesting.

Turning the Page

I'm not sure if humans detect changes in photoperiods, but it sure seems as if I can sense a change in the last week or two.  I feel as if I'm turning the page on summer and heading into fall.  Although I like fishing, it feels as if there's a pull towards getting ready for fall and the long (dare I say it?) winter.  The wood needs to be split and stacked; berries are ripening and need picking; decoys need some prep work; and wild rice beds need to be scouted.

Tonight I picked some choke cherries to use in wine.  I'm not sure why, as there are choke cherries in the freezer from two years ago.  Maybe it was that internal solar clock telling me it is time to fatten up (not that I need any help.)  More than likely it is that innate sense that hunters and gatherers have inside.  We know that when the berries are ripe its time to harvest.  We know that when the birds are flying, work can wait another day.  Come December, we'll only have the berries we harvest this time of year.  There's no chance of berry picking at Christmas.  After hunting season, there are only tales to share and plans to hatch.

Fall is approaching, so take the time to enjoy the remaining days of summer.  It's also a great time to get out and begin preparation for the fall.  Make a list of gear that needs to be replaced, augmented, and repaired.

Keeping Wildlife Wild

It's baby animal season.  There's nothing that gets people to say "Awwww," like a spotted fawn.  Little rolley-polley black footballs, otherwise known as bear cubs, are about as cute as anything in the world.  Furry little ducklings waddling across the road being led by momma will lift anybody's spirits.  As cute as baby critters are, it's important that we keep wildlife wild.

Hunters love wildlife and need wildlife.  We understand the precarious balance mother nature runs in keeping wildlife populations healthy.  We also know that mother nature needs WILDlife to maintain that balance.  Wildlife is not meant to be domesticated.  Mother nature doesn't want or need domesticated deer, bear, baby birds, etc.  

I am forever frustrated by people that think a fawn lying curled up in the grass has been abandoned by its mother.  Wildlife does not have the same needs or exhibit the same behaviors as humans.  A fawn or other baby animal is adapted to be left alone for periods of time and to survive on its own at a young age.  Mother nature can get along just fine without human interference.  

Let's call the do-gooders that pick up these "poor orphaned babies" what they are: thieves.  They are stealing this year's recruitment from the wild.  This is the same as any poacher shooting a deer.  They are stealing a baby from it's mother.  They are disrupting the natural events in nature's cycle.  

Hunters and nature lovers, we need to help spread they word that this thievery is unacceptable.

It's summer!!!  Even in northern Wisconsin.