Sunset

It is with mixed emotions that I am coming to grip with the idea the duck hunting in northern Wisconsin is coming to a close.  It’s hard to believe that duck season opened 60 days ago.  The season started with balmy temperatures and bluebird skies.  As the season progressed, it included breaking ice to get to a honey hole that never quite lived-up to its billing.  There were limiting-out days and days of getting skunked.  

As northern Wisconsin’s season closes, some states are just starting to open their seasons.  I’m jealous that our southern brethren get to hunt “our ducks” after they’ve come into their breeding plumage.  In September we shoot wood ducks, teal, and brown mallards.  About the time the drake mallards develop their full breeding plumage of effervescent green heads, they head south for warmer climes. 

Do southern duck hunters get jealous when they hear of September and early October opening days?  On one hand we’ve had two months of hunting while the southern hunters have been champing at the bit to get out.  We’ll be putting away decoys, organizing gear, and cleaning shotguns for storage while the waterfowlers in the south will be scouting their early season spots and planning late-season hunts. 

‘Round these parts some of the best duck hunting occurs as the lakes and potholes freeze.  Depending on the weather, freeze-up can come before season ends or after the season closes.  Generally, the best migration occurs after many of the lakes and waters have frozen.  As ducks ride fronts south, they will look for any open water and if you have a spot with some water, you’ll often have ducks.  If the waters freeze later, then some of the best hunting comes after close.  This causes many hunters to spend their offseason bemoaning the wildlife biologists that weren’t able to predict freeze-up three months ahead of time. 

As the sun sets on waterfowl season 2013, I can’t help but think of how badly I need to win the lottery.  Then, I’d be able to duck hunt every day of the season and travel to the southern states to hunt their seasons, too.  Instead, I’m lamenting on the locations I wanted to hunt but didn't get to, which were surely holding piles of poultry and the locations I hunted that weren’t as productive as planned.  I’m also starting to think of waterfowl season 2014, the gear I need, and the locations I want to hunt.

Keep checking back, as the season passes I will be reminiscing and rehashing the season’s hunts.  Also, duck hunters aren’t duck hunters for only 60 days per year.  We continually plan, scout, prepare gear, and advocate for the resource and sport year round.  

The sun sets on my 2013 waterfowl season.

Nooks and Crannies

As I've returned from North Dakota, I've begun reminiscing about the great times and flocks of birds.  It's also natural to think about what worked and what didn't work.  Whether that be location, calls, tactics, decoy spreads, or the best duck recipe.  I made a short post on Facebook about an "epic" hunt I had in my Backwater.  Now that I have some time, I'll detail what made it so epic. 

There is a river that meanders through a wide valley.  Ron, who owns the house, said "Nobody has ever paddled that river."  The temptation to be a pioneer, of sorts, was too great.  I could claim and name new lands, or at least name spots.  We already have the buffalo skull and I was looking forward to naming some others.  From aerial images, I could tell there would be a lot of sloughs, oxbows, and other waterfowl enticing habitat.  The big question was whether the river channel is choked out by cattails.  Without a solid answer, I figured I'd still give a try. 

My friends dropped me off with my Backwater and my chubby buddy, Drake.  Within five minutes we came into a small pocket of what seemed like a dozen ducks.  I dropped a redhead easily and christened the first spot "Redhead Hole."  I'm a redhead, so it seems fitting, too.  The diver duck was much slower and an easier target than the puddle ducks in the tall cattails.  A few minutes later a few mallards came whipping down the river channel.  I think these were ducks I had just flushed, but they were returning.  I had to shoot a hen mallard in self defense for fear it would strafe me.  I had to be judicious in my shots because Drake is an old dog and doesn't do cattails well and I didn't want to lose birds there.  Drake was mostly along for a joyride.

I was feeling very confident and intelligent because I was being rewarded for my adventuring.  I picked up a blue-winged teal in another spot, too.  One slough seemed to be filled with ducks, even though I didn't bag one.  Some Canada geese were a bend away and took off at the sound of my shots.  The sight and sound of 200 geese taking off in the marsh is an experience, even if no shots were afforded.  It was a beautiful bluebird day and about 55-degrees.  Everything seemed perfect.

Then my fears happened.  I lost the channel.  I paddled in several directions and checked every possible cranny looking for some type of opening.  No dice.  I could see some current going through the cattails.  I was along one bank and started dragging my boat through the cattails in a diagonal fashion to try and intersect any possible channel.  I came into a few muskrat eat-outs, but still no channel.  Drake tried getting out of the boat and wading along, but the vegetation was too thick for the old dog, so I was forced to pull my 52-pound boat and an 85-pound hound through the cattails. 

I eventually found the channel and life was good again.  Ducks seemingly flushed around every corner.  I'd hate to guess how many times I came around a bend and saw ducks sitting on cattail mats or muskrat feed beds.  Their eyes seemed to get as big as quarters before they flushed.  I had already shot a hen mallard and didn't want to bag another one, if I could help it, so I held off on a lot of shots.  Not all of the drakes had lost their eclipse plumage and I'm not great at identifying ducks on the wing. 

After about another hour of paddling, the channel was choked out again.  This time, I paddled back to an abandoned farm, ditched the boat and began hoofing out through a hayfield to the designated meeting point.  My friends met me in the field and knew it's never good when a person starts a boat trip, but finishes on a hiking trip.  We went back and got the boat and loaded it up.

There are several lessons to be had.  Being first can be good, unless there's a reason nobody else has done it.  However, going places after ducks that aren't pressured has it's rewards and therein lies a balance.  When trying to hunt pressured ducks, try to think of locations that others haven't thought of or aren't willing to go to.  When the weather is considered less than ideal duck hunting weather, the ducks don't disappear, so it may be necessary to go find them.  A boat and it's cargo (Drake) should be as light as possible when dragging it through cattails. 

Good luck this fall!

View from the Sidelines

Last week the dogs and I, along with some friends, traveled to North Dakota for a week of duck hunting.  Much was learned, more shared, and memories made while in the prairie pothole region.  Last year was my first trip to NoDak, which opened my eyes to an area I had previously held as "fly-over" territory.  By the way, I use NoDak to make it appear as though I'm part of the "cool crowd."

I will have other posts about my experiences in the future, but for now I want to reminisce and pay homage to my duck hunting partner of the last few years- Drake.  Drake is not my dog.  He came with the girlfriend and was already trained and knowledgeable on early morning hunts when we met.  He's the yellow Labrador retriever featured in many of our pictures, website, and brochure.  Drake has the drive to hunt like few other dogs.  Normally he's an easy-going well-mannered table food-begging puppy, but when there's fowl in the air he has a laser focus.

I'm not a great shot by any measure and remember one of my first hunts with my Chubby Buddy.  He was seated behind me when I fanned on a few ducks.  I had that feeling that someone was staring at me.  I turned around and saw Drake was staring holes into me, as if to say 'Your job is to shoot the ducks so I can fetch them.  You're not living up to your end of the deal, pal.'  In ensuing hunts, I've been able to knock down a few ducks to whet Drake's thirst for fetching. 

Drake LIVES for fetching birds.  Watching him bring back a bird in his mouth is the epitome of happiness.  Prior to Chubby, I never had a hunting dog.  After seeing him bring back birds, I am convinced a Lab doesn't get to achieve true happiness unless fetching a bird.  Drake enjoys bacon, grilled chicken, belly rubs, down comforters, fireplaces, and fetching sticks, but he'd give it all up to go duck hunting. 

Last year in North Dakota, Drake made about 40 fetches in five days of hunting.  He eagerly ran and swam in the cold water for every retrieve.  He went out and got diver ducks in whitecaps, dabblers in Dakota muck, and flushed a crippled mallard from the cattails.  One retrieve I hope I never forget was on a crippled diver.  As Drake got closer, the diver dove under the water.  It would come up a little ways away from Drake.  Drake again swam to the duck until the duck dove under again.  This repeated a few times with Drake closing the gap a little bit each time.  Drake got about a foot away when the duck dove one last time.  Drake stuck his head under and came up with the duck.  He grabbed the duck with his head under water!  That's drive and can't be trained!  The duck was still crippled while in his mouth.  Normally, a handler would not want the dog biting the duck, as this would possibly ruin the meat, but I watched Drake make a slight crunch on the duck and killed it.  When cleaned, there was no damage to the meat.  Again, this can't be trained.

While planning for this year's trip to North Dakota, discussions were had about which dogs to bring.  Drake is 12-years old and can't hunt like he did even a year ago.  There were two puppies that needed a chance to prove themselves and get some experience.  We also added an extra hunter to fit into the truck, too.  It was determined that Chubby had earned a spot in this year's trip because of last year's efforts.  He watched me get packed up by putting in camo gear and a shotgun, so he knew I was going somewhere he wanted to go.  He was beaming when I helped him into my truck for the trip.

I didn't hunt Drake every day and he only saw limited action when I did hunt him.  Letting him sit in cold water for hours on end and trudging through mucky cattails would be too hard on him.  We didn't dare leave him in the house alone while we were hunting, so we left him in the truck while we took the puppies.  I'm not sure who was more broken hearted when I closed the topper- me or Drake.  He wanted to go so bad each time, but felt it necessary to protect him from himself.  There comes a time when we all have to watch from the sidelines.

When we got back to the truck, we'd let him out and he'd be happy to see everybody and sniff the birds we got.  He didn't seem to hold a grudge or be angry.  Drake was happy to see us and happy for us that we got a few ducks.  He reminded me of a grandpa going deer hunting.  Grandpa might not have gone deer hunting, but he was the one at the truck making sure the grand kids were warm and had hot cocoa.  If he felt up to it, he'd maybe go for a short walk just to see if he could drive a deer past someone.  Grandpa may or may not have bought a license, but he most certainly did not sight in his rifle as there was no chance he was going to shoot a deer.  That was Drake on this duck hunt.

I did some jump shooting with Drake when I knew there wouldn't be much walking and took him to sit in the blind for a one hour hunt.  He made a few retrieves with the same zeal as he always has.  When he was bringing back those ducks, he looked like a lean hunting machine in his prime.  At night he slept like the ol' dog he is.

Take a kid and a retriever hunting.  You'll never regret either experience.

Pass It On

I hate to admit it, but this weekend was the first time I took a kid hunting this year.  It was also my first opportunity, but it seems like the kind of thing I should have done a few times already.  I had the enjoyment of taking a nine-year old boy into the marsh.  The expectations and priorities change when you take a kid hunting.  Cole is an avid hunter and trapper and jumps at the opportunity to go hunting or trapping.  The rise and shine time doesn't affect his enthusiasm. 

He was five the first time I ever took him hunting.  I was a bit apprehensive about getting a kid out of bed at 5AM to go sit in the marsh.  My alarm went off and I muttered a few expletives about how I wish I golfed.  As I began to stumble up the steps, Cole greeted me in his tighty-whities with a big smile and said he was ready to go.  He had heard my alarm and got up on his own.  He normally won't wake up when the dogs are barking at the top of their throats, but he heard the alarm for hunting!

When I go hunting with friends or by myself I hunt fairly hard.  With a kid, the priorities change.  It's important to try and pass on the hunting and conservation ethic to a younger generation.  Preparation changes quite a bit, too.  First and foremost, it's all about the snack pack.  Some sunflower seeds, granola bars, Reeses Pieces, cookies, and a note from Mom does a lot to keep the hunt enjoyable for all. 

Cole can't hunt in Wisconsin until he turns 10, so finding things to keep him interested and entertained are important.  A woodduck call can provide a lot of entertainment for all (when done in moderation), begin his duck calling skills, and with a little luck a wayward duck may bring itself into range out of coincidence.  Of course, should this happen, I'm sure to agree that he called it in.  This year I purchased a jerk rig.  This was also a great way to keep Cole involved in the hunt.  It also freed up my hands for calling and shooting. 

This morning the ducks weren't very friendly and didn't pay us many visits, so there were some long lulls.  After patiently staring at the decoys for a few hours, Cole decided that he needed to build a fort.  We hadn't hunted this spot before and I probably won't hunt it again so there's no need for a fort or blind, but figured we'd be OK with all of this movement.  There was a bit of cover from some tag alders and a tall tamarack, so I wasn't concerned that his movement would spook any ducks that did come near.  He had fun doing it and that's what it's all about. 

I've also learned to set the bar low for our expectations.  Cole is a harvester and likes seeing ducks fall out of the sky, but I set our goal for seeing a duck.  We saw several ducks and geese.  I was lucky enough to shoot a single goose.  Cole was ecstatic because this was the first goose he ever saw shot.  Also, on cue, two minutes after the close of hunting hours about two dozen geese wanted to land where we were set up.  Cole encouraged me to shoot.  This spawned a conversation about laws and ethics.

I've also found it beneficial to talk about the non-game species we see and discuss them.  We had an eagle fly through our spread and watched belted kingfishers dive into the water.  Talking about the non-game species and even other "sidebar" events like sunsets and sunrises help to keep the interest.  It also points out some of the other reasons a person rises at O-dark-thirty to stand in waist deep water.

Taking a kid hunting is always entertaining.  It takes a hunter to make a hunter.  Someone took us out hunting for our first time. 

The X

I went hunting with Olive this morning.  We went to a new spot, which was at the confluence of two rivers.  The smaller river is laden with rice, so I had high hopes of catching ducks that were flying the larger river and going to feed in the rice.  I saw four ducks and never came close to taking the safety off of my scatter gun.  After killing mosquitoes for almost 2 hours, I decided a change in tactics was necessary.  So, we pulled up the dekes, and paddled through the rice for some jump shooting.

Olive let me knew when the ducks were close.  The breeze was blowing in her face and she got antsy smelling the ducks.  A pair of ducks got up and I dropped a beautiful drake woodduck.  No less than 50 woodies got up from the rice in the same area.  I didn't fire another shot, though, as I knew finding one duck in the rice would be difficult.  After a few minutes of searching, I saw the duck and sent Olive on a blind retrieve.  She brought it back like she knew what she was doing.

Where I jumped the gaggle of ducks was less than 200 yards from where I had set out my decoys  in the dark.  I've never hunted this spot, but have paddled it and riced it this year.  This underscores the importance of being on the X.  When you're on the X, it can be an exciting hunt, but if you miss it by even a little bit, it can be a disappointing hunt.  Finding the X takes, experience hunting ducks, knowing your area, watching the weather, and scouting before and during the season.

It's fall up nort', so take a kid or a friend hunting!!

Nesting success!!

Woodduck box inspection

I took the dogs hunting tonight for a short hunt.  I got home from work and had to do something with the hounds, so we headed into the magical world of the duck marsh.  I never pulled up on a duck.  Some hen woodies flushed on the way in and I was loaded, but I felt like giving the local hens a break.  In turn, the rust stayed in the gun barrel.  Oh well.

 

A flock of about 50 woodies flew over the marsh and were heading south.  They looked like they were going somewhere to feed.  I'll have to do some scouting to find out where they were going.  I had Drake, the yellow lab, in the boat and that was an experience.  He's old and his breathing sounds like a freight train when he gets winded or excited.  For 45 minutes I heard the train's chugging until he finally tired and laid down.  He is almost completely deaf, but at times he must have heard me calling, so he'd stand back up, start panting, and get excited all over gain. 

 

I don't have any bragging pics to share, but on the upside I checked a woodduck box I built about a year and a half ago.  Inside there were duck feathers!  Last year I had installed it poorly (it was leaning at about a 60-degree angle) and there was a larger bird of prey feather, probably a hawk, inside the box.  Birds of prey need places to nest and contribute to the marsh's health, but I'd rather have a woodduck make a home out of the box.  I have another box that I'd like to check, but may wait until winter when the water is frozen. 

 

The boxes are installed on private land and I gave them to the landowner in appreciation for letting me hunt and trap on his land.  The landowner isn't a hunter, but he does enjoy watching wildlife.  The box I still need to check is in front of his house and was put there in hopes he would be able to watch a brood come of age in the summer.  Letting landowners know you appreciate their generosity can go a long way towards access. 

 

Take a kid hunting!

First hunts of the season

Renewing the Bond

This week I renewed my bond with the marsh.  There's something magical about watching and listening to the marsh waking up.  Those that don't hunt don't understand it.  It's a value we hunters have.  Its a connection to the natural world that we are a part of.  Being a part of the O-dark hours of morning and watching it go from black to gray to sunny is a special experience.  It starts off with dead silence and complete darkness.  As a little light starts to arrive the birds begin a few morning notes of their songs.  Woodducks let out a few "weep weep's" and the geese warm up their vocal cords.

 

I try not to add too much noise.  I try to keep my paddling silent as a I churn a few strokes from my blade and a few plunks from my decoys hitting the water. 

 

As the sun keeps coming up a few teal can be heard whistling by along with a few woodies.  A distant hen mallard lets out a few quacks to let us know she's happy and looking for friends.  The opening of hunting hours came and went without me firing a shot.  It took me a bit to get on my game and to be willing to disturb the peace.  After a few ducks whistled through my spread and  pair of geese came well within range, but for a reason unknown to me didn't even incite a flinch from me.  Sometimes I'm almost too patient when it comes to wanting a closer shot. 

 

These are the moments that make getting up way too early for a normal person worthwhile.  I shot my first ducks of the season and got to watch Olive make her first solo retrieve.  The last two seasons she has hunted with Drake, but his better days are behind him and will only see limited action this year.  Olive got a little too excited on the first shot and jumped out of the boat right away.  The enthusiasm is a good sign, but she will have to get used to hunting with me because not every shot results in a retrieve.  Drake used to stare holes in me when I shot and there wasn't anything for him to fetch.  Olive will learn.  The second opportunity for me gave Olive her first opportunity.  She brought back a beautiful woodduck.  I was very proud and loved on her after I pulled her back into the boat.

 

We also managed to jump shoot a mallard.  From my Backwater I was able to drop my paddle, pick up my shotgun, and drop the mallard with a single shot.  I didn't attempt a double because the mallards are in eclipse plumage and our bag limit in Wisconsin is a single hen mallard.  I'm an OK duck identifier when they're in my hand, but have room for improvement for duck ID on the wing.  I also got a double from my Backwater while hunting over decoys.  The boat is more than adequate for doubles- nary any movement. 

 

Enjoy the below pictures from my hunts, but please don't live vicariously through me.  Get out there yourself!!  Take a kid or a buddy hunting for the first time.

 

Olive with a duck

I felt bad.  She got some lily pad roots wrapped around her and really slowed her down.  It looked very hard.  But she slept well at night.

It's about the simple things in life- sunrises in the marsh, a skiff, shotgun, and some coffee to enjoy while soaking it all in.

Olive with our hunt's booty.

 

First frost of the season

This week in the Antigo, WI metro area we experienced our first frost of the season.  It's bittersweet for me.  I covered up my garden to try and get a few more tomatoes in the coming days, but I also LOVE hunting on a crispy frost-filled morning.  There's something about watching the sunrise in the swamp with the crystalline coating on the rice, cattails, and other plants.  The quacks seem to be crisper and the wings whistle a little sharper.  Sure, there's the risk of cold hands, but I love having that slight bite on my cheeks.

Olive is here!!

Olive is available and ready for shipping.  Olive is also the chocolate Lab in the pictures, but she is staying home, though.  This is the second color we have available.  Depending on your habitat types and backgrounds olive or reed should suit your needs.  If not, we are able to do custom colors.  Consider how or if you will be applying any camouflage paint to your boat when deciding which color will suit your needs.  The boat color will serve as a background and may not be the most dominant color when you're done painting. 

 

 

Below is also a picture of a black Backwater that we experimented with.  It's a one-off and not stocked, but we can accommodate a special order for this color. 

 

 It's fall and its harvest season.

 



Camouflage Paint Job

Camouflage Paint Job

 

In anticipation of the upcoming waterfowl season (it starts on September 21 in northern Wisconsin) I painted the Backwater in digital camouflage.  This was a home spun project with readily available materials to demonstrate how easy adding camouflage can be added to a Meskousing boat.  For now, we don't offer a factory camouflage option, but most waterfowl hunters have access to spray paint.

 

Before starting the painting, I had to decide on which pattern to choose.  There are many stencil patterns to use and many have a lot of eye appeal.  My belief, though, is that a lot of the popular patterns are appealing to human's eyes, but ducks don't care about beauty.  They're looking to pick-out outlines and shapes of things that don't belong.  Along this vain, I think a lot of boats are painted to sell, not conceal.  As a result, I chose a digital camo stencil.  If the US military's Special Forces are using it in combat, it will probably work for ducks in combat. 

 

I found a digital camo stencil online that was reasonable and was 10 mil mylar.  Two 9"x12" stencils were included for less than $20.  Below is a picture of the stencil after using it for a while.  I taped the two stencils together in a manner to prevent the pattern from repeating in the opposite page. 

 

 

 

In choosing a stencil, be sure to avoid stencils that have small pieces of mylar connecting other pieces.  These can break during use or cleaning.

 

My next choice was to pick the colors.  The Backwater I was painting was already in reed, so I wanted to pick colors that would complement the background. The first color applied was black to add a shadowing effect.  I had two different greens, so I thought I'd experiment with how they played into adding depth.  The last color added was a darker brown to contrast with the reed color.  If desired, a person could easily get away with two colors.  I do suggest using a darker black or green to help create a shadow effect.

 

Prior to painting the boat was cleaned and wiped dry.  It wasn't scuffed, but can be to help the paint adhere better.  Scotchbrite pads work great.  It was painted outside over the course of a couple of days when the weather was warm, sunny, and low humidity.  I got lucky with the weather, but any non-rainy weather will work.  The better the drying conditions, the faster you can work.  I worked on a couple of different days because of other commitments that prevented me from working straight through.  Also, I was playing a bit with a few techniques and patterns on the hull.  From a practical standpoint, there is no reason to paint the hull unless you plan on turning the boat upside down while hunting.  Skipping the hull will also save you paint.  I masked off part of the hull in an experiment, but later did not.  Skipping the masking saved time and helped in overlap from one part of the boat to the other without creating a line between the two parts for ducks to see.

 

I began with black for a shadow effect..  I started by painting in a typewriter (left to right) fashion.  After a bit, I realized that I could go faster if I jumped around a bit to allow the paint to dry from one area while painting another.  It also created a more random look.  In the below picture, you'll see the typewriter pattern and spaces between the stencils.  Later, I went back and filled in the spaces.

 

I applied the black and then the green in a similar fashion.  Painting corners and seams took some patience.  Again, two colors would probably be sufficient, but I added a dark brown.  Below are the pictures as I added colors to different parts of the boat.  The hull was painted with a brighter green and the deck with an olive drab green.

 

The above pictures is with the black and green layers.

 

The above pictures is of the hull.  The top portion has all three layers and the bottom has the black and green layers.

 

This is a close-up of the black and green layers.

 

The boat was propped-up on its side for a better angle for the spray paint.

 

I didn't paint the inside of the boat.  This may be advantageous in some situations, but I chose not to for simplicity.  Also, there is a good chance that I'll be sitting in it (in camo) or my dogs will.  Also, the paint is likely wear out the fastest in the cockpit.

 

If anybody else has any pictures of their Meskousing Boat to share, please post it.  I'll be curious to know what others use as their paint scheme.











MESKO- WHAT?

People see the word "Meskousing" and can't help wonder what it means or what it is.  Meskousing was the word written in Father Jacques Marquette's journal.  He wrote in his journal in June 1673, "The river on which we embarked is called Meskousing. It is very wide; it has a sandy bottom, which forms various shoals that render its navigation very difficult. It is full of islands covered with vines."  The river he is referring to is what is now called the Wisconsin River.  He first accessed the river at modern day Portage, WI.  When he heard the name, he was camping with the Miami (from Indiana) tribe.  Native American languages are purely oral and do not have a written alphabet, so Marquette was trying to capture the sound he was hearing and translate it into French.  

Meskousing was written other ways by other travelers.  Eventually the word morphed into Ouisconsing and later Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin River has at times been referred to as "The River of a 1000 isles," based upon an erroneous interpration of the meaning of Meskousing.  The now accepted meaning of Meskousing is "stream that meanders through someplace red."  There are red sandstone cliffs on the lower Wisconsin River and is likely what is referenced in the meaning.  For a more detailed explanation, feel free to visit the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Your guess is as good as mine in regards to how Meskousing is pronounced.  The last native Miami speakers died in the 1960's.  I've pronounced it several ways myself.  Given the transformation the written word has undergone, it only seems fitting that the pronunciation evolve, too.

I chose the name Meskousing Boats for a variety of reasons.  First, we are a product made in Wisconsin and proud of that.  I'm also a bit of a history buff and believe we need to know where we came from to know where we're going.  The journey of starting a business and creating a product has been a journey involving a lot of inlets, islands, channels, and shoals making navigation challenging.

Take a kid harvesting!
   

HARVEST SEASON!

 

Harvest season is upon us in northern Wisconsin.  A lot of our berries are behind this year because we had a cool wet spring.  The weather was good for waterfowl production and thirsty water tables.  The wetter than normal beginning of the summer is paying off now in the form of juicy berries. 

 

We went out blackberry picking this evening for the first time.  Between two of us, we got a little less than two gallons in about 1.5 hours.  The berry picking resulted in bringing home a lot more food than the fishing expedition earlier in the day.  Tomorrow morning we're having pie for breakfast.  And lunch.  And dinner.  The berries will be used for a variety of purposes.  Sometimes we make jam, but neither one of us is much into toast.  We also make the aforementioned pies and wine.  All of these items also make good "payments" to landowners that are gracious enough to let us hunt or trap on their land.  It's very difficult for a landowner to say 'no' when you're holding a blackberry pie- ice cream is optional. 

 

Within a week I'll be heading out to a few wild rice haunts, too.  Wild rice is a delicacy and another way to tie myself into the hunter gatherer lifestyle.  It also goes well with the ducks that will (fingers crossed) be harvested in the fall.  Scouting for ricing gets me to areas that waterfowl LOVE and muskrats will be plentiful.  If I can find a good crop of rice, there will be a good crop of puddle ducks.

 

After ricing, the fall hunting seasons begin: grouse, squirrel, pheasant, deer, ducks, bear, and furbearers!

 

Good luck to all that practice sustainable harvesting of our renewable natural resources.

 



WELCOME!!

This is the inaugural Meskousing Boats blog post.  I'll start with an introduction of myself, Tim Otto, the president of Meskousing Boats.  I'm an enthusiast of all things outdoors and consider myself a hunter gatherer.  This may be a paddle-powered boat company, but the emphasis is getting people outside to appreciate the natural world.  If someone chooses to buy a Meskousing Boat, we appreciate the business, but that won't be the point of all the posts. 

No introduction of a company, though, would be complete without explaining a little bit about ourselves.  Meskousing Boats is a manufacturer of lightweight hand-laid fiberglass boats.  We are located in Wisconsin and the boats are built in the land of cheese and the Packers.  A few years ago I found myself in the market for a new duck hunting skiff.  I wanted a lightweight boat that could easily be carried or dragged to my duck hunting spots.  My favorite locales often involved carry-in only boat landings or there weren't any designated landings.  After an exhaustive internet search, I couldn't find a boat that fit my needs.  As a result, I formed Meskousing Boats L.L.C.

When people go hunting, most prefer to hunt away from the crowds and in secluded areas.  Some people are willing and able to spend $20,000 or more on a boat and gear.  Some of us prefer the quiet route.  Another way to seek tranquility is to go the route other people aren't willing to go.  That often involves carrying, dragging, hauling, and hiking where others aren't willing to go.  The best spots are away from public roads and parking lots.  A lot of hunting honey holes are located behind locked gates and a lightweight boat helps to hunt these hidden gems.  At Meskousing Boats we'll help you get where nobody else is going.

The flagship model for us is the Backwater.  The Backwater is designed to be a duck hunting kayak for one person, a dog, and a bag of decoys.  It also has the ability to carry two people with a  bag of decoys or a dog. 

The stability of the Backwater is unquestionable.  People that are familiar with dogs and kayaks are understandably wary the first time a dog jumps out of the boat.  After a few times, you'll get used to having the dog jump out and realize the boat is going to stay upright.  When the dog returns to the boat, it can be grabbed by the scruff of the neck and pulled inboard.  If you're used to traditional kayaks and duck hunting boats this will seem implausible the first time.  After a few times, you'll be very comfortable pulling the dog in.

Take a kid hunting or gathering!