Father and daughter outing (non kayak)

Not your typical report, but this was my oldest daughter's (Sydney) first duck hunt and wanted to share our experience.

Friday after dinner, Syd and I pack up our gear and say our goodbye's to Mom and little sister, Samantha.  We head out the door and drive to my cousin's hunting club near Los Banos.  Upon arrival, Sydney is greeted/mugged by her new 4 - legged "best friend" Sammie.



After an evening cocktail, a little conversation and TV, we all turn in with the anticipation of the morning hunt.  A light NW wind was blowing that evening and bird activity was relatively high, indicating a promising morning.  Hopefully the wind will continue to blow.

At 5:30 AM, the alarm goes off and Syd is awakened by her "best friend" Sammie.


 
After some coffee (hot choc for Syd) and doughnuts for breakfast, we head out towards our blind in darkness.  Damn, it was cold!!




After getting her situated in her blind (a sunken concrete barrel), I hand her my calls and camera as we listen to the marsh come alive.

We started to get buzzed by a few small flocks of teal and other types of ducks in the early dawn.  Other clubs were shooting, but we held off.  As I pointed out the flocks of ducks and other birds she was fascinated with all the activity and sounds.  I didn't want to shoot until it was light enough for her to see and experience the thrill of working ducks.  As it got light, most ducks were either too far out of range or just too fast for me.  Syd was beginning  to get bored with a "When are you going to shoot dad?"  A few minutes later, a lone shoveler came right in with cupped wings, preparing to land in the decoys.  With my second shot drops on the water and I turn to look at Syd.  Unfortunately, she missed the action.  DARN!!

I jump out and retrieve it.  When I return and show her the duck, she's impressed with the colors and soft feel. 

A few minutes later, a lone teal buzzs by and I drop it with the 3rd shot.  Syd watches it fall hard on the water and gets excited.  This time, she wants to ride on my shoulders as I wade through the pond to retrieve our prize.  After examining the teal, Syd say's "this is a little duck.  It must be a baby".   

Its still early and we've got 2 birds.  I miss the next bird, then Syd decides that dad is not going to shoot at any more ducks.  She does not like the loud noise coming from the shotgun.  I say "ok" no problem.  But suddenly another teal buzzes by and I shoot and of course miss again.  (yeah, I'm a bad shot!!) 

Syd gets mad, saying "DAD, I told you NO MORE shooting!!!"  "Ok, sorry Syd.  I couldn't resist." 

She starts to get bored, so I break out the M&M's and juice drinks.  After a few, she say's lets sing Christmas songs.  So we humm a few, then she decides we should head in. 







After arriving back at the compound, I find out that Tom ended up with 5.  Others fared a little better, but overall, not quite the day we were predicting. 

Looking back, it was a trip I'll never forget.  Much more enriching than I expected and for totally different reasons than I thought. 

I thought if we really got into the birds and shot quick limits, she'd have a great time.  That wasn't the case.  In fact, it was time we we spent together, not shooting at ducks, that made the morning so special.

She had a blast playing tricks with me over and over again ("DAD there's a duck!!......Oh, just kidding" as she laughed out loud or "Sorry, its just a plastic duck"), blowing  the duck calls,  playing with sticks and feathers, taking pictures, singing and pretending to be fishing.  She didn't care if I shot ducks or not.  I guess that's what duck hunting is all about through the eye's of a 5 yr old girl.  I can't wait till next time.




Stuart

For me, this is the definition of a great report.  Thanks, Stuart.   

GREAT report Stu.  Reminds me of when Jelly was a small fry.  You are 100% on track.  Enjoy the time, and their company, and before you know it Sydney will enjoy duck hunting.  Looks like a fun time.

Little Sydney is not the only one learning about duck hunting from Stu.  He's been teaching me a lot this season.  Thanks so much... Stu!

Awsome!  The Christmas songs sounds just like what my daughter would have done.  Good job dad.

Great Report!  I love to duck hunt and sure hope my 3 year old daughter will share in a similar experience someday.

ahhh....the adventures of Stuart and Sydney...........it seems like it was only yesterday when she caught her first trout 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=2233.0

Great report, thats just too cute. Ive only been duck hunting once, on MDs eastern shore and it was like 20 below and the gun was like 50 below and the duck never got close. My pants froze and stuck when I got up.

Stuart,

Sounds like a perfect father/daughter excursion. Maybe no bag limit, but I can't imagine much better ways to spend a day with a child. I'm looking forward to outings like these in 5 years with my own son.

Oh, and your daughter is downright adorable.

Regards,
Scott

Excellent report!!  Way to get out with your kid, kudos to you.

And hey, what an awesome hat she has in the trout story!!!

MolBasser

Nice one dad! 

good work stu! sixmhz greg told me some funny stories about him and his son (who is a big kid and can paddle a double
while dad does the "blasting" (technical term for you non-hunters,  )), you'll have to compare notes.

J

Thanks for the kind words guys.  Sydney seems like she's on the right track. 

I'm looking forward to this summer so I can introduce my youngest one to the great outdoors.  She's going to be the challenging one, but I will be enlisting a lot of help from Mom.

Stuart

looks like a memory making trip!..  Thanks for sharing.

John

Great report Stu, my old man taught me how to hunt with rifles, shotguns and compound bows.  Probabley the memories i remember the best about growing up.  jtf..