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For those who read my story of my first trip to hunt the Chesapeake in 2003, I ended in saying, “Chesapeake Bay…….If tomorrow never comes, I know I will have made the trip of a lifetime.” Well, on my return, let’s just say I got to enhance the first one!
My last trip to Maryland, now in hindsight, was magical. After getting back up there, I realized that in my excitement of the first trip, I kind of let it pass by me quickly just taking everything in. This time, I had time reflect, take in the awesome sights and scenery, and the enjoy the company of two brothers, and great friends. Although we were basically in the same middle region of the eastern shore again, our quarry would be totally different as Canada geese and diving ducks would be what we would hope would toll the blocks and silhouettes. In 03, we kind of used the “run and gun” approach traveling from Chincoteague, VA. back up the eastern shore daily, staying in different locations. This time, we chose a cottage on the Knapps Narrows overlooking the Chesapeake for the whole week. Docked outside of our front door was a historical “landmark” and she was a splendid specimen. The Chesapeake Bay Skip Jack “Kathryn”. Her official number in the National Historic Landmark registry is 161189. She is a working oyster dredge boat home ported in Tilghman Island. Built in Crisfield, Maryland in 1901, she is 50ft. long, 16ft., 8 inches wide; and has a depth of 4ft., 2 |
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inches. 1901………….damn that was a long time ago!!! As I stared at her every time we departed our home for the week, I could only imagine what her and her crew looked like 107 years ago as they set sail daily to harvest oysters…..the old school way. There are only less than two dozen remaining Skip Jacks that are actually floating, and two of those were built before 1943, one being the “Kathryn”. Awesome………..!!! I would love to see her on the bay some day, and who knows, maybe that day will come.
 
The Canada Goose Hunts – I have to be honest with you, although I love goose hunting, from the DVD’s and TV shows I’ve seen of the Canada goose hunts in the cornfields of the Midwest and the eastern shore, much more appealing than the actual hunt itself were the size of the birds. It seemed odd to me to be able to show up and hunt in a designated blind or pit with less than 1000 decoys and not sloshing through a muddy Texas rice field to chase lesser Snow geese. And although at heart I am a duckman, the goose hunts on this trip were nothing short of world class. The first was on Wednesday, and by most normal goose hunting standards, the weather was horrible! Sunny, no wind and not a single cloud in the sky. The temperature was below freezing, but with no humidity, it was bearable. We must have had union geese on this day as they chose to fly very late, but when they started, little did I realize what would be in store. It’s one thing to see the eloquence of a puddle duck in flight, or the shear speed and agility of divers and sea ducks, but I never dreamed a 8-10lb. goose could glide through the air as gracefully as these. With the sun at our backs, the moment was absolutely picture perfect as the great honkers that were fooled by the decoy spread and calling eventually came to hand. With the limit being two, it didn’t take long to fill our legal bag and my second trip to Maryland could not have started out better. Of the three goose hunts that we made, there is another story to the second that coincides with a morning we duck hunted that will follow later. On the third and final goose hunt, we hunted a water blind on a creek on Saturday over about 50-60 floating goose decoys. This……I have never done!!! As was routine for the trips on geese, they flew late, but there is something about waterfowling, that in my mind anyway, says the ritual starts well before sunlight. As we sat waiting, the first bird to give us a look was a nice, big, Black duck drake!!! He looked even better laying in the blind with us. I really didn’t think we would see a Black duck on this trip as a true marsh was nowhere in sight. Following him was a pair of Mallards………good start!!! If our set up fooled a duck as wary as a Black, then the geese should follow course……..and they did!!!! Let me tell you something……..watching these big birds come down into decoys, land or water is a sight, but them hitting the water causes wake!! In this case with the sub freezing weather of all week, it was a ¼ inch of ice in which we had to keep breaking with the boat to keep from stoving our decoys up!! But I have to say in ending the goose hunt story, this is my kind of hunting! I used to think that taking these big Canadas was, well, let’s just say easy…………not!!! It is nothing short of spectacular watching these big Canada geese of the eastern shore work and eventually decoy!!! I cannot wait to get back and do it again.
  
The Diver Duck Hunting - To me, there is absolutely nothing that is more reminiscent of Chesapeake Bay than gunning divers, more so Canvasback and Bluebill, or Blackheads as the locals call them, over wooden, hand carved blocks. It is the stuff that legend is made of. My last trip to DelMarVa was in search of Atlantic Brant, Atlantic Flyway American Black Ducks and Sea ducks on the bay. This time, we specifically waited until January, the last weekend to be exact, just for the diver hunting. Having already harvested a pair of Oldsquaws (and that’s what they are called….not Long Tailed ducks), and a Surf Scoter for the wall, we were set up on Thursday in a floating blind where the Bluebill had been rafting and an occasional Black Scoter had been seen working. Speaking of Oldsquaw, they were everywhere on Thursday. They seemed playful to me. It’s almost like they were starting the courting ritual before the long migration back to the breeding grounds in the near future. You would see a small bunch and one or two would join them and seemed to belly flop into the flock making a big splash!! They have a very distinct call that is melodious in nature, but we were here for divers this trip. Our guide would be Chris Sherman of Bar Neck Outfitters, based in his home of Tilghman Island, the same guy we hunted with in 03 with much success. When we arrived at Fairbanks Tackle to meet him, the first words out of this mouth were a stern warning of an impending front with very high winds and snow flurries……sounded good to me!!!!! Not unlike Texas this year, the duck hunting in Maryland has been sub standard to past years, but we still had a tremendous shoot consisting of Blackheads and Bufflehead (Dippers). We only saw a couple of Cans and they were heading where the lion’s share of Blackheads had amassed in a creek where Chris had a permanent blind location already insuring us a place to hunt on Friday. Only needing a couple more birds to fill our limit, Mother Nature started to fight with Old Man winter and let’s just say he won this battle. The skies darkened from the north and a slight rain quickly turned into spitting ice that felt like tiny daggers hitting our frozen faces. Not far behind were 20-30mph gusts and snowfall. Now this is how I have always imagined hunting divers on the Chesapeake Bay. The only problem was the ducks wanted out of that mess in reality as bad as we did. One pair of Black Scoters made their way to the decoys in which I just knew the second of the three would be in hand for my Scoter Slam. Only problem was, I pulled a bead on the obvious drake only to face the fury of the weather invading us and just flat missed……twice!! That’s OK though, that just insures what my quarry will be when I plan the next season’s hunt in Maryland. Our boat ride back was adventurous as the ice and snow fell and piled up on the windshield of the boat as we fought some pretty nice swells heading back to Fairbanks.
 
Knowing what we had in store for us on Friday morning scouting wise, we decided to get a quick bite and head to the goose pit for an afternoon hunt. Just as quick as the weather hit us, it passed and left us with sunny skies, cold air and roughly two inches of snow. We got to the pit blind, set out the decoys, crawled into the pit and waited. With the view we had through corn stalks for incoming flights of geese, it also let the sunlight in and that combined with lunch and still being half frozen, set the stage for a world class nap!! Another part of hunting I enjoy!! I awoke to melting snow hitting me in the face to find Mark and Craig in a slumber as well. Never fired a shot…….but I would have much rather dozed in pit blind than at the cottage.
Friday was probably the capper of the whole trip this year. Clear skies, sunny, and north winds blowing about 25mph combined for a Blackhead hunt for the ages. Now I finally know how Gordon McQuarrie felt and some of his ageless quotes about Bluebills and the old duck hunters. This hunt in my mind justified my membership into the “Old Duck Hunter’s Association” founded by Gordon Mac in 1931, fictitious of course!! Shame on you if you’ve never read The McQuarrie Trilogy!!! On this day they didn’t come often, but when they did, it was some of the most absolute flights of Scaup I’ve ever witnessed. Every bird whether as a single or flock of 30+ worked flawlessly into the blocks!!! With the company shared, the single digit wind chill factor and the Bluebill, it will be a day I will never forget!!!! I even got take home a pair of eastern shore carved Bluebill decoys out of the rig!!
 
In Summation – I have to be completely honest here, although I am a proud native Texan, it is harder and harder for me to leave Maryland and the eastern shore each trip I take there. You have to experience the bay herself and all of the history surrounding her to appreciate it. As is customary on the eastern shore, for those of you who know me, I am lover of old, hand carved working duck decoys, and there is no better place to find them than the eastern shore. We stopped by one carver’s house and got the tour of his shop and a history lesson as well. The parcel of land in which he resides has been in his family for over 200 years. He being a civil war buff, we learned of the death of his great, great grandfather on the battlefield of Gettysburg…..and the house on the private lease we goose hunted on has oldest original home in the county which is still standing and dates back to the American Revolution era!!! How I love it so………….!!!!
On two of the nights we were there we broke bread with our guide and his friend, both multi-generation watermen of the Chesapeake Bay. We introduced them to fresh Canada goose and Bluebill breast meat with cheese and jalapeno, wrapped in bacon right off the pit with adult libations, and enjoyed a fresh oyster buffet that would have made Forrest Gump jealous with the selection they offered on the next night. My host Mark is from the Baltimore area and pre and post trip evenings included playing Wii with his children and attending a little league football awards banquet as well as a youth basketball game. It was just a relaxing, perfectly planned and healthy trip all the way around this year. My wife Theresa and I will be back in just a few short months from now in May to attend the DU National Convention in Baltimore to wrap up my Life Sponsor in Perpetuity commitment, but that will be another story in itself when the time is appropriate.
Respectfully, Mike Hruby |
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