Now you see it, now you don't...

Needless to say, I've gotten hit with the hunting bug this month and realized that all the hunting to do's didn't get done this summer. I've been trying to mesh several jobs, family time, and all other necessary aspects with much exasperation. Fortunately, I didn't have work tonight and my wife encouraged me to seize the few minutes before dusk to "finish that kayak"!!!



So here's the fruit of my labor, a bright orange kayak covered with eight marsh grass panels from Cabelas.


I bet you can't guess who was the supervisor of my project...

I did take some time this past weekend to spray paint my paddles as to conceal the bright yellow ends.



Now it's time to finish my new boat blind system to adjoin the new motor on the seaduck boat and finish repairing the Carry-Lite Eider Decoys for my friends can't tell the difference between a quality painted drake eider and the real thing!!!

More posts to come...

The Down East Duck Hunter

The Kayak...

Over the past year I decided that I must have three main items to fulfill my personal happiness. The first was an oil painting that was completed my one of my former students this past spring, now I've got to get a second one because my wife says I've got two girls and one nice painting! The second is a Super Redhawk and that will have to wait simply because a house needs to be finished and a new vehicle is in our near future.

The final item on my list was to get a new kayak, particularly the Old Town Ambush canoe/kayak. That didn't happen but I did fall into a pretty sweet deal. Let me share this gem of a story...

My wife calls me from her hometown as she and my children were staying her mother after the passing of my father-in-law. She had seen an advertisement for a kayak on the local cable channel and thought I would be interested in calling. I really wasn't for I figured it would be some old kayak that someone was trying to dump at a price no one wanted to pay, but with some encouragement I did call.

I spoke with a pleasant man who explained that his friend had bought an Old Town Adventure 13'9" several years ago and had a stroke the following year. They had hoped for a better recovery, but using the kayak seemed futile with each passing year. The orange kayak with paddle, lifevest, security lock, and gear was offered at $379 and my counter offer of $350 was accepted. I can honestly say that I'm not big on the orange, but I can easily make the kayak disappear with some marsh grass mats I had purchased from Cabelas. I'm quite pleased with the purchase and have found it's stability very impressive.

I intend to post shortly with the camouflaging with in itself has been a neat process. Sorry about the lack of posting, it hasn't been a great summer...

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Eiders in Oil- God Love It!!!

So the work is complete and officially in my possession!!!

I intend to do a better write up soon about the experience and process, but wanted to get the photograph of this work up fast. Enjoy, I'm almost as excited looking at it as I would at early light in November!!!

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Picture Perfect...

So I had this student last year graduate and attend art school in southern Maine. I always told her that sportsmen, including us hunters, do enjoy art especially within the scope of outdoor scenery and game. After telling her that if I have money to buy a $1,400 shotgun or a $700 kayak, chances are that a nice oil painting of some eiders flying past a ledge over some decoys with a sunrise in the background would be an easy purchase.

I never thought she'd take my challenge on, but she's been at work for the past few weeks off and on in the evenings while back home for summer break.

This work, still in the early stages, shows her amazing talent and I'm proud to know that I'm getting the very first of her paintings in this outdoors genre. Keep checking in, this progress is being photographed in transit!!!

The Downeast Duck Hunter

Turkey Tales...

I don't really have much time to write a solid post about my experience in central Maine with the Rabid Outdoorsman, but I thought I'd share some photos and some statistics about my first ever turkey.

The young jake was taken at 6:40 a.m. and weighed 12 pounds 10 ounces. It had 1/8 inch spurs and a 3.5 inch beard. Not nearly a state record, but I said I'd take the first shooter that presented itself. Fortunately as I listened to the gobblers meander away, it didn't take long for some jakes to come visiting our decoys as we continued with a hen call. Many thanks to my great buddy Steve for allowing me the opportunity to share in a new and mildly addictive avenue of hunting. I'll be back next year for sure!

The Downeast Duck Hunter