The turkey season started off with a trip to Rehoboth to hunt with Louie. We had no luck at our first spot so we headed to another spot for a late morning hunt. We successfully ambushed a few birds making there way through the field/ sand pit. The terrain is a gravel pit that makes it look like you're hunting in the desert. We set up next to a big rock and put the decoys about around 50 yards. The birds were hesitant to come in, one long beard followed by a bunch of jakes. I took a poke at the long bird at approximately 60 yards. The bird dropped. Louie attempted the long shot on the jakes, but it proved to be too far. The long beard lay on the ground, wounded and dazed but not yet dead. I took a second shot, but too our surprise the bird got up and ran off down the road. We checked the area but could find the long beard. That was the extent of my turkey hunting season.
With this being my first year on the cape, I focused a lot of my time on fishing from my Nucanoe. I launched out of grey's beach for the most part, but also tried Bone Hill Road. I fished Barnstable Harbor with my Minnkota trolling motor. I caught a few schoolies, but only one keeper. I used a tube and worm mostly, but caught some smaller fish further up the creeks in shallow water with small top water plugs.
I was completely skunked during deer season. I stayed with Louie for a few days opening week of bow, and then my father came down for the first few days of shotgun. Opening day I took a long shot at a group of does crossing in front of me. I watched it for about an hour while they grazed in the field in front of me. I thought it was about an 80 yard shot, but it proved to be much long, probably around 100-110 yards. The one thing that did work was that the shot sent the deer running towards my dad's stand. My father shot a small doe. We checked the area and found a lot of hair and blood at the initial site, but could not find the actual deer. The blood trail ran dry, so we just gridded it off and checked the area without any luck. Later that day we did a push with a group of guys. My dad shot at another doe. I watched it limp away. The deer ran into a cemetery and then back into the woods. We tracked it down and another guy in the group dropped it. After we started to gut it we realized that the deer had been badly wounded previously. It was gangrene and infected. It looked as if the deer had been hit by a car awhile ago and had not died yet. We were able to put it out of its misery. I was able to take a small coyote during shotgun season.
No luck with deer hunting, it was a good thing bird hunting was a different story. I did a lot more duck hunting on the cape. I was able to invite my buddies, Jake, Louie, Tom and his son Josh down a few times to experience what Cape Cod had to offer. I shot a number of buffelheads and a few Mergansers.
As for upland hunting Piper is still out running her nose but as I already have shown in a previous post, she has really honed in on woodcock. Woodcock don't run as much as a pheasant and she finds it easier to point them for that reason. We did an early season VT trip with no grouse but a few woodcock each day. I was also able to get out the day before my sister's wedding for a few more. I brought Piper to Crane WMA in Falmouth for the first time and we were able to shoot both a running rooster and a hen.
