Hunting options for coping with cabin fever
IF YOU ARE A person who enjoys hunting – and particularly wingshooting – this is probably not your favourite time of year. Sure, there is the opportunity to hunt rabbits, which are fun, but they don’t exactly fly. Furthermore, the days are short, so hunting is limited. These are the times when cabin fever takes hold. Luckily, I have found a solution. And it combines all the things I like about wingshooting – a good staunch point, winged creatures, and the opportunity to phone your friends and brag just a bit about your pets and your own shooting ability. That’s right; I have pioneered hunting houseflies over pointing cats. It works this way. Every now and then, my brace of hunting cats will sit below and point at a housefly they got wind of. That’s when I will get out
my trusty elastic bands and approach the fly that is being pointed at. Then I will draw and release the band. If all goes well, I will hit the fly (I aim for the head), it will fall, and the cats will make an effort to retrieve it.
Not to brag, but I have killed them dead at as far as 10 feet. You don’t want to have to go in and deal with a wounded one.
Unfortunately, I live in what is considered only marginal fly habitat. We see three or four a week. But the good news is there is, as yet, no a limit or licence required.
As this is a new form of hunting, there are still a few little details to work out too. For instance, as far as I know, there are no good recipes for wild flies. Also, I’m still not sure how to distinguish the drakes from the hens, so I can’t tell you what constitutes a trophy.
Worse still, I have yet to find a way to take a good hunting photo – mostly because I don’t own a macro lens that is up to the task. Worst still, I haven’t yet met the taxidermist who will agree to making me a head mount for a reasonable price.
The good news is that I will one day be reverently referred to as “The Father of Fly Hunting.”
That is not to say that others have not already done it – but they use fly swatters and do not have the respect for the animal I have. My way, I think you will agree is, at least, sporting.
As an outdoorsman and an entrepreneur, I also feel like there is plenty of opportunity here. That’s why, next season, I am going to offer a limited number of guided fly hunts over my pointing cats. And right now, I am working on a line of decoys and fly calls, for those who would rather hunt from a blind.
If this catches on, I’m also thinking of starting an organization called FU or Flies Unlimited. That way, I can raise funds to create proper fly habitat, so that we will never run out of these magnificent creatures. I’d also like to ban the use of flypaper.
I might just pitch the idea of a magazine that focuses on house fly hunting called Pointing Cat Journal. Or, if that fails, at least create a TV show for those who are smitten by the sport.
Also, I have a number of tips to divulge that might be the basis of a book on fly hunting over pointing cats that is sure to be a classic. For instance, never draw your elastic to your eye. And, your wife’s hair elastics will do in a pinch, so long as you don’t tell her.
Did I mention I might have cabin fever?