Outdoors: Novice takes aim at hunting.
Horicon — At dawn, the water of Horicon Marsh was like glass, reflecting a corrugated pink sky.
Flocks of feathered streaks periodically broke the stillness. But they were blackbirds, not our preferred type of avian life this morning.
“Where are the ducks?” said Bryan Muche, 46, of Barrington Hills, Ill., one of my hunting partners for the day. “And where is the wind?”
The outdoor life presents at least as many questions as answers.
That’s why it’s good to have certainty in a few things.
For Muche and me, the Nov. 11 outing was part of the “cast in stone” aspect of life.
We have an annual tradition of waterfowl hunting on that fateful day in November, anniversary of the Armistice Day Storm.
The 1940 weather system first brought great flocks of migrating birds and “circus shooting” for hunters, then turned deadly as the wind howled, precipitation fell and temperatures plummeted. One-hundred-fifty-four lives were lost in the storm, including 13 in Wisconsin, according to a Milwaukee Journal report.
Waterfowl hunters, including two on Big Muskego Lake in Waukesha County and many on the Mississippi River, were among the dead.
Deep down, I think my friend has a wish for a severe arctic blast on one of our Nov. 11 outings, partly as a test of hardiness, partly out of nostalgia.
Over the last decade, we’ve had some great hunting but never experienced anything as challenging from Mother Nature as what she delivered in 1940.
No matter the weather forecast, however, we know what we’ll be doing come Armistice Day.
One of the other commitments Muche and I make is to, as often as possible, mentor others in various aspects of the outdoors.
So this year we added a dimension to our Nov. 11 tradition and invited Jessica Schultz, a novice hunter from Baraboo.
Schultz, 31, was a student in a Learn To Hunt for Food class held earlier this year in Madison.
The course was part of an excellent menu of Learn To Hunt options offered by Keith Warnke and the hunting recruitment and retention folks at the Wisconsin Department of Resources.
The Learn To Hunt for Food classes typically meet multiple times and include instruction in ecology, firearm safety, hunting techniques, hunting regulations and wild game cooking.
Muche and I have served as mentors in the program several times over the years. This year, Muche met Schultz in August at the waterfowl-specific class and asked if she would like to join us.
Though she hunted once during the class, our Horicon outing could help reinforce some points or expose her to new experiences. As fate would have it, Nov. 11 is Schultz’s birthday.
“I’m still trying to learn as much as possible,” said Schultz. “I didn’t hesitate when I got the opportunity to go out again this fall.”
Although hunting has declined in popularity in America in recent decades, the activity has recently gained traction in some sectors as a means of procuring local, natural foods.
That at least partly describes Schultz, who keeps chickens for meat and eggs and strives to be as self-sufficient as possible.
“I feel like hunting is an authentic part of being human,” Schultz said.
But hunting isn’t as simple as say, foraging for mushrooms. Especially if waterfowl is on the menu.
“Lots of gear here that I don’t own,” Schultz said as she surveyed a couple dozen decoys and a pair of boats.
The Learn To Hunt for Food class offers a foundation. And since a hunter or angler isn’t typically made in a single course, it’s important to offer students repeated exposure to the outdoors.
After we set decoys in a cattail-lined bay of Horicon, however, Muche and I wondered how much Schultz would benefit from the outing.
We pleaded for a little wind. Wouldn’t you know it, the marsh gods delivered.
At 6:30 a.m., a northwest breeze built and bigger birds began to fly.
The first shot belonged to Schultz, and she made good on it. A hen mallard fell to the water and Dutch, Muche’s Chesapeake Bay retriever, brought the robust bird to Schultz’s hand.
Over the next 90 minutes, several flocks and pairs of ducks worked our decoys in textbook fashion. Our bag began to build and included a drake green-winged teal, a drake gadwall, a hen pintail and a drake mallard.
At one point, a pair of mallards winged in. Muche pointed out the drake, and Schultz’s aim was true.
We ended up with six ducks for the morning. All were well-fatted and will make excellent table-fare. Schultz was excited to take the birds home and try some recipes.
Back at the landing, Muche fired up a propane grill and heated duck poppers (duck, peppers, cheese and bacon) made from birds taken on a previous hunt.
We relished the taste of a wild harvest and the chance to pass along the hunting tradition.
“Pretty much best birthday ever,” Schultz said.
Spoken like a true hunter.