Last week’s trip to Nova Scotia was perhaps the most enjoyable hunting and fishing excursion ever for this writer. It was a long time in the making and reconnecting with Todd Kennedy was more than good.
At this point in my life, the number of fish caught and how big or the number of birds bagged does not define the experience. The people you meet and socialize with, the sights you see and the sounds you hear all blends together to create the final memory.
For some, looking at a drive of over 600 miles might be more than you are looking for, but the roads were very good and traffic mild until the return trip, which took place on the Friday of a holiday weekend, with predictable results.
Both border crossings were uneventful. Perhaps it was more than needed, but my passport, dog vaccination records, personal vaccination records, my Massachusetts firearms permit to carry, and my Canadian firearms permit were all at the ready. There were copies of the firearm’s serial numbers and exactly 200 rounds of 12, 20 and 28-gauge ammunition.
Sunday night, the officer at Canadian Customs asked for my passport and driver’s license and was impressed by my two firearms permits. He asked the purpose of my trip, if I had any firearms, then entered some data and wished me good luck. On my return, the American Customs officer noticed Tessie sitting beside me, told me he had taken a couple of grouse that week, and sent me on my way. Could not have been easier!
Todd and his partner Tina were superb hosts for Tessie and her master, and English Setter Cider and Chesapeake Retriever Karma were also welcoming. Tessie was living large!
On Monday morning we were up early and Todd’s GMC pickup was loaded with goose decoys and a field blind. It took about 30 minutes in the pre-dawn darkness to set out about the goose decoys, and the spread included silhouettes and full-bodied decoys. It was also laid out to provide the geese with a lot to look at and a friendly open landing area right in front of the blind.
Right at legal shooting, two or three small groups of wood ducks buzzed the blind, but no shots were fired. That was followed by distant honking and soon Todd was in action. He is an excellent caller! Flock after flock checked us out and each eventually locked wings and pitched in, providing some excellent opportunities.
I will admit that it took me some time to get comfortable and there were times when the borrowed Weather Element autoloader was not fired. It took some adjustment, but eventually the geese started falling and we had our 15 geese in no time. Then it was time to pick up the decoys and blind and head to the farm where we breasted the geese, some of which were true giants!
Monday afternoon we checked out upland covers and then drove to a family cottage in northern Nova Scotia right on the Northumberland Strait with Prince Edward Island in the far distance. Getting my introduction to Todd’s epicurean skills involved goose breast jalapeno peppers and moose stew. Incredible, and a harbinger of things to come!
As Tuesday dawned, it was obvious that is was getting warm and although the truck thermometer read 32 degrees, that was in Celsius, which translated to 90 degrees in October. Unprecedented! That impacted our hunting for sure.
Wednesday was a little better and we began to move birds. Three woodcock found their way into our game bags and we teamed up for grouse double. Very cool!
There was a little drama Wednesday when Tessie emerged from the cover as we hunted along an overgrown woods road and immediately lay down beside me. She had a mouth full of porcupine quills! Thank God there is always my Bucktool on my belt and after handing the 28-gauge Ruger Red Label to Todd, the process began.
Consoling Tessie and opening her mouth, it looked like the work of a young porky, as the quills were only two or three inches long. None were in her tongue, and most were easy to get to and pull out. One by one, things got better and finally there were only two, both in harder to get locations, and they too were pulled. Tessie was a trooper, and she hunted like nothing had happened while being very closely monitored.
The next morning the temp was way down and maybe that was the reason we began finding more birds. Usually, the bird counter on my whistle is used, but not on this day. Had it been, we felt that Tessie alone probably had over 20 solid woodcock points, and we also found grouse. The last cover of the day produced her best effort as she held solid point on an apple tree that turned out to hold three grouse and Todd and I each dropped one. A fitting end to a fantastic trip! Now on to New York.
Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the Mahar Fish’N Game Club, counselor and director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.