ANXIOUS PREPARATION BY BENJAMIN LYLE
Regardless of what activities you have resorted to throughout the summer in order to get through the off-season, I believe we all have that sub-conscious ticker in the back of our mind that’s counting down the days to duck season. When is it too early to start preparing? Well, it’s not time to charge the batteries or test your waders, but it won’t hurt to let the thoughts start creeping in as you organize your game plan for the fall. If you’re like me, and your outdoor passion turns straight to fishing once duck season closes, there’s likely a few things that need to be tended to in an effort to make things go smoothly once duck season arrives. Hopefully your gun is not in the state of neglect that mine is in; sitting in its’ case with last year’s mud still clinging to it and a heavy coat of oil sprayed on as its’ only preventative care. In addition to cleaning up your gun, organizing leftover shells, and polishing up the ol’ duck calls, let’s think about what shape your decoys are in. If you hunt with more than just a few dozen, there’s likely several things to be done here that could keep you busy for a weekend or two. Retying lines that were cut, replacing weights that were lost, or touching up paint are all things that you will want to get done now rather than waiting until the night before opening day. Now, let’s say you are an avid turkey hunter prior to hitting the lake and much more disciplined than myself, maybe your gun is in good shape and your thousands of dollars in gear is well organized just waiting for you to load it up and go. Kudos to you for having the self-discipline and organizational prowess to maintain a well-oiled duck hunting disease! I’ve always had good intentions, but my hobbies and interests transition so quickly that I rarely have the opportunity to wrap something up before I’m ready to see progress on the next activity. But, if your gear is in good shape and ready to go, it’s still not too early to start prepping.
PHOTO BY ANTHONY SMITH
Is your duck hunting location secured for this season? Is the blind in good shape? Maybe you hunt public land. Is everyone in your group prepared for the blind drawings? The time will be upon us before you know it. As the days click by, keep in mind that dove season is a good opportunity to do some scouting as well as a trial run on how well you did cleaning up your shotgun and getting it put back together. If I were to twist Benjamin Franklin’s quote about prevention, I would say that an ounce of preparation is worth a pound of ingenuity in the field or on the water. Granted, I’ve seen some unbelievable repairs and genius use of available resources to salvage a duck hunting trip, but things would have been so much easier on those days if we had been prepared and our equipment well maintained. As you begin to think about the upcoming season, don’t lose sight of who provided us with this beautiful opportunity, and think about your connection to our creator often when you are outdoors. An ounce of preparation for your eternity far outweighs anything that can be done once our time on earth is up.
Benjamin Lyle Owner BearKraft Game Calls CWA Member www.bearkraft.com
PHOTO BY ANTHONY SMITH
1 5 | C H R I S T I A N WAT E R F O W L E R
