C.O. was ninja status on us this weekend

i've had them sit 20 rows behind me for 2hrs before counting my birds and counting our shells, listening for ejection of shells at shooting hours. I'm not surprised.

 

Buddy walked back in the corn at Fennville, took a leak. About 15 minutes later the CO walks up.

"Uh, how long were you there?"

"Long enough"

"Sorry about that"

To this day, he will not pee in the corn...

 

Only clue was the dog. A good retriever not only retrieves, but watches your back! This was in the marsh no less. I think he was a bit disappointed when he realized who it was. LOL Great guy!

 

The only times I've been checked have been in the field. Never been checked in the parking lot. Both times they came up to us real quiet. Scared me once when we got checked (I was much younger) and the CO snuck up behind us and announced herself with a loud "Hello!". I about fell off my seat! The other time my dad was convinced he could hear a "deer" in the corn behind us once, turned out to be a CO walking up. Every time has been pleasant and we had no issues. Happy to see them out but sneaking up on me the one time freaked me out a bit.

 

i was shooting at a deer before and had the CO jump out waving his arms because the deer ran right at him and i was lettin'r rip. he was in full camo standing tight to a tree. cost me a nice buck. This was back in the day (80's). almost bagged a CO that day. lol

 

Poor guy must of got embarrassed .

 

Maybe it was cold?!

I've had them float into our decoys nice and quiet In a kayak! They're sneaky

 

Like I always tell people. Just because you haven't been checked doesn't mean you weren't watched

 

Got that shell ticket back in the 70s at the high banks, didn't count the one in my gun!
fine then was $35 per shell.
If anybody has any Rambo stories out there He was quit the ninja.
Van Buren county CO, known for the sneak, even wore a ghillie suit now and then,
Hunted a pond up north where the farmer had about 20 old rusty cars back in the woods with trees growing through the floorboards type.sure enough about 10:00 in the morning 2 COs open the doors and come out of one of the old cars. they had been there since before we got there.

 

I miss the days when the Marsh I hunt had a stealth ninja CO. Anyone who hunted in Allegan county during the 80's and 90's knows who I'm talking about. This dude was everywhere. I'll never forget the time he was checking me and a nice flock of mallards came by and he says go ahead. After a little calling they dumped right in and I doubled on greenheads. Made him smile, and that was pretty rare for this guy.

 

Hunting Bravo in Allegan County, sailed a goose way back into the nasty willow clumps that were little islands in a sea of muck. I get down to look below the willows to look for my goose and see a set of green clad legs a little ways over. Sure enough, it was ? Vant Hoff ? - the ghost of Allegan County. Congratulated me on hunting down a goose that few would have looked for.

He spoke at a dinner I was at a few years ago - he walked in on some guys who had parked at the Cemetery where Bear Creek meets M-40/89. Guys were spearing steelhead. Hid behind their truck. When they loaded up he said "good eve - ning" in his best low, drawn out voice. Said one guy went about 4' in the air.

 

CO once watched me try to cut a boat cushion in half with a boat oar because the motor wouldn't start. We had just shot 5 mallards at shooting time and I was trying to get them picked up as fast as possible before more came.

This was on a rock wall on lake erie.

I blew my stack, mentally recovered, started the motor, retrieved the birds and was running back to my hide....ran right passed him and never saw 'em. He softly sez, "hey". I'm like, "hey". More birds start to work...he sez, "let 'em work". I watch my group cut several more mallards...they don't even know he (the CO) is right behind them. So, being the dog, I go after those as well. When I get back he is checking everyone.

We are always legal...and a good thing. Very nice of him to let us keep hunting while being checked.

The only scolding I got was for being to high on the rock wall when trying to run back. I used the road at the top as a running track. lol.

 

Had the CO check me as I was in the blind, he came in a kayak, very quite , as we were talking and he was checking my license he says you know there are two birds in your decoys , I said ya they are bluebills and I was waiting on them, after our little talk he said do you want me to try and sneak out without spooking those birds, I said no big deal you have to go that way to check the rest of the parties so dont worry about it , so as his kayak became visible to the birds they jumped up and flew out but they turned and came back over me so I took one of them, the bird almost fell in his kayak, it did splash him, he said nice shot and picked up the bird saying you were right it is a bluebill as he threw it to the dog. Very nice guy with a sense of humor, most of them that Ive encountered have been pleasant, just glad to see them out there