Man Cave Chronicles

[Gordie]

I thought I would start a journal of things that have meaning to me in My MAN CAVE.

Weather your Man cave is big or small its a place that you can walk into and relax and enjoy the thoughts of time gone by and future happenings.

I hope that you enjoy these stories and come away with a tip or two to better your experiences.

I will be bringing up past experiences and hope to carry this into future excursions.

Before I can start this I have to thank my wife becuse without her paitence none of this would be possible. Thank You my sweet.

Entry number 1:

I will start with a picture of a couple of eyes that I have had mounted .

The smaller of the 2 is a Mille Lacs Lake eye that was caught on a 4th of July 1991 as the fire works were going off around the lake we sat on the boot flat off of the north side break and jiggin bobbers as we called it. You would rig up a Lighted bobber with a walleye hawger spoon and a leech and cast the break line and pump the rod pulling the line towards you then letting the line fall back to the bobber and alot of times the red light would seem to disappear under the water and then you would set the hook.

I had just baited up and tossed out the line for the first time on this spot I pumped the rod and was looking at the fireworks exploding in the distance when I looked at the bobber it stood up and simply disappeared and the glow under the water was all I saw I quickly set the hook and the fish pulled back and let my drag go singing thru the night air after what felt like forever battle I was able to get the fish under control and into the boat. Measured it and released it and it turned up on its belly I quickly tried again to revive it gliding it back and forth in the water but all it would do it just lay there on its side . Then finally it got some life into it and tried to swim off I let go and it swam off I was relieved I baited up and cast my line out .

I took my spot light to look across the water and saw this walleye floating again on its belly that's when I decided to have it mounted . It is 28 3/4 inches and weighed 9 lbs 4 oz .

I was happy to have this fish as the start of My man cave collection.

Stay Tuned for the Next Man Cave Chronicles

[Gordie]

The walleye on the top of the photo is a 11lb 9oz pig with a 183/4 girth that I caught on a vertical jig presentation a few years back on the Mississippi River near Red Wing .

I went down the Saturday before and did some vertical jigging for these eyes and sauger and all we caught was a lot of small sauger . It was still fun to be finally back on the water fishing. As luck would have to we were finishing up a job in Edina that next Tuesday and I talked on of the guys that I worked with to pull my boat to the job site and then afterwards go to the river for some walleye action .

Well that day it was beautiful out and the temps were mild. We finished the job up by 11 am and then headed down for some fishing fun as we drove down to Red Wing I was talking with my buddy on how the we were only getting smaller fish to bite and I told him that I thought instead of going to the usual spots I would like to try out of the way spots and go with Big profile baits he said no problem.

When we arrived we unloaded the boat made sure everything was good to go and head up stream from the landing we cruzed up to the lock and watched as guys were catching alot of smaller sauger and eyes so I said time to stick with the game plan.

I turned the boat around headed down stream and saw a spot hat I have only looked at as I had driven by so many times in the past.

I made a quick pass with the boat looking at my electronics t check structure and locate fish I saw both went up past the spot rigged up a 3/4 oz jig head due to fast current and a 5 inch power minnow and tipped it with two fatheads .

I told my buddy big profile big fish he just laughed at me.

We drifted into the spot and I said their is a fish then it was like I snagged the bottom of the river there the snag fought back I knew I had a monster on I quickly reset my drag on my shimano with 4lb mono on. I fought the fish and landed it . No camera was with me at the time and this was the biggest Eye that I had ever caught so I decided to have this one for the wall.

That turned out to be the best week of fishing for walleyes I think I have ever had with 4 fish at 10lbs or better and my biggest at 12lb 8oz in which all were released except this one in the picture.

[pureinsanity]

Great stories Gordie! Looks like a nice man cave. Mine is unfinished but has a couple things down there. I still have a sketch for you to add your man cave! One of these days I will get it to you. Perhaps I should hand it off to Nick.

[Gordie]

This is a picture of my most prized possession in My man cave the 1st place trophy for the Franklin catfish derby along with a picture that my daughter cut out of the Franklin news paper.

For the last 18 years (Except 2010) my buddy Nick and I have fished this contest either as fishing partners or in separate boats .

I had searched the internet for the derby this year and came across the HSO web site didn't find what I was looking for but it really caught my attention so I put in my favorites and the rest is history but back to the trophy.

Each year on the 4th full weekend in July threes a catfish contest along with a small town celebration that is a grand old time complete with softball tourneys to the parade show casing the catfish.

we have placed a few times in the contest but we have never made the money.

This was going to be different I had a plan and was going to stick with it.

We had spent Friday morning of the contest catching bait ,frogs, creek chubs and bullheads.

We got to registration at around 2pm and there was a line waiting to sign up probably the most people that I have ever seen.

we got signed in and headed down to the river to the public access in Franklin where we ran into some friends from Iowa These guys are a crazy bunch from around the Sioux City, Iowa area . I have loads of fun with these guy from year to year and I look forward to seeing them each time we go.

Well anyway Nick and I were going to use my boat this year and we were known as the Flathead brothers Jake and Elwood. You know Like the blue brothers

We landed the boat and headed down stream looking for potential spots along the way.

after about 3 miles of traveling we found what we thought to be a good spot to start the evening . each of us set up and cast out a bait set the clicker and set back and waited.

the wait wasn't long as my clicked took off a few minuets later and I hoisted in a small channel.

well we fished 3 or 4 spots usually about a hour to a hour and half per spot looking for active fish nothing was cooperating with us other than a few small cats.

It was around 11pm when we came up to a sharp curve in the river with a bunch of timber sticking up all over the place and a couple of bigger snags on the bottom side with a somewhat deeper pool in front one of the snag well we anchored up and cast our lines to what we thought were great spots .didn't take long to figure we were both snagged up in the trees. Its a pain but if your not in the thick of it your not in the good spots as I was told by a old timer long ago.

we retied a few differently time s and then around midnight my buddy Nick started to dose of and that's when I heard it right across the river a splash and then another ferocious tail slap splash I heard it several times I was thinking at first it was a coon or something but when I grabbed my spotlight nothing was there.

Again I broke my line and I had enough oh and yea Nick was still sleeping I retied and pulled up his line then the anchor then he awoke and asked what the heck I was doing .

I said I had herd fish on the other side of the river 25-30 yards away and wanted to check it out he didn't seem to care so we moved to the other side and set up on there top side of the inside curve witch was around 3-5 fow off of the current seam.

Nick casted out a creek chub and I a 5 inch bullhead . 3 minuets later Nicks clicker goes off and he pulls in a 11 pound channel cat .

He rerigs and casts back out by now its around 2 am and we both stretched out with sleeping bags to settle in for the night my head hit the bottom of the boat and I closed my eyes and then the clicker on my ambassador 6500C started screaming I jumped up and almost went out of the boat. I clicked the reel to full drag and let the fish pull the line and rod tight then doing a swing set of the hook the monster was on.

The water boiled behind us and the drag started screaming and All nick could say was DON'T HORSE HIM GORDIE, DON'T HORSE HIM I shouted back I'm not she's horsing me I smiled and said the line from the movie jaws " The taxidermist he going to have a heart attack when he see's what I brung him" we laughed

I got the fish pulled between the boat and shore and Nick reaches for her and grabs her jaw ( we have never used a net for cats) and had a really hard time pulling her into he boat.

We had a 200 gal stock tank set up for keeping these big fish alive equipped with water pumps and aerators we set that fish in the tank and settled back in to sleep until the weigh in well a couple minuets later my reel starts singing again I set the hook and I said I cant believe it I got another huge one I fought it for a few minuets then it came unglued.

Well the next morning we went to the weigh in and she weighed 47 lbs and I was in first place and she stuck until the end of the contest.

This fish was kept alive by the DNR Biologists and then released back to the river and I still hope she is swimming today.

This contest isnt about money as it only nets a hundred dollars for first place in which I gave my partner for gas money and landing the fish. It all about the trophy and bragging rights for the year and years to come and I really like to rub it into the guys from Iowa

Picture of the kitty in the morning

See ya soon

[reinhard1]

that's a great story, and a big congradulations on that cat and the trophy. great addition to that man cave. good luck.

[Gordie]

I love to duck hunt and divers are my favorite to hunt.

The sound of those birds zinging over your head in the morning before first light really gets my heart going.

I remember when I got to tag along with my grandfather and father on a duck hunt in Scott county MN back in the 70's . I was just a young kid that wanted to be with the guys and didn't care how cold it was or what time of the day it was.

I got to sit on shore while dad threw out the decoys as gramps directed him on the right spread pattern.

dad and gramps didn't have that many decoys so the spread had to just right so gramps used to say.

Dad liked a broken line set up and gramps the J pattern.

then it was blind building time with branches to form a wall to hide us from the birds as they dive boomed the decoys

As we sat in the darkness over looking the lake I heard what to me sounded like jets and I looked at gramps and he smiled as they flew over again then you heard the splash of water as the birds touched down in the decoys.

As the darkness turned to light the divers stared to buzz the decoys more frequently until I heard those infamous words "TAKE EM" and then it sounded as if cannons were going off and I watched as Bluebill after bluebill hit the water. I remember dad reloading several times on the same flock and gramps saying "here they come again..reload"

These are some of my fondest memories of hunting with my dad and grandfather .

My grandfather dies some years ago from lung cancer and I remember seeing him in the nursing home a couple of days before he passed and he took my hand and told me to take his guns and decoys and keep them and share them with your kids someday and to keep the sport alive share it with your family and friends.

This is probably why I have such a passion for water fowling and hope that it will always be that way.

If I have a down day I just recall those days with dad and gramps and those words of "TAKE EM" and things seem to go a bit easier for me.

Here is a picture of a few of those decoys that dad and gramps used to use along with a bunch of plastic herders decoys that I have stored away

[Gordie]

I have been spearing since I was little kid with my dad and the biggest fish my father ever took was a 16lb pike out of Fish Lake in Scott county back in the early 70's .

I remember when he came home that day . I recall looking out the window as the 1972 olive green Chevy truck pulled into the driveway . You could see the huge smile thru the windshield that was pasted on his face .

I hurried to get my boots on to meet and see what he had got that morning. As I opened the door he walked in with huge green gator . All I could notice was the teeth and they were plentiful .

I don't ever think I saw my dad be so proud of a fish that he had ever got than that one.

After that day I think is when I started asking dad if I could go with just about every time that he went.

after that time is when I was introduced to the world of spear fishing.

I speared with dad quite a few times over the next half a dozen winters.

It seemed like dad had to work more and more as the years went on and he couldn't spend as much time on the frozen water as he would of liked to and so it pretty much ended his time to spear and I got more into ice fishing than spearing and kinda left the sport behind for a awhile until I moved up to Big Lake, MN where I met some old timers that were really into the sport of spearing in which ignited the fire for a passion that started so many years earlier.

I started by helping these old timers out by getting there houses set up on Big Lake and they let me use the re houses every now and then.

I would go visits my father and he would tell me stories of spearing back in the day and then one day when I stopped by he started talking of spearing then he handed me his hand made spear in which I cherished and used for several years I even speared my biggest pike with it .

My brother and I had flown out to New Mexico To rent a Ryder moving truck with my brother and packed up my mom and dad after they had sold there house in Cimarron NM . well My brother and I drove the Ryder truck back to Minnesota with there belongings and arrived in my driveway 23 hours later it was 11:00am Sunday morning my bro dropped me off and I went in the house and I told my self that I couldn't go to sleep just yet I had to work in the morning so I decided to head out on the lake I live on to spear it was around 1pm and I had been settled in to the warm spear shack looking down the hole kind of in a daze I noticed my live decoy start to get a bit nervous and then from under the house in slides a pike as I opened my eyes I looked at it and thought that this is the one for the wall it just stared at the decoy I slid the spear into the water and the decoy really started to get nervous to the point of starting to swim out of the hole The massive pike flared its gills and I let the spear fly hitting the pike square behind the head a perfect hit I fought it for a second or two then kicked the door of the shack open and tossed the pike and spear out onto the ice. it went 40.1/8th inches

I have been out spearing a lot since that time and have had many pike close to that size to that size swim into the hole and I have let swim out of the hole. Now its spearing the smaller ones for me for eating and watching the bigger ones swim in and harass my decoy that's what is so appealing about this sport to me.

I attend a couple of different spearing banquets each year to enjoy stories and the camaraderie of fellow spear fishermen along with winning some great prizes and this Les Kubba print is one of the Man cave items that tells a great story for me on how I got it and yes thats a lucky 7 of spades that I won the print with and a story my father told me that reminds me of a day that he used to spear.

Every time I look at this print it brings yet another smile to my face.

On a previous post I have pictured decoys for spearing as well these are decoys that I have not ever uesd that were given to me as gifts or made by my son as a gift .

Yet another smile that I get when in the Man Cave

I'm headed down the path to make yet another story for the Man Cave Chronicles

[nate larson]

Very cool Elwood! I love the duck decoys on the shelf. Your grandpa would be proud of you.

[Gordie]

Back in the day when I was just getting started in the hunting world with my dad and gramps they cut my teeth on squirrels . dad told me it was a way to learn patience and how to be quiet in the woods.

Gramps used a Remington 870 12 ga for squirrel hunting . I know that sounds like its way to big for this kind of hunting but and I'm no lying gramps would only shoot these fuzz tails in the head and I don't ever remember a squirrel he shot that was all tore up. Dad used a Winchester 22 and dad got me a Stevens single shot 410 .I used this .410 a couple off times and didn't really care for it and dad told me it was time for me to learn accuracy with a .22 so he bought a little single shot lever action that was the funniest gun to shoot.

We hunted a lot for squirrels but it always seemed that gramps always was one up on dad and I if we had 5

squirrels he had 7 or when we would get a limit he would have a limit and a rabbit and a wood duck (that's the reason for the 12ga)

On thanksgiving we would go to gramps and grandmas for turkey diner and gramps had a calendar with

numbers on each date and I remember asking what those numbers were for he told me that was how many

squirrels he shot each time out that year it was 144 and yes they ate every one of those squirrels they are

very tasty . I asked him what was his secret on getting them he sat back and said you have to talk to the

squirrels. I and he said really if you talk to them they will come out of there hole and talk back at you .

Gramps told me to go grab his duck brown canvas hunting coat and bring it to him . I ran grabbed his

coat and handed it to him I watched eagerly as he fumbled thru the pockets then he pulled out a block of

wood that had a strip of brass plate on it then he pulled out a metal rod. he said this is how you talk to the

squirrels he took the metal rod and stuck the brass plate and it sounded like a squirrel barking then he

made several other sounds with it . I asked if he had made that he laughed and said No I got it at Herders

sporting goods store in Waseca MN and its called the #99

Its been a while since I have done hardcore squirrel hunting but there used to be a time when hunting tree

then he went and grabbed the box and it even came with directions how to use it along with how to clean

squirrels.

I was amazed that this little block of wood mad these sound I wanted it and gramps told me to ask Santa

for one for Christmas he winked at me and smiled and put the block of wood back into his hunting coat

pocket.

squirrel hunting wasn't just about getting squirrels its was also getting ready for deer hunting by asking

permission and getting to know the land owners it was also a time to gather bait for ice fishing.. My

grandfather never bought bait a day in his life as a fisherman he always would find his own . when we

were done honing a woods in the morning we would drop off the guns and game back at the car and grab

gunny sack and go pickin goldenrods for ice fishing bait. We would spend a hour or so pickin these little

round globes and after the squirrels were all cleaned we would sit down and start cutting open n he

goldenrods and find the prize as gramps put it or free bait as dad called it . we take all of the bugs and put

them into old aspirin bottles with cream of wheat in them and then they would be stored in the freezer until

fishing time.

Gramps and dad taught me a lot about survival and how to survive off the land and they did it in a way that

wasn't boring and used everyday situations to teach those things to us kids.

BTW that next Christmas I didn't get a squirrel call from Santa I had all but forgot about the old #99

when gramps passed away I was going thru his stuff and found that old duck brown coat and sure enough

that old call was in there and it was in that front pocket along with the box and instructions grandma told

me to keep it cause gramps would of wanted me to have it.

[Gordie]

Any of you guys remember these? Well these are not the pinewood derby cars of my youth but he ones from my two sons

I do however remember building mine with my dad but unfortunately it has been gone for a long time.

When my sons were old enough I asked them if they wanted to get into cub scouts and of course the answer was "I Don't Know" I told them they get to do a lot of fun stuff like big camp outs, earning merit badges, and yep pinewood derby car races. That was what spark my oldest interest he said "What’s a pinewood derby race?" I told him that you were issued a chunk of wood and you got to carve it into a car and then you raced it down a track against the other scouts. That was enough He was in and then the youngest follow suit.

The boys and I had a lot of fun designing and building these cars they spent hours on cutting and sanding of that block of wood .I did help them but for the most part they did most all the work.

They didn’t win the race but the oldest boy (Joey) won first place for his paint job on the blue car. and The youngest took 3rd with the red car.

I don’t think they realized it but just like taking that block of pine and shaping into a car it also was shaping them into young men.

I remember the good time I as a boy had in scouts and now I have memories of my sons times in scouts also.

I will save these little treasures for them until they want them in there own Man Cave.

[DTro]

Great stories Gordie.

[Gordie]

I never got at all excited about turkey hunting . you know its spring time its time to hit the open water catch fish and hunting wasn't a thought in ones mind .

It was spring time fishing trip on the Minnesota river that intrigued my thoughts for hunting turkey . we were set up off a small creek that feed the river in hopes for some walleye action and as day light broke you could hear a eerie sound and being a water fowler I knew it was a bird but

I had never heard that sound from the wings of a bird and thinking what the size of such bird would be. Then out from behind us I heard a chirp I guess you call it and the flap of a wing and the snap of branches from a cottonwood tree suddenly above us in the dim morning haze was this giant bird, The turkey had flown down to 25 yards from its roost just behind us.

It landed with such a thump then immediately started gobbling and strutting seems the chirp we heard were hens in front of us and the gobbler was tending those hens. I watched and seemed to lose interest in fishing for that moment of the day.

This all happened well be fore we had an established turkey count or the seasons in this area were even open .

there were open turkey seasons just starting in the south Eastern part of Minnesota for the Wild turkey and I had no interest in learning how or actually the extra money that it would take to hunt these magnificent birds.

I would watch as the seasons and Zones for turkey hunting were extended thru out the state until they reached where I actually had seen the first turkey on the Minnesota river and I still didn't take up this wonderful sport as it didn't still seem right to hunt for game in the spring of the year . I cant explain that feeling but when your a fishaholic that all you tend to thing of and yes that is what I was afishaholic and not afraid to admit it.

The guy that was fishing with me that day on the river acctually started turkey hunting long before I did as that same experience affected him a bit more strongly than I and He tried and tried for 3 years to get me to go turkey hunting but I was always to busy fishing to make that hunt until finally I decide to enter the drawing for a turkey license and believing I would not get drawn for the early season I tried for one over opening weekend too walleye season in which I was going to make it a cast and blast weekend.

The Turkey season was only open until noon in those days so we would hunt the mornings and then fish the river in the afternoons . I had three of the 5 days off the season to hunt so if figured it would be No problem putting a tom down boy I was so wrong. We hunted the ravines of the Minnesota river valley and there were birds gobbling up and down every steep gully that we encountered we would set out decoys and call and would get answers from interested Toms but ever really had any come a courting the hen decoy.

I quickly became depressed with turkey hunting and decided that fishing was a better way to spend my time in the outdoors but I entered the drawing for the next seasons turkey permits and as luck would have it was not drawn due to preference points system but this time I had a chance to buy a bonus permit and I tried for the area I wanted too hunt but unfortunately they had been sold out before I entered the dates to hunt I was told that it looked like there was time available for the second season in the area I saw my first turkey so I decided to give that a try and just then a guy walked in the store and It was someone I hant seen in years and we started talking he was talking of hunting in a certain area and when the lady punched in the area I was to hunt she only had those numbers of his voice in her head and wouldn't you know it I was awarded a turkey permit for the Winnow area .

I didn’t check the license thou and didn’t know it was that area until two weeks before my season started I didn’t know where to hunt where to stay so I started out scouting the area to hunt over Easter weekend and every place I had fund I saw turkey sign or better yet Turkeys themselves . I figured this year it was a done deal and the Turkey was in the bag.

Well it was the day before the hunt and as I was leaving work I said I'll see next week and my boss said what I didn’t know you were taking the next three days off and I requested it months ago and you approved it and he pulled out the calendar and he wrote it down the next week by mistake and asked me not to take that time off . That send me over the edge as all the scouting I had done and time put into this hunt that now would not happen.

I decided that the next time the permits were available I would enter the drawing and if I wasn’t drown I would put down the gun for good in the spring and pick up only the fishing rod for the rest of the springs to come.

Well I was drawn for a area that I had never hunted before but had permission to hunt and it was loaded with turkeys.

It was The first season of turkey hunting and I thought that it would put the odds in my favor because the toms were not going to be call shy. they would in search of that hot hen . Now I'm no expert and I still had this thought that this was going to be the easiest thing to hunt as I had seen many turkeys while in the deer stand and they never seemed to be wary .Well I soon found out just how wary these bird birds can be .

My son wanted to come with me so bad and I didn’t want to deprive home from any type of hunting that he was willing to try with me . So we set out that morning in plenty of time to get into position for intercepting a gobbler and as we making our way into our spot I let out a locator call and its seemed that the birds were right in front

of us . We set up and I started clucking and a Tom immediately sounded back and was on the way to the front sites of my Remington 870 as the turkey showed his head at around 50 yards he started to strut and I drew a bead on this bird and was waiting for the gobbler to make his way 15 yards closer a range that I was comfortable with he turned and started toward she hen decoy and at that moment a mosquito had landed on my sons nose he scratched it the turkey had seen it and fled as fast as it appeared .

I thought my son was going to cry and I was crushed thinking I would yet again be with out a filled turkey

tag a gain . We left the area as to not disturb the rest of the birds and tried a few other r areas and nothing

The next day I had to work and it just happened to be at the same place I hunt well that morning I worked

and around 10 am the guy I was working for invited me up to he house for coffee . He brought out a cup of

java and said that the turkeys were right behind the house this morning but they never made a noise. I quickly reached in my pocket and put my call in my mouth and made a couple calls and the woods behind the house erupted with 2 gobblers sounding off he looked at me and said you better get out there.

I got my gear and headed out to a clearing threw down the hen decoy and sat off to the side and during all of this I was calling and these tome were answering back ona hot trail around the swamp to check out this hot hen that was talking to them.

I nestled into position and made a call and nothing no answer for around 10 minuets nothing I truth I had lost the battle I tried one last effort call and a Tom answered back and then another and then yet another in a different location and all three were headed to my position.

I saw the first bird and he gobbled at the decoy but would not come into the clearing for a shot and I noticed that the bird behind this one was even bigger I let out a soft cluck and the third bird gobbled 25 yards behind the first two and I knew this was the bird to wait for just then the second bird walked out into the clearing and the first was off to the side of him they were in full strut but looking at the third turkey more than the decoy I was shaking with excitement and had that heart in the throat feeling when the third bird stepped into the clearing he made a gobble and I drew a tight bead on his head at 30 yards and squeezed the trigger and watch the beast of a bird roll over and then the other two went on full attack as they pounced on the dead bird several times until I was 5 yards away. I

I Finally had my prize my first wild turkey and all on my own and from that moment on I have been totally addicted to the wild turkey season and it keeps getting better as my sons are now joining me for my hunts for them and myself.

This is the first Minnesota Turkey that I tagged and It was a long awaited addition to the Man Cave

Here a couple more that have been added and I still have others to add along with the next many seasons hunts to add to the wall

[fishuhalik]

great stories gordie, keep em coming!

[Gordie]

From he old Boxes of Federal shotgun shell to the waterfowl prints it safe to say that I am a duck and not just any duck a diver duck fanatic.

The Boxes of shot gun shells I dug out of my grandfathers belongings after he had passed away it was just a few of the treasures that I had found in his attic and while rummaging thru his stuff it was easy to see what one of his fall time passions were and that was divers mostly Bluebills he loved everything about them from the whistle from there wings to the way they worked a decoy spread.

I volunteered at a benefit for a fellow HSO member by selling raffle tickets at the benefit and I will say

that I had as much fun doing that as I do water fowling so when the print on the left came up for auction I

had to have it. Its a print by Mark Thone and Bud Grant called “Bud Minnesota Dream“. Its a great print.

It reminds me of what I love about the diver ducks I chase so much in the late fall of the year.

Another thing that it reminds me of is generosity of people and how a bunch of strangers can come

together in the Aid of someone that is in dire need at a time of there life.

Its is without a doubt that the HSO family played a major role in thins act and that is one of the reasons I

love this site so much is the Generosity of its Members.

The print on the left is a Les Kuba Print entitled “Flaps Down” and I won this print on a online auction.

This is they way that my earliest memory of the Bluebills I have is after they turned and came thru the

decoys on their second pass with FLAPS DOWN and grandpa saying TAKE EM to my father and then

he said “ Here they come again...RELOAD ”.

I miss that old mans weathered face. Grandpa this ones for you .. Flaps Down and TAKE EM..

Grandpa will always be apart of this Man Cave

[Gordie]

Just plain old wood duck well there is always story behind something and this one isn’t glamorous but it part of my duck hunting memories .

I sat on the north end of a lake decoys set out in front of me on opening day and waiting in anticipation for the first shots to ring out at 9 am that season .

As the clock hit 9am a couple of shots rang out and I waited for the influx of birds to come screaming down the creek that fed the lake I was on and cupping wings into my decoy spread.

Well I gottas tell you it was that typical bright blue bird day and nothing was flying around I sat and

waited then a few teal buzzed thru and I pulled up and dumped two.

I pushed the little ten ft boat out and oared to get the two downed birds and then I noticed 20-30 birds

cupping up and landing in the creek feeding the lake . they were wood ducks

I sat and watched several hundred birds drop into this spot which was several hundred yards away form me.

All I could do was watch and hope that they would come near for a shot or better yet hope that someone

would float down the creek and jump them and they would surely have o head out towards me.

No one jumped those birds and as was going to leave I noticed that they were starting to leave and head back to where they came from.

That season was incredibly warm for the first 3-weeks of the season and I watched those birds work that area every morning .

I had set up different spreads and in different locals and taking a limit of woodies almost each time I was out and really wasn’t spooking them so they just kept piling into the corner of this creek for me.

well on the 5-6 time I was out I had somebody beat me to my spot and they in a bright blue canoe and the one guy had on a Red/Green flannel shirt and the other guy was in duck brown coat . They had one goose

decoy out and a spinning wing decoy out .Well I set up on the outside of the bay figuring the birds would seem them and flare towards us so we could get some shooting.

These guys had there back to where these ducks were flying into the creek after the first 100 went screaming over there heads and

from what I could tell they didn’t have a clue as to what had happened . I stood up and pointed up and they looked up as another flock of about 50 birds dive bombed the first flock .

These Two guys pushed out the canoe and started to head back to where the ducks were I told my buddy give it a bit of time and we will have birds all over us so we got ready and it was a bout 10 15 min until the first shot

rang out followed by 5 quick other shots.

I seen the birds coming and I said only drakes to my buddy. he smiled we

let the first few birds wing thru and then I picked out two drakes and pulled the trigger and one hit thewater the other tumbled into the grass and my buddy laid two on the water as well .

Then there were more birds in the air then we knew what to do with as we were limited out on wood ducks.

Well we sat and waited for those guys to come out and when they did you could tell right away that they didn’t do very well they picked up there stuff and as they paddled by I asked if they got any they sternly

said NO and paddled thru once thru they asked us how did we do we told them that we got our limit of them and were waiting for a few teal burn thru.

Well the next morning I took my little jon boat and floated down the river to the place that I thought those ducks were going and set up a intercept point and I waited and waited for these birds to come back and they never did I guess the one time they were jumped was one to many and they moved along just then I looked up and10 yards in front of me was a lone drake woodie cupped and going to land on my head I threw the gun up and pointed squeezed the trigger and flopped the bird in my canoe. yep it landed at my

feet.

I looked at it and said this one goes on the wall .

Another great memories for the Man cave

[Gordie]

I'm digging up some more stuff for the Man Cave and I will be remodeling the Cave in the next few weeks so hold on for more i will try and have some more to share.

[fishinjosh98]

Gordie who made that picture?

[Gordie]

Gordie who made that picture?

which one

[hanson]

The print on the left is a Les Kuba Print entitled “Flaps Down” and I won this print on a online auction.

This is they way that my earliest memory of the Bluebills I have is after they turned and came thru the

decoys on their second pass with FLAPS DOWN and grandpa saying TAKE EM to my father and then

he said “ Here they come again...RELOAD ”.

I've got that print as well Gordie. I've really got a soft spot in my heart for Kouba's art.

Right next to it on my wall is "Three Down" from Kouba which has an old guy smoking a pipe wading out to retrieve his ducks. He's holding 2 Cans (I think) and walking towards #3 while a flock of divers is flying over him.

[Gordie]

Hanson I've been to a couple of auctions and tried for that print and I always seem to be out bid when it comes to those. I really like that print.

I have got to start doing some cleaning and rearanging in the cave then I will start putting some more time into print.

The other is by Mark Thone and Bud Grant and in the distance on the print it shows Bud tossing out decoys and a flock of bills buzzing over him.

Its my guess that its Bud. Its called "Bud's Minnesota Dream"

[fishinjosh98]

the ice fishing one

[Fins-n-feathers]

Les Kouba if I'm not mistaken

[Gordie]

Les Kouba if I'm not mistaken

YEP

[Gordie]

Well mama bear has taken over the mancave for a brief time.

I had to turn it into a study hall for her so she can prepare for her finals.

She is finishing up with schooling for the RN course and once this is over the mancave will be getting a face lift with a few new items and some replacement of some old items.

I also have to do the floor of the cave. I'm thinking of pouring a over layment and stampng it with a limestone type pattern. I will also be staining/dyeing it.

I am very pround of the wife for going back to school to do what she has always wanted to do so giving her the cave is no problem .

[Finlander]

Here is my mancave wall picture! It's my apartment! I released all my wives as they were all over the size limit! LOL!