The corn is going fast, my two favorite fields are all stubble now. I sent Josie down the edge of the middle gate field even though its been picked. She headed into the woods and struck right away. She trailed a little way & then stalled in the same brushy area from the other night. She finally went on but she wasn't barking. I saw the coons sitting up about 20 yards further up. I could hear her breaking brush and making her way to the tree. After she located I didn't wait very long to encourage her. She really started treeing hard after a few seconds. I think she really learned a lot fron this track.
Sent Josie east along the edge of the second club field. She struck a little ways in. Trailed for quite a ways. Located and stalled once. I wlaked up on her & it looked like she might slick tree. She went on though and trailed quite a ways farther. I heard her treeing and I headed to her as fast as I could. I saw a coon one tree over. You could have argued that it should have been scored as part of her tree. Lots of vines everywhere. Anyway, I was pretty happy with the way she trailed and treed tonight.
Hot and humid, I took Friday and Saturday off. Finally headed down Sunday night. Sent Josie down the edge of the field by the club gate. She trailed a short way and located. She was treeing well by the time I reached her. It was a big tree. I finally saw the coon by walking out in the corn and looking back. This was quite an improvement for her.
Three drops, three strikes, tough tracks that Josie couldn't finish. The river is like that. I've seen a lot of good old dogs have trouble finishing tracks down here.
I decided to give the spot up by the airport a try. I went out the west gate for a change. On the drive around there was a cop car pulled over. It started following me. Finally turned around when I made a turn on 4. Wonder if that was the same cop from the other night? Are they having trouble around there or what?....
This spot is bordered on two sides by busy roads, trees and valley on the back side. I kept Josie on a leash and walked her down the tree edge. About half way down she started opening. Tow coons went up a tree right in front of us. I didn't even bother to unleash her, she just led me to the tree and started treeing.
When I got back to the truck there was somebody waiting there. I figured it was a cop, but it turned out to be a curious neighbor. He heard Josie & thought it was a dog in distress. Nice guy, we talked for a little while, turns out his dog had gotten loose & he was looking for her.
Covered a lot of ground tonight to see so few coons.
Headed home 2:30.
Let Josie go at the club bridge & walked around with her. She struck on the back edge by the swamp. Ran the track pretty hot then located a couple of times. I walked in on her and she seemed to be treeing pretty good to me. It was a big tree and I couldn't find the coon. Maybe I talked her into treeing too soon? Hard to say, the coon could have been there too...
Drove back to the middle field and turned her loose on a "hot" one. She treed in a bush and the coon was only about a foot above her head. She was treeing hard. On the way back to the truck I saw a lot of damage. I shined around but didn't see any coons sitting up. I'll have to keep on both of these fields.
Drove up by the airport. Looking for a couple of new fields that are supposed to be getting damaged. Found one of them, close to the road, I'll have to hit it late some night and be careful.
I haven't been finding coons or damage in the west end lately. I thought I'd put Mabel in at the club gate tonight. She only got a couple of hundred yards & was treed. Walking back to the truck she acted like there were at least two more tracks, but I didn't let her go. I'll hit it with the pup again tomorrow. If the coons are bunching up here, then they are probably thick in the back field too. I better pick up the pace for the rest of this week.
Could use some rain on the river. It is really tough tracking now. Josie and Belle were on a "hot" one. Josie located and suckered Belle into slick treeing. Josie went on and located again. I sent Belle after her. They were in the jungle by the swamp, on the edge of the middle field. Josie treed finally but it was really weak. I coould see the coon from out in the field. I got in there and made her stay, then Belle came and backed her up...
I was drenched in sweat by the time I got back to the truck. The dogs looked pretty rough too. I decided to call it a night.
A cop saw me coming out of the gate and followed me. Finally pulled me over. She didn't know much about the property or coonhunting. I think she felt like I must be up to no good but couldn't figure out what to do about it. She gave me my license back & I headed home.
It wasn't that big of a deal but it irritated me. I guess I was hot & tired & didn't feel like talking to a cop tonight.
Took Josie to the far end of the west field tonight. Quite a chunk of corn has been picked now. I walked east down the corn rows and then diagonal back to the creek edge. Josie was still out when I made it back to the truck. I waited for a little while and then tracked her down the edge of the bean field and into the swamp. I was able to call her in from there....
She really covered this field well tonight but no strikes. I didn't see any damage tonight either. I think this end is probably under control for a few days.
No strikes and the weather felt a little "funny" too.
I decided to check for ripe corn with damage and then call it a night.
The second field when going east looks ready, I better hit it soon.
Down by "The" big tree the corn looks close too. There I saw a little damage some coon, some deer. There was a deer laying down in the beans behind this field.
On the way out, just before the bridge, there was a deer in the bean field. He had a pretty big set of horns. I was surprised to see this already. I guess the summer is really moving along.
More on the "funny" weather tonight. Looked like "heat" lightening to the east tonight. A little humid, but mostly kind of a stale feeling is what comes to mind. It seemed like one of those nights when the weather was effecting traffic too. I'm kind of a pokey driver. I usually have to move into the slow lane to get out of the average drivers way. Tonight, even though I was driving my normal speed, I must have had to slow down at least 1/2 dozen times for people ahead of me.
Paul came up with Nitro. I had Belle and Josie again. We sent them along the river from the far west gate. We walked behind them for quite a ways & then heard Belle opening. It sounded to me like Belle was treeing on the river and Josie was jacking around on the bank by her. We saw Nitro runing in the woods towards them ( he had on a Sunburst Saturn)....
As we got closer Nitro was opening in the field, Sadie and Josie got quiet. Soon Josie was opening with Nitro in the field. The track was going just about the same as my suspicious trail from a few nights ago. AND Belle wasn't opening. We waited a while & then I told Paul that I thought it was trash. I shocked Josie a couple of times and I think he hit Nitro too. They stopped running that track, but now they were out in a swampy no mans land. I hardly ever tree coons out there, so I wanted to catch them and get into the corn again. We tracked Nitro west and drove down to the trees along the creek. Heard him bark a few times and then I heard Belle tree back east again. I left Paul with Nitro and headed for Belle. Josie was there when I arrived, she was jacking around putting pressure on Belle. This was very close to where I thought Belle had been treeing before & I wouldn't be surprised if she left this tree to "check" the pups and then just came back. Anyway, yet another big tree with exposed roots hanging out over the river. I tied Belle and Josie up, shot it out and headed back to get Paul and Nitro.
Nitro was still out, in one of the worst areas of the river so I wanted to catch him pretty bad. I sent Paul down the edge of the woods and I headed out to the highway and walked in parallel with him. Nitro was somewhere down in no mans land. It has river channels, backwater, swamp and highway to contend with. We decided to get mobile and get ahead of him. We drove around to a parking lot on the other side to where I thought we should be close to him. We turned on the tracker and no signal at all. We drove and tried tracking for about an hour without ever getting a single beep. We were both concerned and running out of ideas. We headed back to my truck and there Nitro was, he must have come into Belle and Josie barking in the box. Turns out his collar had goen bad. What a relief! Nitro is one of the best young prospects I've seen lately. He has the kind of personality that I like too. I'd hate to see anything happen to him.
We still had corn fields to clean out and it was Friday night. We put Nitro on a "hot" track and then sent the other dogs in. It went quite a ways west, then Nitro and Belle treed. Josie was there, but jacking around again. Another big tree with roots exposed and hanging out over the river. This was a leaner too and Nitro was up in the tree when we got there. Luckily, he could turn around and come down when we called to him. Tied up the dogs to keep them from climbing or dropping down on the bank. Found the coon after a brief search.
Moved a little further east and put Josie on another "hot" track. Sent Nitro and Belle in to her. I heard Belle locate after a few minutes and I could see from the road that she had the coon. Nitro and Josie were putting pressure on her so I got in there and backed her up a little. Nitro came right in and treed hard. Josie was jacking around so I leashed her and made her tree with the other dogs. This was a good old tree away from the river bank so it was nice to be able to work the young dogs up on the tree. That was enough for one night.
On the way home I was thinking of all the work that Josie needs. Compared to dogs I'm used to, she has been slow to mature. She is about 14 months old but reminds me more of a 6 month old dog. I've got her so she is hunting "OK" by herself but these last two nights I see she is acting like a pup around strange dogs. I'll have to make a point of hunting her with other dogs and making sure she adapts. Nothing to worry about yet, I won't be disapointed as long as she gets over this by November. I don't think she'll ever be a "power" dog, but I think she will do enough to "get by". She has some nice qualities so I'll keep training her. If she doesn't start ranging out a little more I might end up getting bored with her. If that's the case, she's still good enough to sell. In fact, as she is right now, I think she will make a dandy hound for a beginner or an old man who wants a "walking" hound.
Was getting a little bored just hunting Josie. Plus, she is immature & needs to get used to working with other dogs. Picked up Belle, she's the best dog I have for hunting young dogs with. Down to the river again. At the far west gate I sent them along the corn. Belle hasn't been out for a few weeks so she was wound up pretty good. I think they raced a while, then struck a track by the second sweet corn field. They treed right on the river. It was one of those big trees with the roots exposed and hanging out over the water.....
It's another one of those big trees that you can only see half of and surrounded by thick brush. The coon could have been there, but it could easily be slick too.
Took them back to the 1st field and put them on a "hot" track. Belle treed, Josie was there but didn't want to join in. Seemed to me that she was backtracking. I headed in to make sure Belle would stay. Josie came in but still was "milling" a lot so I tied her up. It was another big tree right on the river. Roots exposed and hanging out over the water. It took me a long time but I was able to find the coon.
Parked at the south gate tonight and started to walk the river edge. Very hot and humid, I was sweating even when just standing there. A train was going by and it scared Josie, she ran back to the truck and jumped in the box. I didn't care too much for going back to get her, even though it was only about 20 yards. Started the river edge again, no strikes. Walked a diagonal through the field back to the creek edge. Just as I was asking myself what am I doing with this dog, she ran out of the corn, opened a little and then treed....
This is sweet corn and I can't be leaving coons in trees so I shot this coon out.
Drove west a little and put Josie on a "hot" track. She trailed pretty good through the jungle and then treed. It was rough getting to her. She was on a leaner covered with grape vines. I think it was probably slick. The terrain was so rough I decided not to try to make her work it out. I think a lot of dogs would have pulled up on this one.
Once again, on the drive home I had to remind myself how poorly dogs before Josie have looked down on the river. I'm certainly not proud of anything she has done yet. But I know I have to wait and see her in the fall before I know what I have. And I remember, a summer on the river really makes them tough.
Was really lookig forward to hitting the corn. Got there about 10:00. Let Josie loose and walked a diagonal across the east field. No strike. Walked the edges by the creek and river back to the truck. Along the way saw a couple of coons sitting up Pretty sure they climbed while I was in the corn. The pup could smell them, but couldn't seem to take it out of the corn and across the road to the tree. I waited a long time watching her race back and forth, she finally got in the woods, but went past the tree and started trailing down the river. I saw another coon sitting up, so I let her trail for a while. She was bogging down so I finally went in and caught her....
Well, I'm supposed to be getting the coons out of this corn. I guess I managed to do that, but I knew they would be back after I left. On the way to the truck, I saw one of them still sitting up. I put Josie on the tree and took a couple of shots at it. It came down & there was a little fight and then a race through the brush. She chased it down to the river bank & I caught up with her there. That coon was probably dead. If not, it certainly won't be back to this corn.
While driving home, I had to remind myself how bad I've seen dogs look on the river. I've seen some of the best dogs I know do about the same as Josie did tonight. The ground is sandy and dries out fast. The brush along the river is as thick as anything you'd see down in Florida or Alabama. I'm not happy with Josies performance, but I have learned not to judge a dog by how they perform on the river.
What a difference one night makes. Monday night I ran a "hot" one down by the trailer site. Josie had a real tough time. It was bone dry and dusty. Down on the river, in those fields it's just like a desert when it gets dry. She treed, but I couldn't see the coon.
Tonight it was like another world. It had really rained hard, it was wet and foggy. I walked Josie into the corn, and to my surprise, it was ripe and there was already damage!
Josie hunted out a little, struck, ran a short track, located and treed in the woods along the creek. I had to look a long time, but I finally found the coon.
I was planning to hunt Mable down there this week, but now I think it will be Josie for about two weeks. She's the pup & needs experience. This spot where the corn is ripe is close to roads & Josie hunts close. I'll save Mabel for the fields beyond the club gate.
Met Paul on the river. Sent Nitro and Josie east from the far edge of the middle field. They struck about halfway down. Nitro must have been winding a coon on the other side of the river. He was swimming across so we called him in.
Put Nitro on a "hot" track and sent Josie in behind. Nitro located and treed, Josie milled a little then treed with him. Good for her to see a strange dog and fight a coon with him.
Corn is still not ripe anywhere I've hunted. For now, I'll just hunt there with my old dog Mabel. Until I start treeing coons right in the corn, it's too risky to hunt a young dog there. Once the coons are in the corn, I think Josie will be one of my best sweet corn dogs. Won't be long now.
Picked up Stef around 9:30 and headed south. Sent Mabel west from THE "Big Tree". She made a loop & treed behind us. She was on a BIG tree in a jungle. I couldn't see a coon & I wonder if it was there. It was the kind of tough terrain where a dog could easily be tricked into slick treeing. Moved and sent her east from the club bridge. She treed WAY back, beyond the end of the last field east. I was able to see this coon.
On the way to get her I discovered a crash site. When I saw it, I remebered that it was on the news the other night. An experimental plane that went down in the swamp. Now I know where. Went home about 12:30.
Had a caged coon so I went to the farm. Kids have caught two of thier own coons since I was last there. Also, one of their pups was gone for two days. They are keeping them penned up more now. I told them that is normal for coondogs. I should remember to brings some collar bells for them the next time I head north.
We let the coon go and Josie treed it. The pups fought it pretty good once it was on the ground. They are going to be pretty nice coondogs I think. I especially like Pearl so far.
It started to rain hard on the way back to the yard. Didn't hang around and talk, just got in the truck to be out of the rain and headed home.
Got there early, around 9:45. I came around a bend and another car almost hit me. It was some kids and they were driving pretty fast. The driver saw me at the last minute and was able to swerve and drive around me into the bean field. I waited a minute and then decided to see if I could catch up to them. I wasn't mad or anything, just curious & wanted to see who they were. I was surprised, they made it through the gate before I caught up. I don't know if they were in a hurry to get away from me, or if I'm just that slow :-)
Turned around and went to the big bend, the corn is not quite ripe there, but looks nice. Sent Josie out & she started a track. She took it along the edge of the corn and I followed her. She stopped barking after about 10 minutes. I drove around and caught her coming down the trail. She wasn't chasing anything by then.
She is young, so she could have just lost a coon in the swamp. However, she may have chased a deer. I haven't needed to do any "breaking" with her yet. This was a little wakeup call for me. I'll hunt her with a shock collar from here on "just in case".
Drove towards the south gate, big tree down blocking the road.
Went to the club gate and walked Josie around, no strikes. Went home 11:30.
Highway construction bad at 101 so I didn't get to the river 'til 11:30. Sent Mabel and Josie east from the bridge. Waited about 15 minutes then headed east, stopping to listen for barking several times I finally heard Mabel treed at the far east edge of the middle field. Josie was also there treeing when I arrived. One coon seen and dispatched. Drove around checking for ripe corn. Lots looking good, but not really ripe anywhere I looked. Maybe over a week before the coons start hitting anything. Began to rain lightly so I headed home 12:30.
It's been hot and humid for a while.....
It's been hot and humid for a while & I haven't taken a dog out in 5 or 6 nights. Tonight is no better & I'll stay home again.
The forecast for Monday night is cool and dry & I'll be heading to the river. The sweet corn isn't going to be ripe until later but how can I pass up this nice weather. With Mabel along I should be able to tree some of the early coons somewhere.
Several of my old hunting partners used to keep journals and...
Several of my old hunting partners used to keep journals and I've always wanted to keep track of my own hunting and training. You know, when hunting multiple dogs several nights every week, the details begin to blur. It's hard to get an accurate idea of how a dog progressed from a puppy to a coondog.
I have never had a system I liked for keeping records.
Now with blogging software, I think I've found the tool that is right for me.
I'll be using MoveableType weblog software to record my hunts this year. I'll be especially interested in keeping track of the progress of my young dog Josie. I expect her to do really well as we head into the sweet corn season.