Dale came down & we went to the last strip of corn on the river. I took Ry because we'd have to walk the edge of a swamp. Ruby struck a track at the end of the corn and ran it well for a while. A little too well. Pretty sure it was a fox. I called her in and Roy came in too. He had been following her silent. Just like an old dog that knows better. We checked another strip, no strikes. We checked down by the parking lot and Dale spotted one sitting up. We sent the dogs down the road in that direction and Ruby opened. They fumbled around for a few minutes and then Ruby located on the tree. Roy backed her. Called it a night. I think sweet corn season is officially over now. The gun club is asking Seever to keep me out for a while now anyway.
Seever called & has one last strip that needs protection. It's by the swamp & I didn't want to chase Nitro through that so I took Roy. He hunted with me as I walked the corn. We really covered a lot of ground with no strikes. I saw the damage, but the coons must be coming in late. I stopped by The Big Tree on the way out and let Roy mill about. He struck a little track, ran for a while, located and treed on The Big One. He had the coon.
Dale brought Ruby down & we headed to the river. We let Nitro and Ruby hunt the stretch between The Big Curve and The Big Tree. Lot's of ground covered with no strikes. I caught Nitro and let Ruby check a little on her own right at The Big Tree. She started a track and took it into the jungle. She located and treed & I went to her. It was a big tree surrounded by littler ones. I chopped down quite a few trees and when each one dropped I could see more of the big tree. There were a couple that were just too big to knock down & I never could see all of her tree. I was pretty sure she had it but I finally gave up and led her out. There was a coon in The Big Tree when I came out and we let Ruby and Nitro tree it. We drove around checking the status of all the fields afterwards. I think the river is just about done for now. There is one patch of late corn that will need to be cared for in a week or two. In fact I saw a coon sitting up there. He was on the other side of the ditch though so I didn't let the dogs go. I'll get him in the corn soon enough.
In the mean time, I think I'll hunt the vegetable garden a little and get Nitro used to hunting in the real world again. That sweet corn is fun and easy, but it does tend to make dogs a little sloppy. I'd like to tighten him up a little and go to the state hunt still.
Took Nitro to a nite hunt at Brooten. I got lost and just made it with about 30 seconds til deadline. Had a real nice cast to hunt with and great spots but the coons weren't moving. 1st drop they were out about 15 minutes & we caught them. 2nd drop they were out about 1/2 hour & we were going to catch them when Nitro opened close. He treed after a few minutes. Big tangled up mess, we circled the tree but I don't think there was a coon up there. 3rd drop Nitro struck and worked a track for a few minutes and treed. Another dog backed him. The other two dogs each treed separate after we'd been shining for a while. No coon in Nitro's tree as far as I could tell. The black and tan's tree looked slick to me. The redbones tree had the only coon of the night. The hunting time was over by then. Nothing too bad or too good for dog work tonight. Nitro looked very classy compared to the others but he had no plus points on the card.
Nitro seems to be getting a little sloppy and pulling up short when it's wet. Too many easy coons down on the river will do this to a dog. He should bounce back with a little bit of normal hunting and correction. I think he may always be prone to letting himself be talked into a bad tree if another dog grabs it 1st though. It should be manageable as long as we keep on top of him and let him know that it's not acceptable.
It's getting to be that time again. It was a nice humid night, the ground was damp and the dew was out. I dropped all over the place with no luck. Nitro grubbed dwon the river once & I caught him. Then he started one more that turned into a grub fest in the jungle and I caught him there too around 12:30. I guess I've thinned them out pretty well down there now. There are still plenty of coons I'm sure, but they aren't in the corn right now. I'll slow up for a few days and see if they regroup.
I went to the river expecting it to be nice and wet after last nights rain. What a surprise, it was bone dry down there. THe rain must have totally missed this area. I let Nitro hunt by The Big Tree for a while. No strikes so I drove up the middle of the filed until I found the gas guns. I cut him again and walked around for a little bit. I heard him open in the woods so I drove out the end of the field and back down the road. He was treeing when I parked. He was a little weak. When I got in there it was the usual jungle. Nitro was on one tree, the coon appeared to be in the next tree over, but they touched up by where the coon was sitting. Who knows for sure? Anyway I got the coon out of the tree and watched Nitro try to fight it. Just like his mother, he's not a killer & the coon ran off. I grabbed Nitro and moved rather than let him try to work this any more. He was pretty overheated.
I drove back through the corn and near The Big Tree I put him on a hot one. I figured this would be fast so I didn't worry about him being hot already. Well, this coon was a tricky bastard. I actually saw him several times running across the picked strip to the standing strips. finally he came down the picked strip heading for The Big Tree with Nitro not too far behind. Unfortunately I was parked right in the way. The coon jumped back into the corn right in front of me. Nitro bailed in son after. Then the coon came out, circled a bit and ran back up the picked strip away from me. Nitro began to lose it after this. He was dead tired and wasn't making any headway, but wouldn't give up. I thought about walking him up to where I had seen the coon go, but it could have easily been 3/4 to the trees if he kept going that way. I figured it was best to just catch Nitro and get that one another night. Anyway, not bad for a young dog, just the kind of summer night on the river that will make him a lot tougher in the fall.
Took Nitro by The Big Tree and cut him. He bawled a little and then located and treed a bit on it. He then trailed weakly into the swamp. I saw a coon sitting up so I called him back. He treed hard then. Not sure if there was another coon or if he backtracked away from the tree.
Moved to the big curve and cut him again. He trailed for a while and then treed on the edge. I couldn't see a coon so I yelled at him to look around. He did just that, he got down off the tree and started working the area again. I didn't have to do anything more than just talk to him, pretty nice.
Nitro got quiet and I walked around for a while. I figured I was safe this far in, even if he decided to get out of the pocket he'd have to run into a coon somewhere around here.
I finally pulled out the tracker & didn't get much of a signal. I drove around a LOT before I finally figured out where he was. He had crossed under the highway and was treed in the next section. I drove about 1/2 way and then went in to him. He was on a small tree amid a tangled mess of jungle that also had a bunch of holes in the ground. I didn't see a coon & I scolded him.
Deep down I was a little happy, this is just the type of stunt Mabel would pull. I think he's a nicer dog to hunt but he still has a little bit of her in him.
Wade came down & we went to the big curve to start. Nitro started a track that dropped down onto the river bank. Wade's dog Rocky trailed to the drop off behind Nitro and stopped there. We caught him and walked him back through the woods. He was sniffing around a tree pretty good and we spooted a coon up there. We walked out to the road and cut Nitro off before he trailed too far down the river.
We drove down the middle of the filed and let loose about 1/2 way between The Big Tree and the curve. Both dogs struck and ran hot in the corn. Neither could take it across the road to the trees though. Not that unusual down on the river when theres a lot of dew in the corn like tonight. We walked them towards The Big Tree some more and they both struck. Nitro went Northeast into the swamp and Rocky went straight east through the nasty woods. I spotted a coon sitting up in the big tree. I called Nitro back and sent him in towards Rocky. They were on a big tree on the edge of the swamp. We couldn't find the coon. We took a bad turn on the way out and wandered around in the thick stuff for about 15 minutes. When we came out the coon was gone from the big tree. Nitro trailed it back into the swamp & I just called him off. I didn't want to go back in there.
We went to the back field and Nitro just went into the corner and treed. We couldn't find the coon. I pulled him off & he hunted around and then went back to the same tree. He sure thought it was there... maybe. I sent him up the River and he struck a tough one. I let him grub along for about 15 minutes and then just caught him. It was late. I told Wade this was the worst night I
ve ever had with Nitro. Pretty good really when you consider I've had him out a lot of nights.
Paul came up & met me at the SA. We went to the river and turned Nitro loose at The Big Tree. He went west and struck, crossed the road and was working along the river. I finally called him back because he was getting into the rough stuff. We went past the dam and drove to the end of the field. We spotted a coyote who ran most of the length of the field as we drove. We sent Nitro back west down the edge & he struck about 1/2 way down. He ran a nice track & treed at the end. It was a jungle but we saw the coon. We went back to the curve and cut him again. He struck and ran a nice track west along the river. He treed when we got close & I wondered a little. Another jungle but we did finally find the coon there too. I was tired by then & we called it a night.
Went back down by The Big Tree and turned Nitro loose. I was still getting together when he just located and treed. He had to young ones up. Seevers boy Aaron drove up with his friends. We drove down to the curve and cut Nitro again. He started a track but was bogging down on the beach. The kids had to leave. Nitro came back after a while & I called it a night.
Had the flu this weekend so I missed a few days. Went down to the river Tuesday and stopped by THE Big Tree. Lots of damage. I let Nitro out and he ambled off kind of slow. It was very foggy and the road was pure mud. Nitro opened in the corm by the tree and began running hot. The track went right past the tree and in towards the swamp. He ran for a few minutes and then slammed a tree. It was pretty thick getting to him. It was a big den right on the edge. I was amazed to see the coon sticking it's big old head out of the fog and leaves. That Nitro is one nice dog. Anyway, it was so wet, foggy and muddy, I called it a night.
Dale and Mike met me down on the river. We set Nitro, Ruby and Copper loose by the parking lot. They made a loop, no strikes so we moved. We hit the gun club and coons were already sitting up. Nitro treed, Ruby split. We saw Nitros coon. We moved past the dam and again a coon was already sitting up. Nitro treed on a different tree. Didn't see the coon so pulled him. He finally treed again on the tree where I saw the coon sitting up. We moved back to the gun club and ran a hot one. Ruby and Nitro treed hard, Copper joined in a little. Nitro was tired and I was soaked with sweat. Called it a night.
Took my wife, her dog and Roy to the river. I wanted to walk the corn and make a lot of noise. A coon ran out of the corn as I drove up and I set Roy on it & we treed in a few minutes. I was down in the creek when Seever drove up and started talking to Lauri. When I came out he said there was still a lot of damage. So I walked Roy around some more and got a family treed. It was really hot & we were all shot after about an hour. There do seem to be a lot more coons this summer. I guess I'll just have to keep after them.