Maggie's Farm

That's salmon fishing on Cain's River, New Brunswick, in October.

We are still interested in more of your favorite venison recipes. Put 'em in the comments on that post, and we'll post it annually towards the end of deer season.

Here's some venison on the hoof from a friend's Cuddeback scouting camera in Michigan earlier in the fall:

via Vanderleun:

Best email I received yesterday (from a bow hunting pal):

"We've got four deer hanging in the garage. Can you come over tomorrow around two to help cut em up and have some beers?"

My reply: "You betcha."

Ever hung out in a duck blind? 24/7 live feeds from a duck blind in Mississippi. (Thanks, C.)

You just might want to keep the feed running all day, especially if you are stuck in the office.

From a hunting buddy and good Ducks Unlimited supporter:

Dear Maggie's:

We went goose hunting with Wild Goose Lodge in Prince Edward Island last week.  I wish I had a picture to show you of all the geese we killed (33 over the three days), but it was too dark by the time we finished hunting.  The weather was no good for goose hunting on two of the three days we hunted; too warm and no wind.  But, we had no complaints as the proprietor, Jim Duggan is a first class guy who goes out of his way to try and get everyone a good hunt.  The attached picture is from our last evenings’ banquet – started off with Malpeque Bay oysters (which in your correspondent’s humble opinion, are the best anywhere).  One of the hunters brought the wine – a Schramsberg sparkler which went great with the oysters.  Then, everyone had a 2.5-3 pound lobster, along with some homemade bread and potato salad.  On PEI, they serve their lobster cold, with lemon wedges and of course, butter.  We had a mix of whites to go with the lobster, including a chenin blanc from South Africa, which was in honor of your humble correspondent who had visited the winery while in S. Africa on safari several years ago.  Dessert was your choice of hot fudge or butterscotch sundae or blueberry pie.  One or two of the guests had a sundae and pie . . .

I must confess that I ate on the order of two dozen oysters and if I do so say myself, three lobsters.

An excellent time was had by all ten of us, including two of the folks whom had never been goose hunting.

Your Humble Correspondent,

J.

The cartoonist had a great idea, but is surely no hunter because no waterfowler would wear orange.

Canada Goose Infestation

Some parts of the US would love to have the problems we have in the Northeast: White-Tailed Deer and Goose infestations. (We now have tons of Wild Turkey too, but I would never term that an "infestation."  These splendid birds are a blessing.)

Trouble is, we have to bow the deer in many populated areas, and these non-migratory Canadas that we have in abundance tend to hang out where you cannot hunt, like town parks and golf courses. It's a damn shame, because they are big, and the breast, marinated then sauteed or grilled rare and thin-sliced, is as good as filet mignon, in my opinion - if not as tender. Our White-Tail deer are bigger than the southern version, or the Texas version, but with smaller racks. Who cares? Excellent dining. Our deer hunters tend to be meat hunters and, where I live, there is no limit on does. When I was a lad, both goose and deer were uncommon sights in New England: these are the kinds of problem you want to have.

Photo: Our pal Yankee retrieving a goose in Manitoba, this October

Latest USFWS report on Canada Goose, below:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Releases Final Environmental Impact Statement on Resident Canada Geese Management
Contact: Nicholas Throckmorton 202-208-5636  (Bold Ours)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the release of a final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) that outlines various alternatives to reduce, manage, and control resident Canada goose populations and reduce related damages. Of the alternatives, the Service’s proposed action will allow state wildlife agencies, landowners, and airports more flexibility in controlling resident Canada goose populations.The Service took this action in response to widespread concern about overabundant populations of resident Canada geese, which can damage property, agriculture, and natural resources in parks and other open areas near water.

"Resident Canada geese populations have increased dramatically over the past 15 years," said Service Director H. Dale Hall. "These high population levels have been shown to cause problems for natural and economic resources, and we believe increased local management with national oversight is the best approach to reduce conflicts and bring the population under control. Through this approach, the Service will continue working to expand and protect hunting opportunity while providing airports, private landowners, and State and local officials the tools they need to address resident Canada goose issues."

You're the unluckiest hunter in the world, so take the Survival Quiz at Field & Stream (h/t, Viking)

The new camo, from the NYT. (Yes, the NYT.) Be sure to click to change the image from human view to deer view. h/t, Insty.

Of course, if you are in a tree stand it hardly matters, since deer never look up.

Cocker Spaniels

Apparently not everyone is aware that Cockers were bred as Woodcock hunters, thus "cocker". It was not until the turn of the century that they became known as a separate breed from Springers; smaller, but with similar spaniel talents and deficiencies: bouncy and energetic, but not overly-endowed with brains and with a tendency to pee on rugs when excited.

Wonderful small flushing dogs and retrievers, they are great cheerful family dogs which cannot reach the kitchen counter, and that can, with the difficulty of any spaniel, be trained to do a fine job in the field.

And a dog that cannot do work to find food in the field is a decadent waste of dog food, is it not? The English cocker is considered a better hunter than the American, but I am not certain that that is a fact. Plus I have never hunted over a Cocker.

At some point, we will do a piece on Woodcock hunting, which is fine 20 ga. sport because they are tiny targets which twist and turn in seemingly-random directions. A relevant detail is that the European Woodcock is a larger bird that the American, with more meat on it.