Hi-Line Hunt

Following my wildly successful – by my standards – first two bird hunting excursions with Ken Jansa I stopped by his home to retrieve his photos of our second outing. He had been out several times since, taking out another first-time goose hunter and joining a family of out-of-state hunters on their hunt.

His eyes sparkled as he said, "We're going out again tomorrow if you want to join us." A jumble of reactions flashed through my mind in rapid fire, "Well, the weather is supposed to be warmer ... this winter may cut the season short and I'll miss other opportunities ... he truly wants me to enjoy this and keep at it ... he did call me a crazy water fowler and now there's a new expectation of crazy I need to meet."I stalled only slightly, asking what time he planned to leave – again with this 5 a.m. business – and agreed.

That was how I found myself raking a cornfield before sun up and added it to my ever-growing list of "Things I never saw myself doing in my 40s."

Ken had explained the day prior that we would be setting up in a different location this time. He knew of a cornfield that had been harvested late, which was sure to be a draw for the ducks and geese. Upon arriving at the spot Ken had scouted, he handed me a rake and three rubber bins and told me to get raking while he and Evan Guenther set up the decoys. As I examined the small portion of the field I could see with my head lamp and the Sisyphean task ahead of me, it occurred to me that this was the first time I had made out to the field at planned time. The weather was also warmer than our previous two trips and if I had to rake, well, at least the temperature was more agreeable.

Returning with bins full of corn cobs and husks, I learned that they were to be used to help camouflage the snow blinds and that I would need more than just the three bins for this. Ken and Evan completed their set up and moved the vehicles upfield. During that time, Bridger Guenther, Evan's 6-year-old son, stayed with me to offer all the help a child of that age can. I, of course, ended up doing most of the raking while Bridger provided the entertainment.

At one point, Bridger announced to me that I was to be his girlfriend for the day. As I raked, he reconsidered and promptly ended it, making my shortest relationship ever even shorter than anticipated. But kudos to a kid who has the strength to correct a mistake in such a short time.

After raking, we camouflaged out blinds. Bridger took to his task with gusto – almost nothing of his blind could be seen beneath corn debris. Our set up had taken less time than expected and we settled in to watch the sun rise and wait for the birds.

Eventually the birds deigned to visit us. Again, there were hits and misses – the hits primarily from Ken and Evan, and the misses from me. While I did not rack up as many misses as I had on the prior trip, I did manage to make a couple of misses even more memorable than my hits.

Having bagged a couple of birds, my confidence had grown again. Then the dumbest goose showed up to remind me I had in no way mastered the shot gun.

A group of Canada geese had arrived to examine the decoys. The guys connected on their shots while my single attempt went into the miss column. Despite the cacophony of gunshots, one goose saw something the others had not, and landed on the far side of the decoys in front of me.

Ken and Evan left the shot to me. Very aware of my own abilities or lack thereof with the shotgun, I waited for the bird to move so that I stood less of a chance of taking out a decoy. The goose, oblivious to my plans, did not move.

Ken decided to flush it for me, working his way around the decoys and well away from from line of sight. As I kept my shotgun at the ready, he closed in on the bird who Did. Not. Move. A bit surprised at this, Ken laughed, "What a dumb goose!"

He moved closer. The goose moved – a few inches. Ken waved his arms. The goose gave up an infinitesimal piece of ground. Ken moved closer. The goose moved again but refused to take to the sky.

By this time, the "dumb goose" had moved enough that I felt I could take a shot. I pulled the trigger for my first memorable miss of the day: a clear shot at an essentially stationary goose.

And still! The bird chose to stand its ground, prompting Ken to adapt his moniker from "dumb goose" to "The Dumbest Goose." Laughing at what could be either the utter stupidity or the utter audacity of this goose, my mentor continued in his herding attempts.

I had another shot and I took it. The bird had called my bluff and won – again – and held the ground it had claimed. With another hurling of his now-almost affectionate moniker for the bird and a final rush, Ken did force the bird back into the air only to be quickly brought back down to the earth by Evan.

While Ken marveled at "the dumbest goose," I muttered to myself that the dumbest goose had won against an even dumber hunter. I accepted my failure and prepared to move on to my next spectacular hit or miss.

This was when Bridger, undoubtedly relieved with his decision to break up with me, approached. "Why didn't you shoot that bird?" With a rueful shrug I said, "I tried." This was not an acceptable answer and he persisted, "But why didn't you shoot it? It wasn't moving."

Forced full-on to acknowledge my failure, I said, "I tried and missed."

"But my dad got it."

"He did. He is a far better shot than me."

In fact, Evan is not just far better than me; He impresses even a seasoned hunter like Ken, who told me later, "He's hit birds on shots I wouldn't even attempt!"

After my amazing misses learning opportunities, I found more success with ducks. I ended up leaving with five drake mallards and a couple of geese. I'd bagged no more geese than before but chalked it up as win when there were still a few shells left in my one box of ammo.

One of my ducks I had managed to bring down with a head shot. Ken remarked that it was a nice big duck too and told me to remember which one it was. Back at his place for cleaning, I retrieved that duck. Rather than breast out this bird, Ken offered to pluck and smoke for me – an offer I could not refuse.

While breasting out the remaining birds, Ken's wife Cheryl came out to say hello and check out our success. With some incredulity she asked me, "Do you like doing this?"

After a pause, I replied, "I wouldn't say 'like' but it is a part of the experience." The reward of enjoying a meal centered around a dish from an animal I harvested and prepared has made the work worth it.

However, there is a challenge to finding the best way to prepare and cook wild game. Some love wild game meat above all else while others (hi Dad!) refuse to eat it.

I have found the learning curve with duck and geese to be far steeper than that with venison. Over and over I have been warned that geese will present the most challenge and the most experience water fowlers struggle to find a recipe that works.

Ken has shared a recipe with me for goose breast pastrami which I've yet to try though I had heard from several people that his goose pastrami is the best. (Recipes appear below.) After receiving my smoked duck from him, along with two smoked breasts, I have no doubts that the recipe is worthy of trying. A word of advice: if Ken ever offers you a smoked duck, you take it without hesitation. None. Served hot or cold (his preference), this dish is divine.

Geese, with the exception of my adolescent snow goose, have proved true to their reputation. My most successful attempt with goose has been this recipe I made up:

Moroccan Stew with Goose

2 goose breasts

1 large sweet potato

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash

1 red onion

2 cans fire roasted tomatoes

1 tbl. Tomato paste OR harissa for extra spice

Feta Cheese, crumbled

Sliced almonds, toasted

Moroccan Grilling Rub

(this makes more than I used for my stew)

1/4 C Kosher Salt (I use almost no salt – adjust for your taste)

1 tsp. Ground white pepper

2 tsp. Ground ginger

1/2 tsp. Allspice

2 tsp. Coriander

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Mace

1//2 tsp. Cayenne

1 tsp. Turmeric

1/2 tsp cardamom

Chop all vegetables and place in slow cooker. Cut meat into bite-sized pieces. Sear meat in pan with a sprinkling of spice mix. Transfer to slow cooker and top with fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste or harissa. Add spice mix – I used roughly the equivalent of a stew spice packet. Cook on low until sweet potato is done, 4-6 hours depending on your definition of bite-sized. Serve over rice or couscous and top with feta and almond slices.

While duck and goose hunting proved far more challenging than last year's deer hunts, it was worth every groan of disappointment over a missed shot, each early morning wake-up call, the bruised bicep. So while this story shares what was probably my last chance to hit the fields this season, it isn't the end. I've yet to try a duck call (seems to be a critical part of learning this if I am to continue on my own). I've an invitation from a family friend to come try each and every one of his shotguns to find what suits me before I purchase one. That excursion may require me to take a few days off work as I believe he has quite the collection and stock up on Arnicare gel for the inevitable bruise. Then there is the gear. Hunting with Ken and Evan I was overwhelmed by how much went into bird hunting. However each reassured me that it took them years to build up to what they had. They offered advice on how and where to start, as did Darrell Morehouse and Andrew McKean, advice I hope to share here soon.

My mistake in planning these experiences as a new-hunt-each-year series was my failure to comprehend how much fun each of these hunts would be for me. Next year I will have to plan a first-time hunt while forging ahead with deer and bird hunting, all while continuing to cover sports. But hey, there are worse jobs and problems to have.

Goose Breast Pastrami

From Ken Jansa

This recipe should work for eight geese or 16 breast halves.

Liquid Brine

Into your brining bucket add:

5 quarts water total

1 cup canning/pickling salt

6 tsp. Tender Quick

1 cup garlic (about 3 garlic buds) – puree with the fifth quart of water

From the quart of puree, inject two ounces per breast. Once injected, place breast into the bucket.

Dump remaining puree into the bucket and stir this solution.

Soak in remaining brine for 2-5 days in refrigerator.

Dry Rub

Drain brine from breasts then rinse and dry the breasts.

Mix:

1.5 cups ground coriander

2 cups coarse ground pepper

1/4 cup ground paprika

Rub on goose breasts

Smoke

With a traditional smoker at 200 for 4 hours. Use apple, cherry or mesquite wood chips.

With a Traeger BBQ: 1 hour on smoke, 1 hour at 180 and 2 hours at 225.

Smoked Duck Breast

From Ken Jansa

Liquid Brine

3 quarts 100% apple juice

1/2 cup canning/pickling salt

2 tsps Tender Quick

Add all ingredients to the juice and stir this solution.

Take breast halves and slice them so that the meat absorbs the solution more easily.

Soak in brine for 4-5 days in refrigerator.

Dry Rub

You may use a dry rub at your discretion. Otherwise, plain breasts smoke just fine.

Rub on duck breasts.

Smoke

Smoke at 200 degrees for 2.5 hours or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Use your favorite wood chips (apple or cherry is best).

This recipe should work for 12 ducks or 24 breast halves.

For long lasting storage, vacuum pack breast halves separately and enjoy when the occasion presents itself.