By David Draper

The higher ups at my former corporate job in the Human Resource department—in a misguided attempt to boost morale (that actually pretty much did just the opposite)—would call my coworkers and I into a big room each year and preach to us about our “hidden paycheck.” This was the term they used to talk about health insurance, retirement programs, and all the other benefits they provided outside our normal salary. One particular HR director (who, curiously, no longer works there) also included things like the horrible coffee and stale popcorn available in the break rooms as part of our hidden paycheck. Not surprisingly, those two words quickly became the standard meme in the building when referring to anything from toilet paper to Post-It Notes.

Well, here at my current job, I have hidden paychecks, too. In fact, we freelance writers have to live for the perks since we’re certainly not in this business for the money. As a guy who writes about food (among other things), I reap some pretty cool benefits (neither health insurance nor a retirement plan among them). There was that box of nut butter Justin’s sent me after they read my blog praising their products a few weeks back. 

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By Phil Bourjaily

Iowa’s pheasant population is a fraction of what it once was, but there is still hope for the birds to come back.

One hunt I went on near home in eastern Iowa last month was like stepping into a time warp, although it took me back fewer than 10 years. In a half-day four of us shot 11 wild roosters on the farms of Pheasants Forever’s State Coordinator Tom Fuller and his neighbors. [ Read Full Post ]

By David Draper

Perhaps no other hunters are as dependent on weather as waterfowlers. They not only depend on cold fronts to push birds down the flyway, but they also typically need a little weather to keep birds moving during the day. While those of us here in the Central Flyway did get the cold weather needed to usher birds south in early November, warm temperatures since then have made for some challenging hunting conditions. Still, with bird numbers up in the central and southern sections of the Flyway, many of you can still shoot a limit of ducks and geese as long you can shoot straight during the first hour or so of the day. After that, you will be mostly just working on your tan.

According to the latest reports, bird numbers in North Dakota have been on a steady decline for the past three weeks, with many of the ducks disappearing daily. Some refuge counts are now below 1,000 birds as smaller waters and wetlands freeze over. What ducks are in the area are roosting on bigger lakes and flowing water in large, tough-to-decoy flocks. The Low Plains zone closed yesterday, so duck hunters there are already dreaming of next season. The High Plains zone opens back up December 8 and runs through December 30, giving hunters out west a final crack at any birds remaining on the Upper Missouri River.

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By M.D. Johnson

Even from a Comfort Inn in northern Utah, which is serving as my base of operations as I hunt the Great Salt Lake and surrounding marshes, I can hear the rather rotund lady either warming up or in full voice in the northern portion of the Mississippi Flyway. For many hunters in the Upper Midwest, it’s time to start putting away the duck gear and begin thinking about geese, or ice fishing.

Wisconsin and Minnesota’s duck seasons will be over by the first of next week. Iowa will soon follow, with a northern closure of December 6 and a south-zone end on the 13th. Reports from the eastern third of The Hawkeye State continue to be mixed; however, most folks I’ve talked with lately agree that the frigid temperatures of this last week brought in a small number of new mallards and Canadas, while putting birds already in the area on the feed. A gent down Iowa City way (who asked to remain nameless for fear of divulging his exact location) tells of excellent numbers of honkers, with slowly increasing numbers of mallards locally.

“The weather isn’t quite right for them to be patterned consistently yet,” he said. “And they’re flying late--right at or just after legal shooting time. We need some nasty weather, and then it should be on.” [ Read Full Post ]

By Phil Bourjaily

People ask what method I use to test shotshells. First thing I usually do is the taste test. At least that’s my explanation for this picture. The shell I am chomping down on is one the 3-inch Prairie Storms I wrote about last week.

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By Michael R. Shea

Atlantic flyway ducks are working south with peak numbers over central New England, while geese seem to be nearly everywhere. A deceiving knot of Canadas in eastern Connecticut gave me fits on Monday; what I thought were a few dozen turned out to be a few hundred.

As you can see in the video, I was hunting out of a new layout boat, fully grassed, with an Avery Power Hunter layout blind in the cockpit. Low to the water and powered by an electric trolling motor, it’s a deadly rig. At around 2 p.m., I was able to setup just 200 yards or so from the birds. An hour later when I popped a shot, all hell broke loose: A huge raft of geese lifted and came over the decoys, 20 yards off the water, before turning down river. [ Read Full Post ]