Late October,2013 I drove up to a ranch I hunt in Nebraska. A storm was forecast for that evening so I planned on a duck hunt. Ducks were swarming the lake I hunted, almost too windy to launch the duckboat. I shot 4 drake mallards, a drake redhead and a drake can in an hour and a half. Back to the landing, loaded the boat and decided to walk the edge of the lake for grouse. Walked less than a half mile and my Springer flushed a covey of Prairie Chickens and I was pleasantly suprised to double on boomers. On the way back to the truck the dog started working the cattails and flushed two rooster pheasants, a real bonus for that country. I'm one shy of my daily limit for grouse, hit the sandhills and got into a covey of Sharptails and knocked down my third, and final grouse. The hunting was so good I drove to town and got a motel room. The next morning the lake was frozen solid and temps in the low teens. Couldn't find a grouse to save my soul. I've hunted for 60 years and had many, many memorable hunts but that one about tops 'em all!
