COGNAC TO DUCKS
By Jim Kahlert

I never thought that a bottle of cognac would be a ticket to a premier duck hunt, but that is
just what happened. It all started with the club Christmas party during the present
exchange. I saw Darold steal a nice bottle of cognac, with glasses, from Al Hajovsky. I
knew that I had a low number, so I kept that bottle in mind. When it was my turn, I stole
the bottle from Darold.  Then when a lower number tried to steal my bottle back, the “only
can be stolen twice” rule was called and I was able to keep my bottle. Then Darold came
up to me and made me an offer that I could not refuse. He said that I would be welcome
to hunt with him at the Laughing Mallard Duck Club, but the cognac had to come with me.
I asked when, and he said tomorrow, and then I said, I’m retired now, so let’s go!  I
picked Darold up at 2:30 AM and we were in the blind by shoot time.

I had my two “boys” with us, Jack and his son Duke, my black labs. They have their hunt
test certificates but this is the real deal. Darold had us set up in blind #4, a comfortable
in ground blind with plenty of room. He had put out a spinning wing device that rotates
with a electric motor powered by a battery. It is supposed to attract ducks simulating a
ducks wing beat. The weather was cold and clear. Not a very good day for duck hunting
but it sure beats working if I had a job. We had several fly bys and Darold did manage to
call in several mallards which we were able to shoot three. One was a real test for the
dogs. A drake mallard had fallen about a hundred yards south of the blind and the dogs
did not see it. I sent Jack and he worked the pond like a hunt test. He swam towards the
duck and then stopped to wait for a signal from me. When he did get near the bird, it
dived. I am sure he was thinking that the hunt test doesn’t have diving ducks, so what is
going on? He figured it out and got the bird.

We took a break from duck hunting and walked the property for some pheasants. The
dogs jumped two hens but no roosters. We called it a morning and returned to the club
for a well deserved break. Darold took me for a ride around the area and showed me a
goose pit operated by Blake Bunnell of Blake’s Guide Service. Later Darold called Blake
and invited him for dinner. Blake had been hunting every day for two weeks and enjoyed
the ‘night out’. He showed Darold and me some tips on calling geese, along with
sharing some interesting stories.   Darold then brought out his overflowing shoebox of
old duck calls and then they were calling ducks too.  I had never seen that many goose
and duck calls before, not even in a sporting goods store!

I got to bed early that night because 5 am comes early. We were excited when we woke
as there was a strong north wind which really makes the hunting better. When we got to
the blind, Darold put out a wind duck, a roto duck, and a kite, all to encourage the birds.
Our first bird was a mallard. Then I got a widgeon and later Darold doubled on a pair of
mallards. Then we got a bull sprig and a snow goose. We finished up with two more
widgeons. The wind slowed down so we returned to clean some birds.  Darold showed
me how to ‘wax’ birds. He takes the wings and legs off and spot plucks the birds. He
then dips them in a boiling solution of wax and water.  This coats the feathers and then
cools and gets hard. Then he peels the wax off like an orange that reveals a pristine bird
worthy of Foster Farms. Now that our chores were complete we took a well deserved
nap, as Jack and Duke were sunning themselves on the front steps.

The next morning was going to be our last shoot. It was clear and cold. Not good for duck
hunting. We were ready to leave when we noticed a pair of ducks coming near. Darold
was able to call them closer and we downed a nice pair of mallards. Not a bad way to
finish. We cleaned up our mess, loaded up the boys and headed for home.
Cognac to Ducks
Foster City Rod and Gun Club