A Hunt in the Cattails

The ground was white with frost when I climbed out of the truck. It almost looked as if it had snowed.

In an hour, however, it would be gone, the ground bare and dry again under another cloudless sky.

Dot sat patiently as I fastened the e-collar around her neck. Ace wandered to the other side of the truck, lifting his leg on the tire.

I tested the beep on the collar and Dot squealed and started hoovering the grass at the edge of the cattails. Her attention was only a button away. Ace, deaf and a bit unsteady on his feet, required overly dramatic arm waving on my part to stay in the game.

We were hunting the cattails surrounding a pond that had gone dry months ago. Ace stayed close to me as he always has while the younger dog disappeared into the thick cover. I marked her progress by the waving tops of the cattails.

Ace and I worked our way across the dry lake bed staying as close as we could to where Dot was hunting. As we neared the far side of the pond I found a moose trail leading through the cattails.

Waving to get Ace’s attention I followed the path through head-high cover with the old dog at my heels. Once clear of the thick stuff I looked back to where I last marked Dot and saw nothing but a sea of cattails.

Then I heard a cackle and raised my gun as a rooster took flight at the edge of range. I swung on the bird, squeezed the trigger and watched him fall.

Marking where the bird dropped I struck out through the cattails, immediately beginning to question whether I should have taken such a shot.

My doubts soon vanished, however, as Dot, without a sound, appeared at my feet carrying the rooster.

Ace, who had headed into the cattails with me, had fallen and gotten stuck in the cover, requiring some extraction.

We worked our way back to the truck without flushing another bird. Dot hopped in, and I hoisted Ace up to the seat. The frost was gone and it had warmed up a bit. Like nearly every day this season the weather was pleasant, hunting was easy.

I hate to see it end.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]