September 9 - drove to the "Sports Core" in Rockford, Illinois to test the addition of an Avery Ultra-Low Dog Hide to the stern of a Four Rivers Migrator. The weather was perfect....cloudy and cool. The need for a few "adjustments" in the setup were quickly discovered.

First of all, the plywood "spacer/support" that holds the ramp at an angle broke in half . I had used a piece of salvaged plywood from an old Johnny House. Duh!  Secondly, the ramp length was perfect knowing that the stern deck will be about 4-5 inches lower when I am in the boat. Third, a spud pole (or tight anchor rope) may be needed to keep the stern more stationary. Lastly, when setting up Pounce's first hunt out of the Migrator her learning curve will be simpler if we are working in lunging water.

Sept 10 - the new ramp-support attachment is cut and mounted.  Monday will bring a second training session which should push Pounce through the awkward, trial stage of our first day. Later in the week......."for real" in the Mississippi River backwaters.

"perspective"

The following photo  is a "screen shot " taken from the training session video.

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Pounce's first real bird and a dog hide.

YouTube Video "capture of the session".

Pounce is the "go to" retriever this hunting season. She is through transition and has three Senior AKC hunt test passes. With ducks, geese and pheasants the present focus, testing is on hold until next spring.  Her hunts will be divided between trips to the Mississippi River, a special pond close to home and "discovering" upland hunting. 

For now the focus is on getting ready for our first trip of the year to Pool 19 on the Mississippi River. Since the "camp trailer" was sold, driving over, launching and taking out followed by the trip home requires several adjustments....especially with scouting.

An on going process has resulted in several modifications to make the Migrator marsh boat better suited for most hunting situations. It is essentially a floating layout blind with a dog hide that works well in sheltered, "out of the way" spots. Tendering to and from the quiet backwaters is doable. The additions include trolling motor capability, a set of extended aluminum brackets for the use of oars and running lights.

The final phase of the process was to teach Pounce the skills necessary to make retrieving an "easy do". The banner of this page reveals the first step......Pounce's introduction to the Migrator "in the yard". The next day, the dog hide was placed in the duck hunting position on the stern of the marsh boat...."still in the yard". The following links are YouTube videos of Pounce's "Intros"....day one and two. 

The following photos sequence the stern hide mount fabrication for the Migrator.

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The Excellent Adventure II

The next phase of the preparation was to setup the Migrator with layout doors and a "camo suit". Finally, a mount had to be constructed for the Avery Ultra-Low dog hide. To complete the project, a ramp was fabricated and installed. The dog ramp must be easy to fold/secure for moving "down the road" after a hunt. The design needed testing before the "real thing".

During the test, Pounce was trained/taught how to use the hide (on the boat). She has used a dog hide on land for over two years (all the way back to the very first time when she was 8 weeks old.....refer to the puppy "hide and quail" intro YouTube video below).

note: A "easy", shallow water area close to home was selected for the intro. 

note: Hunting out of the Migrator is not a new thing. The first four photos below are from previous hunts with Daisy and Gunny.  The last three photos demonstrate how the Phowler "big boat" either tenders or tows the Migrator to and from shallow, quiet backwaters plus the back and lower, "piggy back",  "down the road" position. There was no ramp back then.

"Mallard in the Air"