The 17th annual goose blind broadcast that was heard statewide on the Montana Outdoor Radio Show last weekend went off without a hitch or a goose shot for that matter. The weather was windy and overcast perfect for goose hunting but not for a live radio show that goes off the air at 8am Saturday mornings. We did manage to shoot some ducks right before sign off but the geese didn’t begin flying until closer to 9am in the morning. The annual hunt hosted by Jaye and Linda Johnson of Charlo welcomed 18 hunters in the goose blind this year and most of them got a fair amount of shooting. Personally my shoulder was sore after shooting over a box of 3-1/2 inch Heavy Shot shells in the morning and afternoon hunts on Saturday. The rest of my blind partners also saw their fair share of geese within range before the weekend was over. George Donnelly of Helena always brings his collection of life like decoys to help attract the geese to our blind and this year with the wind blowing they even appeared to be more life-like as the bodies teetered from side to side while sitting on their stands. Even though the geese flew later in the morning and closer to sunset in the evening it proved to be a banner weekend for all hunters in the goose blind. The opening morning total of geese bagged stood at 32, Saturday evening was just about as good with 25 geese shot and Sunday morning the hunters took 10 geese. You may view the 2015 Goose Blind photo gallery on montanaoutdoor.com
Now that we have all those geese here is a recipe from Paul Lindsoe of Three Forks that will make your good breast taste like corn beef-
Ingredients: 5- Tsps. Morton Tender Quick meat cure (blue bag),1- tsp. ground black pepper, 1- tsp paprika, 1- tsp ground bay leaves, 1 – tsp allspice , ½- tsp garlic powder
Directions: Rub on dry mixture and let sit refrigerated in a zip seal bag and turn daily.
Let sit for 5 days per inch of thickness.
Duck breasts take three days and geese take five.
Cook as you would a corned beef meal with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots. It is unbelievably good, my favorite way to eat waterfowl. We use a crock pot. This makes awesome Reuben sandwiches the next day too. -Paul Lindsoe
Antelope and pheasant hunting seasons open this Saturday October 10th. Montana antelope populations are continuing to recover and grow from previous years’ winter kills and low fawn numbers in central and eastern Montana according to Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks. Successful antelope-license applicants may recognize increased fawn production in many areas as populations respond to this year’s favorable weather and habitat conditions.
Pheasant hunters will see an average amount of birds in the Ninepipes area according Charlie Holtz from Pheasants Forever.
(Written by the Captain – aka Mark Ward)
