Bonneau Ferry Youth hunt

[cajunwannabe]

At 52 years old my own youths are grown up and gone. Last year my two sons and I had the privilege of mentoring for the SCDNR Take One Make One youth duck hunt. Due to work obligations only one son could make it this year but we had a great time!

As expected the birds weren't nearly as thick at Bonneau Ferry as they were last duck season but the kids still had ample opportunity to harvest a duck! This was a great group of young men and to 3 of the young men it was the very first time on a duck hunt. The sights and sounds were all very new to my 17 year old hunter. Things we sometimes take for granted came alive to me while on this hunt. Seeing a bald eagle soaring, a river otter 10 feet from the blind and listening to woodpeckers were all brand new experiences for my hunter. This wasn't just about killing a duck, it was exposing a youth to the outdoors, hunter safety, boat safety, decoys, calls, gun handling, a MILLION other things.........one morning in a duck blind didn't scratch the surface of what the outdoors has to offer our youths.

Watching in disappointment as my youth crippled a Ringneck but then in pure amazement, shock and awe as a bald eagle swooped in and caught "his" Ringneck out of the air and proceeded to eat it 75 yards from our blind.......THAT was a sight I will never forget! Of course, I had to paddle him over to see the remains after the eagle had finished eating "his" duck. I could hunt and fish every day with these kids, their inquiring minds renewed my sincere appreciation for what we all experience and many times take for granted in the outdoors.

Hats off to the SCDNR Take One Make One, aka TOMO program and the wildlife managers and staff that make this happen. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into preparation and planning for these hunts and everyone had a great time!

I stopped by and slipped in on a couple of birds in the refuge. Very cool place!