The Texas Outfitter That Delivers

Man, I love to wake up and go bag a limit of ducks or geese.

Well that’s exactly what happened recently with our friends at Red Bluff Prairie Hunting Club. When Mike Lanier with Red Bluff Prairie Hunting Club calls and says “the birds are good”, you don’t ask questions, go pack your gun and bags to get ready for an amazing hunt.

For a while, I personally think I got burned out on the 1 or 2 thousand rag spreads it takes to have a good prairie goose hunt, or wading in the mud to put out the decoys. However, the Red Bluff Crew and Mike Lanier answered my calls to laziness! They offer a first-class experience in waterfowl hunting that would be tough to match in our Katy Prairie area. Some guys may choose to call it a Gentlemen’s hunt?

THE RED BLUFF PRAIRIE HUNTING CLUB EXPERIENCE

Checking in at his lodge in Garwood, TX, you’re greeted with the option of a tasty hot breakfast, coffee, or a snack bar to take to the blind. You’re then convoyed to the location of the hunt. Once you park and get all your gear on, you’re shuttled right to the door of the blind which has a gravel bottom (no mud). You’re hidden well, so you’re allowed to move and look a little, visit and really relax and enjoy the experience. All of this makes wonders of difference to me and in past experiences, I describe Red Bluff’s operation as “a duck hunt that won’t even get your boots muddy”.

THE HUNT ITSELF

Sunday was an awesome hunt to say the least. Ed, Catherine and myself have continually been spoiled to have the opportunity to hunt with such a fine local outfitter. Mike and his Crew at Red Bluff have really set the bar high for our area. The hunts aren’t always about just getting your limit of birds, but the QUALITY of the experience.

Red Bluff Prairie Guide and Dog Trainer, Bryan Lee took us out to the field he had previously scouted. He predicted the geese perfectly. We had a smaller spread of decoys out that were more lifelike than I classify as normal on a goose hunt. We got the spread out very quickly, finished getting hid and like clockwork, the shooting time alarm went off.

Now I’ve hunted the Katy Prairie a lot, but every experience was a typical, “almost” got em' good… Well, this was NO “almost”…. This hunt was an ABSOLUTE BLAST. My father-in-Law Ed, my wife Catherine, and I got to lay there and experience some of the finest decoying snow geese the Katy Prairie has to offer. Thankfully, Catherine and Ed were seeing the bird’s heads that day, because I could hardly cut a tail feather. It was awesome to watch as a single or double of Specklebellys would try to sneak in and Catherine and her dad would raise up and ground check them both.

KILLSHOT HIGHLIGHTS

I was lucky enough to know I made a solid hit on at least one goose, though. An eagle had been working the flock to our favor that morning, well he had chased a juvenile Speck our way. He was flying low and I guess he only caught my eye. As I failed to get the words out that he was coming around the left side, I could only get out words something like” loooooook lllllle…. WAM!” …. He flew in crossing about 5’ off the ground and maybe 5yds in front of me. I missed the face shot by an inch and shot a hole through him, like something off an ACME cartoon. IT.WAS.AWESOME!!!!! Then, what was really entertaining was watching my dog Jewel run over to it and just look back at me like “Dad, that’s just gross… you pick it up…”

The best part of the hunt though was when a single mature eagle headed blue goose tried to sail into the spread with a tailwind. He got busted early as Catherine set her sights on his beak, touched a shot off and we watched him sail, loose oil pressure and crash into the field about a 100yds away. It was one of those moments where everyone thought, wow, nice shot, as you saw the feathers fly off the bird, then we watched as the shot was more than the goose could handle. Needless to say, our house will be getting yet another mount, and I have an extremely happy wife!