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Youth Waterfowl Season Off To A Great Start
By Robert D. Sopuck - Winnipeg Free Press September 11, 2004

I caught the streaking blue-wing teal out of the corner of my eye and just started to blurt out the words “too far” to my nephew Mark Sopuck when he fired and the neatly brought down this tastiest of all ducks.

“I thought you said it was too far, Uncle Robert,” he teased like only a cocky 15-year old can. 

And so began the 2004 youth waterfowl season for me and my 2 young charges, the aforementioned Mark Sopuck and Nathan Sims from MacGregor, Manitoba. Special early waterfowl seasons for youngsters ages 12-17 were initiated in 2000 by the federal government to ensure that the heritage of waterfowling would be passed down to the next generation. All hunters must be accompanied by a mentor who ensures that a safe and enjoyable hunt will be had by all.

And judging by the growth of the program in Manitoba Waterfowler Heritage Days has been a resounding success.

For me it was an opportunity to go duck hunting a little early and to give my Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Mountie, a chance to put his “duck fetching” skills to the test after a fairly lazy summer.  

We awoke each day at 0430 (what is it about duck hunting that gets teenagers out of bed that early and on their own?), wolfed down a hunter’s breakfast, and travelled to nearby marshes to set up decoys in time to watch the sun come up. We’d spend the morning watching over our decoys and then for the rest of each day we would “jump shoot” ducks by sneaking up to sloughs and flushing birds. Mountie did real well; it was as if he never even had a summer off!  

During the course of our activities we enjoyed the sights and sounds of the countryside. We saw a big black bear one morning and were thrilled to see a fisher run across the road.

Two “official” youth hunts were held as well; one at Delta Marsh and the other at Netley Marsh.

The Delta Marsh hunt hosted 40 young hunters and mentors on September 4 and 5 and according to Jim Fisher, Director of Conservation Programs with the Delta Waterfowl Foundation, the hunting was excellent. September 4 was given over to pre-hunt activities such as safety lectures, target practise, and duck identification. Peter Menge put his big Labrador Retriever though its paces showing the youngsters how a good dog adds to the hunt.   

In addition to Fisher, two husband and wife teams, James and Karla Barnett and Frank and Christine van Es, acted as “Hunt Masters.” 

Sponsors for the hunt included SIR Sports Store who donated 21 dozen duck decoys for the hunt and who made sure that each youngster went home with a decoy. As well SIR Pro Staffer, Tom Balzer, acted as a mentor. In addition, each young hunter was given a duck call from Haydel’s Duck Calls of Louisiana.

And the local community contributed as well. Bill Protopapas of “Bill’s Sticky Fingers” restaurant in Portage la Prairie gave the kids a duck cooking demonstration and sent them away with a number of tasty recipes. Local landowners were very open to having the kids hunt on their land and Fisher described the landowner cooperation as “simply amazing.” 

Chris Benson coordinated the Netley Marsh hunt that saw 23 youngsters taken out hunting. “All the kids were able to get some shooting,” said Benson, “Thanks to the great guides and mentors that we had. For many this was their first hunting experience and they took to it like ducks to water!”

The Netley youngsters themselves had a lot to say about the experience. 

Reece Stockton noted that, “I like hunting. It is fun!” 

Dorris Jones remarked, “I hope that there will be more women out during the years.” 

Brock Vandor made the commitment that “I am now going to duck hunt all the time” while Brook Luining remarked that “This is the earliest I’ve gotten up to go on a hunt.”

Perhaps young Kyle Neufield summed it up best though when, upon reflection he said, “I left the hunt with one goose and 5 new friends.” 

As young Kyle Neufield noted hunting is ultimately about friends and experiences. This was brought home to me near the conclusion of my hunt when I stopped in town to pick up the mail. One of the townspeople, noting my hunting garb, asked if the duck season was open. I pointed to the cab in my truck where the lads were and described the youth hunt. At that point the gentlemen waxed rhapsodic about his hunting experiences while growing up.

“Those are some of my best memories,” he exclaimed. “Nice to see that kids these days are getting the same chances I did.”

I could not agree more.