The perfect ending to another weekend fishing adventure! I got to fish with Aaron and Rob from NWFR, with guide Shelby Ross of Ross Outdoor Adventures. Today’s adventure was Shelby’s “Cast and Blast” where he takes guys out for a morning of duck hunting, and an afternoon of walleye fishing. To say I was looking forward to this trip is an understatement!

First off, one thing you should know is the State of Washington does have some hunter education regs in place. So if you decide to go with Shelby be sure check as to your requirements for a license, or you may only be “casting” and not “blasting”. (Sorry Rob)

We stayed the night before at one of the Mar Don Resort cabins. Mar Don is the place to stay and the cabins are first rate, with three beds and a roll away, plus fully stocked kitchen. We met Shelby at 5:15am and took a surreal ride in the dark from the launch across to the sand dunes. Guided by GPS and high beam light, Shelby brought us deep in the dunes to a location that he has an eight person blind set up. The blind had chairs, and was fully enclosed with openings in the front to shot from. Shelby set up the decoys and gave instructions on safety as we awaited dawn with eager anticipation. I should mention, the previous evening Shelby took us to a range to do a little skeet shooting and get used to his guns. (He doesn’t normally provide shotguns but let us use his). Aaron and I failed miserably. A whole box of clay pigeons and not one was hit. How were we possibly going to hit a flying duck?

Darkness transitioned to foggy outlines of the shoreline across from us. Shelby explained that this was not ideal, plus a light breeze was blowing toward us which meant the ducks would be flying in from behind us as they land into the wind. We stood in anticipation of the first ducks to appear, which didn’t take too long.

I watched as a couple ducks descended in front of us. “Can we shoot those, Shelby”? I said in a low voice. “No, those are the wrong kind of ducks”. Another winged bird flew by. “How about that one”? I asked. “No, that’s not a duck” he replied. It’s a good thing Shelby is a patient man. The third group of birds flew in from right to left. “Get em, get em” Shelby called out. Aaron and I drew our guns to shoulders. I aimed and pulled the trigger – nothing. I still had the safety on! The roar of Aaron’s shotgun rang out and we watched as a bird fluttered down to the water. “Yaaa!” Aaron exclaimed, “I can’t believe I hit him on my first shot”. “That was a great shot, Aaron”, Shelby replied. Tank, Shelby’s black lab, jumped into the water and retrieved our first duck of the day. “That was way cool!” I exclaimed. “Just don’t shoot the dog, guys” Shelby instructed. Not a chance. Safety back on we watched tank return to the blind with our first duck. I’ll be honest, not being a hunter, I had no idea what kind it was. About the only thing I could say was that it wasn’t a mallard, and it was legal to shoot per Shelby. He told me it was a widgeon. Dang, I can identify fish, but this is a whole new species of animal to know. Good thing Shelby was able to tell us.

A few minutes later another group of ducks flew by. “Wait for my call… OK…Get em!” Shelby called out. This time my safety was off and I was ready. Shotgun to my shoulder, track the bird –fire!” “I got em” I excitedly yelled out as I watched the wounded duck flutter to the water. ”That was so cool!” The excitement of the moment was indescribable. You seldom forget your first time doing something new and this memory and feeling is burned into my brain. Tank returned the duck to me. Shelby told me it was a teal. It was still twitching, so I tried to twist the neck and dispatch it quickly. No go. Aaron gave me his knife and I plunged it into the heart. The bird stopped moving. Not the same as hitting a fish on the head and bleeding it, but it worked. While excited, I paused to reflect to myself how hunting, like fishing, brings a person closer to the rhythm of life. Taking one’s own food rather than buying it at the grocery store is an act that connects the outdoorsman to nature in a very personal way. I looked at my friends and surroundings and said a silent “thanks” for the opportunity given to me.

The morning continued on with more ducks flying in, and more shot down. We didn’t get a ton of opportunities, which Shelby ascribed to the foggy conditions that were keeping birds from being as active as they had been the past couple of days. Around 10am Shelby pulled out his charcoal and duck kaboobs and started up our mid-morning meal. Soon the smell of cooking duck wrapped in bacon jalapenos and cheese distracted us from the hunt (which had pretty much ended). We were soon enjoying a meal fit for a king. Shelby does this for all his full day trips. His meals are nothing short of amazing. Aaron and I agree, we’ve never had better lunches in the field than with Shelby, hands down. After eating we retrieved the decoys and secured the blind. It was off to the second part of our adventure, the “cast” part of the day. In this case, “cast” was actually “troll”, as we moved out of the sand dunes and into the lake. The sun was by now burning off the fog and it was turning into a glorious day. It was time to strip off the layers and get to fishing.

Shelby had us working underwater pinnacles from 25 to 45 feet deep. We were using whole night crawlers on a slow death hook off a bottom bouncer 2-3oz weight, 3 feet of leader. We also ran one rig with a Macks UV smile blade. Trolling speed was around 1.5 mph, fast enough to get the worm turning. Shelby says the last week or so the walleye bite had moved away from crankbaits to bottom bouncer worms. He hasn’t missed a boat limit for his clients since mid-August. Nothing like a little pressure for us!

The bite was steady all afternoon. Each spot we went to produced several walleye. Slowly but steadily we began filling the live well with tasty walleyes. Most fish are running 15-18 inchers.

As the sun began it’s descent in the afternoon sky and our live well filled up, I felt the tug and pull of a quality fish. You know it’s a good walleye when the fish doubles your rod under the water. I kept the pressure on and slide a beautiful 22 1/2” walleye under Shelby’s waiting net. Sweet! Anglers are allowed to keep one fish over 22” per day. Fish that are over 23-24” are often returned by anglers to help keep the big fish in the lake. I managed to catch another nice fish of 21”, and Rob got a 20” inch fish as well. Suddenly, it was “last call for a fish”. Aaron had the honors and just like that we were done, 24 walleye in the boat and Shelby’s string of boat limits extended yet another day.

Fishing on the potholes is always a fun experience. The scenery, the fishing, and now the hunting are all reasons that keep me coming back. If you would like to get in on a Cast and Blast Adventure, give Shelby Ross a call at 509-750-7763. Check out more information at his web site, Ross Outdoor Adventures.

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