Bay Flats Lodge featured in Sporting Classic magazine click here

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pintails by john cowan – Courtesy Collector’s Covey, Dallas, TX
88
Bull Sprig &Black Eagles
The Texas Coast takes center stage when
your filming an action-packed video
of duck hunting. by Capt. Chris Martin
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A
blustery cold front, typical of
Texas weather in January, blew in
sometime during the night, sending
icy winds ripping across San Antonio
Bay. Well before first light we’d
gathered up our gear and donned
our warmest clothing to brave an
airboat ride through the chilly air and
choppy waters. We scooted and side-slipped across
shallow flats toward the promise of a memorable duck
hunt. In spite of sometimes frigid conditions, each day
I look forward to the smiles of happy hunters after they
sample what I can provide for them – some of the best
waterfowling on the Texas coast.
In the inky darkness ahead, two of my top guides,
TJ Christensen and James Welder, were brushing
the frame of an open-water blind and setting out
the decoys. After hugging the protective shoreline
of an island for the final minutes of our 45-minute
ride, I followed a cut toward the calm and protected
waters of a large cove. I slowed the airboat and
nosed it toward two bouncing points of light a couple
hundred yards away. I could see the silhouettes of TJ
and James, shining their flashlights and placing the
last of the decoys.
Coming close, I switched off the airboat’s massive
Chevy marine engine and drifted up to the blind. Now
I could hear the whistle of wings – teal and other
ducks dropping in to join the company of our blocks
as the first streaks of light appeared on the horizon.
My guests stepped out of the airboat and helped lift
gear and guns into the freshly brushed blind. I had a
feeling this was going to be a good morning.
Within minutes I had stashed the boat in some
nearby cover and slipped back into the blind to
wait for legal shooting time. TJ and his buddy Will
motored off in TJ’s airboat to another blind while
James stayed with me and my guest, Benelli’s Joe
Coogan. Close behind us in a separate blind were
two videographers who would document the hunt for
Benelli On Assignment (BOA), one of the Benelli TV
shows that appear on Versus.
Filming a hunt involves much more than just
killing a limit of ducks, and the challenge begins
with proper placement of people for the right light
and correct distance, while hoping the birds will
cooperate so you can capture the action on film.
I felt up to the challenge for I knew this coastal
estuary like the back of my hand, having hunted and
fished it for many years in every type of weather and
seasonal condition imaginable.
A
s a youngster growing up in Victoria, my
love of duck hunting was established early.
I tagged along with my dad whenever he
went duck hunting near the coastal town
of College Port, and I’ll never forget the first shivers I
felt from a cold, blustery north wind and the thrilling
airboat ride across the marsh, weaving in and out
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the salt grasses to reach our blind. It proved to be a
waterfowling baptism of sorts, and I was hooked by the
excitement and thrill of it all, even before we reached
the blind.
But once in the blind, watching ducks sail into the
decoys against an orange-streaked sky and hearing the
sound of their wings – that really fueled my passion.
Right then, I knew duck-hunting was something I’d
pursue for the rest of my life. I even remember telling
my father I wanted to be a duck-hunting guide. He
simply laughed, and said, “Son, you better get your
education first.” That was nearly 30 years ago.
I did get my education, and even put in my
time in corporate environments – in fact, nearly
20 years. Then I decided it was time to plug-in my
dream of providing the very best duck and fishing
action on the Texas coast. Suiting up in long-johns,
warm camos and waders, and spending time in the
company of good dogs and good people – all among
Texas’ natural splendors, sure beats putting on a suit
and tie and walking the halls of corporate business,
even on its best day.
A couple of years ago we built our Bay Flats Lodge
on some property just minutes from the scenic
little town of Seadrift, which overlooks fish-filled
waters of San Antonio Bay. The lodge is close by
the resource-rich Guadalupe Delta and only a short
boat ride from Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and
Matagorda Island. With my wife Deb’s exuberant
help and enthusiasm, I now provide waterfowl hunts
and fishing with the help of seven of the finest
guides found anywhere on the Gulf Coast.
happen before the sun gets too high and causes
unsightly shadows to form.
Discussions about hosting the Benelli folks at
Bay Flats Lodge came about soon after I signed on
James Welder as a guide. James mentioned that his
dad Bill, a hunter of considerable experience, had
been a longtime friend of BOA’s host, Joe Coogan.
They met nearly 30 years ago when Joe guided Bill
on his first African safari.
I was delighted to offer our facilities when I
discovered that BOA was looking for some good
coastal duck hunting near a ranch where they could
also video a whitetail hunt. The tie-in was using
Super Black Eagle II guns for the duck hunt, then
switching to scoped slug-barrels for whitetails.
Continued on 224
A
s the cloudless sky slowly filled with light,
I could see it was going to be a brisk,
but bright bluebird morning – not the
best conditions for filming, but far from
the worst. For video success, the action needs to
The author (left) and Bay Flats guide
James Welder line up on an incoming
flock. Above: Chris Martin, at the airboat’s
controls, along with Benelli’s Joe Coogan
and Welder with their morning’s bag of
ducks. Opposite: Bay Flats Lodge on
Texas’ Gulf Coast.
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Bull Sprig & Black Eagles
Continued from 91
As we waited in the blind for the
legal shooting time, green-winged
and blue-winged teal banked
over our spread from every
direction. In sheer amazement
we watched flock after flock
crisscross in front of us, many of
them landing and settling among
the decoys.
Within minutes James, Joe and
I were hunkered down, ready to
shoot. James spotted the distant,
but distinctive shape of a drake
pintail, and we all whistled a tune
to turn the bull sprig toward our
spread. The pintail is a handsome
bird with his long neck, snow-white
breast, slender wings and long
black tailfeathers.
Obviously looking for company,
the pintail wheeled and dropped
toward the spread on cupped
wings. The camera guys signaled
thumbs up, and at just the right
moment – with the pintail hanging
motionless over the dekes – Joe
stood and fired, dropping the big
duck among the blocks.
James soon followed Joe’s lead by
collecting another pintail – in Texas
the daily limit is one per hunter. We
then settled down to picking out
ducks by species, and in such a way
that the cameramen could capture
all the action. It turned out to be a
grand morning for both hunters and
videographers, with everyone more
than pleased with the results. Our
bag included pintails, widgeons,
gadwalls, green- and blue-winged
teal and even a canvasback for me.
Arriving at the lodge, the reports
from my other guides were all
positive. They’d all accounted for
limits and reported good numbers
and varieties of ducks in several
different locations. From what
they told me, I knew we could
expect to see numerous flocks of
redheads, a beautiful and unique
species that graces the Texas coast
in big numbers during the winter. I
hoped that the sight and action of
Point and click.
The best bird hunting locations
are just a click away:
www.wingshootingusa.org
© 2006 NSSF
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decoying redheads would further
substantiate our claims that our
Texas coast promises some of the
best waterfowling in the world.
O
n the second day
we literally took the
hunt to the ducks,
meaning we had no
pre-positioned blind and decoy
spread ready and waiting for us.
Nope, that day we practiced a
“run-and-gun” style of hunting.
We cut some brush and carried
it in the boat to where the ducks
were, which can change from
day to day. A bone-chilling, hourlong ride across San Antonio
Bay brought us to the eastside
shoreline, where I stabbed the
nose of the airboat into some
marshy real estate.
Two of us unloaded the brush
and began constructing a pair of
blinds while the others unloaded
bags of decoys and set the spread.
In 20 minutes the blinds, one for
us and one for the videographers,
were brushed and the decoys set.
And then the fog rolled in.
The pea soup fog obviously
hampered our filming. What’s more,
there wasn’t a breath of wind. The
fog was so thick at times that we
were unable to see decoys just a
few yards away. No duck with any
sense would have been caught flying
around in it. These unforeseen and
unwelcome conditions suspended
our hunt for nearly two hours.
Finally the sky opened up
enough to allow the morning
sunshine to begin dissipating the
ground-hugging grayness.
When our visibility increased,
from out of the corner of my
eye I noticed a flock of redheads
winging toward the decoys.
Earlier, we’d decided that each of
us would shoot, one at a time, but
given the lack of morning action
so far, the shooting would now be
a group effort.
James, Joe and I crouched
low in the blind as I quietly
whispered, “Wait . . . wait . . .
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wait . . . Okay, take ’em now!”
At the sound of our shots, three
brilliantly plumed redhead drakes
folded up while the rest of the
flock beat a hasty retreat.
Soon more and more redheads
were coming into our decoys
as if they were tied to a string.
We took our time to be sure the
cameras were ready and that we
shot only mature drakes. We filled
our limits of redheads in no time
and watched and photographed as
they continued to fly low over the
blocks, often landing in front of
the blind. Many low-flying singles
came directly to the decoys with
complete abandon.
Peter Corbin
The Blue Canoe
300 s/n
A
s the hunt came to
a close, Joe still had
not collected his daily
pintail, passing up
earlier opportunities because of the
fog, low light or awkward camera
angles. A single drake pinnie was
spotted far off and we drew his
attention with a trio of whistling
peeps. He was over open water
and obviously looking for a place
to settle down for the day. Our
peeps sounded like a basket full of
crickets, but it did the trick.
The pintail took his time working
back and forth just out of range in
front of us before committing to
have a closer look at the spread.
We peered past the bills of our
caps with down-turned faces to
watch his approach.
Besides their elegant
appearance, pintails are highly
prized among duck hunters
because they’re so wary, often
circling just out of range for
interminable amounts of time
while carefully eyeballing a
potential landing zone. If they
detect the slightest movement or
an upturned face, they quickly
climb to safer altitudes to become
tiny distant dots in the sky.
Like the scene from a John
Cowan painting, the drake sailed
in on cupped wings, appearing to
hang motionless in front of us. One
Image Size, 16-5/8 x 25 inches
For information on limited edition prints, original paintings,
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visit our website:
www.petercorbin.com or call 845-677-5020
PETER CORBIN • 81 Fraleigh Hill Rd., Millbrook, NY 12545
845-677-5020 • www.petercorbin.com
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of the most exciting and difficult
moments of duck hunting is
judging when to shoot a pintail
that comes in from a straight-on
angle. Joe, positioned at the far
end of the blind, had the best
angle for a shot and through the
lessons of past misjudgments, he
knew to wait, and then wait some
more before he could stand it
no longer, finally rising to shoot.
With the shot the drake crumpled
as if hitting an invisible wall. The
sprig completed our limit.
From a slow start, it had turned
into an excellent day of Texas
coastal duck hunting, one that
we’ll long remember – and get to
watch on TV.
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• Limited edition of 25
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Editor’s Note: Benelli On Assignment
will feature Chris Martin’s duck
and deer hunt on VERSUS –
Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. EST, Sept. 5
at 10:30 a.m. and Sept. 7 at 10 a.m.
Go to www.versus.com to see the
complete lineup of new shows.
FIELD TESTS
The shotgun I used was a
Realtree camo-patterned Benelli
Super Black Eagle II (SBE II),
which coincidentally is the same
brand of gun my guides and I have
hunted with for years. We have
found Benelli guns to be ultrareliable, proving themselves every
day in the harshest of salt marsh
conditions. TJ, my stepson, even
seems to take pride in torturing his
Benelli, a camoed SBE II, which
is often found in the bottom of
his boat, soaked in saltwater and
coated with mud. TJ reckons
saltwater lubricates a Benelli
just fine, although I wouldn’t
recommend it for any other gun
I know of. – Capt. Chris Martin
IF YOU WANT TO GO
For more information about
Texas coastal hunting, contact:
Bay Flats Lodge, 391 Bayside
Drive, Seadrift, Texas 77983-0580;
www.BayFlatsLodge.com; or call
888-677-4868.
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