Outside Days

Packing for the Coming Season

Howard — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:30:15 +0000

On the cusp of a new season, with one bag packed for Croatia and another for the Yorkshire moors, I find myself contemplating the sport that lies ahead.

By the time you read this, I will be in sunny Split chasing wild migratory quail across the Croatian countryside. At least if you are reading this between 4 and 9am or 6 and 8pm. Otherwise I’ll be chasing wily trout in mountain streams, stalking sea fish with a speargun or lolling about on a boat dangling my line over the edge. Don’t say I didn’t give you the opportunity to do the same! In fact, if you hurry, we may be able to nab a few days sport in September.

The walked up grouse in Yorkshire sold out as soon as it hit the books, and left some of you queuing. We are working hard at expanding our last minute offers for this season, and the availability for next. Meanwhile if someone can work out how to fit two large men, a labrador, a springer and her pup and all our kit in the back of a small van without crushing anything vital, please let me know.

September is full of promise for fur and fin alike with evenings stalking and nights on the rivers in pursuit of sea trout, not to mention some of the best early season partridge about. We do have a few days still available, and anticipate being able to squeeze in a few more before the season’s out. If you are not already on our mailing list, sign up so you can be among the first to find out about new offerings and last minute availability.

Simulated Game Summer-y

Howard — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:20:12 +0000

The long dry spells this spring and summer have made for marvellous game clay days, and many of you joined us to have a go at faux pheasant, partridge and duck. In all more than 50,000 cartridges were fired at a similar number of clays. Add to that drawn out lunches on the lawns of the Cuckoo Inn (notable for Jenny’s home-made chillies, curries, cakes and other delicacies) and you were sent home satiated and spent.

With the birds well and truly on the ground, we’ve rolled up the picnic rugs on another fantastic simulated season, but if you fancy one last blast Outside Days hosts the 50 bird sporting clay shoot at the Hamptworth Country Fayre.

So come and join us for one last chance to blow the dust from the barrels before the season starts in earnest.

Cartoonist’s Pen Shoots Down Sporting Agent

Howard — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:29:37 +0000

Well, its finally happened. After years of leg-pulling, stick-giving, and micky-taking at my beloved clients’ expense, one of you has finally gotten your own back. And oh so publicly, too. Talented satirical cartoonist Andy Sipson got his revenge with an image on his Facebook page.

Andy, his father, and the coffee table with legs he swears is a springer spaniel joined me for a walked up day this past season. I can’t honestly remember being that insulting (aside from a few choice comments when hunting for his lost ‘dog’). No. 2 observes I must have made an impression as 5 months later he posted this incredibly accurate (if a bit pointed) cartoon of me on Facebook. After howling with laughter and sending the cartoon to everyone we know, No. 2’s scheming to redecorate with placemats, notecards, and wallpaper featuring what she describes as Andy’s art. My ego hasn’t recovered enough to be objective.

There’s no doubting the man’s talent. If you can think of a good use to which to put his talents, the commissioning process is a dawdle. All Andy needs is a photo of the victim and a character sketch of their personality traits and he’s away. Alternatively, he’ll join you on a shoot day and produce a series of cartoons to capture the characters and misadventures. Just beware. That quiet exterior belies a wicked sense of humour readily released on the unsuspecting sporting agent.

Rivers of Gold: Thwarted Yellowfish Fever

Howard — Tue, 18 May 2010 21:05:59 +0000

You know you should find a fish in a river when the river’s name appears in the fish’s! So when we put the shotguns and rifles down long enough to flick fluff in the River Vaal, I fully expected to have the Vaal-orange largemouth yellowfish (Labeobarbus kimberleyensis) yanking my line. Nevermind that its sibling the smallmouth yellow fish (Labeobarbus aeneus) is much more common. I had might sights set on BIG.

Which was just as well: the Vaal is no trout stream or chalk river. Its a monster at 150m wide. Sidling up to it in our Crocs (shoes that is) and shorts, 5-weight rods in hands, we couldn’t help but feel undergunned. I have fished smaller rivers with 15 foot double handed 10-weights. Hours spent scanning the fish-porn online had armed us with a series of facts:
1. The River Vaal is wadeable
2. Yellowfish, regardless of mouth size, readily take dry and wet flies
3. The ‘freshwater bonefish’, even a 2lb yellowfish will take you down to your backing
4. Beware: yellowfish are dangerously addictive even for the experienced user

Unfortunately, as Fact 1 turned out to be…not entirely true, we were never able to prove the veracity or otherwise of Facts 2, 3 and 4. The Vaal had burst its banks six weeks before in floods the likes of which hadn’t been seen in 20 years. Although receding, there was just too much water heading downstream to make dipping more than a toe attractive.

Tiptoeing back along the bank to avoid waking slumbering monitor lizards (an effort put paid to by the dog mistaking one for a fire hydrant), we retreated to the buggy and the safety of our shotguns. Yellowfish fever will have to wait for another trip.

Doves, Diamonds and Dodgy Driving

Howard — Mon, 10 May 2010 20:50:16 +0000

Each year, I collect a team of guinea pigs who put aside common sense, regular mealtimes and British tea in favour of adventure in more or less civilised corners of the globe. This year, we got our shots and headed for South Africa in pursuit of a heady mixture of bird shooting, plains game stalking and fishing.

Our destination was a game lodge some 5 hours south of Johannesburg, just outside Kimberley in an area famous for diamond mines and agriculture. If you follow me on Twitter, then you’ll know the journey was…eventful. We were treated to some of the best of African driving including exhibitions of weaving at speed and sweet talking policemen. The lodge was a welcome sight, nestled down a 3km drive in 3,000+ acres of veldt (the African equivalent of Salisbury plain, complete with bustards).

Like farmers everywhere, the Christiana agriculturalists view (African mourning and ring necked) doves and (speckled or rock) pigeons as pests. Having tucked ourselves into the edge of maize fields and taken cover in hides on peanuts, it was only too easy to see why. The kit and the tactics here are the same as on British soil with our wood pigeons: decoys and pigeon magnets are deployed to great effect. Just make sure you get the polarity right when you hook up your battery: reversing birds may be amusing, but are unproven as a strategy even for attracting antipodean fowl.

While not quite Argentina, the birds came in thick and fast. At their peak, even with two in a hide we couldn’t load fast enough. If the tactics are the same, the quarry are quite different. African mourning dove jink like a snipe and are pretty similar in size. The rock pigeons are slightly smaller than wood pigeons, and fly in a less predictable pattern. We managed to cram three pigeon expeditions into our five days of sport, firing more than a thousand between the six of us. The birds that didn’t end up on the lodge’s dining room table went to locals who welcomed the extra protein with open arms.

Lining the Ducks Up for Winter Wild Sport

Howard — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 14:57:52 +0000

The Outside Days Easter Egg Hunt took us a little further afield than normal this year: three intrepid guinea pigs and I spent Easter weekend in Norfolk (much to No.2’s disgust). Keeping an ear to the ground may have left me with a bad back, but it did mean I heard about some fantastic wild bird shooting available near Great Yarmouth.

The jungle drums report huge numbers of woodcock, snipe and wildfowl in abundance. Make sure you are on the mailing list and keep one eye peeled at all times for the announcement in the newsletter…this will go fast.

Make Your Indian Summer a Mediterranean Quail

Howard — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:06:02 +0000

While the well-heeled twiddle their trigger fingers waiting for the start of the season on the Glorious 12th, you could be pulling the trigger in anger on the Fantastic 1st (of August, of course!), reveling in some of Croatia’s finest quail shooting. And all only a bargain dash from Gatwick or Heathrow. So before you settle for the gloom of another English summer (I mean autumn) stretching out in front of you, pack your bags for a short break on Mediterranean shores. With a season extending to the 1st October, blow the dust from your barrels and recharge on vitamin D in one fell swoop…

Leaving the heat of the day for the mad dogs and mythical Englishmen (those that avoid hats and sunscreen), we’ll be up and in the fields at first light, following the pointers in pursuit of feathered bumblebees before breakfast. By the time respectable holiday makers are emerging bleary-eyed from their beds, you’ll be enjoying brunch and contemplating the day stretching out in front of you. With temperatures visiting the 30s and the Med a mere 15k down the road, the options are endless. Just be back for an armed tea-time romp. Returning to the fields after the strength of the sun has waned gives the dogs the best chance to find the diminutive quarry. And it means you can return to Blighty’s cloudy shores without looking like a lobster.

We’re estimating an average bag of 40-50 birds a day…influenced by your fitness, walking speed and accuracy, of course. A good day and guns who have honed skills before arrival hold the promise of double that…

The season is short and birds quick so getting planning now as bookings are flying in fast.

Hanging Fred

Howard — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:00:57 +0000

Subtitle: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Over the seasons many of you have commented on the patience…okay, sainthood, of No.2. The following is only bound to confirm this view of her.

Three springs ago, I packed my bags and took a client to Kaytor Peaks on the south island of New Zealand. We spent a glorious week stalking said peaks for medal giants. When I emailed No. 2 for her input on whether to go for a skull or cape mount for the 19 point red I’d bagged, she was unequivocal in her support of my judgment. Well, actually she pointed out that we were residing in a thatched cottage with ceilings that contributed to my hairloss and very little hanging space.

So you can imagine her delight on receiving the delivery of a large box on our drive (see above). Fred was promptly relocated to the wall of a local shoot room where he enjoyed a happy two year sabbatical. In the interim, we relocated to a Victorian residence with higher ceilings and ample wall space. We reached a compromise: she got her grey walls, I got Fred.

Small wonder, then, when I announced I was planning to depart for South Africa this spring (in pursuit of yellow fish, guinea fowl, francolin…oh and springbok, warthogs and who knows what else) that No. 2 announced her bags were packed. After all, my excuse of teenagers needing supervision during A levels no longer holds, and there are intriguing reports of diamonds in them there hills…

Idiot’s Guide to Booking Shooting

Howard — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 17:00:44 +0000

Subtitle: The Things I Really Need to Know to Make Your Day Work

We start booking shooting for one season before the previous season closes, and are in full swing planning for the season to come by the time March becomes lamb-like. Much as I love extended email conversations and playing phone tennis, tag, and catch with all of you, it helps if you’ve done a little thinking before we start. We work with so many different shoots, each offering a selection of different opportunities, that it’s hard to know where to start when the email says ‘looking for some shooting…prices and dates please’.

Knowing what quarry you’d like to shoot, where or when you’d like to shoot helps narrow the choices. Grouse are a possibility in northern Britain from August 12th to December 10th, but you can forget shooting in the Outer Hebrides until September, or being within an hour of London ever.

Do you care how many times you pull the trigger? How high the birds are? How far you will have to preambulate between pegs? Is your dog just for show, or do you expect to use its services on the day? Are you solo, or blessed with an entire team of compatriots eager for the off? Can you shoot any day except the first Tuesday of each month, or are you a weekend warrior? Gourmand content only with linen tablecloths and a selection of fine wines? Cottage pie or casserole in the shoot room? Fish and chips at the pub? Or sausage rolls and soup on the tailgate of the Landrover?

Do you have to be back on your doorstep for dinner at 5? Looking to stay in a sporting lodge complete with singing laird and scotch pancakes? Fancy a pub with a roaring fire that allows your dog to stay? Or maybe a B&B whose landlady has an encyclopedic knowledge of local watering holes?

I’m sure you get the picture. The more specific you can be, the closer to your dream spec I can tailor the day. Of course, giving me plenty of notice always helps…

One Season Closes, Another Opens

Howard — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:39:23 +0000

When Britain mothballs game shooting for the season, my attentions turn to sport further afield, and to the next season looming on the horizon – a summer of game clays and fishing for trout and salmon.

While you’ve been reliving the season past over a pint and cleaning your gun for the final time, I’ve been to the GP to arrange shots and contemplated packing for a guinea pig trip to South Africa in May. Never one to live in the present, I had the details of that trip sewn up with my Christmas shopping: now I’m firming up plans for trips to Croatia in early August. Better known for boar and deer (which we can also arrange), Croatia is also home to a species of quail so small that disturbed coveys have been described as swarming bees. Cheap flights to parts of Croatia have made bargain sporting breaks a tempting prospect. We’ll be putting together teams to go to locations near Split and Zagreb in pursuit of these tiny dynamos. The sport will be quail over pointers at either end of the day (avoiding midday heat), and ‘cultural’ activities in between. As always with pointers, the ideal team size is 4, and the standard package is 2 days sport, 3 nights accommodation. If birds the size of angry bees are your thing, get in touch.

When game birds become protected species on February 2nd, trigger fingers across the country begin to itch through lack of use. Simulated game, or game clays as I like to call them, provides the remedy for many of you each year. From April until mid-July we offer days on several locations in the South, or we can bring the sport to you. Unlike driven shooting where the line is limited to 6 to 10 guns, we work on 12 to 18. Perfect for everything from team building to wedding guest amusement, we’ve organised days for it all. From fully catered with wait staff and candelabras to picnics in a hay barn or sandwiches from the boot, we can do it all. For the lone gun or incomplete line, we have a number of scratch days throughout the simulated season. Get in touch if firing upwards of 400 cartridges a day sounds like fun.

My sporting passion began with rod and line, and every year as the buds burst and the days lengthen I am drawn back to my roots on the river bank. Whether your pleasure is still water or river, novice or experienced fisherman, we have opportunities to flick fluff at trout for all. Days are booking up rapidly, but remember you can always fit in an evening’s sport after the office closes with some of our waters catering to the afterhours fisherman.