# James Bay "Old school" photos.......



## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Got to transferring some old slides to jpg files. These are from 1971. Dad used to go there yearly with a great bunch of guys, warm up the barrels on the james bay coastline for a week around mid september. They hunted primarily north of Attawapiskat at a place called "half way point", mid way b/w cape henrietta and attawapiskat. I got to go a couple of times and hope to take my sons some day.

Sun rise on the flats looking east towards Akimiski Island.









This is how they rolled up and down the coast (when not using the 30 foot freighter canoes). Nice to have a friend who was in charge of a local mine and loved to goose hunt. Good for also spotting polar bears.









No custom decoys here. Mud turned over with a stick as a neck and a tampon taped around the end of the stick to resemble an eagle head. Dead geese used as decoys and a traditional willow blind. They would send the youngsters off with bungies and pack frame to collect willows, sometimes walking 1-2 miles one way. I dreaded those marches.









Proudly showing off a couple of birds.









Wrapping up a shoot.









Modeling the latest waterfowling apparell. How simple it was back then.










Waiting for the "tender" to arrive.









The end to a pretty good day. Loading up to go back to camp.









Camp was a family affair as the Cree stayed for almost a month harvesting geese for the upcoming winter.









Women in camp cooked traditional meals and processed all the birds. Young Crees would be used as callers, as puberty hadnt set in.


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## bombcast (Sep 16, 2003)

thanks Wavie. Would love to see more.


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Those are very cool Greg. Thank you.


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## Shupac (Apr 17, 2005)

That's living the good life.

Thanks.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

great pic's.


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## KLR (Sep 2, 2006)

Awesome.


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## new b (Oct 12, 2005)

those are very cool and I too would love to see anymore you have!


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## quackersmacker13 (Dec 9, 2009)

Thats really really cool to see. I always love old duck/goose hunting pictures. It would probably be a blast going up there, my mud motor might be able to get through that stuff...


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## CaptainNorthwood (Jan 3, 2006)

Very cool thanks for sharing. I love looking at old pics.


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## bigrackmack (Aug 10, 2004)

Your dad was a lucky man.....looks like some great hunts and plenty of stories to be told....Thanks for sharing they are great.......Mack


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## Iceman_101 (Jan 11, 2009)

That is awesome!!!!!


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## Shlwego (Sep 13, 2006)

That's really cool. Any of those guys still hunting Wavie? They've gotta be gettin' up there in age - after all '71 was 40 years ago. I hope my hunting pictures look as cool to my kids 40 years down the line, and I hope my kids are still out there hunting!


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## k9wernet (Oct 15, 2007)

I love the cot -- plywood on a 2x4 frame with a sleeping bag on top!

Very cool pictures. Keep 'em coming if you have more!

KW


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## chamookman (Sep 1, 2003)

Great pics - thanks for sharing. Ya really took Me back - I had an Uncle that went back in the 60's every year. As a young Kid, I always looked forward to the storys and pictures at Christmas get-togethers. I'll always remember the piles of Snows & Blues, the canvas coats and Parker SxS shotguns. C-man


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## smokem (Feb 6, 2003)

Great pics and thanks for sharing.


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## Forest Meister (Mar 7, 2010)

Wavie, your pictures brought back some very fond memories of my first out of state adventure. Back in '74 my best friend and I booked a three day hunt, skipping classes for a few days, and drove my rusted out '64 Comet across the border (the Customs Officer almost turned us back because he thought we were flat broke Hippies!) to Timmins, Ontario, where we caught a flight to Attawapiskat. The plane was a WW II vintage twin prop that the pilot said was recently acquired as surplus from the French Air Force. Didn't see too much of the landscape because the windows frosted due to lack of cabin heat. 

The goose camp near the mouth of the Attawapiskat River had generator provided electricity, a sauna, supplied outstanding breakfasts and dinners and a sack lunch. The Cree guide, who could speak limited English, took you to the hunting ground, constructed a willow blind, set out the decoys, called the ducks and geese with his mouth and retrieved them even if they sailed almost out of sight on the flats. He also prepared the birds for the trip home. If you ran out of shells you could buy them at camp for the then unheard of price of seven dollars a box. They were the dirtiest shells I have ever shot, even dirtier than the early steel loads. I still have a couple.

Anyway, brace yourself, the hunting package including the flight to and from Timmins, two full days and two half days guided hunting, three nights lodging at the camp, meals and bird preparation was booked for the Kingly sum of.........$350.00! A lot of money when your summer job paid $3.40/hr. FM


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## Ieatantlers (Oct 7, 2008)

Thanks for taking the time to convert and post the pics wavie. It is cool to see the Attawapiskat area- knowing that the collared goose I shot last year came from that region. It looks like a much simpler (better) way of hunting/life back then. Thanks again.


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## LoBrass (Oct 16, 2007)

Very cool.

Thanks for sharing.


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## casscityalum (Aug 27, 2007)

very cool again and thanks for sharing!


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

FM
We also flew out of timmins, which was just north of where i grew up, or took the train to mossinee. I remember flying in a plane just like the one you described. Wore all my winter gear as you could see your breath in the cabin. Those birds that sailed seemed to go forever, and as usual, the kids were sent on retrieve. Once while going after a bird that made it to the tree line i crossed over some polar bear tracks, i felt very small and one step lower on the food chain. 

IEA
They hadnt started collaring birds back then but many miner bands were taken by the locals. Saw a top drawer of a work desk filled to the top with miner bands, suspected they were never reported.

Some of the guys still hunt including my dad, some have passed, i'll look for more photos when i see my dad next.


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## rivrat1959 (Feb 18, 2001)

Great pics!! Would love to see more!


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## Dahmer (Jan 22, 2007)

Very nice. Love seeing old hunting photos. It's pretty funny that the old timers were able to stack up birds not using camo, spinner decoys and realstic looking decoys. Really makes you think alittle bit about getting back to the basics. Thanks for sharing.


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## YELLERLAB (Oct 21, 2009)

Great pics! Thanks for posting.


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## LumberJ (Mar 9, 2009)

excellent photos! Thanks for sharing


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

like Dahmer was saying, 


these pics have obviously been altered. there's no way they stacked birds up like that sitting in a conspicuous willow blind hunting over mud dekes.


*FAKE!! * 



~~~~~

sweet pics Wavie.

root around and find us some more!


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## D-Fresh (Feb 8, 2005)

Great pics, thanks for sharing!


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Thanks for sharing Waive. Always great to look back and see pics of what it was like hunting 40-50 years ago. Especially nice to be reminded your parents were once young also.


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

My buddy in Canada has a great picture of his grandpa or great grandpa standing on the dock with a brace of 'Squaws. Take out the birds and the old side by side and you'd swear he was on his way to church! -guess that's how they rolled when they went out to the shore!

the best part about it all is that he has the pic AND his Grandpa's shotty that's shown in the picture. guessing the circa is 1930's vintage.
pretty cool!


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## PaleRider (Oct 24, 2007)

Very cool, I love old photos............have a few of my own.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

wavie said:


> FM
> We also flew out of timmins, which was just north of where i grew up, ....


:lol: The only good thing that ever came out of Timmins was Shania Twain :evilsmile


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## Dixiedog (Aug 9, 2006)

Great pics. Thanks for sharing. I love to see the old hunting pics. Would love to see more.


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## duckhunterr13 (Jun 3, 2008)

awsome pics....now im daydreaming at work...


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