Because I’ve been fortunate enough in the last twenty years to pursue tiger fish and plains game in Africa, Caribou in the Artic, moose in British Columbia, red stags in New Zealand, elk in New Mexico and Wyoming, and waterfowl and wild boar in Argentina, people are asking me, “Wiltz, what’s next?”

Though I’ll turn 79 next month, I’ve tried to avoid posing myself as a “poster child” for elderly hunters and fishermen. Today I’ll deviate from that point of view and admit that I have a couple of “bucket list” destinations that God willing I’ll satisfy this year. One of those destinations will be a waterfowl hunt in Saskatchewan, and the other will be a black marlin quest in the waters of Cabo San Lukas Mexico.

Cabo is on the Baja California Peninsula, and our Cabo visit will take place next month. Our youngest daughter and her husband own a home in Cabo, and Betsy and I will be joining our three daughters and a granddaughter and her boyfriend. LuAnn has friends in Cabo who are into deep sea fishing, and they plan to take me out. I hope I can handle a marlin if I hook one as they can get big and they have been clocked at over 80 MPH. Other than marlin, I’ll also be interested in dorado or mahimahi. Needless to say, I’ll first have to conquer my sea sick problems.

According to my son-in-law, half the vehicles in Cabo have South Dakota license plates. Our SD laws are unique, and regardless of where one lives, Mexico included, a vehicle can have SD plates so long as the vehicle is titled in South Dakota. SD titles don’t require SD residency. Currently most of these Cabo vehicles with SD plates have Clay County “19” license plates because some enterprising Clay County resident went into the business of doing the paperwork for nonSD residents.

Betsy and I recently gave our 2014 Chevy Equinox to LuAnn so that they can have a vehicle in Cabo. Now one of the Cabo vehicles will have a Charles Mix County “17” license plate. In the past they have had to rent a vehicle in Cabo as they fly back and forth.

When Mike Hall and I returned across Saskatchewan in 2016 from our British Columbia moose hunt, big greenhead mallards were more than abundant in the road ditches. I’ve dreamed of a Saskatchewan waterfowl hunt ever since. I recently booked a Saskatchewan waterfowl hunt with WTA, Worldwide Trophy Adventures. I booked the 2016 moose hunt with WTA and was more than satisfied. Though I realize one gets nothin’ for nothin’, WTA claims that their booking service is free as their price is the same as the outfitters. Once again I will hunt with Mike Hall.

We are scheduled to arrive on September 29th and hunt the 30th, 1st, and 2nd of October. From what I’ve been told by others who have hunted Canadian waterfowl, if there is a downside to hunting Canadian ducks and geese, it is the possession limit. The more waterfowl we can eat or give away during our stay, the more we can shoot. How many ways can waterfowl be prepared? Roast duck or geese, duck tacos, goose chili? The only limit is one’s imagination and capacity. Maybe we need to make duck sausage while we are there.

Neither Betsy nor I care much for waterfowl as Betsy says it has a wild taste, but Clay Barham of Springfield once showed me how to make local fish-eating ducks taste like beef. It really worked! He first steaked or filleted the breasts and then marinated them overnight in a mixture of soy sauce and peanut oil. He then grilled them on a backyard grill. The fillets were awesome.

A Winner lady once called me and asked how to get the wild taste out of elk. Elk isn’t wild in my opinion, but I told her about soy sauce and peanut oil. She called me a week later to tell me that the concoction worked beyond her expectations!

Speaking of growing older, Betsy and I will be at the Mitchell Gun Show this coming weekend with my collector/investment quality Colts, Springfields, and Winchesters. I’ll also have artifacts from the 1955 Dr. William Delaney safari along with my half dollar collection. It’s time for someone else to enjoy owning them. If nothing else, stop by and we’ll visit.

See you next week.