GooseFest Hall of Fame
Kenmare GooseFest October 16-23, 2010.
You could say Mike Bartuska is interested in waterfowl hunting.
The
He saves all his vacation time for waterfowl hunting, invests any extra money into extra decoys, and counts down the minutes until he can set up in a field and climb into his blind.
“I wish I would have started about 20 years earlier!” he said.
Mike’s passion for waterfowl hunting has been endured by his wife and daughter, welcomed by his sons and noted by the rest of his family, especially his brother Cameron of Kenmare, who nominated Mike for the 2009 North Dakota Goose Hunters Hall of Fame.
“I don’t know anybody who loves to hunt geese more than he does,” said Cameron. “I never did it until he got me to go with him a few years ago, and now it’s all the time. It’s a ball, I know that!”
Mike was born in Kenmare to Darlene and the late James Bartuska, but the family moved to Mohall while Mike was still a toddler. He recalled an occasional hunting excursion as a kid. “I remember going out with Dad, Joe Pierce and Jim Potter,” he said. “Joe had some pits up north of Norma on his farm.”
The hunting trips remained sporadic until Mike started dating his future wife, Carla Brekhus of Kenmare, about 17 years ago and met her brothers Ronnie and Monte. “I’d go out with those guys,” he said. “Ronnie really got me started. He works for Cabela’s, and we just seemed to take our vacations together.”
Mike also hunts deer and fishes, but waterfowl hunting has become his top recreational priority. “He lives and breathes it,” Cameron said, laughing.
“It’s gone from my passion to an addiction,” Mike said. “My wife thinks I’m nuts, but the sky’s the limit on goose hunting.”
Cameron agreed, describing how Mike seems to be constantly buying, selling and upgrading his decoys.
Mike didn’t protest. “I bought 22 dozen decoys,” he said about a recent purchase of goose silhouettes. “Last week, I took Thursday, Friday and Saturday off to hunt, but the weather wasn’t so great so I sat and assembled SilloSocks for two days.”
Mike concentrates his hunting in
“We generally concentrate on honkers and ducks,” Cameron said.
“We’ve been as high as about fifth place, in 2004,” Mike added.
He admitted that Kenmare’s GooseFest celebration is now one of the weeks he takes vacation from his full-time job at Capital RV Center in
“You’ve got to waste a day cooking chili!” Cameron said.
Photos of Mike’s goose hunting trips in recent years feature a chocolate Labrador retriever,
He purchased
Cameron laughed about
Mike’s pictures also show some of his favorite companions in the field, including his teenaged son Catlin and Catlin’s best friend Tanner Jespersen, both of whom were nearly as devoted to waterfowl hunting as Mike and both of whom died tragically in a vehicle accident west of Minot last March. Mike credited Catlin with the logo painted across the Bartuskas’ decoy trailer, “FowlBoysInc.”
The Bartuskas’ nine-year-old son
When the weeks officially designated for waterfowl season end each winter, Mike continues to feed his passion through participation in the West Dakota Waterfowlers in Minot, a Delta Waterfowl chapter that he serves as vice-chair. The group sponsors several events each year, including fund-raisers, mentored youth and ladies’ hunts, and hen-house building projects. They also coordinate activities with other organizations in town and the North Dakota Game and Fish Department to promote responsible hunting practices and opportunities.
Then there’s all the goose and duck stored in the freezer. Mike enjoys processing the meat and trying new recipes. “I do a lot of jerky, and through the club, we make goose bacon and sticks,” he said. “Most people wouldn’t even know they’re eating goose. They don’t even know it’s goose until I tell them! None goes to waste, that’s for sure.”
However, Mike’s favorite times are spent in the field, where he prefers decoying birds. “Just trying to set up the perfect spread,” he said. “And then, once [the birds] are dangling over the blind! And then there’s the camaraderie among the guys, the kidding and teasing when somebody misses a shot.”
He admitted that he commits as many weekends as possible to hunting, leaving Carla and daughter Courtney at home for now. “I go out as much as I dare push it,” he said. “My wife isn’t as thrilled as I am!”
Mike hopes to expand his range to
In fact, Mike will be traveling that open country prior to the Goose Hunters Hall of Fame induction ceremony next week, and he joked about arriving in time to accept the honor. “I’ll be scouting Wednesday night before the banquet,” he said.
Any dedicated waterfowl hunter would understand.
Mike Bartuska will be recognized as the 2009 North Dakota Snow Goose Hunters Hall of Fame inductee on Wednesday, October 21st, following the Wild Game Feed at the Kenmare Memorial Hall. Everyone is invited to attend this event, which begins at 6 pm. Jason Mitchell of Jason Mitchell Outdoors, LLC will also speak during the evening.
More hunting days ahead . . . Mike Bartuska and his younger son Colton,
now age 9, take a moment to enjoy Mike's success with Canada geese
last season. Colton doesn't shoot in the field yet, but he looks forward
to the day when he can bring down some birds for Kota to retrieve.
