Long time no update. Mielikki and myself are still truckin along with positive results. The jack population has really taken a dive here, but we are still trying to focus on feather instead of fur to end the season. We have taken enough jacks this season and will let them try to re-populate next year but even this looks grim. I think the jack population will crash pretty hard the next couple of years. Starting on jacks has really taught me plenty with my first Gos. I really wanted to take some pheasants this year with her but we have not been successful. I think the jacks played big a part in these results. To expand let me say that Mielikki learned very quickly that jacks in my area are very easy to catch. In my area, I mean open fields with perfect straight line of sight flights that ended in success. Ducks close to home have been a challenge being we have only had 4.11in of rain this year. If I had time with work being so damn busy, maybe we would have got a few with travel, but I also feel ducks would have been like hunting jack rabbits and not got us to the point of pursuing a pheasant for a half mile to a mile. The opportunistic hunter of Mielikki needs to be addressed. If you start from the beginning of this thread I was not for the pursuit of bagged game, but I will revert and say, we need to do some if we want to have a good pheasant season next year. Live and learn, and choose wisely. We plan to end the season ambushing crows from foot being we cannot car hawk and then enter the moult with plenty of handling and fitness flights on the rope. Once pheasant seasons opens next year we will be giving the poults hell and let the jacks recover in my area. Mielikki and myself had a pretty good year. For my first imprint Finn, I give myself a C-. I did not flunk out, but I definitely have a better plan for the future. The good thing is I can't see myself without a Gos for a long time. Thanks to everyone that has helped and listened to our progress. We could not have done it without you.