We arrived at Flight B for their final test at 10:00 am. The line sits on a levee road facing the left shore of the lake. Bird #1 is a flyer with the gun station located in heavy brush on the shore out in front of the line. They are shooting to the left and this duck lands in a grassy field at 107 yards. Bird #2 is out in the field that is left of the pond. This bird is launched over a heavy cluster of willows to the left landing 121 yards from the line. The third bird is off to the handler's left parallel to the levee road. The gunners launch this duck to the right landing only 50 yards from the line.
The Water Blind has the dog leaving the mat and swimming parallel to the shoreline staying in the water till they reach a spot in the shore 92 yards from the line. This blind has proven to be most difficult for the dogs. There is a steady wind pushing them to the shore and – at times – whitecaps. Most handlers can keep their left hand in their pockets.
The Land Blind has the dogs skimming the left shore of the levee, proceeding into a field where the duck is planted 72 yards from the line. This test is taking approximately five minutes per dog.
We saw one dog miss bird #1 and have to be handled back to the test area. We watched one pick-up, but the primary problem during our stay was the water blind.
