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Same Story. Different year. We are creatures of habit. For the last several consecutive years, the exact same guys show up at the exact same place on the exact same day to do the exact same thing. Philip, Steve, Danny, Kevin, Brian, Brant, and myself head down to Eagle Lake for the opening weekend of teal season. We all head up Friday afternoon and meet at the Sportsman's restaurant for a good supper. Then we head on to the lodge owned by Doug and Janie, who also happen to own the Sportsman. We play cards all night and there have been several years that we left the poker table to put on waders and go hunting. For two years straight, myself and Kevin didn't sleep from Friday to Sunday. We were younger then, cause we get "some" rest now . We always stop by the Sportsman on the way to the blind. You gotta have breakfast, and "Janie's Taco" is hard to beat. We hunt down there with an outfitter called Tailfeather's Guide Service. TGS is owned by Mike "Duck" Fisher. No crap, the man's name is duck. He has a lanyard full of leg bands, that we assume he sleeps in. He is as good a guy as you will ever meet, and the hardest working outfitter I ever saw. But we hunt with Neil. Neil is a guide for Duck and he is a character. We stop letting him call shots years ago. Now, he don't guide so much as he goes along and bitches at us to stop loading up as soon as we get out of the truck, or taking bloody marys to the blind. He is also a hell of a shot. We basically just repeat this all the next day. That makes for the best weekend of my year. Every year. I don't talk to some of these guys for months at a time. Some I talk to everyday. But when teal opens, it's the best friends you ever had. They are taking your money and claiming your birds, but damn are they good dudes. Philip and I are lucky enough to do it all over again the next weekend, with what started as clients but quickly became friends. Those guys, Jeff, Sean, Brian, Chad, and Rick have given Philip and I two weeks worth of "good for nothing" work ethic. These guys make up the Texas Duck Club. These guys are my boys. I'm proud to know them all. The original guys are Dr. Danny Beyer, DC.,Porter, TX.; Steve Deaton, Spring, TX; Brian Lukens, Houston, TX; Kevin Conn, Montgomery, TX; Brant King, Winnsboro, TX; and Philip "I got it" Deliganis, Kingwood, TX. The 2nd weekend guys are Jeff Johnston, Waller, TX; Sean McGarrity, San Antonio, TX; Rick Roberson, Atascocita, TX; Brian Nuemann, Navasota, Tx; Chad Bate, Conroe, TX; and Philip "I got it" Deliganis. And of course my main bitch, Abby. If I could keep my buddies from trying to teach her to fetch beer, she'd be the best dog ever. As it is...she's damn close. Kill ‘em, Curt Joslin, Porter, TX TDC Co-founder