Water-Strider Hunting

Water-strider hunting is very fun, if you have a creek and a BB gun.  I think it is funnest for boys because they usually like to hunt more (not always)!  What you do is get permission from Mom to go play in the creek and play with your BB gun.  Then you get your boots on, go outside and load the gun before going down to the creek. 

Yesterday (3/15/2012) when I did this, I was worried that the bullets had lead. That would kill the creatures in the creek who ate them.  But thankfully, they were not lead BB’s, I checked the label.  My inspiration for yesterday’s adventure was an experience I had last year. 

It was just turning into spring, with there still being frost on the not-yet-green grass and no sign of daffodils.  I went out with my brother and our BB guns.  We went down to the creek and saw one water-strider.  We shot at it and succeeded in sinking it, but we could not find anymore.  I did not think about that experience again until yesterday.  My sisters had friends over and my brother Isaac and I wanted to get away alone.

We went down to the creek and just got there when I remembered that experience.  It was colder when that happened, so there was only one water-strider that we saw.  But I knew that yesterday was warmer and that there would be more water-striders out.

My walk up the hill was rewarded by several water-striders on the first calm spot!  Now, as you imagine, we were so excited that it was quite a while before we got a good shot at one.  Eventually we wounded one and after it couldn’t move as fast, it was finished.  Before we crossed the bridge that we use as a divider between the two parts of the creek on our property, we had a water-strider perfectly trapped.  You see, a mini waterfall trapped a water-strider by flowing so that it could not go up the waterfall and we were behind it.  We got that one after shooting repeatedly, but with several misses and only one lucky shot.  We crossed the bridge, but found no water-striders anywhere.  So we crossed the bridge again and at that point, Isaac left because of his wet boots.

After he left, I continued up the creek and for some reason, I no longer had the desire to move quickly. I stayed in one spot and it was then I discovered the perfect strategy!   Attack one spot, as usual, and wait after all prey is out of sight.  Then, always staying close, wait until they come back out.  I repeated this strategy until I was tired of hunting.  I wasn’t lonely I was talking to Isaac on the walkie-talkie I brought for communicating.  I told Isaac I was heading up.  When I got home my sisters’ friends were leaving so I inside, saving this tale for later.