Jefferson Iowa News reporter Rick Bland recently caught a glimpse of the evasive local resident referred to as Bigfoot at Goose Lake north of town. He was able to observe the creature apparently duck hunting, although he was using an unusual technique. It seems that Bigfoot prefers to place a decoy on his head, and immerse himself in the lake, waiting for the ducks to arrive.
Bigfoot
has the capacity to stay underwater for up to 20 minutes at a time, as
he was timed by members of our staff who were on hand. When the ducks
arrive, he suddenly emerges from the water and crushes them in his
powerful jaws, consuming them in a matter of seconds. This technique has
the added advantage of making it extremely difficult to prove whether or
not he has bagged his daily limit. The daily bag limit in Iowa is six
ducks, and although we observed Bigfoot carrying several dozen back to
his home, he stated that those in excess of six were merely used for
"bait" and should not count toward the limit.Bigfoot seemed unconcerned that he was being watched and photographed. He spent most of the afternoon bagging ducks and either piling them up on the shore or eating them on the spot. Bigfoot has been known to walk up to 64 miles in an 8-hour stretch, so he is able to hunt throughout the entire Greene County area without the aid of transportation.
He was able to produce a valid duck hunting license with the appropriate stickers when asked, so this would explain his complete lack of concern for being spotted and observed.
Our readers who enjoy this sport should take note that the area around Goose Lake seems now to be nearly devoid of all types of waterfowl, and should you choose to go duck hunting later this season, you may want to head to some area outside of Greene County, where Bigfoot has not been quite as active.
Rick Bland, 11-02-2008