Ducks & Geese:

Tribute To Josh Leger
We lost a good man

By Bradley Carleton

This is one for the hardest writing assignments I’ve ever had. I love to write, but I write about the things I love and although my subject was admired by virtually everyone who knew him, it is with great heartbreak and pain that I write about the death of a great Canadian guide, Jocelyn “Josh” Leger. Josh was tragically shot to death while hunting snow geese in Quebec on Wednesday, October 10 by an individual who obviously did not appreciate that one of Josh’s pet peeves was people who “stalked” geese instead of hunting them by setting out a decoy spread and calling them in. “Stalkers” drive around with rifles and shotguns and try to “sneak up” on birds from roadside ditches or over knolls and fire into a flock that is feeding, sometimes, with a rifle. On October 10, a man driving by Josh’s spread of 500 snow goose decoys, felt that a shot from his .22 might yield a prime snow goose. Josh was guiding five other gentlemen and was laying down in his layout blind when the sport to his side asked him “Did you hear that?” commenting on the whizzing sound of a bullet in flight near their heads. When he got no answer, he checked on Josh to find that he had taken the bullet through his head. The crew jumped out of their blinds and one of them was able to read the license plate on the car that was driving away from the scene. Authorities were alerted and the shooter was arrested and, according to a Quebec newspaper, charged with criminal negligence and negligent use of a firearm. He was released on bail pending an appearance in court.

Josh was born and raised in southern Quebec. He grew up playing and learning to hunt on the St. Lawrence River. As a youngster he would practice hunting by catching frogs, leeches and catfish. As a teen his priorities had already begun to show, buying a boat before even owning a car. He was introduced to waterfowling at 12 through a school chum, Dan Palombo, who he maintained a relationship, hunting with him for 28 years. Josh worked with several outfitters in four different provinces before starting his own guide service in 1998, Club LeMigrateur. Josh’s success as a guide and his affable personality as a host were obvious when his hunts were consistently booked a year in advance. Josh was able to shape a life out of his passion for waterfowling, fishing and dog training, for which he was a recognized speaker and trainer for conferences on animal behavior and police dog training. Josh was fortunate enough to be married to Veronique, a woman who understood and accepted his passionate lifestyle. He averaged 100 days of waterfowling a year. Through this very column in Outdoors Magazine he expressed his knowledge and insight into the great sport of waterfowling. His refreshing character and enthusiasm will be sorely missed in the hunting community.

Which brings me to the concept of his legacy. What is it that Josh might have wanted to leave behind for us? The sharing of our enthusiasm and passion with as many people who would listen? Definitely. His generosity with his peers? Absolutely. How about his concern for the safety of other waterfowlers? Josh’s aforementioned “pet peeve” was people who “stalked” geese instead of decoying them. Think about it. How many times have you slowed down or stopped your truck to look at a flock in a field just to learn that it was someone’s spread? How many times have you sat in your spread when someone else’s truck slowed down to glass you? Now add rifle deer season into the equation. The temptation for some shooter to pick off just one of those handsome snowies or Canadas may be too great for someone. So, how can we stop the opportunist hunter from “stalking” us in our own decoys? One radical measure, but one that I would endorse, would be to make illegal the hunting of geese without decoys, essentially outlawing stalking.

No matter how this plays out, we have lost a fine gentleman and a terrific spokesman for our sport. May the kingdom of heaven reign geese upon you for the rest of time, Josh, and may your legacy remain in the spirit of the hunt.

Bradley Carleton runs Champlain Valley Guide Service, which specializes in waterfowl. He lives in Charlotte, and can be reached through his website at www.champlainvalleyguideservice.com.