With my parents in town visiting for Christmas, I decided to take the opportunity afforded to us with a free babysitter to take my wife, Erika, duck hunting. My options of blinds were limited due to the fact that she does not have all the proper gear so I chose a little slough that has easy access and a decent bottom for her to walk on. I’ve been to this spot quite a few times so I figured it would be the quickest setup and it was easy access by boat.
The wind was hard out of the NW which made the ride a little rough but we made it into the backwaters without too much hassle. As I approached the slough, my 18′ flat bottom rode up on an underwater stump. We struggled to get the boat off the hazard with no success. I decided to check the depth of the water against my waders. Seeing that it was shallow enough to get out, I slowly slipped over the edge of the boat only to find out I couldn’t touch bottom! I was hanging onto the rail as my wife tried to pull me back in. It wasn’t working. I took a chance to rest a second and remembered my outboard had a planer fin enough for me to get my foot on. I slid around and get positioned on the outboard and instructed her to raise the trim. I was lifted right into the boat with only a little water seeping down into the back of my waders.
We were able to finally work the boat off the stump, get to our spot and setup just before shooting light. My wife shot her first duck today even if she was mad at me for being “stupid”. Good quality clothing and my hunting partner possibly saved my life today. Be careful out there, there are so many factors that go into having a safe and successful hunt. The weather is turning cold on us. If you don’t have the proper gear for it, don’t go!
Kill ‘em!
Rooney