Getting Wet

Everybody that duck hunts gets wet periodically. Some more than others. Seems like I have been wet more than anybody I've ever hunted with. Partly due to my own clumsiness, partly due to always being in a hurry, but mostly due to me doing all the odd jobs. You know what I mean; breaking up ice in the decoys, putting the boat away, working the dog, putting out and adjusting decoys. Not that some of my hunting partners don't offer to help, it's just that I seem to always be the one who had the idea to do the odd jobs, so they sort of become my responsibility.

First time I ever had a scare while out duck hunting, I was out wading in Blackbird Basin shooting Teal. It was fairly shallow water, I was just wearing hip boots. I got a little too close to the edge of a dredged channel trying to pick up a dead bird and my feet just slipped off the edge of the foot and a half water into over-my-head deep water. I held my gun up above my head, but one foot get entangled in the roots of a tree that was submerged. My buddy came to try to help me, and he said I was under water for almost 2 minutes before he saw me come to the surface.

Another time at Indian Lake I was out in the decoys breaking up ice. A larger that I thought sheet of ice was coming at the decoys and I went out on the leading edge of the decoys and was breaking it into smaller pieces that would float on through the decoys. Well, it got too thick to break and it started pushing be backwards. I tripped over a snag and fell backwards and the ice floated over top of me while I was trying to get loose from the snag and get back up. I was barely able to catch the leading edge of the ice and with a mighty effort pulled myself up so I could get my head above water and held on till dad waded out and gave me a hand.

Whit got a good laugh one time when I went swimming at Spring Creek. We were walking opposite directions around the impoundment, jump shooting ducks. I saw 2 nice drake Wigeon sitting on a log and spent a few minutes sneaking up on them. When I got to the closest point I could reach, I took one step off the dike into the water and went in out of sight. Again, I kept my gun out of the water. But other than my hat floating off, I was pretty well drenched. I had managed to kill the 2 birds though. When I met back up with Whit he asked me what had happened and I just shook my head and asked if he had a dry cigarette. He was highly amused by the whole affair.

Out at our blind on Rhodes Point there is an old tree trunk under water about 20 yards out in the front of the blind. When the water is clear you can see it easily. In the dark, putting out decoys, I am always careful to wade out and find that log first thing and drop a decoy on it so I can avoid it. But every couple seasons I seem to forget about it when I am either rearranging decoys or out working the dog on multiple kills. Each time I get mad and everybody in the blind just cracks up laughing. Some day it will be their turn to spend the rest of the day cold and wet.

Back at Oldfield Island I had a disappointing fall one time. It was real cold and the little slip we had made to hide the boat was frozen over. First thing in the morning when I tried to put the boat away I slipped on the ice and slid down into the water. Filled my waders. Like I said it was really cold and I tried to hang tough, but after a couple hours I was really hurting. Dad ran me back to the cottage and I changed clothes and put on a different pair of waders. When we got back to the blind about 100 Mallards and 30 Canada Geese were sitting in our decoys. I was crushed. But I just couldn't have held out any longer without something freezing off. We killed a couple birds that day, but...

One time McGee and I got caught in a really freaky winter storm while we were hunting at Catfish Lake. By the time we got the decoys picked up we were both in water up to our chins. It was warm out at the time, but by the time we got home it was cold. When I pulled Mike from the seat of my Jeep it tore the vinyl seat. He was frozen completely to it. I'm pretty sure he never rode in my Jeep again after that day.

The last day Cain and I hunted in a beaver swamp I got wet. I had tied him to a tree to steady him and I had waded about 6 feet out from the tree to hide in a little bush. He got to whining and making a commotion before shooting time and I attempted to take a couple steps back towards him to clobber him. I had my gun slung over my shoulder (an important rule of wading is not to wade with your gun slung on your shoulder) slipped on a log below the surface and fell in and broke the stock out of my Benelli.

I know getting wet comes with duck hunting, but it always takes me by surprise when I mess up and fall in. But at least I always provide my hunting partners with a big laugh.