I've said since 2 trees fell into our house in the 90s, and no one was hurt, long story there, but things happen for a reason, no matter how bad they seem.
Our nephew is in from USMC. Before shipping out shortly. Only day he had to hunt ducks. Bought a stamp, public hunt permit etc... IE cost him some cash for sure. At least TX gives the license free.
There are a lot more small details to the story, but gotta leave for family Christmas shortly. So you get the short story thats not well written at all.
So we got up at 330, head over to the lake. You can't get where there are ducks, without an airboat. We've run mine 3 times now, have to run dry ground, water, dry ground so on.
Getting into the main channel is hard in the dark wiht all the brush and beans... I have not been able to knock down a visible enough trail yet so we run blind on GPS tracks best we can. But if you know airboats, they are not that easy to steer etc...
Once we get back to the start of the main channel its a hard fast left out of water, onto dry, have to power way up to make it over log pile, and into water again...
We did fine and are a couple turns up into the main creek. Coming to a right, and I can't make it turn. Finally realize I've broken the steering linkage... bummer.
Whats worse is trying to get back out of the creek, we can't in the dark. So we have to push pull a teleflex cable by hand against the power of the prop pushing air over the rudders. Lucky the stick is still attached and I can kinda get a leverage point... we get back to the mouth with the log pile. Stop, say I"m not going over that in the dark with no steering.
What the heck, take the decoys out and toss em in a HARD hunted pond about 100 yards away.... figuring we'll see nothing really. And bummed. But what the heck, its Christmas, I don't have to be at work. I'm out of range of my fire/EMS volunteer pager....
Do you see where this is going? No way to expect a duck or limits... just figure out how to get back intact and get the nephew home still in time to make church?
Big duck? Banded? Cinnamon Teal? Limits of greenheads?
Nope, a single pinny hen comes in, and my buddy shoots her. Right after that we have a high crossing pins, and I told my nephew shoot, what the heck? They AIN"T coming down. Nope, he didn't get on em in time. I toss a round up there. Crunches the lead bird... and I"m watching it fall when I hear barking and water splashing. 2 dogs. No biggie, but there is NO one at the ramp. Just us. So I go back to watchign my duck fall, when I realize, they are not black labs. And I look back and realize its a chocolate and a silver. Wow. Today is Wednesday. Those 2 have been lost since Saturday's opener and here they are in front of us. Lean and poor. But happy. Grab em, and make sure we got em.
The guys that lost them will be elated to find no better present. They had talked to us both Saturday and Sunday. And had had no luck. They knew we were the only folks that could go about anywhere.
We had not hunted it since Sunday, but made uncommon plans due to my nehpew, to hunt it this morning on Christmas day.
Thats one part of why we found em. The other is the break down. If not we'd have been a few miles away, limited out shortly, and hauling it back past them, not even stopping to check that area for any reason. An area you couldn't pay me to hunt under normal circumstances.
It could not have happened any different at all and us found them. They were within a mile of the boat ramp, but the ramp is basically closed, shallow water. And the cinnie beans are so tall and thick you could walk in circles if you didn't know where you were, for days....
We managed to make it back out over the logs, hand steering all the way. Long ride to the ramp.
Guys were not camping anymore, we knew what spot they were at. But they had signs all over the place. Called em and left a message.
Got home, about 45 minutes from the lake. And the owner called and was overjoyed of course.
They are in a side yard, had a bit of food. Will give em a bit more before we leave for family in a bit. Hope like heck they stay in a 4 foot chain link!!! Owner coming from 5 hours away this afternoon and we'll be back by then.
Oh yeah, and that duck... nope, wasn't banded or anything that I know. I took my eyes off it so long when I realized we found dogs that were missing for 4 days and had freezing nights etc...... that my mark was not good, and no, we could not find that duck. I"m sorry to say that, but IMHO it was a good sacrafice in a way.
Merry Christmas to all!!!
This world is not in our control, and things do happen for a reason. I just quit asking why a long time ago. The answer sometimes shows itself.
And my nephew? Never got a duck and wants to deer hunt the next days before he ships out.... back to North Carolina where he knows no one, no source to hunt or fish etc..... just USMC stuff before they ship to Japan...
Jeff
