Post by jdaily on Nov 27, 2011 19:32:06 GMT -5
They say, things happen for a reason. It started before I left the house. I normally wear sandals for the drive to the water hole. Well after putting them on, I changed my mind and slipped on my rubber boots ( this will play an important roll later). Picked up my brother and the kayak and headed north. When we arrived at our spot, we got our waders on and got the kayak out and all the gear loaded. The plan was for my brother to paddle the gear to the area we hunt, which was about 200 yrds from where I park the truck and the dog and I would walk in while he was setting up the decoys. So, I drive up the road to a place to park about 40 yrds from where we launched the boat. I park the truck and get out ( parked on the left side of the road) and take 2 1/2 steps and all hell broke loose. I stepped off the side of the road and fell 5 ft down and rolled the rest of the way down into a culvert which was at least 12 ft below the road and SPLASH. I'm now swimming in a ditch and soaked from head to toe ( because I had not put my wader belt on yet). I feel my way out of the ditch and climb out and yell for my brother to come back. I finally get out of the ditch when he gets back to where we launched the boat. I said , lets go get thing set up and then I will run back to town and get changed. While setting up, I remember, my other brother is at a campground about 10 miles from where I was at. This is the first year he has decided to camp there during deer season instead of driving back to town each day. So I called him at 5:45 and told him to leave me some cloths out to change into and to leave a pair of bibs so I could still hunt. He thought I was CRAZY for still wanting to duck hunt after going for a swim. (He's right) Got back to the truck right at shooting time and the guns started. 
Took me til 6:50 to get back to the water hole, decked out in jeans and a shirt that were 2 sizes larger than I wear, ( think goodness for belts), the bibs, my rain jacket that I had not put on yet and the rubber boots I decided to wear instead of my sandals, to find my brother with 2 birds down already. From that point on, we had 1 more hen decoy and leave and about another dozen bird pass over. Very little shooting in the area, so we packed up at 10:45 and headed home. All in all, it wasn't that bad of a morning and I learned a few things in the process. Always turn your light on when you are walking in the dark and bring a change of cloths:) Looking forward to hitting the water hole in the morning with better luck.
James
Took me til 6:50 to get back to the water hole, decked out in jeans and a shirt that were 2 sizes larger than I wear, ( think goodness for belts), the bibs, my rain jacket that I had not put on yet and the rubber boots I decided to wear instead of my sandals, to find my brother with 2 birds down already. From that point on, we had 1 more hen decoy and leave and about another dozen bird pass over. Very little shooting in the area, so we packed up at 10:45 and headed home. All in all, it wasn't that bad of a morning and I learned a few things in the process. Always turn your light on when you are walking in the dark and bring a change of cloths:) Looking forward to hitting the water hole in the morning with better luck.James
