Day One Oregon Chapter

Woke up this morning to pouring rain.  I got on the

Looking out from the Old Old Spot

computer to look at some doppler radar and see if the rain would stop.  Not going to happen it said.  I almost went back to bed, but I didn't.  I gear up and I am at the lot by 6 am, cilling time is at 7:01. I make it to the water and it's up to Cilling for the King level.  Never in all my years have I seen the water this high on opening day, usually it is a moon scape with the water 30-50 yards from the shrub.  I was able to just cut out the CFTK spot and bam! Hunt ready.  

The clock strikes cilling time.  Pretty quiet.  I'm second guessing my decision sitting in the rain.  About a half hour passes and a set of mallards  drop in, next I'm drinking for missing but heck there's action.  Another set of mallards want my Dakota Supremos.  For some reason my Beneli firing stick was aiming at the hen instead of Greenie.  She's down and mine.  Multiple sets of 10-15 widgeon are dropping into my spread, I'm not wanting any part of them.  Sure I could have dropped 3 or 4 with 1 shot but they are not why I'm here.  

Zombie killing stick I found today

Did I mention that it's raining?  I mean now it's pouring.  I'm thinking the hard stuff isn't coming down for some time.  A hen mallard drops in from the right, I raise the weapon but stop, if there is a hen there has to be a green head bastard  not far behind.  Sure enough he's dropping in from the right but facing away.  I raise the firing stick and drop him in his tracks.  But it was almost a going away shot because of the way that the bastard was facing.  Greenie recovered quickly and tried jumping up again, but I was right there with 2 3/4 inch of tuff love.  Down again, and now swimming away from me.  I pull the trigger for the third installment of tough love and it goes click.  By now he is halfway to the island and out of reach.  Sadness  overcomes me, should I have tried going after him?  I'm mourning the loss in the blind.  I then say screw it I'll bet that I can make it over to that island, I've been there before.  I grab a big wading stick and try to cross.  (my waders are filled with water already because I pulled a 8 year old pair out of a box not knowing how bad they were, so I guess I had a gallon of water in the right boot) I'm now up to my waist and then up to my chest and water is pouring in from every conceivable broken seam.  I'm not going to make it.  I'm now officially negative in the drake column.  I get a sun break and call it and head home.  I saw some mallards, pintail and a bunch of widgeon, it was good.  Day one.   

Oh yeah, I was putting on a dry pair of gloves and when I grabbed my bag it wasn't zipped and all of my shells fell into 8 inches of water.