We were on Sandusky Bay at the perfect time in December. We saw huge clouds of ducks flying on the horizon. We got to the bay at sunrise which is no big deal targeting divers. They fly through the middle of the day. Larry, Hoss and I arrive at the Dempsey Access in time to see a spectacular show to the east. It was motivation to get the boat in the water and get the blocks set for the day. The wind was "nor'easter" was blowing cold and steady. We were somewhat protected at the ramp so all was good. The ramp was steep and not very long, a good thing for rough water. We had to lift the home made two man layout boat off the tender and carry it in the water first. Next week launched the 17-foot tender boat and tied the layout boat with ski ropes for towing. It was too heavy to leave it in the tender boat. We loaded up, parked the truck, and headed out. Larry drove us far enough out off shore to get in the flight path of the birds, but not so far as to get into white caps. The first order of business was to set the boat, then place the dekes around it. Larry showed us that the boat would be facing downwind as the birds would most likely be coming upwind. He showed Hoss the cowl that we made out of canvas that could be pulled up if it started to get rough. This would keep the waves from breaking into the boat from behind, theoretically. This was all very fascinating to me. Although I helped Larry with the construction of the boat, I had never been layout shooting before, nor Hoss for that matter. Larry explained to us that the divers preferred to follow the line of dekes and land at the "head of the class" rather than fall in behind like puddle ducks. Therefore we needed to stop the line short of the boat and put a ball of dekes for attraction. Also, since Hoss and I were both right handed, we would have limited range to swing right. The best spread for us was to run the line slightly to the left, or port side, of the boat so we could get better shots. Later, when Larry was to get in the boat, we would move some decoys to make a line on the right side or starboard, since he is left handed. It made perfect sense!
The line was set, we transferred ourselves and gear to the low profile boat and loaded up. I barely closed the action on my semi auto when three bluebills made what looked like a strafing run down the line. They came in and were gone so fast, we only took one shot each! Laughter ensued as the "black heads" (as they call them in North Carolina) gave us lessons! Not long afterward, a small group of scoters were caught cruising our line. One shot each, as before, now produced two floating prey. Before we could gloat too long a single ruddy duck glided in, teetering back and forth as he coasted down the line. Bang! One shot and Hoss had his first ever ruddy duck! We waved the flag, which was the signal to the tender boat operator that we needed his assistance. I saw Larry creating a large wake as he ran the boat our direction. For no apparent reason, he stopped. After a short pause, it hit me why he stopped. I shouldered my Remington before looking. There they were, all flock of buffleheads screaming straight at us! Kaboom ! Hoss and I shot simultaneously, followed by one more each. Three birds lay dead as the rest flew straight over our heads so low that I probably could have hit one with my gun barrel. "Ho, Ho! This is a blast!" Hoss was really impressed. Larry motored in and picked up our birds with a landing net. He drove close by enough to yell, "Put up your cowl!" We were having fun and did not notice that the wind was picking up speed. We lifted the cowl. which was primarily to the stern, where it was needed. If we lifted the bow end, we couldn't see. We reclined for comfort again, when we saw a flock of ducks in a line fly overhead about 75 yards up. Then another, and another, they just kept coming. It occurred to me that the birds had longish tails although we couldn't see the colors well, we surmised that they could have been pintails. Looking back on it, they could just have easily been oldsquaw. After 20 minutes of that, we had a lone goldeneye cup its wings, ride the wind, and glide in according to plan. Hoss added his first goldeneye to his list of firsts, and it was high-five time. We laid back down as some mergansers teased us by flying across out of range. Whoosh! Suddenly, someone just poured a bucket of ice water down my back, as if I had just won the next big game in my coaching career! What the heck! The wave was big enough to break over the cowl. I had water right down my back inside my coat and into my waders! The boat wasn't "full" of water, but there were hulls and stuff floating in it. The flag was up! "Come on buddy, get us out of here!" I thought. Whoosh, another wave broke over the stern. Hoss and I quickly abandoned the stern in an attempt to tip it up slightly. "Did you guys put enough floatation in this boat?" was Hoss's obvious inquiry. I assured him that we had plenty of foam. There was no way we could sink. It seemed to take Larry forever to get there.
He arrived. We were soaked, but never in any real danger. We bagged up the decoys and set the bags in the layout, tied it off and slowly motored toward Dempsey. On the way in Larry told us that he could feel the wind building the waves. There was no way there was going to be time to move dekes and take a turn, so he was content to let us shoot. The truth is that the rascal probably figured that he would get in there just in time to get soaked! He isn't stupid, but neither are we. Our first lesson was to be mindful of the wind! I vowed to never to let that happen again!
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