Hello and good morning everyone, I hope all has been well out there! I wish I could tell you all that we slayed the ducks last week but that was not the case. Oh it was cold alright and I thought for sure that the front pushing down from the north would have brought the ducks in but was I mistaken. It was 12 degrees Thursday morning, I dressed super warm, had 5 layers of clothing on under my waders, I never actually got cold myself but sure as hell everything else did. 4 of us went that morning, it wasnt so bad when we were at the house gearing up to go, all was good and it felt like it was going to be an awesome hunt. We got to the lease and there was a few puddles on the dirt road going to the place and they were frozen solid, not a big deal, hell it was 12 degrees and the puddles were shallow. We got our gear on, unloaded the ATV's and began our ride in, there was water in some of the trails going in that were about a foot deep where it was frozen, I dropped the 4 wheeler in second gear, laid on the gas and just drove through it breaking the ice and pushing forward, no big deal. We got to the hole and had to begin our walk in, the water was shallow at first and the ice was about a 1/2" thick so we were tromping through it hoping the deeper the water got the thinner the ice would be, well that was not the case either. Seemed to be just as thick all the way out there even at waist deep it was thick. Was a tough walk in through all the ice and muddy bottom but I was still positive about the mornings hunt. We got in there good and had to break ice in a big area in order to get the decoys out, so we all began breaking up a hole with some big walking sticks that we used to help give us balance on the way in. One of my friends took a fall near me, he was going down and I was just close enough to lend him an arm before he went head under, he had water get in the back of his waders, he said it wasnt much but it had gotten down both legs so he was wet. I gotta tell you had that happened to me that morning I woulda probably called it a day and gotten the hell out of there. He hung in there and didnt let it bother him and we finished putting out the dec's. We walked back about 30 yards from the decoys, got behind the big white oak trees cause we havent built a blind yet, we hadnt had any water so wasnt quite sure where we should build the blind, that and it was our first year to hunt this spot, we start to load the guns and I slide a couple in the magazine and chamber another, my 2 friends look over at me and tell me their guns are frozen solid. They both had gotten a little water in them while walking in and putting out the decoys, water isnt that big of a deal but today it was, the mechanism that allows you load the guns and chamber the shells were completely frozen shut, they tried hitting the butt of the stock against a tree to free it up but were unsuccessful, they tried with lighters to thaw the metal but that didnt work, hell they even put the little hot hands things on the guns to try and warm em and that didnt work. So 2 of us had loaded guns and the other two couldnt even take a shot. Legal shooting time was at 6:30 am, I thought for sure since this was the only hole with no ice we would have had all the ducks fly in just to us. No such luck there either, Mother Nature threw the ducks as well as us a huge curve ball and we didnt see a single duck flying, we stood there for another hour hoping to see some birds flying but didnt at all. By the end of that hour the water had frozen back around the decoys and they were stuck in the ice. Had the break ice to get back out there to em and retrieve them. We gathered up the strength the get the hell out of the water and walk out. A tough walk wasnt so bad cause we knew we were getting the hell out of there and back to the warm truck. We got to the 4 wheelers and I will be damned if the front ends of them werent freaking frozen. The water and ice we had to drive through to get back there had gotten in the front hubs and froze them solid also. Damn damn damn so we had to walk out quite a long way. We got back to the truck finally got the gear off and called in a local burger joint and ordered a few big ass double bacon cheeseburgers and all that. Got back to the house and relaxed for a couple hours hoping that the sun would hit the ATV just right and thaw it out. That didnt happen either the high for the day never got above 32 so I grabbed my small propane torch, drove back out to the lease and walked all the way back the 4 wheeler and thawed it out with the torch. It broke free and we were out of there. Not to be discouraged we loaded up and went to a different duck hole of ours that has always been a great hunt later that afternoon, same story there almost, hella ice almost all the way in, we get to the hole and oh yeah its not frozen! We are all ready for the hunt, guns are loaded, so we just sit still waiting on them to fly, we saw a few small groups come over really high, none wanted to commit, no sweat, some will. After a a few more of those a small group does come in and one of my friends nails a Green Wing Teal drake, then they just kinda cutoff and quite flying. Hellova way to end the day with one bird! As I said not to be discouraged we get home gather the gear and go over all our stuff because the next day isnt supposed to be quite as cold, oh yeah its gonna be cold but not 12 degrees. I wanna say it was 21 the next morning, we drove a couple hours away to the delta and got started in about an hour before legal time. I would love to say things were different on this hunt but seemed to go exactly as the day before with a couple other wrenches in the gears to add to our frustration. We got one duck this morning and that was it. After all the freaking problems that seemed to replay over this day from the one before, I said screw it and screw hunting and went and got my kids. I spent the next two days hanging with them and enjoying our times thinking to hell with the cold weather! Hey but thats how hunting goes, sometimes it works out great and sometimes it doesnt work out at all. We have about 2 weeks left to the duck season and I not able to go anymore, have quite a bit of work to do and other responsibilities that wont allow me to try it again. I did get another order from Haze for more wongs, seems they are doing well and they want more. I have a few custom orders I am gonna knock out this week and get back to the big stuff the following week.
@scottg402 Hello my friend, I hope all is well your way, thanks for stopping by and letting me know how your are doing as well as the best wishes. Not sure how well the year has started off for me but am sure hoping its works itself out to be a good one in the end, like you said no matter what!
@NickDlow Glad to hear how much you are enjoying that piece bro, hope you do for a long time to come! I wish you well and all the best!
Now if only I could get a reply from these raved after people and the great products they sell I might just spend my hard earned money on them. 
