Get up at 3AM Saturday and open the door leading to my lakefront deck. The wind nearly blows me back into to room. Pull up the weather sites and they are showing 14 mph winds with gusts to 21. The gust aren't pretty, but managable. Our considered trip to Arkansas got cancelled when a certain bird stuffer couldn't get his act together to go, so we were left with a trip to the mudhole. Meet up at 5AM and the wind is howling. Get to the boat slide and 5 or 6 guys are standing around the slide just looking. Wind is at least 30 and there are whitecaps and 3 foot waves. Hunting buddy Ben says we can make it. I am thinking we is going to drown! With these guys help, we slowly slide the boat down bow first. Waves are breaking over the bow of Micosukee Widgeon. Then Ben turns the boat sideways to put on the trolling motor. Bad mistake, now waves are breaking over side of the boat. Out everything comes, we bail the boat and the crowd pulls it back up on the dike. We reload, but only after I ask if anyone has a camera and threaten that if this makes Youtube, I will hunt them till I die. Move to a more protected area and slide in again. (slide is operative word because after all of the rain, it is slicker than octupus snot!) By now the sun is breaking, so we ease down a reed line and everywhere you look you see boats. We pull in the reeds and throw some decoys out. Not many ducks flying the reeds were we were and the divers were splitting everything to go to open water. Could still see whitecaps out in the open water. Get buzzed from the back once and then finally a group of 5 or 6 redheads come straight over the boat. Two go down. Sit there for an hour watching hundreds come in an go to open water. Wind dies from 30mph to 25mph and Ben can't stand it. Off we go to open water. No way to anchor sideways so I tie the bow to a big stick and we drift back. Wind resumes 30 mph. My spinner is not holding. Then it flips upside down. Front of the boat is riding up and down by 3 feet with waves. Birds do not like all this motion. I call it and we go after my spinner, which I was sure was lost now, but instead, it was upside down and still in tact. Pick up the rest of the decoys, being sure not to dip the boat the side of the boat into a wave. Ben wants to find new spot. I ask where and he points to a place a half a mile away. I tell him look again. What for he asks. I said there is a boat where you pointed and a boat at every point of land between here and there. He looks to the right and says what about that island there and a volley of 10 shots ring out from that island. I say we look for a place on the way to the slippy slide and if we don't find one, we are out of here. Don't see anything on the way so we get to the pull out. I didn't mention that the water at the bottom of the second slide was so shallow we nearly didn't get out. We motor in at full speed and stop 5 feet from the hill. We push and paddle till we are 2 foot from the hill, but not further. Being in the front meant I was going to have to take one for the team. I step out with my 16" muck boots quickly sinking 20". Try to lift my leg and it was so stuck, when it started to come lose, I feel forward on my knees in the mud. Got the danged boat out, got the boat on the trailer, got the boat out of the place (another story) and headed to the carwash. Got at least 1000 lbs of mud off of me, the boat and the truck. Piled my gear back in the barn and declarded the season at an end. Yesterday, after all the pulling and slipping and sliding, I nearly couldn't move to get up an go to Church, but I did. It is better this morning and already the fact that another season is over is sinking in and giving me that sinking feeling.
It was blowing Saturday where we were too but not 30 and 3' waves but we did have to build the blind length ways with the wind and use two stog poles to tie off to. Glad y'all made it out safe and I can honestly say as much as I love it I'm glad it's over. Time to rest up and get ready for the thunder chickens 
