End of an Era

Great day/horrible day duck hunting. I
scouted yesterday and was able to pick
the one hot spot I found at the WMA.
My buddy and I set out in the dense
fog to find this out-of-the-way impound-
ment. We got turned around and stuck
several times. The last time we were
near the spot (code named Many Teal).
At that point, the engine seized up. We
pushed it as far as we could and decided
to hunt where we were. What a great
choice! Shooting time was 0639 and we
were done by 0715 when the ducks
stopped flying. He had 6 and I had 5.
We had to wade out and find the birds
and pick up the decoys because the the
engine wasn't budging. We found every-
thing we downed including the ones that
landed in the lilies.

We then spent the next three hours pushing,
pulling, push poling, and paddling the boat
back to the launching ramp. The lest leg
two great guys with a mud motor gave us a
tow. My legs were like jelly.

So, I took the boat to my mechanic, told him
that he could have the motor for parts, resell,
or scrap. He offered to sell the boat for me.
Alas, the _Dawn Treader_ will no longer
tread the verges of the dawn for me.

The good thing is that we did the best this
year of anyone hunting that reservoir. For
that matter, I didn't see anyone at the check
station that did nearly as well as we did.

If you know anyone who wants a 1648 Grizzly
with a good trailer and a homemade boat blind
have him call Danny at Palm Bay Power
Equipment.