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Really soft mudd/silt

3K views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  chrispbrown271 
#1 ·
A buddy and I hunted an area today where a river dumps into a damned up lake .... the end we were in was roughly 2 to 3ft deep over a 500 yard area ... we checked our wind had everthing right ... os so we thought , the ducks landed about 150 yards away in this really really soft silt/mud ..
This stuff is sooo soft i put the long handle oar in it and sank it down over 3 ft ... no way my fat a ... butt is gonna get in there without a crane to lift me out !!!!
So we had to idle around and throw out the decoys .... no big deal
ANYWAY .... there was one area I couldnt keep my eys off it was a small muss/silt island that had tracks all over it ,ducks and geese , so I said to my buddy I would really like to get a few full body geese on that mud flat , but how in the heck do I walk out there to :
A) Set the decoys on it without sinking to my neck .....

B) How do I walk out there to retrieve a bird if we drop one .....

So my brain started working .....

1/2" plywood cut to a teardrop shape (sort of like snow shoes) and strap to bottom of my waders

Yea .... I know .... Im not wrapped too tight !

Any other whackos out there ever try this ??????

Think it would work ??

:biggrin:
 
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#3 ·
Don't strap 'em too tight or you'll be stuck where they are. There's such a thing as marsh skies to distribute a man's weight over enough marsh to hold him up, but that's with vegetation present to prevent the suction mud will have.
 
#8 ·
we have talked about a shrot shaft shallow drive , but we only hunt one area I think it could be truly utilized ... there might be more , but they seem heavy

My youngests sons boat has a prop on it and I think we can get closer then I can with my jet , alot of debris and idling around it does clogg

As far as a dog .... Im not gonna send him n there and take a chance of him getting stuck....

Im thinking I might have found a solution .... gonna use over size shells ... really dont want to, I think full bodies would work better , but I can use our decoy retriever to set them in place and pick them up from the boat

Thanks anyways guys !!!
 
#9 ·
I got in a muddy mess last weekend. I was in my layout boat. The water was 6 inches. U got out to pick up my Decoys and sunk a few inches over my knees. Luckily, if was very soft silt that didn't suction. I was able to walk but my legs were sore the next day. I also once got stuck for 20 minutes in clay over my knees two years ago. I was about to start calling for help. Fortunately, I was on shore. I lost a boot and sock in that incident. Saturated soft clay is dangerous. In western PA, we have a lot of it. Another time I SS wading in a marsh by myself and hit a soft patch of silt and sunk to the point where I started to take water over my wafers. I was about to pull the rip cord on my inflatable life vest. I wear one when I wade. I was able to get out without incident. Snow (mud) shoes won't work. Heed Rick's advice. It's sound. Use a shallow draft boat with a mud motor or paddle. Always wear a life vest in case you get stuck and start to sink.

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#11 ·
Blackcloud870 said:
petrel said:
You may want to consider getting a mud boat.
...and a dog :thumbsup:
thats a terrible idea. I went in last weekend to get my dog out of mud. Only her head was showing and she was struggling and sinking fast. Scary sight to see. I did a superman maneuver with my kayak and went running across the top of it to get to her.
 
#12 ·
My Lab once got into bottomless mud and struggled mightily to get out. She was in no danger of sinking completely, since dogs float in water and mud is no different....but she couldn't move. I went to get something to reach her with, and by the time I returned she was on the bank, exhausted and completely covered with mud, but otherwise okay. I was spooked.
I've also been caught in deep mud on two occasions, and both times while I didn't quite panic, I lost equipment to the stuff. I've learned to stay clear of that stuff now.
Nothing I know of will allow a person to walk across the stuff; it's not like snow, which will pack down and support weight, it's more like maple syrup.
 
#14 ·
I got stuck this year. Water was about 4" deep so I tossed the decoys out. As long as I kept moving I only sunk about 6" but as soon as I stopped I would start going down fast. Sunk up to my waist trying to pick up 3 close decoys. Finally laid back and pulled my feet up. Snowshoes definately would have worked.
 
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