Everything was perfect for a waterfowl hunt in the swamp.

Steady rain with a swirling wind and low ceiling to keep the birds in range.

Dekes set out in front of tall reeds and me slumped in the curve of a fallen tree.

And every call in the repertoire at my disposal: mallard, goose and woody.

Yet, when one of my shots was finally true, the Lab did not jump into the water, marking the fall and making the retrieve.

Hey, what is going on here?

OK, so I knew he wouldn't be up for that part. The best thing Rusty had going for him was the way his orange coat blended in with the grasses along the water. So it didn't matter much if wouldn't sit still.

I did mark the bird's fall and checked the surrounding area for an hour. No luck.

I was hoping the young pup would at least stumble upon the bird if I did not.

The worst part is the area to be reconned was directly on top of a beaver dam, making it damn near impossible to walk over. I must have ended on my backside at least five times.

But the search in the foggy darkness continued.

The bird went down much like the one last year with his head down and tail smoking like he was Snoopy after he takes a hit from the Red Baron.

Meaning, he is out of the cockpit and on the loose in the six-foot-high marsh grasses.

Without a top-notch, hard-core water dog, the goose will not be snared.

One of the high points, along with the great bird action, is I out-called one of those overpriced flute calls from the party on the other side of the swamp with my 25-year-old wooden OLT call that cost under $20.

Not once, but twice.

And the same with the duck call. But on that bird, I had to play the safety game.

To refresh any readers with what this is: It's when you go to pull the trigger and the safety is on and then you have to stop and take it off. Usually, by the time you get it figured out, the bird or game animal is out of range and you blew the shot.

Despite how this hunt ended, I'm not down.

I know that the past two weeks of rotten luck will turn around.

Maybe in a big way.

With a nice buck during the bow season?

A limit of ducks or geese some hunt?

Or a dog that has the light go on and figures out we're hunting, not just following the master through the woods.