On the California side of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, you must pull up your spread and quit hunting at 1 p.m. But you can still scout till dark for your next day's hunt. Photo by Bill Mays.

It's quite a rush to roar through the marsh at o'dark-thirty in 12 inches of mud and water, with only a set of headlights on the bow of your mud boat -- plus a kill switch wrapped around your wrist, just in case you're ejected.

You wonder if you're really a race-boat driver or just another duck hunter trying to beat everyone else to the sweet spots at Tule Lake or Lower Klamath.

Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge are two of the six refuges in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Both are located along the California-Oregon state line. Covering 63,900 acres, they are two of the crown jewels of the Pacific Flyway.

Both of these refuges can deliver excellent waterfowl opportunities for the hunters, but the right equipment is imperative. You also have to do your homework. You might have to hire a guide -- and you definitely cannot be afraid of a little mud!

FIRST-TIME BASIN HUNTER?
I highly recommend that any first-timer book a hunt with one of the four registered refuge guides.

I've hunted with all of them. If the birds are in, any of these guides will give you the hunt of a lifetime.

But the main reason for hiring a guide is safety. Never hunt the Tule Lake Marsh without a guide or an experienced Klamath Basin hunter.

Over the years, the mud and silt have built up. There are sinkholes, quicksand and deep water throughout the marsh, so much so that it's now almost impossible to walk in to hunt the Tule Lake Marsh. In fact, while hunting the marsh in my younger years, I almost lost my life -- twice!

The first time, I left the boat to help a young dog find a crippled duck. My 10-year-old-son was able to use the boat to pull me out of a sinkhole.

Never leave the boat while hunting this marsh. If you must leave the boat for some reason, take a 12-foot push-pole with you for support. Feel the bottom for soft spots.

If you should end up in trouble, someone can use that pole to help pull you out at a distance.

My second time, an island bank caved in, and I ended up in the quicksand. I was lucky to grab some tules just in time and pull myself out of the sucking mud and back to the bank.

Hunting the Lower Klamath is not as dangerous as Tule Lake. Lower Klamath has many walk-in opportunities. There are still some deep-water areas, but after 30 years of hunting it, I have yet to experience quicksand or sinkholes. Still, I recommend hiring a guide for this unit. He'll cut down your learning curve.

Another good reason for first-timers to hire one of these guides is because it's difficult to tell where one zone ends and another starts.

There are not many signs that show the demarcation between closed zones, retrieving zones or the units that are open to hunting. You can pick up a map at many of the entrance gates -- but a lot of guys do have problems with reading maps.