what do you do? float in a boat? in the rushes....you wade into cover?
is this it?
If I had one guess why I was put on this earth, I would say it was to layout hunt. That's probably the reason why I recently emptied my already thin bank account and purchased 23 acres on Michigan's Saginaw Bay, a layout hunting hotspot. Building my permanent residence on this significant hunting and fishing resource will allow me to keep my layout rig virtually along the shoreline, making it easily available for gunning action with the many divers that migrate through this area.
The definition of a layout rig is, for the most part, synonymous with the terminology of most "duck boats." Waterfowl hunters have different ideas as to what is and what is not considered a layout boat. In areas where hunters have to deal with heavy water, a larger, stouter boat would be used as a layout boat. In a more sublime area where wave heights tend to remain somewhat subtle, a more sleek-looking craft may do.
Whatever the case, a layout boat is simply a water craft that is used to properly conceal a duck hunter in an open water area without the ravages of wind and water negatively affecting the hunter. The main ingredients for a layout boat are: short length (usually less than 10 feet in length) and low profile.
Most layout boats have a canvas cover on top. This is called a "raise" or "combing" and is used in times of rough weather. Most veteran layout hunters, however, refrain from using the raise unless it's absolutely necessary. When the canvas is put into place, it eliminates the low profile and creates a shadow that may cause the birds to flare on certain days. If the raise is needed, they move it up only about three or four inches, just enough to keep the water from washing over the top. To assist in preventing a shadow effect, you can use white paint for the underside of the raise.