Friends Matt Schimpf, Chase Spears and Jace Grissom frequently brave the early morning winter chill to go duck hunting.

But the Chiles High School students would rather keep the excitement to bagging their feathered prey and avoid mishaps like what happened Tuesday morning.

When the trio took off from the Bull Headley Landing in northeast Leon County headed to their hunting spot, it was dark and cold. Temperatures read 23 degrees.

They were riding for about 40 minutes headed to Beetles Cove on the north side of Lake Iamonia, Matt said, and had reached within a quarter mile of their spot when trouble struck.

“We were looking for our spot with a flashlight and that’s when (Jace) slipped on some ice on the boat and fell off,” said the…