The moon was still bright as the shiny red four-door Chevy truck bumped along the dirt road heading to the dock. Once there, a 15-year-old duck hunter and his companions jumped out and each put on their camouflaged waders before jumpin into the tan boat.

Jason Locke rode through the frigid waters with Cody King, state chairman of Ducks Unlimited, a private waterfowl and wetlands conservation organization, and Travis Madden, District 5 chairman of Ducks Unlimited in Utah. Madden's dog, Buster, was along for the ride too.

The fog emanating from the lake was thick as Madden navigated the boat through what he called "the ditch," a shallow section of water surrounded by marshland leading into Utah Lake.

Many 15-year-olds would not wake up, get dressed and be out on the lake before dawn on a Saturday morning. But Locke was up and out of bed for a reason.

Locke and hundreds of other youth throughout the state were up hunting ducks among the marshes on Sept. 27 for the annual Youth Duck Hunt sponsored by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.

This is the second year in a row that both Madden and King have taken Locke out, and the fifth year they have taken someone along with them during the Youth Duck Hunt. King and Madden were not allowed to bring along a shotgun but they still enjoyed the experience of calling in the ducks and watching Locke take aim.

"Even when you're not shooting at the ducks, it's still a lot of fun," Madden said during a slow stretch of the day.

Once out on the lake, the group settled on a spot among the "phrag," an invasive reed spreading throughout the marshes of the lake, facing east toward the rising sun.

While it was still dark, the group grabbed the decoys and threw them within 50 feet of the boat to help bring ducks into the appropriate shooting range.

The wind was blowing steadily northbound, which King and Madden said is advantageous when duck hunting.

In fact, the fouler the weather the better, according to King. The cloud cover keeps the ducks flying low, allowing for easier, more accurate shots.

As the clock hit 6:50 a.m., sounds of shotguns thundered in the distance. Madden and King began calling in ducks, keeping an eye skyward hoping to reign in any ducks nearby.

Within a half-hour of the start of the hunt, Locke had already shot his first duck of the day, a gadwall.

Buster, a 5-year-old black lab, bounded out of the boat when Madden blew the whistle to retrieve the duck, finding the bird with little direction.

Buster is a master champion duck dog. But until Saturday, he had never been on a boat when hunting, though he showed no signs of discomfort during the day.

By 10 a.m. the wind had calmed and duck sightings were few and far between, so the group decided to call it a day.

All told, Locke shot down three ducks during the excursion and said he considered the day a success.

"It was fun, way fun," Locke said.

King also considered it a success because they were able to continue Locke's education of what it means to be an ethical duck hunter.

"We want to teach kids the right way to shoot," King said.

King finds the annual youth hunt a great way to grow the sport of duck hunting and get kids off the computer and out of trouble.

"We're able to give the youth something else to keep their minds occupied," King said.

Next year King hopes to be able to take out at least six kids for the annual hunt and keep the tradition of duck hunting strong.

"I love to take people who don't have the opportunity to go out themselves," King said.