Fav. ducks (to eat and prettiest)

[Guest]

to eat: hands down them little speedy teal. No question

prettiest: Drake Pintail

come boys, post up!

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If I'm not in the duck blind or the ice house I'm thinking about it!!......maybe thats why I can't pay attention in class!

[chub]

Bull Cans -Bar None-

[MnSportsman]

WOODYS can't be beat
The Drake is the best looking,
& I like their flavor best too. But,yes, Teal is pretty tasty.
Only had a "canny" once,a long time ago & liked it, but I havn't had a shot at one in years. So I guess I could change my mind there.
My 2 cents...

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Good Luck & Watch your bobber!
MnSportsman
Proud to be a member in good standing, of the
"Church of the Divine Wilderness"!

[GullGuide]

The "Old Timers" say there is nothing better than a Can for eating, although I like a nice roasted amllard myself. The best looking, to me would be a tie between a bull Can, bull Redhead and a drake Pinny. But don't forget a full plumaged drake Shoveler, awsome color!
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[Sartell Angler]

agree with Dux on the teal as being the best eating, although i've never had a bull can -- shot one on the river last year on the last day of the season, but couldn't find it with all the snow blowing, plus it coasted down around a bend in the Mississippi. Prettiest is tougher to say -- 3 way tie between a can, pinner, and woodie. Also shot a drake Hooded Merganser last year at LQP that was gorgeous, except it was a fisheater.

S.A.

[Duck-o-holic]

Some interesting replies! Gull-- are you hunting in Europe somewhere, or Argentina? I've never heard of those "Amllards" that you refer to. Sounds like they're good roasted though! Are they related to, or do they taste anything like Mallards? LOL!! (Couldn't resist that one!)

As for my opinions-- I find that a nice corn-fed mallard eats very well. But depending on how cooked, even the fishiest divers can be made tasty!

For looks-- I'm a diver junkie! A fully plummaged drake Goldeneye or Greater Scaup gets my vote over any puddle duck! Nothing like picking up a fat, whistler out of the dekes-- with the contrasting black and white feathers and shiney head! Or seeing the THICK bill and greenish head of a Greater Scaup! On to bull cans and redheads... don't get me started! It's too long till opener!!

Good Gunnin'

Duck-o-holic

[GullGuide]

WHAT!!!!!
You've never heard of a Amllard? What kind of novice hunter are you!?!?!
They are actually a cross between a Owod Dcuk and a Csaup with a little Ocot thrown in which gives them that oh so perfect taste!!
LOL
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[Guest]

I would have to say the prettiest would be a Drake pintail, however since I have moved up to Alaska I am pretty anxious to get to shoot some of these sea ducks. Something totally different to look at atleast.

[The Chemist]

As for eating I couldn't say my favorite, but considering most ducks we get are Teal, woodies and scaup I guess I can't venure an opinion. But as for Best Looking each bird has it's own special thing that I like:
Reds, C-backs, Blue bills, Woodies, Hooded mergansers, Shovler, and of course the mallard. But each one has to be an older drake w/ fully developed colors. reds, blue bills and mallards need the head coloring to make them appealing. Overall though I think the 2 hooded mergansers that me and a friend got this fall were by far the best. The nice thing about it is that he is doing taxidermy work so he took some of our birds and is stuffing them. Can't wait to see how they turn out.

[Duck-o-holic]

LOL Gull! Guess I'll have an excuse to spend even MORE time in the blind this fall! I'd like to mount me one of those!!

Will-- I'd head to Kodiak Island in November for Sea Duck hunting. Check around for outfitters/guides, as the conditions are very rough at that time of the year! If you are willing to spend a bit more $, I'd recommend Cold Bay on the AK penninsula. It is a massive staging area for ducks and geese, and I regret not hunting it when I lived there! Closer to home, check out the Palmer Hay Flats near Wasilla in September. Throw on your neoprenes and walk in to the middle areas where the 4-wheeler troopers never get to! There's some excellent gunning to be had there!! Across Cooke Inlet from you is the Beluga River Delta. It is also a waterfowl mecca. A fly-in from Anchorage should run you about $75 round trip, or maybe you have some airbase connections? Closer yet would be the Susitna River Deltas (Big and Little). I've never hunted them, but would think they'd be similar to the Beluga Delta area.

Let me know how you do up there!

Good Gunnin'!!!

Duck-o-holic

[Crappie Kid]

I like the Pintail drake in both categories. Wife just roasted the last of my birds from my ND hunt and there was a mixture. The Pintail was a bit lighter and moister than the rest. Cans are a strong second.

[DCICE]

I have a drake Goldeneye above my computer.(can even hear him whistling over the decoys) Give me any plucked duck on the grill
cooked slow for an hour. It's not pretty to watch me eat such a tasty treat!
dc

[DCICE]

I can just about hear my mounted Goldeneye flying over the decoys. Drake Pintails are still my favorite tho. Only on Pheonix golf
courses have i seen them in full plummage.
Any slow cooked plucked duck on the grill would bring me to a feeding frenzy.(not too pretty to watch mind you) Late season Bills or Mallards do just fine!

[DCICE]

Drake Pintail(love to watch flocks of them on
the Pheonix golf courses) is my favorite to gaze at. Goldeneye close second.
Pluck and slowly grill ANY fatty duck and a
feeding frenzy will follow! (buffies are best for this, believe it or not!)
dc-good eat'n

[J.A.Say.Tree]

Man, you guys are hardcore... I LOVE IT!!!

I haven't checked this forum for some time... looks like I'm missing out on some sweet discussions!

Here's my favorites...

For tablefare... A bull canvasback is hands down the finest tasting duck... oh so tender.

For beauty... that's really hard to pick, and it'll probably change from day to day... but for today I'd have to say the drake woodduck is just awesome!

[MinDak Hunter]

Woodies win the best looking but I like eating Teal.

[Guest]

I also think that those Halquin Ducks are cool as are the Long-Tailed Oldsquaw.

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If I'm not in the duck blind or the ice house I'm thinking about it!!......maybe thats why I can't pay attention in class!

[smallies24]

To eat, hmm, that's agood one? Probably between a woody and a greenwing. Both are fantastic.

I can't really pick one waterfowl out as being the prettiest, but one of my favorites is the widgeon. I haven't seen too many in decent plumage during the season. There's also something about the drake's whistle that I like, very unique.