2013

[mallardnwalleye]

Tip "B" Sorry lost track

I do alot of field hunting and the people that I see out in the fields next to me seem to put the deks down in the same spot in the same pattern every time out.

Don't be afraid to spread the dekes out and try different parts of the field move the decoys around if they don't seem to be finishing.

I saw a group of younger hunters in a field we where hunting together have a flock of ten geese come in. They got three for the next three times out they set up in the same spot with the same spread.

The fourth time out I invited them over and had a nice shoot with them. They both where 17 I told them about mixing there spread and hitting differnet parts of the field... bad thing was next time out they where in the spot I wanted to go to good thing.. they got into them pretty good.

Nice story and good lesson.

[Shane Z]

Living in N. Minnesota where the birds are few far and in between at times compared to the Dakotas,I can vouch for Feathers Rainin. I can't tell you how many times people have asked me if I use a short reed duck call..people around here are still using those giant goose shell layout blinds..no joke. A lot of good waterfowl hunters sneer at young hunters who either A) don't know any better or who are still being taught the "Old" way of waterfowl hunting. Don't get me wrong, those tactics work at times and there are still days that ducks come into the decoys while the boat is in the middle of the spread. Although I have only waterfowl hunted for 10 years, it seems to me like the birds keep getting smarter and smarter as the years go on...just my observation.

Believe me, for a good 2-3 years I was one of those guys who refused to help people out. Always laughing at people tooting on their goose flute or struggling on their calls. For the past couple years though, its been very rewarding seeing new hunters emerge and watching people progress on their calls. It does get hard though, when you start inviting new people to your fields only to realize that it became half the cities now. Almost everyone of my spots have been exploited in one way or another, and I'm sure MANY of you can relate to what i just mentioned...Sure your mad as heck but you find new areas to hunt and that's what drives me as each and every year..Like I said This is 2013.It's a new season and it's definitely something to be excited about!

Almost 2,000 people have viewed your posts in < 7 days since it was put up. Topics are only going to get better as more people start posting.

[Feathers Rainin]

I'm telling you if you learn the craft of workin birds with a call you'd do much better.

I would consider myself an average caller. However, I hunt with guys who have been duck hunting 30+ years and are excellent callers. One of which has done well in calling competitions. They do not call often when water hunting Minnesota. Scouting and setting up correct is 98% of being successful consistently. Anyone should have no problem killing ducks if they spend some time scouting and know the basics of setting up. Heck I would say scouting to get on the x is more important than calling and decoy sets combined. Some of my best shoots have been over 2-6 decoys with no calling because the ducks wanted to be there and they sat right in my lap.

It sounds like you have been successful with calling but I would be willing to bet a guy who goes out and scouts an area the day before to find the X and hunts with no calls will do better than the best caller in the world who goes out and sits on a random point and thinks he is going to call all the ducks in the swamp over to him.

I do not mind that most people overcall (good or bad) because when most other hunters are wailing away on their kazoos it helps my success. It also provides some good entertainment between volleys.

[GooBack]

it seems to me like the birds keep getting smarter and smarter as the years go on...just my observation.

Not true.

You...maybe...as well as a lot of others...decide to complicate it all. Killing a duck is the same today as it was 30 years ago.

[GooBack]

And those that don't believe you can call ducks right to the gun, should really learn to call ducks. Laying off on callable ducks is just a sign of a mediocre duck caller.

[SledNeck]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

2. Yes you can over call (or better yet, wrong call at the wrong time)

Down south (and this is the way I hunt)..... If Ducks are coming hard into the spread we dont call. If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

[Shane Z]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

2. Yes you can over call (or better yet, wrong call at the wrong time)

Down south (and this is the way I hunt)..... If Ducks are coming hard into the spread we dont call. If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

I tend to disagree with 1. Mike Anderson won the 2009 World duck calling championship not to mention countless other state titles. Scott threinen is probably the worlds best goose caller . hammock has also been the worlds number one in goose caller for a long time. These are just a few names that come to mind but as others can attest, Minnesota has some the THE best callers around the world.

[GooBack]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

That, i'd totally agree with. Most of the better callers you witness in the field here rank much lower than most of the below average callers in many other states. You've spent enough time in AR to know!

[mallardnwalleye]

Guys lets not turn this into a Who's better than Who deal. What Goo Back said above about MN duck callers is right. There are some great

goose callers here but the duck calling leaves more than a lot to be desired.

Contest callers can be but are not necessarily great field callers.

I would have to see these guys work ducks in the field to see if they are worth a hoot.

Lets move on to solving problems instead of makin more of em.

Below is an observation of SledNeck while hunting:

If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

Here is probably a more effective strategy for this situation- single spaced quacks or better yet single spaced quacks with two people in a rhythm -like this..q..q..q..q..q..q..q or two people q..q2..q..q2..q..q2 and so on. A great demo of this with one caller is done by Wade Bourne at DU. Do not go up or down the scale on the quack. The quack is a second to two seconds long with that same amount of time paused between the notes. Using two people like a see-saw back and forth with one just a hair louder can work better than just one person. I stumbled upon this way of calling years ago when I had forgot to cut the reed down on a call I was tuning and then had no scissors in the field. All I could get out the call was a single quack. From calling in half my Mallard limit and all of my brothers that day- I serendipitously learned to "quack em in" like the Reelfoot boys have been doin for a century.

SledNeck if those ducks you are calling at with drake calls and feed calls can hear you please give the above tip a chance. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Shane Z]

This would be a great video to put up in the future!

Not to 180 the topic but It'd be nice to get people's opinion on calls. We've all been there, using the old $10 fleet farms calls I'm sure. I know I was one of them! My first high end call was a Foiles Straight Meat Honker which has the built in GUT system. A slightly shallower channeled insert in the guts which helps beginner goose callers learn the certain muscles to use such as diaphragm emphasis. After learning the basics such as a honk and moan, I went to YouTube. There are a lot of good tutorials on how to do advanced note such as the quick spit, train, ect.

I never used a flute but I sure had my fair share of the cheap-0, fleet farm brand!! For me it took hours, and hours to finally get a honk down, and then more hours to be consistent. I tend to emphasize to other callers that before moving to a different note, get a good range of honks down. That's exactly the benefit of using a short reed right?! To be able to change pitches, tones, and to sound like more than one goose.

My question is: What was your first call? If it was a flute, was it harder to move to a short reed? What worked and what didn't and most importantly how did you learn to blow a goose call?

We can get into what calls we use right now at a later subject but a little background on how you learned to call and what call worked for you would help others.

[mallardnwalleye]

This would be a great video to put up in the future!

Not to 180 the topic but It'd be nice to get people's opinion on calls. We've all been there, using the old $10 fleet farms calls I'm sure. I know I was one of them! My first high end call was a Foiles Straight Meat Honker which has the built in GUT system. A slightly shallower channeled insert in the guts which helps beginner goose callers learn the certain muscles to use such as diaphragm emphasis. After learning the basics such as a honk and moan, I went to YouTube. There are a lot of good tutorials on how to do advanced note such as the quick spit, train, ect.

I never used a flute but I sure had my fair share of the cheap-0, fleet farm brand!! For me it took hours, and hours to finally get a honk down, and then more hours to be consistent. I tend to emphasize to other callers that before moving to a different note, get a good range of honks down. That's exactly the benefit of using a short reed right?! To be able to change pitches, tones, and to sound like more than one goose.

My question is: What was your first call? If it was a flute, was it harder to move to a short reed? What worked and what didn't and most importantly how did you learn to blow a goose call?

We can get into what calls we use right now at a later subject but a little background on how you learned to call and what call worked for you would help others.

I think calls and brands are a way way over focused topic. My hope is the incredible waste of time people spend on this topic can be used for actual "field tips".

Get a J frame single reed Arkansas call by a reputable manufacturer such as RNT, Echo, Buck Gardner in a non specialty style and be done with it.

LEARN TO CALL DUCKS not look at catalogs.

Goose calls the same thing applies get a short reed from Tim Grounds, Lynch Mob,S Hammock or other reputable makers and be done with it.

LEARN TO CALL GEESE not look at catalogs.

[Shane Z]

I agree, but it's always an interesting topic to many out there. mallardnwalleye- so as i digressed in the last post, what do you do in the off season to prep for the upcoming season? Has your decoy spread stayed the same throughout the past couple years or have you bought some of the new decoys out there? I know this is another gear topic, but IMO there are a lot of people out there who are looking for gear than can stand up to everyday use and abuse.

[mallardnwalleye]

Tip # version 4.23

DO NOT Throw your decoys while setting up in the water on a cold day it will at worse form ice on them and at best make or a shine in the AM.

Do not pay attention to extreme detail on your decoys paint job. Ducks see patterns not tiny details like we do at 3 ft.

[Gordie]

mallardnwalleye does have a great point because if you watch some of those southern waterfowl shows they do stay on the calls for those birds, but to be perfectly honest some of the best hunts I have had the calls were left in the truck.

I'm not saying I'm a great caller but I do know how to work the ducks and I have called my fair share in to range. Ducks do get educated very fast or as its called "call shy".

You sit on a slough that has 10-15 groups of guys on it all calling some great and some not so great and when the ducks decide to take that last look or lock up they get shot at and not every duck gets hit so they learn a valuable lesson. In my opinion they will not be as active towards calls they may give a look but no intrest. They also look more intensely and if your not concealed good enough all the greatest calling in the world will not entice those ducks.

As for the ducks down south I do believe they are easier to call because they are starting to get to the end of their journey they are tried and they are easier to coax but thats just my opinon,

[GooBack]

Ducks down south are easier to call because they have been hunted more, are decoy shy, call shy, hole shy, cover shy, blind shy, shore shy, and above all we can't forget that whole pair-bonding thing that begins in mid November.

[Sifty]

I think some of the calling part of duck and goose hunting is if a guy is willing to pick up a call and mess around with it.

I'm sure we all here have been in the spot where you are going to town with your call as you drive into work,hit the stoplight and the person next to you is wondering what type of pipe that is and what you are a smokin. Then the next light the guy next to you is blown away and gives you the thumbs up.

My fist duck call was from my Grandpa who was a warden in wisconsin.When we would go over to visit we would go to the lake and listen to what the ducks where doing and how they acted when other ducks where calling.

It was a combination of a couple of old calls he had that had broken or he had lost a part. I really miss that call it seemed to work good for me. I think the cost of calls and how everyone has to have the latest and greatest is hurting the young hunter that can't afford the new calls, but I think it is how comfrotable you are with the call that will help you out most in the field or on the water.

[Gordie]

Ducks down south are easier to call because they have been hunted more, are decoy shy, call shy, hole shy, cover shy, blind shy, shore shy, and above all we can't forget that whole pair-bonding thing that begins in mid November.

Don't forget that the concentration of ducks is much greater than here in the north well at least in Minnesota.

They pass by on there way to greener grass

[fishersofmen]

It seems like everyone has made good points in my opinion. Doesn't it all depend on the particular situation as far as calling goes? Weather, location, other groups in the area all seem to be factors. There are times when you can't call enough and times when a flock almost takes your head off when your call is hanging from your neck. Adapting to your individual situation on a particular day should be more important than going into every hunt with a preconceived mindset of if you will call heavy or light.....

[SledNeck]

It takes way more work to get a duck to come in down south than up here. Most of the mallards I kill up here are splashing in the decoys just as I get the call to my mouth.

The hunting shows in the south are often done in private flooded timber where they keep the ice melted and the ducks will suicidally flock to it

[mallardnwalleye]

You sit on a slough that has 10-15 groups of guys on it all calling some great and some not so great and when the ducks decide to take that last look or lock up they get shot at and not every duck gets hit so they learn a valuable lesson. In my opinion they will not be as active towards calls they may give a look but no intrest. They also look more intensely and if your not concealed good enough all the greatest calling in the world will not entice those ducks.

With all due respect-

Gordie, please see my previous post. You can throw all the callers you want around here on a slough and have them call. You can still call the ducks right in. Just get on them and stay on them with some solid calling. This happens each year particularly on the first after 4pm hunt when everyone is out there waiting for the ducks to come back.

New ducks are easier to call as they are migrating and for the first 3 days after, as they are just setting up their feeding routines.

So called stale ducks can be called and I really don't believe in the "call shy" theory.

Many people call at ducks that are leaving to go out to feed and yes those are tough ducks to call.

My whole point of all this is that if there is a young or middle age caller that wonders if you can really call ducks effectively??? YES you can, but it takes a lot of failure, embarrassment, work, observation and time in the field. What it doesn't take is studying catalogs filled with a million calls or watching videos of guys in pea fields in Canada with spinners or groups yucking it up at a managed high bucky club down south.

Tip# Version 5.34

Make sure you are 100% covered up when calling, use a mask and or face paint, make sure your blind isn't longer than 8ft or much higher than 3 ft.

Tip# Version 5.35 Remember Tip # Version 5.34 - and don't wing it with half way cover up or a monster boat blind that looks like a "turd in the punch bowl"

As for the south, Arkie and west Tennessee have some great callers because as someone said they have a lot of mallards to practice on.

If you want to get good go where there are mallards if not throw out the dekes, pop the spinner in, fold over some brush into the boat and shoot as you just are kinda wasting your time if you may or may not see many mallards.

[Shane Z]

I also dont believe in "call shy birds". I'm sure throughout their flight down South, they hear thousands of callers, but it's the ones that truely sound ducky and have other talent beside them that can still pull them down. THE biggest thing about waterfowl hunting at least IMO, is good cover and blending in naturally. even mounding stacks and stack of corn silage left over, can leave you exposed. I've been more fond of using fence posts and edges of fields to hunt nearby. Camo-ing up can be one of the worst and most undesirable things to do in the morning or late at night, but when u take frost in consideration, and dew. the game changes once again. It's little things like decreasing foot tracks when there is a heavy dew on the grass, or stuffing blinds the night before so frost can naturally form on them that really made some of my hunts memorable in 2012. If your on the "x"the amount of decoys should be the least of your concern in the morning.

[SledNeck]

The worst thing you can do is forget the copenhagen

[booger]

The worst thing you can do is forget the copenhagen

thats about the best thing you could do....yuck

[SledNeck]

helps your calling and attracts dux

[TylerS]

You guys gotta quit painting such broad strokes about stuff.

For instance:

"Ducks down south are tougher to call."

Bull-oney.

If you'd have said, "ducks down in the green timber of Arkansas are tougher to call because there are hunters behind every tree and they're shooting from dawn to dusk and everything in between," I'd say, a-yup, okay, I can see that.

But Texas is also "south," and from what I've seen, the ducks were just as easy, if not EASIER, than the ducks I hunt most of the season in North Dakota.

I hunted about an hour from Corpus Cristi along the coast for four days. We were mouth calling pins and widgeons into our spread at 2 in the afternoon. The redheads were cupping in, locked and loaded, 40-50 in a bunch. This happened every day, for four days, like clockwork. And it happened all season from what I heard.

So no, ducks "down south" aren't all tougher to call. Just like I can guarantee you, if you come up here in mid October, I can put you on a slough where the ducks are probably just as flighty, nervous, and educated as the ducks seem to be in Arkansas.

In my humble opinion, folks put way, way, WAY too much emphasis on calling. Most of the time, I wish people would just shut the heck up. Take some time, scout a location, set up your decoys, stubble the ever-living-heck out of your blind, stay still, and see what happens.

Personally, I think a lot of guys call and get birds to come in and think they're awesome callers, when if they'd have stayed quiet, the birds would have come in anyway. Call me cynical, but it's the truth.

Now I suppose I'm painting broad strokes, but we're talking generalities here.

You'll shoot birds without making a peep -- or quack, as it were -- and you'll shoot birds blowing a call until you're blue in the face. More often than not, I'd err on the former vs. the latter.

Now, running traffic, well that's a different story.