New to duck hunting, need a lot of help.

[bigeyes]

Ok guys, I have a 1 year old gsp that thinks he's a lab and want to try some duck hunting for the first time. I have a 250 acre piece of private land, near alexandria that has a medium(50 ft wide, 3 foot deep)stream for a border. The land is crp so natural grass, with some corn and beans in neighboring fields. I want to hunt the stream bank area which has nice tall grass for cover. Here are some of my questions based on the above info.

1.when is the best time to hunt ducks both time of day and month of the season?
2. how many decoys should I have in the stream?
3.how far away should I be parking my bright red truck?
4.When do you guys like to call and what is a good mallard call.
5. any other pointers a first time duck guy should know?

Thanks

[Bushwacker]

Bigeyes,
I am not an expert by any stretch, but I will get the topic going. I have been duck hunting for 15 years and I am still learning more and more every year.

1.when is the best time to hunt ducks both time of day and month of the season?

In my experience this really depends on the weather. In general, if you are hunting weekdays, the morning and dusk are the best when the ducks are out flying on their own. On weekends, some spots can be good all day. Hunting pressure usually gets the birds moving.

2. how many decoys should I have in the stream?

I think a dozen would be a good number to start with. Some guys go nuts with dekes, our group has about 150 duck decoys and we usually end up setting out only 10-20. It is enough to get the birds attention and hunting in the Alex area, you shouldn't have the heavy pressured birds that require a 200 decoy spread. In the Alex area, you might want to put out a couple of goose floaters too, everytime I drive through the area I see quite a few honkers.

3.how far away should I be parking my bright red truck?

As far as you can and still not kill yourself dragging all your gear. We usually park a couple hunderd yards away and that seems to be plenty far for the birds. We have had birds fly in when we are parked 20 yards from a slough.

4.When do you guys like to call and what is a good mallard call.

When you are a beginning caller, it is a good idea to call at their tails. Don't call when they are coming in because all you will usually do is spook them. Call when they are flying away from you to try to intice them back on the dekes. There are a lot of good calling CDs out and I would recommend getting one or two to practice with. I would recommend a double reed Echo poly timber for a good beginner call. Very ducky and easy to blow. I just picked up a poly Kwack Wacker double reed and I really like it a lot. Very easy to use and great range from the top to the bottom. Also, Duck Commander calls and Haydel calls are easy to sound like a duck with.

5. any other pointers a first time duck guy should know?

Have fun and bring a lot of shells. Ducks are a lot harder to hit than grouse or pheasants. Good cover is also critical to get the ducks in close. If you could see yourself sitting there, a flock of wary ducks will too. You should have a great time. Duck hunting is my favorite hunting that there is.
Bushwacker

[Seabass77]

I only started hunting on my own last year, but I did learn alot.

Decoys - You only need 1 dozen mallards to start with on that small river. Some wood duck decoys might be a good idea too if there are trees around. For general use, you would want at least two dozen. I have 3.5 dozen mallards with a couple geese, some woodies, and I'll be buying some teal this year too. I usually hunt sloughs, and small to medium size ponds/lakes.

Time of day - morning and evening is best, but depending upon the weather, all day can be good. Mallards can be good between 9 - 12 after they are feeding too. Don't hunt in the evening and expect birds to be there the next day. Try and have 3 - 6 spots to hunt so you don't burn them out.

Calls - You will quickly find that buying calls can be addictive, and you will find your own preferences. A good one to start with is the Primos wench or Haydel 85, both double reeds.

Your truck - park it far away. You basically need to make everything as natural as possible.

General - good camo and cover is very important. If you don't have cover or limited cover, you need to limit your movement drastically. Wear a facemask or face paint. Try to avoid looking up at the birds when they are overhead. Don't over call, especially when you are a beginner, like me. Tips and tails is the rule of thumb. Don't call if they are already coming towards you. Maybe just a greeting call. There is a hard cover book around with a mallard on the cover that discusses the basics of duck hunting, great little book.

The most important thing, IMO, is scouting. All of the things I mentioned above are important, but if you are where the birds want to be, sometimes the other things do matter so much.

Experience is your best teacher. I’m sure some of the other guys on this forum with more experience can teach you more.

I find I get out of a hunt what I put into it.

“Ducks?!!?” Booom “Where?!?”

[esoxguy2004]

I highly recommend Buck Gardner's Double Nasty for a mallard call. I compared $100 calls to $20 calls and found this one to be the best. It even came with a whistle for pintails, woodies, etc.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I've been shooting at ducks for about 20 years now. I AM NOT AN EXPERT!!!!

I also have a GSP that thinks it's a lab and gadzooks is it fun.

Too many decoys is bad. I like about a dozen. Make sure you set a place either in the middle of the spread for them to land, or be at the end of the spread. The farthest decoy should still be within shotgun range.

Cover cover cover. Did I mention cover. Those darn ducks can see your face from a mile away.

They will always fly in when you're going to the bathroom, napping, pouring coffee, or just plain not looking.

That's about all I know. Have fun, bring a lot of shells, bring a camera, and most importantly bring a kid and teach them how to hunt. The amount of birds in the freezer isnt what matters, it's the experience.

[Stratosman]

Welcome to the sport! Alot of answers to these questions you will learn on your own over time and with experience. But we can get you going on the right path.

1. Morning is usually the best and I always do the best. However, during frontal conditions ducks can fly all day to stay ahead of the weather. Evening can be tough because alot of times they are in the fields and don't return to the water until after legal hours.

2. One or two dozen is enough for a stream. Placement is more of a factor than quantity. Make two groups on either side of your blind with enough of an opening between them to entice the ducks to land in. The whole idea is to try to get them as close as possible.

3. Park as far away as you can.

4. Best advice here is to buy an instructional tape on the basics of calling. Then practice. The rest will come with time.

5. Have fun and keep your head down!

[bigbucks]

Try to setup in a bend of the stream that's most out of the wind & preferably with the wind at your back. I hunt the LP river by my house, which is only slightly larger than you're describing & there's a couple of bends they always like to sit in. Generally they're not close to the road & they're protected well from a NW wind.

When you make your landing area in your decoys from what I've been told the birds won't want to glide in over other birds to sit down. Try to leave a spot they can land into the wind without have to drop in over the decoys when they actually land.

[kpj5br]

I've been at it only 3 years (this coming up is my fourth season), so unfortunately I can't offer you any real wise advice.

But I will tell you, you WILL fall in love with it, then a lot of the specifics start to not matter as much.

My first year duck hunting, the only reason I went is because I was invited by a group of guys I worked with, and they knew I hunted a lot of other species (all types of small game and deer at the time).

Well, honest to God, first day out, I limit in the afternoon hunt! Not a single bird in the morning, all in the afternoon!

Anyway, I fell in love with the sport IMMEDIATELY, it is challenging beyond almost all other shooting, great excitement, great bonds with other hunters, and on top of it, the birds are some outstanding eating.

So, sorry I can't provide with you specific advice, but I'm not that good at it yet, but I thought I'd let you know that once you start, you can't stop, so be careful!

[bigeyes]

Thanks for the help guys, can I get more advice on decoys and placement? So far 1 dozen, maybe 2 at the most. Should I have half drakes and half hens or more drakes? should some be facing up stream and some down? When you talk about a space to fly in can somebody give me an idea of size and spacing? Do you guys use the regular decoys or the magum sizes?

Thanks

[Seabass77]

The bigger the opening, the better, as long as the farthest decoy is in your shooting range. Try and vary the placement of the decoys, but that may be difficult in moving water. Mags work just as well or better than standards.

[Lowe]

Most dekes that sell by the dozen are half drake, half hen. I like a few more hens than drakes in my spread. Early in the year I'll only throw out maybe ten, later on I'll throw as many as 30-35 out. I've been using the horseshoe or V spread, leaving two big openings for shooting lanes one either side of the small pod of dekes directly in front of you. They do fly through the openings instead of over the decoys. Leave plenty of room for them to land.

Good luck, and wear a life jacket if you use a canoe or boat.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I really like the "J" looking pattern. I've found the birds will try and land right in the hookey thing on the "J". Or, at the bottom of the "J", either way if you set youself at the bottom of the "J" the birds will get shot at. Notice how I say shot at and not shot. Ducks, for me, are the most challenging birds to shoot. Also, the funnest.

Either even, or 1 or 2 more hens than drakes works best for me, but like I said earlier, I'm not an expert by any means.

Have fun.

[bigbucks]

Half a dozen to a dozen will do great in the little stream you mentioned. I definitely wouldn't go over 2 dozen, you rarely see much more than half a dozen birds sitting in one spot on the small streams & rivers.

I defitely would agree that the "J" pattern works awesome for blue bills & most other divers. I'm not sure if it works much better than other sets for puddle ducks. We tried the "J" in ND & when bills would come by they'd make a hard turn & come right up that J. They might not land, but they sure came be nice & close, plus it's stinking cool to watch.

[Eric Wettschreck]

When they make that hard turn, I agree on the way stinkin cool to watch thing. And, if they don't land you get a real nice pass shot at them provided you're not pouring coffee, going potty, sleeping, etc.

We normally hunt ducks in a pond by the house. The "J" works for both puddle and diver ducks there. Don't know for sure if it would work in a stream. Then again, don't know why it wouldn't either.

[Swamp Scooter]

All good information. One thing I was told by a guide who hunted many years is that he always put out ODD numbers of decoys. 3,7,9,11. He told me to watch flocks and count them. how many do you see that are even numbered? I think a lot. He told me that if there is an odd number you are always inviting a loner to join the roup of the stragler to locate the family group.

Besides trying to do everthing right the most important thing to learn and be able to do is identify ALL the birds before you start shooting. If you already have one hen mallard down in the blind you cannot afford to make a mistake and shoot another one. The time that happens is when the warden shows up and makes you ID the birds for them.

Also double and triple check your waders and pockets for ANY lead shell that may get in the bottom of the pocket or boat by accident.

Duck hunting is a fantastic time to spend outside. We all hope for the overcast blustery mornings every season and if we are lucky there is a day or two like that. The rest are bluebird skies and hot.

Have fun.

[jblabsnduck]

I will start by saying that I have never hunted in moving water. I will say if you only have 2 doz dekes put about 16 on one side and the rest on the other side meaning you have a landing strip right down the middle of your spread. Make the landing strip about 7-8 foot wide.(nothing at all in that landing strip) This works very good for us where we hunt.(not moving water though)
I put out about 70 decoys with 2 landing strips, kill'em everytime. We always have different sized groups.
Good luck, hope one of these ideas on this thread helps you out.
It will all be trial and error, that's the best way IMO

[This message has been edited by jblabsnduck (edited 08-18-2004).]

[simcox282]

EVerybody has given great ideas---I have picked up a few new ones myself. The only other thing that I would add to to this list is two things -- Now the area that you are hunting ie landmarks, ways off the lake other than the way you came in, the roads around the hunting area etc. Secondly always let someone know where you are duck hunting--just in case.

[Rolly22]

Use low numbers of decoys at the beginning of the season and increase as you go. Same with calling. Wind at your back, good luck.

[This message has been edited by Rolly22 (edited 08-25-2004).]