Trying to get into waterfowling

[Siwulat]

I'm hoping to find someone who is willing to teach me the ways of waterfowling. Last year was my first ever attempt and I discovered that the learning curve is steep! 

I have the equipment and the willingness to do what it takes to learn. What I am missing is the knowledge and experience. So I'm hoping for someone who is willing to let a newbie tag along. My 2015 goal is simple: take one duck.

Feel free to shoot me a pm. I'd happily split fuel or whatever with someone. 

[TylerS]

I'd love to help you out, man! We need more duck hunters around. 

Since I can't take you out, are there specific areas you had trouble with last year? Calling? Decoys? Location? We can help you out however we can!

[Siwulat]

Well, thats a good question. I didn't do much of any calling last year because I figured it was better to be quiet than sound unrealistic. As far as decoys, I felt pretty good about those. I have a dozen mallards that I would kind of just throw out in a loose, random cluster. I hunt public land, and most of the places that I went were super crowded. I don't have a boat, so I am limited to marshes that I can wade.

The issue that I had was that zero ducks even gave my spread a look. I hunted a WMA south of the cities quite a few times last year that got pounded pretty hard. I tried to get out during the week, and many times I was the only one there at that time. I could see birds floating way out in the marsh and was watching them coming in way out there, but none ever even looked at my dekes. I'm guessing pressured birds?

I'm thinking of trying to hunt a little creek this year where I have seen some woodies, just to avoid the huge crowds. Can I throw my mallard dekes into the creek and have success or would I be better served to jump shoot?

[TylerS]

Sounds to me like you just weren't where the ducks wanted to be. This is key, especially for public/pressured ducks. 

What I would do is to get a small canoe or kayak. Buy one used for cheap, paint it a dull color and use it as your hunting rig. 

Then go out and scout. Paddle around the areas you hunt and watch what the birds are doing. Take into account what time of day it is, which way the wind is coming from, and what cover is around the are the ducks are landing (so that you have a place to hide). 

There are times when you can pull ducks into areas they aren't planning to land from (called running traffic) but this typically takes many decoys and some pretty rambunctious and lifelike calling. Your best bet is to scout the areas where ducks want to be, make a note of it in a GPS or some other way, and slip out until the next morning. Then set up the way you saw the birds the night before, hide yourself well and wait. 

And get yourself a call. Pick up a calling instruction video or peruse the inter web. You don't have to sound like a dozen hens all talking over each other, but learning a few basic quacks and chatter can really boost your attraction. Subtleness is deadly. 

[Siwulat]

I'll have to start looking on hsolist for a kayak. Money is kinda tight these days so it would have to be a cheap one. 

I was also thinking about venturing further from the cities this year to hopefully avoid the crowds. I was looking online near the Lonsdale area yesterday. 

[monstermoose78]

I know it is a haul to get up this way but there are some good places that are almost all walk in places.  Princeton area

[BoxMN]

The best advice it to get a boat of some sort. I highly recommend a used Cartsens Puddler as they are perfect for one guy and you could spit on the sidewalk and it would float   Not good for getting across big lakes, but small enough to drag it anywhere, fits in any truck bed easy, and not too spendy, about $300 used price. They hide in anything. We have two Puddlers, and a Pintail (slightly bigger) and even put the Puddler i our 16' boat to use to get birds or set/rearrange decoys. It just opens up a LOT more area for you to be able to hunt, and makes it easier to get around.

Only use the call sparingly until you get good at it. Basic calling is pretty easy though. I think too many people use them too much. Sometimes the best place for a call is the pickup seat

I'd maybe try to get a few more dekes, 18-24ish would be good. Maybe some teal, or more hen mallards, or a couple wood ducks that you keep close to shore. What kind of ducks were you seeing? Whatever kind they were, get that kind. Then you would have enough to leave a bit of room for them to land in front of you. Look up the traditional J set, used more for divers but it works with mallards as well. 

I'd also say, when you get to spot in the am, wait at the parking area for a bit and see if there are other lone guys or guys who you could hunt with. We do that in public spots because having fewer groups out there is better for all, and we have had some good experiences with it. Good luck!

[Siwulat]

I was seeing a mixed bag for most of the season, then lots of mallards late. Ive been keeping an eye on the used boat pages but haven't seen anything yet. 

Waiting for for others at the parking lot is a great idea and one I haven't considered. I'm used to deer hunting, where I want to be the first one there and in my spot. Totally different mindset! 

[TylerS]

Boats aren't a must, but they definitely will help. I used an old fiberglass canoe that was 1970s olive green, and it worked great for hunting in high school. It's amazing how sturdy they are when wedged into the cattails. 

Find something cheap but seaworthy for this fall. You can always upgrade later on. But at least this way you can get out and explore to find where the ducks actually want to be. That's 99 percent of the battle, especially for a new hunter. 

[Siwulat]

Cheap and seaworthy are my only criteria. I am still trying to figure out exactly what pulls ducks into certain areas. I guess my initial thought was to look for a body of water, any water, and throw out some dekes and I'd be good to go. Is there anything I should be looking for specifically? Any specific vegetation or features? 

[monstermoose78]

Rice

 

[Neighbor_guy]

Rice is part of it... But duck weed, Celery, shrimp, and lots of other things go into picking a pond. How much traffic is it getting??? Not just bird traffic, but hunter traffic???

one thing a lot of guys forget is the one thing I won't leave home without.... Binoculars... Get out and scout. Then scout again and again. For every day of hunting there should be at least a day of scouting. Watch those birds travel back and forth to and from your pond or how they are using said pond. You may find that where you wanted to hunt doesn't have any birds working. It's a lot easier to find a new plan for Saturday if you find out you have no birds working Thursday or Friday. 

[Kettle]

I agree with neighborhood guy on this a great deal.  Hunted a lake last year that I thought would never hold birds, come to find out it had some type of freshwater shrimp/scud the ducks love.  A little hint in-regards to finding what lakes have rice that you may be looking into hunting is using the MN DNR recreational compass on their page, click on the lake and then click on aquatic survey.  Keep in mind though, some years lakes have rice the following they may not, it is important to check places year to year since rice crop varies on weather and water levels 

 

Kettle

[TylerS]

As far as where to set up, if I'm on a new body of water I'm looking for points and bays with a good spot to hide. Play the wind, as ducks often will seek out the shelter of a back bay, especially on windy days when the main water is choppy. This isn't always the case, but is a good rule of thumb. 

Points jutting out from the main bay and leading to a back channel also can be golden. They aren't always the best spots to decoy, but having blocks off a point from a bay they want to land in can be enough to at least get ducks low enough for passing shots. 

The ideal pushed by outdoor TV is that all ducks should be cupped up and in your face. Having a hunt like this is something to relish.  However, I often find myself simply working birds down to ethical shooting ranges. 

[bobberineyes]

All info above siwulat is spot on, if you have time grab your waders  and go. West and northwest of the city's is full of wpas. Walk in on some of these and see if can wade in them, look for cover at all angles , see what's using them (early morning and evening's are usually the best time).Don't just bank on one spot check a bunch of them. How's your gun patterning?  Mine loves 4 shot but doesn't pattern 3 ' s for some reason,  might want to check. Early season shoot the fast light loads but as time goes on you might want to think heavier. ....good luck

[Siwulat]

Lots of fantastic advice here, thanks! The dnr aquatic survey is super helpful kettle. Neighbor guy, the binos were something I never would have thought about but are a great idea. Saves plenty of leg work. TylerS thanks for the features suggestions, gives me something to start on. Bobber, I shoot 3s which my gun seems to like more than anything else. I've been looking at the WPAs all around the cities and was thinking of focusing my efforts on the southern ones around Lonsdale. I'll have to give the ones to the west a second look! 

[Siwulat]

My decoy spread is officially 13 now. I found a hen mallard while scouting a piece of property recently. If I'm gonna add some more, what should I be looking for? Someone above mentioned teal, but I'm cautious about that because of their early departure. Would some teal just look goofy later in the season? Is it crazy to have divers mixed in with the puddlers? 

[Neighbor_guy]

I tried to mix divers and puddlers last year. It was a fail. 

If I'm targeting diver ducks I only deploy diver decoys. Same for puddle ducks. 

 

As far as decoys. A mixed bag of puddle ducks is better than just mallards in my opinion. Reason being I have never seen a dozen of the same ducks hanging out alone. I also feel like since everyone and their cousin has a dozen mallards on the pond, if I have a dozen or so mixed birds, teal, wood ducks, coots, and a mallard or two the birds tend to look harder at my spread than the others. They have seen that same dozen or two dozen mallard spread a hundred times and learn to avoid it. 

[monstermoose78]

I agree with Neighbor_guy get some teal say a 4 pack and pack of wood ducks and couple mallards. I think adding a coot or 3 makes spread look more real. 

[bobberineyes]

Early on throw mainly hen dekes out, you can throw a couple drakes out but leave most in the truck until the drakes start getting some better color, then put them out. There's been numerous openers where we only put out around 9 dekes or so (a couple of feeders 4 teal and the rest hens ) and did well. 

[TylerS]

The more I hunt, the less I feel ducks give two rips about what color the decoys are. I know it differs for divers, but as far as puddle ducks go, I think the placement and number are way more important than the species or sex. 

But above all else, motion and concealment may be the biggest factors. A dead spread and a hunter sticking out like a sore thumb will assure flared ducks. Get hid well, don't move, and hide your face. Then get a jerk cord to liven up the spread or, if legal, have a spinner. Sometimes ducks get shy on them, too, but I'd rather have one in the spread and turn it off later, rather than not have one and wonder "what if."

[MJ1657]

Explain rigging up a jerk cordcord please. I'll be hunting some areas where spinners are not allowed 

[TylerS]

Explain rigging up a jerk cordcord please. I'll be hunting some areas where spinners are not allowed 

Well there are many commercially available kits out there (just do a search online) but the premise is the same. Typically the jerk rig consists of a heavy weight on one end, a bungee cord, a length of decoy line with several snap swivels and then a handle of some sort. You set the weighted end in your spread somewhere and snap a few decoys to the swivels. The other end runs to where you're hidden. As ducks come near, just jerk the cord and watch the decoys come alive. The key is to watch the birds react. Sometimes they like a lot of commotion, other times just subtle twitches are enough. 

Also, it's good to have some way of holding the handle when not in use. Otherwise it has a tendency of dropping into the water. I use a stake with an eye bolt on the top. Jam the stake into the mud and then put the end of the cord through the eye bolt. It's always within arm's reach that way. 

Edited August 24, 2015 by TylerS

[BoxMN]

For jerk cord, a window sash weight works awesome, and remember to have some sort of handle (like a kite string thing) as it is much easier on your hand than just the rope/string. You can also use a normal mushroom anchor with a carabiner to help keep the jerk STRING under water. We put string through n eyebolt or handle on our boat. Keeps everything in place and out of sight. Also, keep the bungie tight (loaded), so you just need to release when ducks are coming in. It only takes a little movement to help. We only put three or 4 dekes on the jerk cord, much easier to get moving than lots of them.

[Siwulat]

Bumping this thread. Anyone willing to take a newbie out??