Been out west many moons now and getting back into duck hunting in a more traditional sense. When I lived in Ontario duck hunting was huge, hunted with family and friends at a duck club, still have bags of old decoys out there, friends had dogs, blinds many years old, when I moved out here and asked people about duck hunting I actually had a guy ask me if they were edible......its not the animal its how you treat the meat. Anyways, after years of carrying a shotgun with a slugs, bird shot and a few steel shells just incase we came across any game animal including some ducks, but have never had luck with decoying/moving birds. One good jump shoot in the morning and the birds were gone, it was hard to find flyways and moving birds but years of fishing and hiking and Ive narrowed down some good spots. The 2018 season I hope will be a good one, I have a 11 month old lab Im training up, twice day every day we train. I have a 12' jon boat that Im upgrading to at least a 14 probably 16 for safety reasons on the big water/river. I bought out all the decoys from WSS may they rest in peace, so Ive got a few goose floater, divers, puddlers and a mojo. Lastly Ive narrowed some spots down on the river near fruitloops but have yet to get on the water to scout.
So who else likes to hunt waterfowl in the interior? Most of my hunting buddies out here have never duck hunted and live quite far away now so always lookin for new friends. Do you guys or gals hunt the rivers or fields? I know there are lots of birds on the river all year long, and I know of lots of private fields that hold tons of birds and Ive seen a group or two set up in one in particular hammering the geese. Ive got buddies down the LM that invite me down but I know the birds are seriously pressured down there but Id still give it a chance. Ive also heard Vanderhoof hold some serious birds and wondered if it would be a worth a few days trip up there. Really Im just bored and my dog doesn't know how to talk duck hunting yet although she likes to watch it with me on the yoooootooob.
This was the only decent pond that steelpulse and I found in the first few seasons, held birds was shallow enough to wader retrieve, last year it was a dry grass field.