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Thread: New to duck hunting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
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    3

    New to duck hunting

    So at 39yrs old I have started the addiction of duck hunting. I am completely new too it and too hunting. I have been down to the addington marsh a couple of times. But have minimal luck. We take the boat out and set up some decoys but have alot of high fly overs or just fly by. Could it be our decoy spread not being big enough? I only have 6 decoys. Or bad calling? Or should we just set up with no blind and decoys and just wait for them to come by. We spook them when we come in so they should come back? Basically any advice would be great. Again I'm just learning as I go. Cheers

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: New to duck hunting

    I really got into duck hunting hook line and sinker 4 years ago (still pretty new at it) but its now my favourite type of hunting.

    Birds can get harder to decoy as the season progresses. Remaining well hidden is very important if the birds are spooky. Make sure your boat/blind is well concealed.

    Its also worth scouting the areas you want to hunt in advance and watch undisturbed birds and try to set up where you know the birds want to be. If you can do this and stay concealed, you can do very well with a small spread.


    I love hunting windy, snotty days. The birds seem to decoy easier. Set up your decoys so the birds cross infront of you as the land into the wind.

    It wont hurt you to increase the size of your decoy spread, especially if you are hunting big water.

    I usually like to set up about 15-20 yards from where I want the birds to land and keep my farthest decoy within shooting range.

    Dont be afraid to change something mid hunt if you are flarring birds.

    Most importantly, DONT educate birds by skybusting. In my area I see guys shooting at birds at least 70-100 yards up. You'll be far better off passing on bad or low percentage shots and trying to turn birds with your calling then blasting at birds you dont have a hope in hell of hitting.
    Last edited by Ron.C; 12-19-2019 at 11:33 AM.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    563

    Re: New to duck hunting

    It's my set goal for next year to get into bird hunting for post-deer season activity (not sure if that's the right motivation, but I do like eating duck of the pellet grill).

    I don't own a boat, but always wondered about the "concealment factor"... I can't see how you can "hide" in a boat? Or do you use the boat to get access to certain areas otherwise inaccessible and then get out the ol' waders?

    I realize that might be a dumb question, but... like I said... new to waterfowling and ... don't own a boat

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: New to duck hunting

    Camo nets, burlap, manufactured marsh grass panels, natural vegetation.... .

    I have a couple spots I hunt right out of my 14' jonboat or 15 ft canoe on tidal flats (during high tide) with very little natural cover. After I grass it in it just looks like a mound of vegetation

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    563

    Re: New to duck hunting

    Sounds hardcore to me Do you have a picture?

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Posts
    4,368

    Re: New to duck hunting

    Not of the boat, but in the hunting dog thread you can see the grassmats used on my layout blind.

    4 of these matts per box. 2 boxes (8 matts) will completly conceal my canoe or jonboat. Best part about them is the break up the outline of what they are concealing, hiding long straight edges. Hit them with some spray paint if you want to match them exactly with your local cover.

    I also use them to make temporary land blinds. Takes about 5 minutes to set up a blind ( 4 mats) that is big enough for 2 shooters and a dog
    Last edited by Ron.C; 12-19-2019 at 12:02 PM.

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    In the bush near a lake
    Posts
    7,198

    Re: New to duck hunting

    I only pretend to duck hunt and my skills are minimal but there is two things I know

    You are better off to under call then over do it. If you are a marginal caller sometimes a few simple quacks that sound good are better then pounding away with crappy sounding hail calls

    Ducks catch movement and colour way more then big game. If you are a pasty face staring straight up at them they often see you. Camp and a good hide can make a big difference

    My guess if the ducks are staying high and passing by it’s one of 3 things bad over calling, they see you, or they have no interest landing in that area and have better place to be

    Hopefully a duck hunter with more knowledge then I have chimes in

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Posts
    6,437

    Re: New to duck hunting

    in my experience (albeit decades ago), they will fly over looking for potential sites to land (or suss out known spots) but they tend to do several circles coming in closer each time before a leader bird will choose to land and the others will follow..it is critical during their circling to not be seen or they will bail out and go look for another spot...the more tired they are the less times they will circle before landing...another observation i could relate is that local birds act way differently than migrants

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Posts
    3

    Re: New to duck hunting

    Thanks for the response from y'all. This Saturday I'm going to try a new spot that I've seen them land in often. Then they might be seeing my boat and me. So more cover and less calling. Hopefully that be better but if not it's still good experience. More info keep it coming thanks again guys.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    1,122

    Re: New to duck hunting

    Reef, welcome to the wonderful world of waterfowling. I picked this up four years ago when I was a bit older than you and I live for this time of year.

    Last year I started to get ducks decoying in and began to understand the whys and hows of why birds come in.

    1. Some ducks who are flying high and don't vary in their direction are "on a mission" already. The leader knows where they are going to go and nothing will deviate them.
    2. Ducks are social animals. If they are already in a big group they have no real reason to join a smaller group. This is why more decoys is helpful. And this is why if you have a small number of decoys you may attract singles, doubles or trios but not likely larger groups. I have 14 various dekes and I find I get that 1,2,3s coming in. It is like party psychology. The big parties are where it is at. This is why sometimes you will see one duck break off from a trio. Three's a crowd, even for ducks. I can only really drag that many dekes so it is good to partner up with a buddy for their dekes. Together you can put together not only a larger number but also different patterns. You also need to create a laneway for the birds to come in otherwise they may defer your dekes because there is nowhere to land.
    3. Some duck species will join different species or will gain confidence by the presence of certain species. For this reason a lot of people will start with mallard dekes because nearly every other species will come in with mallards.
    4. Windy and wavy days are awesome because that gives your floaters motion. Without motion it would be as if you drove past a party and through the window you only saw mannequins.
    5. Wideopen is right. Resident birds have memory of being shot at and which areas are more pressured than others. If they see the same decoys out in the same area they will remember the last time their buddies were killed. I have a feeling a lot of my success is because of the migration. Newcomers come in and don't know the "no go areas".
    6. The longer you hunt an area the more you see patterns in their movement. You'll be able to talk about how certain birds will always go from point A to point B and then in the evening go from B to C or back to A again. By observing that over time you'll know where to place yourself for better success. Unless you are jumping birds, the only way you get them to come to you is when they want to move. So "bluebird" days where it is sunny and clear are generally not worth going out for because the birds will have no reason to leave where they are. Bad weather, wind, cloud, tide are all changing conditions that make birds move either because their present area is disrupting their feed or because they think another area is better.
    7. I am with RonC on avoiding skybusting as much as possible. Good shooters can pass shoot all day but then they know their limits and don't waste shots. I like boasting of getting a nice wing shot for sure but not if I missed the previous two shots. All I've done then is educate that flock not to fly over this area. And really there is nothing sweeter than watching birds actually decoy and know all your efforts served the bird up to you on a plate. Generally I know if a bird will come in for a landing after the second circle. If I get one overhead within 15y I will shoot it and with improved accuracy I generally will down it. A nicely decoyed bird will be practically hovering so is takeable by all levels of shooters.
    8. I really have not had much provable success with calling so these days I will only call when they are far away hoping to get their attention and then I'll shut up. I only call again if they are not convinced and head out.
    9. If in doubt when birds are coming in and you aren't sure of their intentions, do NOTHING, don't move, don't call. Let them decide. Be patient. Sometimes nothing will be going right and you start losing interest and suddenly a duck will pop out of nowhere and you will be cursing because you were not ready. My friends and I know this like it is one of Murphy's Laws. Or you decide to leave early and the moment you pull out, that is when the flock hits. It happens.
    10. I have mojos and never yet was able to tell if they were having any effect. Others swear by them. My best days I've left them behind.

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