Frustrating Ducks

[heyblast]

Well I got out yesterday to the marsh and thought it was going to be a short hunt. The first pond that I went past, one I often shoot was full of ducks. I already had a mind set as to were I was going to go so I continued on. I continued to put ducks up along the channel out of the flooded grass and when I got the pond I wanted to hunt, there were probably 75+ ducks. I just let them fly away, set up and waited for them to return. Now there was no wind yesterday and the dike was about 200 yds. behind me and I was set up to shot over the open water and away from the dike. The ducks started to come back, singles and pairs, Mallards, Gadwall and Pintails which surprised me by the number of them I saw. Now the frustration starts. They would come in to about 50/60 yds. out fly around or past the decoys and then either fly on to another spot in the marsh and land or they would land in the grass no more than 75 to 100 yds. away. I also had ducks fly behind me in range but couldn't shoot because of the dike. This went on all morning, I managed to get a couple but they just wouldn't come in over the open water. I thought it might have somthing to do with the goose decoys I had set out,I just got them and have never mixed goose and duck decoys before. Any thoughts on that. I also kept seeing ducks land in the first pond that I past in the morning and I finally decided to move to it. It was slightly better but they kept flying over the grass or between me and the dike. Final tally was six ducks. They were flying around all day and there were lots, they just wouldn't coperate. On another note I also found out that decoy bags don't float. I emptied the bag in the punt and thought I put the bag behind me but apperantly I missed. I'm putting some kind of floatation on the other bag before the next trip. So that was my day and can't wait for the next trip, its always new.

[870]

whenever you find that the ducks wont come in that last bit try changing something, like turning off the robo, hidin gyourself a bit more, or changing your spread a bit. the other day I was was out in the marsh with the same problem and we were able to fix it by adding a string to one end of our gang rig, making it into a jerk rig. once I started jerkin it the ducks came in. lol

[Dirty]

whenever you find that the ducks wont come in that last bit try changing something, like turning off the robo, hidin gyourself a bit more, or changing your spread a bit. the other day I was was out in the marsh with the same problem and we were able to fix it by adding a string to one end of our gang rig, making it into a jerk rig. once I started jerkin it the ducks came in. lol

Usually jerkin' it in public makes the birds start running the other way. You must have been hunting in Surrey.

[BiG Boar]

Do you have a robo duck?

[Chessieguy]

Somethimes in a case like that "Less is More". I have been in situations where when that happens I pull all the decoys but 2-3. And have had fantastic success
By this time of the season they are often weary of large numbers of decoys and simply land away from them and the if they look right will swim in.

Just my 2 cents worth...

[NoLimit99]

I have 2 robo ducks just over 2 dozen decks and 2 dozen goose shells if any body ever needs a partner to go out to the marsh. I've never been and wouldn't mind a bit of excitement. I usually only hunt on farms local and around my place in abby. Im off till the the 4th of jan then im back to bcit to do my level 2 commercial transport

[heyblast]

I have a lucky duck and I tried having it on or off when ducks were near, didn't help. Changed the spread around, called, didn't call, couldn't hide the punt anymore it was covered with grass and the ducks weren't flaring, they just weren't interested. It may have been too many decoys I just bought some Gadwall Coot and Goose decoys that I wanted to try, I had 45 out in total. I put up large flocks out of the ponds that I went to but only ever saw singles and pairs most of the time. Six was the most that I saw at the same time. Any suggestions on what to use for floutation on a decoy bag?

[Chessieguy]

Any suggestions on what to use for floutation on a decoy bag?Try putting either an old decoy or an old windshield washer jug onto the bag and securing with zip ties. Thats what I used to do...

[Dirty]

Tie a string to it and thread floats or "corks" from a fishing net on to it. Done and Done.

[blindman]

I hunted the marsh yesterday with exactly the same results. Turning off the Robo made no difference and they seemed to have heard enough duck calls this season that they didn't even seem to hear my calling. The ducks that stumbled onto my spread didn't flare; just seemed super leery. Must have been my deodorant.

[heyblast]

Blindman. Did you ever get a new dog? If so what kind. And your right they weren't flaring, they just weren't doing anything predictable.

[Theo722]

You weren't alone

[shotgunjohn]

It is December! They have been shot at for awhile now. Personaly never had any luck mixing duck and goose decoys. Anybody else (besides Marc and Field Marshall) have?

[Dirty]

Goose and Duck mix can be deadly for ducks in my experience. Robo + Geese Decoys = Geese Taking off in a hurry. They do not like the movement in my experience.

I think the key for late season is to have good cover over top. Make a blind with an overhead covering is paramount. They have a keen eye for movement.

[Crazy_Farmer]

Some say the best duck decoy is a goose decoy. Not in the marsh though, fields.

[Marc]

It's been a hit or miss with the duck and goose decoys. The Geese definitely don't like the robo / lucky duck type decoys. We don't normally put them together for the most part but rather have them separated from themselves by about 25 yards on either side of the blind location left to right.

Ducks will land in the goose decoys but I've yet to see a goose land in with the duck decoys if there are goose decoys out. When the geese are on the move we usually shut the robo / lucky duck down not to flare the geese from the spread. When the geese become scarce and the ducks start to fly the robo / lucky duck comes back on.

Have you guys noticed that when you're trying to call in a flock of geese the ducks are swarming the decoys like flies? I wonder if the goose call would be just as effective at calling in the ducks as the duck call when there are goose decoys spread out?

Geese = safe place to a duck?

I've definitely had more luck with field hunting over both then on water for some reason. Maybe the field set up looks more real to them.

[blindman]

Two weeks ago, I hunted the marsh sitting in the edge of the canary grass next to a canal, in my sneak boat with no cover except for the grass in front of me, and had great luck. Someone turned the duck switch on me!

I did get a new "Canadian Dog" from Mission. He's eight months old and just learning what duck hunting is all about, but I'm impressed at how fast he learned things like getting into the boat; one session. The only minus is that I had a Black Lab before and this one is Yellow so the "dirty dog" after a hunt wasn't apparent with the black one. I can handle that since he has adopted me with all my shortcomings.

[Marc]

Glad to hear you got yourself another hunting companion.

It can be so weird how two days with the same conditions can be so different. We just have to take the good with the bad. Plus I'd sooner spend 6 hours in a blind to fill a limit of birds then to do it in half an hour. For one it's more enjoyable with singles and doubles working the decoys. Two you can relax and not be out of breath trying to get the down birds in the blind before the next flock comes over the decoys. Three you get to spend some relaxing time with friends who have the same passion for waterfowling away from work / internet / wife or what ever else irritates you.:mrgreen:

Heyblast:

Here is a picture from last year of my water spread with the layout boat against the shore just behind the goose decoys in this picture to give you an idea of what has worked for me.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv191/huntingbc/decoylayout.jpg




Two weeks ago, I hunted the marsh sitting in the edge of the canary grass next to a canal, in my sneak boat with no cover except for the grass in front of me, and had great luck. Someone turned the duck switch on me!

I did get a new "Canadian Dog" from Mission. He's eight months old and just learning what duck hunting is all about, but I'm impressed at how fast he learned things like getting into the boat; one session. The only minus is that I had a Black Lab before and this one is Yellow so the "dirty dog" after a hunt wasn't apparent with the black one. I can handle that since he has adopted me with all my shortcomings.

[field marshal]

Dirty has got it right!!
I am going to make at least one permanent blind with an overhead cover.
My old buddy is a aluminum fabricator. He will be busy designing a sliding
cover as a blind lid. Not so important for ducks but certainly for geese.
I'm a firm believer on motion in the goose spread so will be working on that
aspect in the off season as well. The Dec.-Jan. goose season has always
been the hardest one to get the birds to commit to the stool. You really need attention to detail to be successful.
Good luck to all!!:-D
Field Marshal.

[limit time]

I dont want your spot...but where is the "marsh" your talkin about?

[blindman]

Beautiful picture Marc. That's a spot I wouldn't mind spending a few hours at rather than a quick limit and heading for home.I used to place four goose floaters off to the side of my Mallard decoys as blockers and it worked well, especially if an infrequent goose came by to take a look.

[heyblast]

Blindman. Good to hear you got a new hunting partner. The yellow coat may show the dirt but at least a labs hair doesn't pick up the burs and weeds like the longer haired dogs and getting started at this age he'll have a good head for next season.

[heyblast]

It should read - a good head start. Sorry I didn't proof my post.

[blindman]

He cleans up pretty easy and I agree on the burrs and weed thing. It was too late this season to get really serious in regard to dog training so I have a whole year to get him up to speed. It is just nice to have him in the boat as company and let him stumble onto ducks I've shot and led him to.

[Dutch]

They are getting decoy and edge or spit shy compared to when I was last out in Nov. One thing that I use now and have for the last couple of years is a bowhunters camo face net. Cost about 8 bucks and takes that bright smiling shiny face and dulls it.Can still blow my calls through it and it is not that bad after a while.Where a camo toque to keep it straight.

[heyblast]

I've worn a face mask for the last 30 years. Was wearing it on Wed. didn't matter. As I type this there's a nice wind blowing and I hope it will be tomrrow, that I'm sure will make a difference..

[Dirty]

Overhead cover is a must. They can make out your silhouette no problem. Camo netting or something to that affect to break you up a little bit.

[blindman]

I think we're trying to be too sneaky. Next time I'm going the opposite way and wearing my orange hunting vest, (Mallards have orange feet) to see if that will work. No duck calls; just a penny whistle and a New Years Eve noise maker.

[NoLimit99]

LOL it's cool to hear every ones experiences.

Most I would agree with and others I chuckle at like the over head cover and stay still...... Me and my duck hunting partner have two camo stools we sit on next to a stream in full camo, and we move and talk and stand up and drink our coffee's and still the ducks just flair down in front of us even though they can see us from ways away.... We found that either they like your spread or they are on a mission and fly right by ya with no care in the world no matter how good the spread or your calling is....most of the time we just chuck the decks out not specific formation and play it based on how the ducks that fly by respond untill we hit the jackpot

I must say it's a blast non the less when you can get the ones that are on a mission to turn around and drop in for the shot. And nothing beats a nice trip out to your duck hunting spots.

http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/qq243/nolimit99/IMG00006-Copy.jpg

Hunting budding fetching the duck I just shot because I forgot to bring my chest waiters.

[crazy ducker]

no limit try doing that were there are tons of guy I mean 6-10 boats all day. and they have bean there all season. not some back yard duck club. it's easy to shoot ducks that haven't been hunting before

[NoLimit99]

no limit try doing that were there are tons of guy I mean 6-10 boats all day. and they have bean there all season. not some back yard duck club. it's easy to shoot ducks that haven't been hunting before


See thats your problem you go were every one else goes so you have to deal with the politics and b/s.... I can't take that I like to enjoy my day of hunting not fight for a spot or ducks. Thats a shame

[crazy ducker]

I don't fight for spots I'm a farmer in delta

[heyblast]

Thanks for all the advice. A lot of it is old hat for me like being well hidden, less decoys, jerk line which I haven't tried for years, turning the lucky duck on and off and etc. Shows there's a lot of knowledge out there. Thanks. I planned to try some of the ideas yesterday and did set the goose decoys out about 80 yds. from the ducks. The ducks were set out in three small groups around the punt and lucky set up down wind side of one group. Nothing happened for over an hour. No ducks. All kinds of ducks Wed. to almost non on Sat. Finally had a pair show up, took a can't miss shot and missed. A hen Pintail dive bombed into the decoys, landed with the ducks first and within thirty seconds jumped up flew over to the geese and stayed there for half an hour until I stood up. She deffinatly felt safe with them.[ And yes she was in range at the duck decoys, but their numbers are low, it was a hen and I've gotten lots of ducks.] So I'm going to try the goose decoys some more as confidence decoys but that's all I got to try. From first light to 3:30, two set-ups in different parts of the marsh I saw a total 12 ducks and heard 5 shots. The marsh was quiet yesterday. Did anyone else try Pitt marsh I'm sure there were others out there but with no shooting it was hard tell how many guys or gals tried it.

[shotgunjohn]

Heyblast, it was the same thing on the Island here on Saturday. The ducks were flying like crazy on Thursday and then took Friday and Saturday morning off. We did go back out in the afternoon and ended up having a pretty good shoot around two in the afternoon.