Duck hunting can be challenging at times. It can be a group activity, which means ribbing your buddies. Simply put, hunting ducks can be a blast, quite literally!
There are many styles of duck hunting, but they all have one common thread. We can hunt them as a group. Ducks are fun to hunt and provide you with great table fare, along with some beautiful feathers. Although, it seems that they tend to zig when you zag, in most cases. For having such a small brain, they sure seem to make it hard on us. I have learned a few tricks over the years that increase your odds at bringing birds into range. Whether on the river, a pond, lake or swamp, there are things you can do to ensure that you get to see a redneck snowstorm.
It's hard to believe that this is my twelfth season hunting waterfowl. Before I started, I watched shows and saw people hunting ducks. I wondered what would make them get up so early in the morning to chase such a small animal. I actually thought I would never get involved. After being asked by a friend if I would like to go, I hesitantly bought a duck stamp and some wetland camouflage. Little did I know what an addiction it would cause.
On my first hunt we set out before sunrise on a cold and foggy fall morning. None of us were good callers or had an idea exactly what to do. We were set up on a small pond in the middle of a swamp. Before the fog had lifted and it was legal to shoot, ducks could be heard circling above. The whistling wings was enough to drive you mad. With the first tinges of light, Wood ducks began piling into the small pond. They would land, hang out for a minute, then spot us and fly away. When it was finally legal to shoot, we loaded our guns and got ready. It wasn't long before the first flock set it wings and started to drop into the trees. We all shot and no one hit a thing. We laughed and joked that the factory had forgot to put shot in our shells.
The next flock came in about 10 minutes later. We didn't see them coming, so they hit the water and startled us all. Upon seeing our movement, they erupted from the water. We all shot, and two out of three of us got one. Realizing that a rising duck was easier to hit than a falling one, it was decided we wouldn't shoot until they started flying away. We ended up with a mixed bag of mallards, black, and wood ducks. We headed home just two ducks from a three-person limit. I was hooked!
We would have filled our limit had we known a few tricks. As it got later, the birds were coming in but would flare just before getting into range. There were two problems with our set up. First, we chose to sit against trees, rather than build a blind. Second, we also had no facial cover. When the ducks flew over, they were seeing our white faces looking up at them. We started painting our faces and making blinds, and everything got a bit easier.
As we progressed, calls were mastered and decoy setup advanced. We started using motion decoys that spin their wings. This attracted ducks from nearly a mile away. We also learned to muddy up and disturb the water. This gave the impression of feeding ducks to incoming flocks. We found out that after a few hunts on a pond or swamp, the birds became educated. That's when we started to devise late-season tactics.
One of our favorites has become jump shooting. This is done by locating birds, then you crawl and sneak to within shooting range. When you are all ready, a shoot call is given and everyone stands up. The birds bust up and fly in every direction. You typically get a few and move on to the next spot. You can also jump shoot a river. I float up to bends in the river and try to hug the bank as much as possible. I let the current slowly take me around the bend, while I ready my gun. Sometimes you end up just yards away from a flock and are able to get a shot. It also works to post guys at intervals down river to intercept fleeing ducks. We also hunt corn fields, with layout blinds. This has proven to be less effective than for geese, but it works.
Many good times are had with friends on the water. On one occasion, a new hunter to the group crouched down when we said duck when we actually meant shoot. We all had a good laugh over that miscommunication.
Good wishes, and remember to talk over your strategy with new guys before the hunt.