Ohio Valley Outdoors Magazine

Waterfowling 101

By Chris Wright

When you have a two hour lay over in Toronto, my third of the day due to wild game transport laws on airlines in Canada, after taking a 10 day trip to the Quill Lakes area of Saskatchewan, time just seems to slow to a stand still. I was all out of magazines to read and the friendly people I had met in Regina and Calgary were long gone. Instead I was faced with “are you American” and “you must be from the states.”

I swear I was on my best behavior- please and thank you, “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am”, and let me get that for you sir. Still nothing could shake the fact that I was marked, tagged, and isolated, left to sit quietly and ponder the days of hunting that I had just experienced. Despite the lag, the crazy travel schedule, and the exhaustion from the grind of hunting ducks, light geese, and dark geese for 10 days I just sat their and laughed.

We all have them. Those hunting partners that have those weird quirks that drive us crazy, but instead of saying something we just humor them. We sit quietly by and watch what has become a ritual, something to do to amuse ourselves while we wait. Me, I have several friends that break many of the basic rules of waterfowling. I run the gambit every time I go out as to who I will end up with. I have a “decoy master”, a “decoy mover”, a “contest caller”, a “lets move over there”, a “this place looks ducky”, and you get my drift. Of the four guys I went to the Quills with, I had two guys that fell into the categories I listed above. Despite the quirks we all had a great time, a lot of laughs, some yelling, great shooting, and even better eating.

Sometimes you have to take control of a situation in order to better your chances of being successful. Doing so means you have to have an understanding for the basic rules of waterfowling, so I guess this is my understanding of the rules. Now this is the most important rule in waterfowling. If you understand and respect this point then you will be on your way to truly appreciate what it is that we do. So hear it is. No one knows more about the birds than the birds. End of discussion. The birds are the ultimate authority on what they want to do, where they want to go, what they want to eat, and when they want to move. Now to be successful we must observe, scout, practice, be mobile, and learn to adapt. If we follow these rules then we will greatly increase our odds of being successful on our hunts.

Observe
Waterfowl, all species are creatures of habit, but they are also masters of adaptation, so must we. What I mean when I say observe is you need to watch what the birds are doing. What are their eating habits, when do they take flight, how are they flocking up, where are they loafing during the day, are they vocal or call shy, how and where are they resting, etc…. All these items need to be looked at when deciding when and where to hunt in order to increase your odds of being successful. Point in case, we were hunting a monster slew in Wadena. Now this slew was a roost, and in most cases I would always advise against or criticize guys for shooting a roost, but when you are in an area that is covered in water and that water is covered in birds, it is pretty hard to not shoot a roost spot. We drove into the slew and scouted mid morning and mid afternoon and watched thousands of birds drop in and loaf around for three to five hours. Then they picked up and left for the p.m. feed flight then dumped back in sometime after dark. In that time we gained all of the information we needed to put together a great duck shoot the next day and for that matter almost every day we were up there.

The birds left the roost between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m. for their morning feed flight. The birds left in groups of 10 to 50 and were gone till about 11:00 a.m. then they started to trickle back in. When the birds returned they returned in groups of the same number and packed the slew to the gills by 12:30 p.m. They favored the side of the slew out of the wind. The birds were extremely vocal in the a.m. but quiet when they returned from the morning feed flight and in the p.m. When they rested it was along the shores of the slew out of the wind. We hunted the slew between 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Our finish time was non-negotiable. Limit or not we were out every day by 10:30 a.m. We gave the slew back to the birds every day and they were none the wiser. We hunted the sides of the slew out of the wind with our dekes close to the shore and we used simple quacks and quiet feed chuckles to coax them in, nothing loud or over the top. By simple observation we were able to hunt this spot every morning for our entire trip and fill four man limits of ducks 8 out of 10 days.

Now my “let’s move over there” buddy wanted to set up on the opposite side of the slew because he felt the dekes would move better in the wind. So we let him, he did the Bataan death march across an old slew, set his blocks up in the wind so they would move, and had a great spot to observe us whack our limit of birds in an hour while he had only a few opportunities. After one day of shooting I convinced him otherwise and he joined us the next morning for another great shoot. Now my buddy was not wrong to follow his instincts, but he failed to adapt to the situation. The weather, while mild was extremely windy. These birds wanted out of the wind so they could rest. We observed this the day before when we saw the birds hugging the shore out of the wind.

Scouting
Scouting is perhaps the most important element to waterfowl hunting. Although some of my peers may debate me on this it is my opinion scouting is what puts hunters in good hunts. “Be where the birds want to be Chris” is what my late Uncle Kenny and Father use to tell me as a kid growing up in the legendary migration routes of the Illinois and Fox rivers. It does not matter what you or your hunting partners think of a particular spot, if the birds don’t like it then they won’t be there. I personally spend as much time scouting as I do hunting. If you want to continue to have good hunts then you have to find where the birds are going to feed and rest.

When I scout I will pull up to roost areas in the morning and follow the flocks as they take flight and leave for a distant field. Now it seems tough at first, that is, following flight birds while you drive county roads, but with a good pair of binoculars and a map or GPS it gets easier the more you do it. Now these little road trips are necessary because in our era of urban expansion and hunter consolidation it is almost impossible to hunt the same piece of property day in and day out without the birds getting wise to what is going on.

These scouting trips yield a plethora of information and contacts. When I find a field that is being heavily used I mark it on my GPS and immediately try to contact the owner. Sometimes this can be difficult so use the county auditor’s website in your area if you are having trouble locating an owner. When you find the owner build a positive relationship with them even if you do not get permission. Leave them with a sense that you can be trusted to hunt their property. Get contact information on them. Call them from time to time to stay in touch. Persistence pays off. I was refused a sweet piece of property for eight years because the land owner had a bad taste in his mouth because of a prior party he let hunt his land. They tore up his fields and left trash on his property. For eight years his flooded corn fields went untouched by hunter. For eight, long years I watched thousands of birds drop in on his fields while I hunted else where. I showed him respect every time we spoke, I provided references, and called him from time to time to see how he was.

Two years ago he granted me permission to hunt his property and I have to tell you it was a great investment in time and patience. In the end I am where the birds want to be and have added another field to hunt and another contact/reference to my resume.
Now three years ago my buddy “it looks ducky” took me out to this reservoir he found. All the signs were there that it would hold birds and be a place where they wanted to be. Problem was that he didn’t see any birds on the water, but he figured they were out feeding. He did not check with the locals and he did not glass the shores for signs of birds. He felt good about this place because it looked good to him, so he called and invited me down. The weather was cold, 20 degrees with a blistering, cold wind out of the northwest. There was an island in the middle of this man made lake with zero vegetation; it was all rocks and boulders.

Needless to say after spending 20 minutes out on the rocks I knew that this trip was going to be a waste of time, but I knew he wanted to pay me back the hunt he owed me so I endured the weather to make him happy. What are friends for? Had he paid attention he would have noticed that there was no cover what so ever around this island and man made lake. No cover, no place to rest out of the wind. Had he asked the locals about the lake he would have known that the property owners pour chemicals in the water to kill vegetation, in doing so it kills the likelihood of holding birds because there is no food for the birds to eat. At least it wasn’t a total waste; he still makes a mean gumbo, even without fresh duck in it.

Practice
Practice in the sense I am going to use it will be a broad term. In this case it will mean to practice your calling, decoy placement, and shooting. Not necessarily in that order either.
When practicing your calling take a trip down to the local park or duck pond in the spring and early summer. Key point here is to listen to what the birds are saying. Mimic those tones and notes, observe why they make those tones and notes (incoming flock, birds playing and chasing, feeding, etc…), and then master them.

Spring and early summer are great times for practice and trips to the local ponds because the birds are extremely vocal and aggressive in their language. Practice your calling till your wife and neighbors complain, and then practice in your truck on the way to work. You should really be working your calls over a couple times a week during the off season to keep your mouth and diaphragm in shape. Don’t be that guy that blows a full comp routine in the field. As a comp caller let me be the first to tell you that I have never used a 30 note high ball to call birds, or a 60 second rolling chuckle. Keep your cadences basic and to the point. Simple greets, quacks, and feed calls. Remember mimic what the birds are doing. If the birds are calling a bit aggressive in the morning, then do the same, and in most cases as the day wears on the birds get quieter. So call less in the afternoons and evenings.

Here’s another tip, if every guy at the public hunt area is calling their butts off at every bird in the sky, put your call down and let your decoys do the work for you. You will be surprised how well this works.

Decoy placement
Decoy placement for many guys is an art form. For me I use simple observation to decide where and how I am going to place my spread out. I try to keep the wind at my back if I am hunting open water, timber, and fields. If it is windy, I try to find the stillest water or reed cover and set up there. If the water is locking up I look for open spots and use shells along the sides of the hole with a few floaters in the water. I will glass resting flocks and watch how they are gathering. I will then set up exactly where they were and mimic them as best I can. If three dozen birds are using a pothole to rest, then when you set up your spread to hunt do not setup eight dozen blocks. Take only what you need. If you are hunting small flights of birds moving up and down a creek then six to a dozen blocks will be fine. If you are hunting large flights of birds in a 110 acre field then I would suggest a larger spread for that scenario.

Decoy placement can be a science and made complicated, but if you follow what I have been writing about then I think you will find your decisions on how many and where to set up a lot easier. Keep your spreads realistic looking and add variety. Mix full bodies with shells, add motion stakes and bobble heads, have a variety of species and use a flag. Remember, calling gets the birds attention but decoys finish the birds.
My buddy the “comp caller/decoy master” and I got a chance to hunt Rice Lake just outside of Pekin Illinois with Mick Lacy four years ago. Rice Lake for all intensive purposes is one of the hottest areas in the state to hunt. It is full of history and waterfowl lore. This area of the country is home to some of the oldest and greatest duck and goose call makers and callers. Mick takes us out to his trusty blind and begins to give my buddy a true lesson in hunting outside the box.

We were hunting the edge of Rice Lake that bordered a huge refuge. Everyday the birds would circle straight up and leave the refuge for parts unknown. When they returned they would circle wide of the refuge about 80 to 90 yards outside his setup, and drop into safe territory. Mick had watched these birds do this for three straight days and pulled out a trick he was taught by his father when he was a kid. Mick set up three dozen mixed blocks around and on the shores we were hunting. He them tied and anchored five dozen milk jugs and made three to four lines 60 yards out heading toward the blind. His plan was this, when the birds start to dump in the refuge we will call soft but aggressive, simple quacks and feed calls. When the birds get sight of the milk jugs they will work toward us to investigate the strange, new birds. The calling will help seal the deal. The goal was to get the birds to swing close enough for some great 35 to 50 yard wing shooting.

My buddy the “contest caller/decoy master” was a bit perplexed and hesitant of the plan. I just laughed when he suggested to this waterfowl legend that we throw some real blocks out amongst the milk jugs. When the birds started to move back to the refuge we started to hit them with our feed chuckles and quacks. All was looking good until Mr. Comp Caller hit them with a 25 note high ball. Birds flared hardcore and headed to safety. Mick swung around and asked my buddy if he could see his calls because they sounded great. When my buddy handed them over Mick tossed them in his blind bag and told him he’d get them back when we got back to the launch. Laughing aside, Mick was right. His plan worked great. The birds were curious of the strange new shapes and dive bombed the milk jugs all morning making for some great wing shooting. Mick took control of the situation, observed what the birds were doing because of the hunting pressure, and put together one great hunt.

Practicing your shooting is really the most important of the three items I have listed. Your aim or swing will either seal the deal for you or educate the birds while leaving your hunting buddies in tears. I try to get out six times a year. Whether it is down at the shop or at a clay range I find the time to knock the rust off and torch a few hundred clays. Something my father passed down to me that I will pass to my son is to practice your shooting and swing from whatever position you will be in.

Case in point, if you hunt from a layout boat or in a field blind practice your swing and shooting while sitting down. The same would apply to standing in a blind or along a creek. Use this tip and apply it to whatever hunting situation fits for you. 15 years ago was priceless. But now it is common to see guys on the trap range laying down on their backs or having a guy rock them back and forth while they call the bird. Preparing yourself for whatever challenges the season holds in store for you will greatly increase your odds of having a successful hunt.
Being mobile and learning to adapt really falls in to one category. Both are equal and if you have been paying attention through these lessons you will see several examples of both. In this day and age we as hunters face more challenges than those from the past. Urban expansion, loss of habitat, shorter seasons, increasing pressure, etc, all of us have faced these issues at one time or another. Not only have we faced these problems but so have the birds.

Like I said earlier, the birds are masters of adaptation and the ultimate authority on what they want to do; they have to in order to survive. Being mobile is scouting multiple locations during your season to maximize your options and lessen the pressure in the area by hunting different locations. Learning to adapt is observing the habits of the birds and utilizing that information in order to increase your odds of being successful. Plain and simple be where the birds want to be and do exactly as they do.
From early September till the start of our second season the birds have endured every type of decoy spread, call, and blind setup that we hunters have come up with. Sometimes were successful, sometimes were not. When were not, we need to sit back and ask ourselves if we have broken any of the basics of waterfowling or for that matter are we with someone who has.
Finally they are beginning to board my flight, none too soon to. I am starting to get strange looks from my fellow passengers due to my laughter. I can’t help it though. The look on my buddy’s face after he walked a mile through that slew with just a drake Green wing to show for it while we were sitting on 24 fat green heads was priceless.

Knock’em stiff