Duck Hunting Tips

 

 

Successful duck hunting relies on:

  • Locating the feeding, loafing and roosting sites
  • Choosing the right location for your decoys
  • Using effective methods to attract the ducks
  • Being in a good position for a shot
  • Avoiding being detected by the ducks

 

 

General Tips

  • Hunt after a heavy rain as rising water can flood new areas [such as agricultural fields] that prove attractive to ducks
  • Hunt after a cold weather front has passed through as it often brings fresh ducks that aren't decoy shy
  • On overcast days, good camouflage is a necessity as there are no shadows and low flying ducks can more easily see into blinds and more easily see the hunter's faces looking at them. Check you are not wearing bright colors and it can help to wear a facemask
  • On slow days use a quieter and less aggressive calling approach as the aggressive style can scare them away. It may be that no calling on that type of day may be appropriate. A gentle raspy call on quiet calm days can often be successful
  • Vary your techniques from other hunters such as using your decoys around the edge of a hole instead of in the middle and using motion wing decoys or a jerk string
  • Look for little used or hidden duck holes such as farm ponds, beaver sloughs, oxbows, reservoir backwaters, swamps, creeks and watershed areas between 2 refuges
  • Hunt during the week to avoid the crowds on the weekends
  •  Keep the colors on your decoys in good condition to add realism to them
  • Consider adding some 'loafing' or 'sleepers' to your decoys
  • On calm quiet days ducks get a better look at your decoys and can notice things such as lack of water movement. Use motion wing decoys or a jerk string to provide some movement to the decoys and ripples to the water. Decoys that are moving side to side or bobbing their heads or moving their wings can be seen farther away.
  • Ducks see color so use camo that matches the color and pattern of your surroundings - don't use a tree type of camouflage in an agricultural field
  • Try and not to set your blind so it will be sky-lined by approaching ducks - place it in a low area or against vegetation to break its outline
  • Remember shiny faces, glasses, guns, etc can be seen a long way off by ducks
 

 

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