Can someone point me in the right direction?


BrandonBowling21

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Can someone point me in the right direction on waterfowl hunting? First off i live in the Northern Kentucky haven't been duck hunting any and have only been goose hunting once! I need to know what all i need what equiptment works best(decoys,calls,etc). I have a dog with whom ive been training specificly for waterfowl hunting and shes really doing great. Now i need to take that next step to figure out a place to hunt. Can someone explain to me what i need to look for in a spot, what i need to work on to better my chances in being successful ect. So please let me know im sure there are some excellant duck hunters in here so please open up, pull up a chair and lets talk duck, duck hunting that is. So please let me in on the secrets of wing shooting for waterfowl! thanks in advance!

~Brandon

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This aint rocket science kid. Just get out there and scout the waterways. Ducks are everywhere. Look for marshes and swamps with standing timber. Rivers, farm ponds.

I think you really need to get yourself a copy of Realtree's Fall'n Skies DVD with Jeff Foiles for starters to get your blood pumped up. Then go out and get some Duck Commander DVD's as they get more technical on the aspect of duck hunting along with things to do in the off season.

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The Ducks Unlimited magazine always has some good decoy set-up tips in it along with other good pointers. I dont do much puddle duck hunting (mallards, woodies etc) I normally hunt divers. But I do hunt a river in the early season for woodies and mallards. Heres a few tips to get you started.

1. Scouting is key...you gotta be where the ducks are.

2. You dont want the wind in your face if at all possible. Ducks land into the wind.

3. Leave a hole in your decoy spread for ducks to 'land'.

4. Ducks arent blind...make sure you are well camoflauged.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Dont worry about speding $100 on a call. Buy the one you can use the best. Listen to calls on youtube or buy an example CD. Then practice when you can. I have a 1 hour drive to and from work. I have turkey and duck calls in my car and I play with them a lot. It does wonders for your calling.

Keep in mind that the ducks have heard every call there is to here by the time they fly over you. If you cant convince them youre not going to have a good hunt.

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Heres a few more things I thought of.

- Wood ducks like acorns, if you find some oaks over hanging or on the edge of the water, good chance the woodies will be around.

- Woodies fly early and late in the day. Not to say you wont ever see one at other times, but in general thats what they do.

-A drake Mallard call can make a huge difference in making Mallards commit to the dekes...The classic 'quack' of a duck call is the sound of a hen. A drake call is not something the ducks here ALL the time.

- And as far as wingshooting. Always aim for the head and keep your gun moving ( follow through). Wood ducks that are just passing through can make a guy feel pretty humble from time to time haha.

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thanks guys i need to do some scouting dont have much land that im able to hunt alot of people around here are not allowing us to hunt! So im trying to look into finding out where we can hunt along the ohio river because theres alot of people who wont let you hunt behind there houses on the river bank! I think i have one little spot along the river but have to take the quad about 4 miles back a old road so we will see is there anything else i need to know about how to pick a good spot or train my dog to be a better waterfowl dog?

~Brandon

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Your dog needs to learn to trust you and to go where you are telling him to go. The dog isnt going to see where every bird falls. You should work on 'blind' retrieves with the dog. The dog should be able to recognize simple hand commands like 'over' (sticking you right or left hand out) and 'back' (hand up over your head).

Once the dog knows these, you can send your dog for birds that it doesnt know where they are. A dog trusts its nose to find birds that it didnt see go down and is normally going to work into the wind. The dog needs to learn to trust your commands, so you can get him/her downwind of the fallen bird. This is VERY helpful on crips that fall on land....obviously in water, the dog will more than likely be able to see the bird.

Get him/her used to sitting still, blow duck calls around her, and of course the dog should be used to gunshots. Ive seen dogs start howling at goose calls before because they werent used to hearing them.....:bang:

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