Skagit ducks

[MC37493]

Hunted HQ today was real excited in the morning with the wind blowing but then i got out there and nothing! hunted from start of  shooting light to end of shooting light ended up scratching out four periodically throughout the day but was the slowest day i have ever had up there felt like it was october not december! had a buddy tell me there is tons up in padilla, then i talked to the game warden on the way in and he said the same thing. anybody know if padilla is loaded with ducks right now/ having the same experience in the skagit areas?

[Fishnclifff]

Padilla is loaded with ducks, but you won't get to shoot them.

If you hunt the wildlife area up there, about 5 min before shooting time, someone will fire a handgun and you will get to watch all the ducks fly over your head and out to the bay.

It totally blows up there.

talked to the gammies and they just nod and say " yup, happens all the time".

[seth30]

Has anyone narrowed down which person is firing the handgun?

[BOWHUNTER45]

its been that way for years  :chuckle:never catch me hunting areas like that ....drive around and see where the ducks are going and then beat on some doors ...but I can tell you that it is not even close to what it used to be ... Could always get permission and have all the ducks you wanted to kill but it is all turning into a money game  that's why I can not get motivated to go duck hunting anymore ....There are more No trespassing signs in Skagit Co than I ever seen before    Just sad !

[Kola16]

Padilla is loaded with ducks, but you won't get to shoot them.

If you hunt the wildlife area up there, about 5 min before shooting time, someone will fire a handgun and you will get to watch all the ducks fly over your head and out to the bay.

It totally blows up there.

talked to the gammies and they just nod and say " yup, happens all the time".

This

[h2ofowlr]

Who fires a handgun?  Probably a shotgun.  Some get a little excited it sounds like.

[Cougar125]

Padilla Bay is loaded, but the birds know where the reserve is, and that is where they stay.  Unless you've got whitecaps on the bay, stay home and drink coffee.  At least you'll be warm doing it.

[h2ofowlr]

It's been so packed all the rigs can't fit into the parking lots.  They are parking down the street.  Lots of people set up 50 yards apart and I think everyone is now switching over to Remington Hypersonic to hit them at the higher levels.   

[jgoetz]

Here you go!

[Brad Harshman]

Nice map.  I think thats the map to the potholes.

[Fishnclifff]

Who fires a handgun?  Probably a shotgun.  Some get a little excited it sounds like.

Witnessed it first hand last year.
Car on the dike road pulls up, muzzle flash out window, car drives off.

Told the gammie when we hiked out. He took a sip of coffee and said, " we will see if we can find them".
I told him they left 30 min ago.

He just shrugged.

[scottcrb]

Here you go!

Not as many ducks in potholes this year either . It's been pretty froze up for a couple weeks too

[ghosthunter]

Well I have hunted the Samish unit since the day it opened years ago. Took my first pup there and now my 2 nd.
It can get packed.
Sat and sun there was never a time when ducks were not in the air.
But folks there shot too high.and that screws it for everyone. The art of decoying ducks is dead there. Too many guys just don't give a *censored*.

It can be good. But you got go early or wait till noon. The on shore flow winds gets the ducks up.
I hit the parking lot T 2:30 am Sunday there was three empty rigs in the lot. That was the first time this year I was not the first in the lot.

I dont go early to get a special spot because it can all be good. I go early so I don't have to go bump in the dark with every body else.   I hate getting out there and someone is there. Moving around with a load of dekes can be a pain there.

Once I get to a spot I put out a flasher or blinker to show everyone coming where I am. Most people like it so they do t waste time walking to a pond already taken.

I don't race folks at 62, if some one is jumping out of there rig when I drive in than I walk over say good morning and ask where they are going to hunt. That calms them down and they stop rushing.
Too many folks treat it like a competive sport. It shouldn't be that way.

My buddy emailed me today he mostly pheasant hunts. He went out there Monday and walked the dike south than back to the lot. Got limit of ducks fired one shot. His dog picked up the rest as cripples in the rocks or the corn. He gave them all away to other hunters he met.

I have never heard a hand gun shot. 
Some guys do good there. Others don't.  If there is no wind it is a slow hunt. On clear days I have other spots.
They planted corn there this year so the ducks will keep coming all season.

Look up some of the quality blinds in Skagit and scout them. Some are duds, some can be good.

But unless you have the bucks to buy private land, you better find enjoyment in more than just killing ducks, in this county.

 

[aaronoto]

Great post on the Samish Unit ghosthunter.  I lived out on Samish Island for a couple years and learned to duck hunt at the Samish Unit, for what it is and what it offers it's a cool place.  I didn't enjoy the extra early mornings to claim a spot and then sit around for hours waiting for LST, but that's the plight of a public lands duck hunter to a certain extent.

To the OP - It happens!  I was out recently and didn't even shoulder my gun...  I was amazed at how little was flying, and what was flying was sky high and on a mission to get out of dodge.

[MC37493]

Bowhunter: Thats exactly what my pa told me when i said that, lol but  i do well there i dont make the hour drive there for nothing!! but I have tried the knocking door thing and every single time i have tried in Western washington i rarely get a nice no thanks they always get angry yell at me to get off their property and slam doors in my face. I have had a lot more luck asking farmers on the eastside.

Ghosthunter: thanks a ton for the info about samish, it sounds kind of like headquarters with how people just dont care except samish sounds a little worse  Im with ya though wish all waterfowlers could be considerate.

Aaronoto: Exactly what all the ducks i saw that day were doing, on a mission outta there!

Sounds like i wont ever be heading to samish to much gas to war duck hunt, but how big is the unit? if your willing to walk for awhile can you get away from people?

[ghosthunter]

The unit is 450 acres. A dozen. Ponds and now a dozen more wet spots with water.
1/2 mile salt water access along the dike.
Three wood blind structures.
Planted in corn and barley.
About 30 - 40 acres is marked safety zone this year as they are getting ready to plant it next year. In the past it was just grass.

Also there is the Debay unit on Frances road. Small but in corn also.

If you can go mid week I would go than. At least go once in the daylight walk straight out from the parking lot to the dike go south along the dike. Because you are elevated you can see the layout well that way. Exit the dike on south. End and go north back to the parking lot.

Google earth Samish island than follow the main road back to south to a 90 turn. You can see the parking lot. With a old barn 100 yards north.
The google will show a cluster of cars parked there.

[ghosthunter]

Time to hunt the swans. Look for large flocks of swans. The mallards are under  them. I watched hundreds of green heads pile into the swan flock.