Where to start in Eastern WA

[nutntoit]

I live in eastern Washington and want to start duck hunting. I have been upland hunting for years, but am looking to try something new. I just put a deposit down on a Labrador from Morgan's Point Ranch, so I figured what better time to get into waterfowl hunting. My question is where do I start?
I know I need decoys, a good set of waders, and some sort of blind. Any other essential equipment I should look into getting? Also any good places to start hunting in Eastern WA? There is water everywhere around here so I am unsure of where to try first.

[metlhead]

If you have done a lot of upland hunting, you already have a head start on others and should already know where many unpressured spots are. That's how I get my spots.

[Copperwood]

A dog blind is a good idea to pick up. Momarsh invisilab is my favorite. I would buy a Washington map book and look at the wildlife areas and start scouting. Potholes, Moses lake and Royal City area have a lot of places. Knock on doors to ask for permission. It always goes better if you're not wearing your camo and you have something to offer like smoked salmon, help etc. I never brought more than one person as well. county parcel map will help you narrow down who to talk to. Might be a good idea to go on a couple guided hunts to see if you like it before you spend a bunch of money. If you have a boat then your options got a lot bigger.

[Elkrunner]

Where do you live?

[mburrows]

Look for streams and sloughs near ag fields and larger bodies of water. Some of the best areas we find are small chunks of public land tangled in with private land. Make sure you know property boundries.

[brew]

a decent handheld GPS with a Washington chip in it will show you property lines and who the registered owner of public lands are (i've got an Oregon 550 i think).  Go on Google Maps and pull up the Earth link view and it will show you a satellite view of the land---its a couple years old but still works pretty good.  you can click on an area and it will give you the GPS coordinates of that spot so you can plug the coordinates into the GPS and find them.  WDFW website has the "Go Hunt" option that will give you directions to areas that are open to hunting also...some of them are register to hunt and others are feel free to hunt

[nutntoit]

Where do you live?

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner I forgot I made this post! I live in Spokane.

[goosegetter79]

When I lived in Spokane I would hit up eloika lake (until it freezes over) and pend oreille river but you do need a boat for both. That was 5 years ago tho don't know how the hunting is now.

[gadwall]

Good choice on the new dog.  I have known them for years and you won't be disappointed.

[gadwall]

Also,
Set yourself up with gear that is as portable as you can make it for yourself and a buddy.  No one packs more crap around with them than duck hunters and no kind of hunting requires more work per hunt, in most cases.  Accumulating gear can be addicting.  Good deals on gear can be had through sporting outlets and online classifieds (even on here) especially post season.  For example, I always buy my shells in February or March as they are on sale then.  Send me a PM and we can talk more if you like.

Gadwall