Couple newbie duck hunters

[Tracker0721]

So I’ve hunted ducks and geese a couple times, only got 1 duck. My brother in law stationed at Fairchild went with some buddies and got hooked so the 2 of us were hoping someone could point us in the direction of a guide service that would be willing to let us pick their brain or if any of you were willing to take out a couple rookies this year? In exchange for a duck hunt I can help point you in the right direction for whatever species you’d wanna hunt in ferry county. Thanks for any help!

[vandeman17]

Have a dog? Boat? Decoys?

[Tracker0721]

No dog or boat but we got a dozen mallard decoys. Just don’t know what we’re looking for when choosing spots, patterns for the decoys, calling when and which calls, like all the basics that usually get learned from lots of trial and error or hunting with someone. I like upland bird hunting so I’m really thinking about getting a dog but would prefer to figure out ducks before trying to train a bird dog or he’d be real disappointed in me. 

[Dan-o]

I'm on the wrong side of the state to help you, but here is some advice:

You can have the best dekes, the best spread, the best calls, the best camo and the best blind.......  but if you aint where the ducks want to be you're going to have a really tough time.
Conversely, Ive shot tons of ducks with questionable camo, no dekes, no call and a bush for a blind.

My advice is this:   Go on some hunts where your real purpose is to pay attention to where the ducks are and where they like to be.    Consider it a bonus if you get ducks the first few times out.   They are reasonably easy to figure out. 

And when you do figure them out:   camo, dekes and calling can all help.   But e where the ducks want to be.
I suspect there are ponds that might be duck magnets in your area.

ENJOY!

[hunthard]

Sound advice right there.

[10mmg]

I am sure there are guide services that do a great job but i have learned a ton by going on a couple of hunts with eagle lakes in othello. we got birds but more i was looking at the set up and calling sequences. you
ought look into opportunities on base as well. for public land try the pot holes. as said before be where they want to be.

[BD1]

 

I am sure there are guide services that do a great job but i have learned a ton by going on a couple of hunts with eagle lakes in othello. we got birds but more i was looking at the set up and calling sequences. you
ought look into opportunities on base as well. for public land try the pot holes. as said before be where they want to be.

[Stein]

Shooting straight is 100x more important than calling and a dozen of any decoys will do just fine.

I would just go out, find some water or join a local group like WWA or just stumble around a bit and you will figure it out enough to shoot a few birds.

[Skagit7]

I second joining western waterfowl association. They just started a mentor program to help new members too. Great way to learn from experienced hunters willing to teach.

[Stein]

For ducks, the problem with a guide is that if he is good you will be hunting primo private ground they have scouted and know exactly where the birds will be.  They can probably give you an idea how to call, but calling birds to where they want to go and calling birds somewhere they didn't plan on going is a completely different thing (same with decoys).

It's kind of like fishing at the indoor pond at the Sportsman's Show and then trying to replicate that by going to a random creek with a cane pole and 4' of fishing line.

On a good guided trip, there will be more birds and they will magically want to land right in front of you.  That's usually quite difficult to pull of on a regular basis on public land.

The good news is that there are plenty of birds around and with a little work even someone who doesn't know what they are doing stumbles into them if you are willing to do a bit of scouting and sit cold dark mornings.

[bigdog2u]

Scout, scout and scout some more.  Being on the X is by far the most important part of duck/goose hunting.  Decoys can be important but I've killed limits over 3 or 4 crappy decoys many times just by being where the birds want to be.  When setting decoys, try not to put them too close together.  Bunched up decoys can signal danger to live birds.  Leave a fairly large hole/space somewhere in your decoy spread for live birds to land.  Ducks generally don't like landing right in with other ducks.  They like having a space to land in.  Calling is overrated.  If you can't call or are not confident in your calling, just don't call.  I've seen many duck hunters that couldn't/shouldn't call flare birds with bad calling.  Another important thing is concealment.  Hiding in good cover and staying still is key to not flaring birds.  Also, keeping you face covered or at least not staring directly at birds is important.  People don't realize how much their face/eyes glow and birds can see that glare from a long ways.  If hunting with other people, it's generally a good idea to have one person be the shot caller.  That way you don't have people moving and shooting at different times.  Scouting, being on the X and good concealment are three of the main things for successful duck/goose hunting as far as I'm concerned.

[Dan-o]

Scout, scout and scout some more.  Being on the X is by far the most important part of duck/goose hunting.  Decoys can be important but I've killed limits over 3 or 4 crappy decoys many times just by being where the birds want to be.  When setting decoys, try not to put them too close together.  Bunched up decoys can signal danger to live birds.  Leave a fairly large hole/space somewhere in your decoy spread for live birds to land.  Ducks generally don't like landing right in with other ducks.  They like having a space to land in.  Calling is overrated.  If you can't call or are not confident in your calling, just don't call.  I've seen many duck hunters that couldn't/shouldn't call flare birds with bad calling.  Another important thing is concealment.  Hiding in good cover and staying still is key to not flaring birds.  Also, keeping you face covered or at least not staring directly at birds is important.  People don't realize how much their face/eyes glow and birds can see that glare from a long ways.  If hunting with other people, it's generally a good idea to have one person be the shot caller.  That way you don't have people moving and shooting at different times.  Scouting, being on the X and good concealment are three of the main things for successful duck/goose hunting as far as I'm concerned.

AMEN to the face.

I was walking out of a corn field last Fall where one of my sons and I were goose hunting.

I was 100 yards from my son when some geese started coming in to him.I was blown away when I saw him stand.
Even to my old eyes, his face stuck out like a beacon.
(I was out of the field along an edge in some deep brush, so they couldnt see me.)

[Alex4200]

Here are a couple of my observations about duck hunting that some people seem to over look. The blind is as much about concealing movement as it is about blending in to the environment. The simple act of reaching for a gun can flare birds. Secondly, know your shooting ability and distances. Sky busting wounds birds and makes them hard to retrieve without an exceptionally trained dog.

[kodiak10]

Being where the birds want to be is most important. Some of my best days have been with 0 decoys way out away from other hunters where there is next to no pressure. The birds feel very safe there and will give it up easily.


The better the spot, the less decoys and all the extras matter. Concealment is huge though too, ducks have incredible vision and have something like 340 degrees of vision.

Knowing distance is huge too. No one likes someone who shoots at mile high birds, wounds them and loses them. Not only do you never retrieve them but now they will be a lot more wary. Duck hunting for me is more about working the birds and getting quality easy shots through patience and deception than taking loads of poor quality passing shots that could work.

[cem3434]

Following alone as I'm just starting to get into waterfowl hunting. Lots of good information so far.

[vandeman17]

Like others said, prioritize scouting over hunting. Find the birds, watch where they come and go from and if you have time, also watch them in the off season. Listens to how they communicate and watch the way they use ponds and fields.

[Tracker0721]

This is awesome, thanks for the tips! Yeah we get a lot of ducks and tons of geese up here. My mom had us in a bird watching group when we were kids and they’d lead us out to ponds completely covered in birds, just never hunted em. Guess I’ll start scouting and bird watching again, any more tips are appreciated, I never understood the face paint so that’ll be a new thing we do this year.

[kodiak10]

Here is a good old thread too if you are looking for more https://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,232852.0.html
 
I have come a long ways since I first posted this, very much due to advice from people on the forum here

[Markhoran]

Agree with above statements. If you don't have a dog, a Kayak works great for retrieving birds.  I like the Aquapod but a camouflaged Kayak will work. I don't hunt out of the Kayak, but use the Kayak to get to the hunting location and for retrieving the duck when I don't have a dog with me.

http://https://aquapodboats.com/product/sport/

[fowl smacker]

I will add some to what others have said.  I've been waterfowl hunting for 26 years, I started with a very accomplished fowl hunting family and my passion still continues today.  Like others have stated, find where the birds want to be, or at a minimum, where they like to travel through.  We've had amazing hunts pass shooting birds on their way to their destination, this is where scouting can pay off.  Second most important thing is your movement/camo/blind, I am combining these into one.  If you can see a duck, they can see you!  Try not to move, if you're spinning your head around to see birds that may have circled around behind you, 98% of the time they will see you.  Make your blind match the environment around you.  Wear a mask or paint, don't forget your hands, especially if you're calling.  6 realistic moving decoys are better than 3 doz still lifeless decoys.  Get a jerk string and learn when to use it.  If you get the birds attention with it and they're fully committed, don't pull it anymore.  No calling is better than bad calling.  I can't stress this enough.  When hunting heavy pressure public areas, I've seen birds bail on other groups the second they're awful calling started.  I've seen this so many times it's not even funny.  If you are using a boat/kayak/pod of some sort PLEASE wear a life jacket or float coat while in it.  Accidents happen so fast in the nasty weather/cold water.  Even if you down a bird 40 yards out take the time to put it on before you go get the bird.  It may save your life.  Have fun!  Waterfowl hunting can be a lot of work, but for me, there isn't a better sight than a flock of locked and cupped birds.