Quick Hunting area questions

[McCRIZZLEY]

I'll add to be hesitant of the areas you find good information about publicly online... Usually everyone else has read the same posts and waterfowl hunting is best done without the crowds.
Get a pair of waders, binoculars, and couple tanks of gas and get out there!

[HntnFsh]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Great perspective! Thank you!

[Jpmiller]

I’ve never tried this personally but always thought it would be a good way to learn based on what I used to do hunting.

Growing up we had an 80 acre piece of land we hunted ducks on. It had about an acre pond on it and about a hundred years away about smaller pond, maybe 200 foot square. Because it was ours I built my dad and I a really slick blind, dug into the ground/hill a little bit and with some drainage so it was usually dry inside. It was only sized for two people and a dog so when his buddy came along (who really had a way of sucking the fun out of duck hunting! I would peel three decoys out of the spread and hunker down in the bushes by the other smaller pond.


They would call to all the flocks and about half the time (if not more) I’d get ducks coming to my pond and I wasn’t calling at all and I’d get my limit before them. I always figured taking a small spread out to a busy place and not calling might work well based on that. It would give you the chance to see where the ducks are and aren’t, how they come in, and where they go. Plus having a small spread and no blind makes it really easy to move around if you end up in a less than ideal location.


Don’t know if it’ll work, never tried it myself but something I always thought. Good luck, hope you have a fun season whatever the outcome.

[ducks4days]

I’ve never tried this personally but always thought it would be a good way to learn based on what I used to do hunting.

Growing up we had an 80 acre piece of land we hunted ducks on. It had about an acre pond on it and about a hundred years away about smaller pond, maybe 200 foot square. Because it was ours I built my dad and I a really slick blind, dug into the ground/hill a little bit and with some drainage so it was usually dry inside. It was only sized for two people and a dog so when his buddy came along (who really had a way of sucking the fun out of duck hunting! I would peel three decoys out of the spread and hunker down in the bushes by the other smaller pond.


They would call to all the flocks and about half the time (if not more) I’d get ducks coming to my pond and I wasn’t calling at all and I’d get my limit before them. I always figured taking a small spread out to a busy place and not calling might work well based on that. It would give you the chance to see where the ducks are and aren’t, how they come in, and where they go. Plus having a small spread and no blind makes it really easy to move around if you end up in a less than ideal location.


Don’t know if it’ll work, never tried it myself but something I always thought. Good luck, hope you have a fun season whatever the outcome.

I run a spread of 6 decoys in high pressure areas, one each sex mallard, wigeon, and wood duck. Hen mallard on a pull string. It pretty much always works. If birds are looking for somewhere sneaky and safe to avoid pressure you need to be in the sneaky and safe spot. Your tactic of sitting on the small pond makes a ton of sense.

[hdshot]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

[ducks4days]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

Most of your comments across several boards have been about your former hunting partner, and their lack of moral character preventing you from getting out after it. Seems like quite a shame to let another person have that kind of power over you.

Let me know if you are ever on the the wet side and want to kill ducks, I'm sure I can find an open seat in the boat.

[metlhead]

I've always an open seat. Love hunting large groups. All hunts are public land. If I lived E.WA I would be beside myself myself with all the option available. Prolly need to give up the job to accomodate the addiction

[Feathernfurr]

There’s plenty of ducks to be killed on public land for those willing to work for it.

[Dan-o]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

When was the last time you actually went and tried to check out a few new spots?

You should really get out there.
Exploring and finding new spots is half the fun.

[lovetogrouse]

I second this. Lotta salty dogs on this forum. Besides, skybusters are more likely to ruin hunts than people scouting.

This is a really good resource for locations:
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/locations

While I haven’t been to the spots you listed, I’ve hunted on the central coast a bit. One thing I can say is the water levels can change drastically throughout the season. One day you can walk in, three months later you have to kayak in. Unfortunately this means you have to check in on the spots pretty regularly or else pay attention to the rainfall totals and river levels.

What I would do is make a day of it, visit multiple spots, and mark blind locations on OnX.

As far as gear goes, you can do perfectly fine with six floating decoys.

I started hunting five years ago, and the single most important thing I’ve learned about duck hunting is that the biggest predictor of a good hunt is going to be the weather. If winds are >10mph, chances are you’re in for a good hunt.

[ducks4days]

I second this. Lotta salty dogs on this forum. Besides, skybusters are more likely to ruin hunts than people scouting.

This is a really good resource for locations:
https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/locations

While I haven’t been to the spots you listed, I’ve hunted on the central coast a bit. One thing I can say is the water levels can change drastically throughout the season. One day you can walk in, three months later you have to kayak in. Unfortunately this means you have to check in on the spots pretty regularly or else pay attention to the rainfall totals and river levels.

What I would do is make a day of it, visit multiple spots, and mark blind locations on OnX.

As far as gear goes, you can do perfectly fine with six floating decoys.

I started hunting five years ago, and the single most important thing I’ve learned about duck hunting is that the biggest predictor of a good hunt is going to be the weather. If winds are >10mph, chances are you’re in for a good hunt.

 

Burn hunting days with sunny warm weather and focus on scouting instead. Bring waders and a shotgun in case you get a chance to jump shoot, but dont bring much more than that. One day staying light on your feet and covering ground taking notes is worth 3-10 successful days with a full loadout.

[hdshot]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

Most of your comments across several boards have been about your former hunting partner, and their lack of moral character preventing you from getting out after it. Seems like quite a shame to let another person have that kind of power over you.

Let me know if you are ever on the the wet side and want to kill ducks, I'm sure I can find an open seat in the boat.

Unfortunately can’t let that persons poor behavior disappear on page 189.  I understand many frequently visit this site but many new people drop in and will never hear the story as he probably hopes.  Also maybe some others now think better to keep than dump over questionable decisions are my main reasons. We will never know either way but according to federal statistics they claim there is not even a million waterfowl hunters in the USA.

[ducks4days]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

Most of your comments across several boards have been about your former hunting partner, and their lack of moral character preventing you from getting out after it. Seems like quite a shame to let another person have that kind of power over you.

Let me know if you are ever on the the wet side and want to kill ducks, I'm sure I can find an open seat in the boat.

Unfortunately can’t let that persons poor behavior disappear on page 189.  I understand many frequently visit this site but many new people drop in and will never hear the story as he probably hopes.  Also maybe some others now think better to keep than dump over questionable decisions.  We will never know either way but according to federal statistics they claim there is not even a million waterfowl hunters in the USA.

That's fair. The open seat offer is still open.

[hdshot]

I encourage new folks to come to this site and ask questions. If you don't wanna give up your handed down secrets, well that is fine. Haze someone for asking and yhey will go elsewhere. These small game threads are hardly alive as it is. Fresh conversation is welcoming and a great way to extend our sport out of the field.

Unfortunately waterfowl places to hunt for the general public is currently in shrink-flation on steroids.  Even my former hunting partner left me to rot on the general public hunting areas because of this problem I’ve shared about before.  Can’t blame hunters being critical to protect spots and throw other hunters away like trash no matter how loyal and trusted. Just the way it is.

Most of your comments across several boards have been about your former hunting partner, and their lack of moral character preventing you from getting out after it. Seems like quite a shame to let another person have that kind of power over you.

Let me know if you are ever on the the wet side and want to kill ducks, I'm sure I can find an open seat in the boat.

Unfortunately can’t let that persons poor behavior disappear on page 189.  I understand many frequently visit this site but many new people drop in and will never hear the story as he probably hopes.  Also maybe some others now think better to keep than dump over questionable decisions.  We will never know either way but according to federal statistics they claim there is not even a million waterfowl hunters in the USA.

That's fair. The open seat offer is still open.

Sounds good and thank you. 👍