Hunting salt vs. hunting ponds with decoy spread

[johng]

Hey all,

Wondering what your guys' strategy is for hunting an area where you can't set up decoys.  I hunted an area like this up in Skagit this past weekend and am not quite sure of the best way to hunt it.

Meaning, this isn't a place where you can set up a bunch of decoys, call them in (if I were good at that) and then blast them at 20-30 yards...

It's a tidal area and I guess the idea there is "pass shooting"... My question is how do you guys approach this?  I saw some lucky dudes parked out on a boat about 20 yards from shore... Not an option for me yet.  So, if you are land bound do people walk out to rocks and try and blast them from there?  What about wading out into the sea?  Won't the birds easily spot you?

I was trying to hunker down in some trees and waiting for them to fly over... got a couple shots but missed.     I need to start leading those birds!  I am putting the bead right on them and missing way more often than not.  Frustrating...

Well, thanks and good hunting!

-John G.

[T-Bone]

John, prior to moving to E. WA, I was once a Duck Hunting Tidal Rookie on the Westside. I learned the following after a lot of trial and error:

Before hunting a tidal area, go out on a low tide to see the lay of the marsh BEFORE the high tide comes in. Tidal ditches and marsh depressions become invisible when under saltwater. I watched many an ignorant rookie go for swim or even momentaily disappear beneath the water because he thought the marsh under the water was as flat as his back lawn. Obviously, you need to wear a good pair of waders; even hip boots just won't cut it.

Once you know the lay of the marsh at low tide, attempt to hunt it on an incoming, preferably mid-morning, high tide. The ducks will generally come in with the water; so you want to hunt the water's edge or the water itself as the high tide comes in. If the high tide isn't too extreme; you can hunt it all the way through slack tide until it starts to pull out. The birds will become nervous with the moving water and fly at this time, as well.

I liked to set my decoys on the dry marsh of low tide and wait for the incoming high tide to float them. As mentioned, on the right high tide I would wait it out; however, if the rivers had been flooding and the tide was really running...I'D GET OUT, ASAP!!!

Thus, NEVER HUNT A TIDAL MARSH W/O KNOWING THAT DAY'S TIDES!!!

Good luck, I learned all of the above on my own. Hopefully, those tips will help you to enjoy yourself.

Tom  

[AWS]

I have a boat but hunt alot of tidal areas that are a long run from a landing.  I have six lightweight decoys with  2 ft anchor lines and longline clips and 100 ft !/4" camo cord with a 5# lead ball anchor on the end.  I stretch out the line and space the decoys about 5' apart athe the weighted end and sit on a camo bucket with the other end othe cord looped around my ankle.  I start out as far out as I can get at low tide and as the tide reaches me I just move shoreward dragging the decoys as I go.  Sitting hunched over on the bucket I look (to the ducks) just like any other stump out there.  It's amazing how close the ducks will come. 

Know your area so you don't get trapped, I've spent an afternoon stradling a floating log in a snow storm when the tide came in alot higher than predicted.  Only the roots of the root ball stuck in the mud kept it from being a disaster.

AWS

[h2ofowlr]

Remember if your hunting the mouth the tide may be higher than show on charts during flood periods or high wind.  I have picked up two guys so far this season at the mouth that were very wet and having trouble getting back in.  It would be no fun clinging to a stump for several hours.

[johng]

Very interesting stuff!

Thanks for the info everyone.  There is quite the learning curve to hunting for an IT guy like me. 

Hopefully I won't get stuck out there freezing my ass off clinging to some log.   

Cheers!

- John G.

[AKBowman]

I hugged a stump for about two hours last Sunday. I was in no danger I just didnt feel like standing in the water or manouvering back to the shore at high tide...the tide came up a bit higher than I expected.

If you're new to it I wouldnt recommend doing it by yourself at first. It is suprising how a very small tide gut can keep you water locked in just a few minutes time.


I like to go out on the incoming and place my deekes on the edges of the guts in a small area that way when the water comes in I know where to shoot the birds so I can retrieve them. I learned that the hard way...you might have ducks flying within 15 yards of you (or closer) but be unable to shoot becuase you have no way to get to them.

You have to be smart about it and kill the birds in the right spots otherwise you're wasting your time.

[Turkeyman]

Or take a lab with you to retrieve your birds.

[ducksdoom12]

in situations where you cant be sitting right in front of your decs i like to find a good pond, through 6-12 mallards out in it and then find a good blind off to the side or behind the spread 20 yards or so and then shoot them as the circle over me.  i can usually get good 35-40 yard passing shots this way. i would recomend using atleast a mod. choke this way though cuz the chances of having to make a 45 plus shot are increaced. with enough practice and a good load you can make those shots though.

[BIGBULLBALLS]

Especially being new to the tidal hunting game I would caution you to be careful!!  KNOW THE TIDES.  Everyone on here has cautioned you but I don't mind being redundant.  The search and rescue team for that area is named "George Larson Search and Rescue"  after George Larson who drowned out there.  Waders can be deadly if you fall in over your head.  You need to know what to do if the *censored* hits the fan.

[Dustin07]

Waders can be deadly if you fall in over your head.  You need to know what to do if the *censored* hits the fan.

i've wondered about that. espeically with them all being thick neoprene now. They brag about being floating waders. I know that the neoprene wetsuit I wore diving in the pugetsound could not be submerged without weights, so I've wondered about the waders. water is quite weighty afterall...

[ducksdoom12]

neoprene waders make you float like a cork i have hit unseen ditches that were over my head up at lake terrell several times and i always end up bobing there and then just kicking my way to shalower water. if you have canvas waders then yes they can fill up and act like an ancor but neoprene ones are just as good as a life vest

[Dustin07]

cool, that's very very good to know!

[kbyers]

neoprene waders make you float like a cork i have hit unseen ditches that were over my head up at lake terrell several times and i always end up bobing there and then just kicking my way to shalower water. if you have canvas waders then yes they can fill up and act like an ancor but neoprene ones are just as good as a life vest

REALLY??  Think about it.  Have you ever had water inside your neoprene waders?  Just so everyone knows, neoprene waders can fill with water just like any other type of wader.  Come on guys use your head and do not become a statistic.

[BIGBULLBALLS]

If you think your neoprene waders will float you like a cork you are one step from drowning.  They might float your feet but you don't breath out of you feet do you!

[Oldguy]

It is evident that the guys who post the deadliness of waders haven't been in over their heads wearing them. Maybe in the days of rubberized waders without a wader belt there was some concern, but with neoprenes or breatheables, it just isn't true. As to the weight of the water in them pulling you down, unless you are able to walk on water, I wouldn't consider that an issue until you get to the shore. As soon as you hit land, lay down and elevate your feet  and let the water out. Then the survival skills you should know come into play.