Waterfowl....where do I start?

[AWS]

Purchase a Washington state Atlas and Gazateer it is a wealth of info and shows alot of waterfowling sights and water acess, I've worn out a number of them.  If your planning alot of walk in hunting or hunting the wetside a good set of insulated bootfoot breathable waders are wonderfull.  For duck hunting practice hit the skeet range you get alot of different angles there and alot of incoming shot as in duck huning over decoys.

If you don't have a dog a PoPeel Pocket Fisherman and a floating plug(be sure you have a fishing license) will retrieve alot of ducks and doesnt take up much space.

You don't need to be overly concerned with blinds and that type of gear I've killed alot of ducks standing in brush or cattails or even just sitting on the bank of a river with my feet dangling in the water and a 1/2 dz decoys, keep your head down and JUST DON'T MOVE till your ready to shoot..

AWS

[cem3434]

Thanks for all of the info.  I am going to heed to most of this advice and I have already started looking for some private property to hunt in Pierce and Thurston Counties.  I have also considered trying to hunt more on the Eastside because of the oppurtunities. 

As far as equipment, I have some decoys for duck and goose that I have started to accumulate.  I have good waders that I use for fishing steelhead in the winter, so I am hoping those will work.  I also have several shotguns, but I plan on using my Beretta Xtrema 2 for waterfowling. I have a couple of labs that hunt upland, so I will see if I can convert them to waterfowling otherwise the good ol' fishing pole will be my friend.

I am joining DU and WAA to get involved and meet some more people.  I may also buy a boat that I can use for fishing and hunting as well to get out on some of the local lakes. 

Again, thanks for all of the advice and hopefully I get the addicition (or curse) that everyone serious about waterfowling talks about!

[Glockster]

AWS has some very good advice, especially concerning blinds and how to hide.  ~Alot of guys think they are really hidden with a beatiful blind that looks great from our level, but they don't seem to think about it from a duck's eye view....ie the overhead view down into the blind is what you really need to hide.  IThat's why as he points out, you kill will a bunch of ducks if you don't even make a blind and just hide in the shadows of the natural cover surrounding the pond and don't move or look up (unless you have a face mask or paint)

I might ad, this bit of advice: train yourself to hunt ducks before you try to train the dogs to waterfowl.  For upland they are used to moving and hunting.  Getting them to sit still for long hours in a duck blind is going to be challenging to your duck killing ability.  Of course it's a different story if you want to take them jump shooting, which is very similar to the upland hunting that they are used to.  I love jump shooting ducks as much as decoying them!

Anyway, you're off to the right start.  Good luck and hope we hear from you lots during your first season of "the ADDICTION".

[cem3434]

Well, I finally got out this weekend.  I didnt take any dekes or even a call.  I just basically did some scouting with my shotgun.  We seen a few ducks, but we would to have gone swimming to get on them and we elected to not kill them. 
I think that I will enjoy waterfowling more and more as I gain some experience.  Next weekend, Iam going to try to set up some dekes and do a little calling.  I will keep you guys posted. 
To the members that extended an offer to go hunting with you, I havent forgot about you. I will be contacting you shortly because I am eager to learn the right way of doing things.

[muzzlebuck]

...

[vandeman17]

Well, I finally got out this weekend.  I didnt take any dekes or even a call.  I just basically did some scouting with my shotgun.  We seen a few ducks, but we would to have gone swimming to get on them and we elected to not kill them. 
I think that I will enjoy waterfowling more and more as I gain some experience.  Next weekend, Iam going to try to set up some dekes and do a little calling.  I will keep you guys posted. 
To the members that extended an offer to go hunting with you, I havent forgot about you. I will be contacting you shortly because I am eager to learn the right way of doing things.

Let us know how you do.

[Wtrfowlr62]

Well, I finally got out this weekend.  I didnt take any dekes or even a call.  I just basically did some scouting with my shotgun.  We seen a few ducks, but we would to have gone swimming to get on them and we elected to not kill them. 
I think that I will enjoy waterfowling more and more as I gain some experience.  Next weekend, Iam going to try to set up some dekes and do a little calling.  I will keep you guys posted. 
To the members that extended an offer to go hunting with you, I havent forgot about you. I will be contacting you shortly because I am eager to learn the right way of doing things.

you wont enjoy it... you WILL get addicted AND LOVE IT!!!

good luck to ya the rest of the season, cant wait to hear some stories!