5 Ways to Bag More Ducks

Whether they’re mallards, pintail, teal, or widgeon, every time duck season rolls around, I go out with the intention of getting as many birds as legally possible. I’m all for old faithful spots, productive blinds, and reliable decoy spreads, but when I’m trying to fill the freezer with wild duck meat, I’m more than happy to get a little creative. Over the years, I’ve figured out a few less conventional ways to make sure I almost always get my limit, ensuring that every duck season is well worth the wait.

Boats are a seriously underutilized tool in the duck hunting world. They can get you into those places that other hunters can’t go, help you retrieve downed birds in deep water without a dog, and with the right set-up, boats can even work as impromptu duck blinds and jump shooting platforms. Yet before you go out and buy the biggest, fanciest duck boat you can find, it’s important to remember and consider what you need that boat to do.

If you’re hunting in shallow swamps, small marshes, or a tight, slow-flowing stream, a smaller boat like a canoe, pirogue, or even a small rubber raft is all the boat you’ll really need. These smaller watercraft are ideal for maneuvering through narrow canals, towing gear behind you as you wade, and work well as blinds with the right preparation.

I’ve hunted with guys who have painted rafts with elaborate camouflage patterns and then glued and taped reeds and brush to the sides. This made them ideal for tucking against grassy banks to hide from incoming birds. One of my buddies even made his own portable duck blind that he could fold out and erect along the side of his canoe whenever he paddled into a good-looking spot.

If you’re hunting bigger water, then a larger, motor-powered duck boat might be exactly what you need. Many of these bigger duck boats are built like barges and are ideal for carrying massive amounts of equipment for multiple-day hunts or for setting up as a floating blind to target those middle-of-the-lake birds. You can make a large duck boat fairly easily out of a cheap john boat by painting the boat camouflage and then tossing in a couple of overhead camo tarps or screens that can be pulled over the top to cover you once your decoys are in place.

In short, whether it’s for transport, jump shooting, or hunting, when you have a good boat, the duck hunting possibilities are practically endless.

One of the biggest factors preventing hunters from reaching their limit is that they often hunt the same types of areas. Those large, shallow marshes, muddy tidelines, and flooded fields and timber that everybody else hunts become the only places to hunt ducks in our minds, leaving a lot of great duck hunting spots completely overlooked and untouched. These smaller “pocket spots” can become absolutely choked with birds, especially in areas with a lot of hunting pressure; you just have to know how and where to find them.

Pocket spots are those small areas in between major feeding and roosting spots where ducks will either take a respite or flee to after they’ve been shot at a few times. These areas can include small canals or shallow tributaries off large lakes, farm and forest ponds around large agricultural fields, and even flooded ditches and water meadows around the fringes of major flyways.

You can find these small areas of duck activity by looking at maps and mapping apps. Look for small chunks of water around areas of major waterfowl activity. Then, move into these areas and scout them out a bit from a distance with binoculars where you can, and you’ll often be surprised by how many birds are using them, especially during the peak of the season.

Getting your limit of ducks consistently is all about being able to adapt and overcome, and that often means having to move around a bit. Too often, duck hunters will stubbornly sit in a previously productive blind or hunting spot, even when they can see birds coming in to land close by. When you can still see ducks flying and landing well out of range of your hunting spot, it often means that it’s time to make a move.

When you’re moving in on ducks, you’ve got to do it with caution. Ducks have excellent vision and can very quickly pick up on the movement from predators or even on things that just look slightly out of place. This is why you should always wear a good camouflage pattern that matches the terrain around your hunting area so you won’t stand out to the birds when you’re hunting in the open. Additionally, before you move in on birds, you need to plan you’re route. Look over the terrain and take note of any hills, brush, tree lines, or steep banks that will allow you to stay undercover and hide your movements from the ducks as you move.

Once you have your route planned out, you need to move slowly. Just like when you’re still hunting for big game, if you move in too quickly on ducks, you’re going to blow your cover. Try to take slow, smooth, steady steps without making any fast or jerky movements. Stop as often as you can and hold still for a few seconds to ensure that any birds that have spotted you can settle back down before you move again. If you’re able, try to crawl or walk on your knees during your final approach, keeping your profile as low and discreet as possible as you get into shotgun range.

On the other side of the spectrum from moving in on ducks, in the right conditions and circumstances, it can also be a good idea to stay put. So many duck hunters are obsessed with that first, early morning flight and then pack up and go home as soon as it’s over. However, if you don’t see any birds in the morning or if you haven’t quite gotten your limit, it can be a great idea to stay in the blind and hunt through the afternoon.

Though the bulk of waterfowl activity happens in the early morning hours, there are many times throughout the season that you can experience spurts of excellent duck hunting during the middle of the day. Generally, this happens during the middle of the season when the birds have already experienced a lot of hunting pressure. After being shot at a few dozen times, ducks will suddenly change their pattern and will fly out of the area in the early morning when guns start going off, only to return to the water during the late morning or early afternoon when the bulk of the other hunters have gone home.

During the colder late part of the season or when you have a large weather pattern moving in, you’ll often find that the bulk of the duck activity will begin to occur in the late morning and continue through the afternoon. On cold mornings when it’s below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, ducks will huddle together on the water and not take flight until the air has begun to warm up in the later part of the morning, offering some fantastic opportunities for a lunchtime limit.

The same thing can happen anytime you have an afternoon weather front, like a rain or snowstorm moving in during the afternoon. These walls of low-pressure and precipitation will often push flocks of migrating ducks into areas right in front of them, allowing you to capitalize and get a few more birds for the pile, so long as you’re willing to suck it up and stay put.

Most duck hunters stick to the same standard calling sequences. They’ll throw out a series of staccato greeting calls, followed by feeding chuckles and single quacks once they get the ducks’ attention. However, there are a variety of other duck calls that, when used at the right times, can increase the responding birds tenfold.

Basic quacks and lonely hen calls are fantastic for when you have birds flying all around you, but none of them seem to have committed to or even seen your decoy spread. By simply adding in the odd quack every six to 10 seconds or one lonely hen call, which is done by making two quick quacks followed by a series of widely spaced, nasally sounding, drawn out “Quack, Quaaaacks” you can turn a few heads and draw passing birds into your spread.

Though they don’t always work, hailing and pleading calls can often be effective when you spot ducks flying 80 to 200 yards above you. They’re done by first making a two to four long pleading quacks, that gradually taper off in a “Quaaaack, Quaaaack, Quack, Quack Quack, Quack” sort of series. These calls should be spaced out and then quick, with several seconds in between each series. Be cautious and sparing when using these calls, and if you don’t get an immediate turn or circle from distant ducks, stop doing them entirely, as they can spook unresponsive birds.

Comeback calls are fantastic when ducks flying within 50 to 75 yards don’t immediately respond to your greeting. They’re done by making an urgent-sounding three to four drawn-out quacks that rise in pitch, immediately followed by a rapid, machine gun-like series of short, sharp chuckling quacks, similar to a feeding call. The series should sound insistent and sound off in a “Quaack, Quaaaack, Quaaaaaack, QuackQuackQuackQuackQuack” rhythm that is great for turning stubborn ducks or when you’re trying to draw an immediate response from beneath overhead cover, such as flooded timber or thicker standing cornfields.

Just like the holidays, fresh produce, and a good pair of broken-in boots, duck season only lasts for so long. It’s one of those things that you seem to wait forever to arrive, and then after a few weeks or months of joyous sunrises, shooting, and whistling for dogs, it’s gone just as quickly, leaving you in a duckless limbo until the following season.

With limited opportunities, it’s our responsibility as waterfowlers to make the most of the time we can get in the blind. And when you’re willing to try a few new strategies, you can always ensure that during every season, you get the most bang for your duck.