2022 Waterfowl thread

1963beretta said:
A lot to unpack here. Here are a few tips…

1) Best shooting is at first light and sunset as that is when birds are moving. Check your regulations but generally you can shoot half hour before sunrise and half hour after sunset.
2) Decoys need anchors. You can buy basic stuff that is cost effective….lead strap weights and camo decoy twine can be had for cheap
3) Learn how to use duck and goose calls. Less is more when you are learning. Don’t try to call birds that are already committed to your decoy spread. Call them when they are leaving or when they are far to get their attention
4) Have a method to retrieve down birds in the water. Invest in waders and be extra caution walking in water you aren’t familiar with. Doesn’t take much to be walking in knee deep water and then stepping into soft ground and getting stuck or worse. Walk with a poke stick. Do yourself a favour and scout the area you want to hunt and familiarize yourself with the surroundings in daylight. You dont want to do this for the first time in the middle of the night
5) Blinds are great, but not needed. Hiding in natural cover along shore lines also works. Key is to use camo and stay still. Birds will catch movements better than you think. Blending into weeds with a chair is a solid strategy.
6) Keep decoys at a distance you are comfortable shooting at. Waterfowl usually land where they have space. So set up your decoys in a manner that leave the open space in your shooting range. I like setting decoys up in a big J o U formation. Birds will land in the middle
7) If you want to only use one type of shell, I would go with #2 shot. I mostly use #4 and #2 for ducks and BB’s or larger for geese. There is a current thread that talks about shotshells. I recommend reading through it.

Good luck and stay safe!
Click to expand...

Awesome feedback, thank you for your time and effort, I will definitely put all of that to good use!
 
Came across this image, thought I’d share

6TMYSLG.jpg
 
AdamRoby said:
Awesome feedback, thank you for your time and effort, I will definitely put all of that to good use!
Click to expand...

Something to keep in mind is if you fall or take on water in your waders it's very hard to move and extremely difficult to climb out of the water. Especially in cold water. A small blade that's handy on the outside of your waders can save your life. I keep a small fixed blade on my wader strap. I've needed to cut holes thru the heels of my waders to allow water to drain so I could climb back into the blind. Middle of December in Lake St Claire duck hunting half nakid cold and wet is better than not being able to get out of the water or back to shore. Hunt smart be safe
 
That’s a good point above. In saying that, always make sure your wader belt is tight! It should keep the water out in the first place. If you don’t have one, it would be a good idea to get one. They’re a good place to attach things you may quickly need and I’m sure someone makes one with shell holders.
 
What a miserable morning. It was raining like hell from the moment I woke up. The day started with me blowing a tire on my trailer going 130km on the highway. Trailer hopped like crazy as I got over to the shoulder. Got the spare tire on and then noticed that somehow the wiring harness was damaged in the fiasco. No biggie, used my spare power supply cord to at least have running lights.

Finally got to the lake safely and the bad rain got worse. Managed to kill the only goose daring to fly during lightning and thunder. Packed it up at 10:00 and got stuck in traffic the whole way home. The things we do for a few hours of hunting…
 
Couldn't wait for southern ON opener, so I drove up to central this morning for a quick solo hunt. Good luck to anyone getting out for the opener tomorrow.

20220923_084427.jpg
 
The spot I wanted to try looked accessible by Google Maps, but once on the trail, it was a bit of a nightmare. Massive boulders, mud pits... I made it about 1/2 way before giving up, because I was alone on my Quad with no backup if something broke.
Buddy should be joining me next weekend, which should help give some confidence to go further. I scouted another location but it was later in the day. No activity, but also quite remote so I would likely be alone.
Just curious, do ducks or geese generally only like larger bodies of water like a lake, or would a small shallow marsh type area also be worth trying? This one is quite close to me, and I could setup in about 1-2 feet of water (if I don't sink too much).

uYWnVJp.png


Mmsoimi.png
 
AdamRoby said:
The spot I wanted to try looked accessible by Google Maps, but once on the trail, it was a bit of a nightmare. Massive boulders, mud pits... I made it about 1/2 way before giving up, because I was alone on my Quad with no backup if something broke.
Buddy should be joining me next weekend, which should help give some confidence to go further. I scouted another location but it was later in the day. No activity, but also quite remote so I would likely be alone.
Just curious, do ducks or geese generally only like larger bodies of water like a lake, or would a small shallow marsh type area also be worth trying? This one is quite close to me, and I could setup in about 1-2 feet of water (if I don't sink too much).

uYWnVJp.png


Mmsoimi.png
Click to expand...

You don't generally find geese in such heavy timber flooded ponds until years later when most of it has fallen but it will be a duck magnet if you're there at the right time.
 
Well, opening day has passed in southern Ontario. Turned out to be a solo hunt and I was able to shoot a handful of birds. It was a lot busier this year then in recent years. Had people set up 100 yards to my left and right, so there was a lot of gun fire at the spooking birds at the most in opportune times, but thats is life on public waters. Fortunately the groups started to leave at 9:00 and it was then when I was able to get some unimpeded action. A lot of various types of ducks flying around which is nice to see. Left the lake with a couple geese, a couple mallards and a beautiful drake woodie.

My family enjoyed tasty goose sausages for lunch and a nice dish of goose parmigiana for dinner….

WqDM54g.jpg
 
Last edited:
Up in Perry sound area on the weekend. First day we had fog so thick we could hardly see our decoy spread at 35 yards. Second day it rained like hell. Crawled home busted. Only fowl we saw that weekend was a loner goose walking around on a guys front lawn. Hoping for a better weekend or better location next time
 
This opening weekend was extra special as my dog's inaugural goose hunt. He retrieved everything we shot and held respectably steady in his blind (he can whine at times). Looking forward to many more years of hunting with him!

3mC44dV.jpg

UEWT9Yw.jpg
 
1963beretta said:
well, opening day has passed in southern ontario. Turned out to be a solo hunt and i was able to shoot a handful of birds. It was a lot busier this year then in recent years. Had people set up 100 yards to my left and right, so there was a lot of gun fire at the spooking birds at the most in opportune times, but thats is life on public waters. Fortunately the groups started to leave at 9:00 and it was then when i was able to get some unimpeded action. A lot of various types of ducks flying around which is nice to see. Left the lake with a couple geese, a couple mallards and a beautiful drake woodie.

My family enjoyed tasty goose sausages for lunch and a nice dish of goose parmigiana for dinner….

wqdm54g.jpg
Click to expand...

holay that looks good!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom