Do we have any bird/duck hunters?

krixxer

krixxer

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In 20 years of hunting I have never been out on a duck hunt.

The thought never crossed my mind but then I have only owned a boat for the last few seasons.

Any of you experienced guys care to "take me under their wing" for a day?

Thank you in advance for your hospitality

I'm in Mississauga

Kris
 
Grouse Man said:
You don't need a boat to hunt ducks. You don't necessarily even need waders. That may open up more options for you.
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Yep, I've only ever shot ducks by puddle jumping. Sneak up on a small pond or farm dugout, pop up to get them to take off and then wingshoot them. They mostly wind up on dry land. Works even better with two or three guys, one guy circles around and spooks them, forcing them to take off in the direction of the shooters who stay concealed.
 
A boat might make actually shooting ducks difficult... It takes some work and ingenuity to properly conceal a boat... I designed a complete collapsing surround boat blind for my 16' Scott Deep Duck boat, that covers the entire boat and outboard... It works very good in weed beds... Just drive in and drop anchor, pull up the blind and you are good to go... If your boat camo is not up to par, you are better off, finding a spot with good shore cover and putting out decoys, then stash the boat some distance off, arround a point etc... Hunt from the shore cover and just use the boat to retrieve ducks and dekes.
 
I have to say that Waterfowling is my favourite kind of hunting. You can go every day, get in lots of shooting and talk to your hunting buddies in between flights. The action can be fast and furious but there's no pressure to bag anything because it's not like your winter supply of meat rides on one fleetign opportunity.

Waterfowl hunting was the first kind of hunting that I participated in starting when I was very small and it has been a constant over the years. Lots of great memories were made on our annual Labour Day camping trip with my Dad and Brother where we would drive out of town and stay in the camper, eat stew and otherr "camping" food and play poker the night before (can you imagine anything more fun than that when you're 10 years old?). Then hunting along the highway by jump-shooting ducks and finally ending up back in town at the end of the day. After my folks moved to Saskatchewan I hunted waterfowl with my dad in the fall, often spending an entire month out there and hunting almost every day.

Big Game hunting is great but for me waterfowl has provided some of the best memories. Good luck in your quest!
 
You can hunt with decoys in fields.

You can jump-shoot along creeks, ponds, etc.

You can shoot them as they pass over you from one area to another.

You can use decoys along the shore and use waders or a float tube or any sort of canoe/kayak to retrieve.

BUM is right, waterfowling gives you lots of shooting and lots of opportunities. Tons of fun. Let's see, in one day in Manitoba you could theoretically shoot a limit of 8 ducks, 8 Canadas, 20 Snows, 5 Sandhill Cranes and 8 Coots. And then do it all again the next day.
 
Thanks guys! I like all the ideas but I live city. I though the boat would open up some access.

Looks like I'll do it the hard way; I have plenty of homework ahead of me.
 
Ya I hunt ducks mostly, i just find a spot and walk out into the water with waders and a canoe to load everything into, never used a boat but might be handy hunting some more remote lake areas, only thing a deep hull boat limits where you can get into, most of the time the water i get into is barely deep enough to float my canoe unless its a huge body of water. I had last year my canoe being dragged out about 100 yards till it started floating with all the decoys and guns in it. At least in missisauga you can go many ways to use that boat if you really wanted to, just need to hide the boat really well, the birds see it and wont come near it knowing what they are. Pm me im about 1.5 hr south from you.
 
Get a map of the local legal hunting areas on Lake O. I used to hunt off the pumphouse at the end of Victoria Rd in Grimsby as a teenager. We would drag a 12 foot boat and 6hp outboard down the bank to the beach. Load in our bluebill decoys, set up our decoys in front of the pump house then pull the boat up on the beach high and dry and hide behind the break wall at the pump house and pound divers. Its that time of year when the diver ducks will be showing up very soon. Bring along a few goose floaters too, last time I visited a buddy there in 2010 the shoreline was covered in Canada's!! Good luck and happy hunting!
 
I've only started waterfowl hunting this year and I can't believe I waited this long to try it .. what a blast! Don't wait any longer - get out there and give it a go!
 
All you guys are making it sound like I've been missing out!

Well I've been doing a lot of homework.
I found all MNR maps
Watched plenty of Utube videos

Opened 3 new folders in my recipes box: Goose, Duck, Turkey.
 
I live in the Interlake area of Manitoba, I have very easy access to many of the nearby marshes and lakes, I hunt religiously out of two different Jon boats depending on the area or circumstances and would not go without one now. For years we did things by wading around and other things but the boats have opened up 10 times the opportunities for us. Such as being able to boat across large bays and bodies of water to get to distant points or islands otherwise inaccessible by foot or atv. Because they are harder to access the hunting pressure is lower and shooting generally better. If your going to become what I call a water hunter don't disregard the boat too quickly it helps. Also we stand right in the boat to shoot just push it into the reeds in front of your decoy spread and let the tall vegetation do the rest no need for stashing away from you, the boat very rarely gets used for retrieves generally the dog does that. Without the boat many places we hunt would not be possible as there is nowhere shallow enough, or ground hard enough to stand.
 
Browning Man said:
I live in the Interlake area of Manitoba, I have very easy access to many of the nearby marshes and lakes, I hunt religiously out of two different Jon boats depending on the area or circumstances and would not go without one now. For years we did things by wading around and other things but the boats have opened up 10 times the opportunities for us. Such as being able to boat across large bays and bodies of water to get to distant points or islands otherwise inaccessible by foot or atv. Because they are harder to access the hunting pressure is lower and shooting generally better. If your going to become what I call a water hunter don't disregard the boat too quickly it helps. Also we stand right in the boat to shoot just push it into the reeds in front of your decoy spread and let the tall vegetation do the rest no need for stashing away from you, the boat very rarely gets used for retrieves generally the dog does that. Without the boat many places we hunt would not be possible as there is nowhere shallow enough, or ground hard enough to stand.
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This advice is detrimental to a hunter in southern ontario... Interlake hunting is a different sport, lots of new ineperienced birds... A poorly concealed boat is the kiss of death in his area. Yes boats are a big help in many situations, but they have to be used to increase your effectiveness at actually harvesting birds, not just getting into new areas.e
 
Never hunted in southern Ontario so I don't know. Effectiveness in this area is not lost at all though. Believe me the boat is concealed, and many of the birds have been shot at many times, tons of American hunters are guided here all throughout the fall.
 
One of our gracious members offered to join him for a day out today.

We were No. 13 inline and took blind 13. apparently one "13" does not offset the other.
We ended up with a few opportunities but I have yet to bring one down.

Am I hooked? I don't know! I have to go back a few times and make sure. Perhaps a few times after that just to double check!

I'm sleepless for 20 hours right now so thanks for all the tips guys! I'm off to bed.
 
Rondeau Provincial park runs that way, show up 4:30am, apply for draw and select your blind in order in one side, the other is open, no blinds, no decoys.
 
Browning Man said:
I live in the Interlake area of Manitoba, I have very easy access to many of the nearby marshes and lakes, I hunt religiously out of two different Jon boats depending on the area or circumstances and would not go without one now. For years we did things by wading around and other things but the boats have opened up 10 times the opportunities for us. Such as being able to boat across large bays and bodies of water to get to distant points or islands otherwise inaccessible by foot or atv. Because they are harder to access the hunting pressure is lower and shooting generally better. If your going to become what I call a water hunter don't disregard the boat too quickly it helps. Also we stand right in the boat to shoot just push it into the reeds in front of your decoy spread and let the tall vegetation do the rest no need for stashing away from you, the boat very rarely gets used for retrieves generally the dog does that. Without the boat many places we hunt would not be possible as there is nowhere shallow enough, or ground hard enough to stand.
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Did you find any numbers of ducks this fall Browning Man? We found the duck scene very bleak this fall.
 
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