Ducks and geese
- Thread starter phishroy
- Start date
I'm sure that you have heard it before, but get out to some of the rural areas and start knocking on doors.
If you can't manage to get permission on properties that ducks and geese are present, then there is always the option of heading out to a place like Luther Marsh, Hullet Marsh or Long Point Conservation Area.
- Location
- Guelph, Ontario
We used an outfitter who brought all the equipment and had a place that they had pre-scoutted out. I was really happy with the service. We got so many chances and between the five of us we shot 26 birds. Check out www.fishduck.ca. Our guide was Tim. I would recommend for a first timer to waterfowl. Now I know what to do. Now Im going to knock on doors.
An answer to your question would depend upon a couple variables:
Do you have a dog?
Do you have a boat/canoe or float tube?
Do you have waders?
Do you have decoys..... how many and of what type?
If you have a dog, then there's no shortage of areas on Crown Land about an hour to hour and half drive North of where you live, that are full of beaver ponds that you could hike around for hours. There are sections of Luther Marsh that are open only to hunters with dogs. There's places to shoot ducks at the Copeland Forest as well. You can either hunt with decoys or simply walk the birds up.
Alternately, with a canoe or boat, you could park yourself on an island in Luther Marsh, hunt sections of the Holland Marsh, or try the marshy sections of lakes in and around cottage country. Places like Luther alse require waders to position your boat/canoe into the reeds on shore and you'll usually just wade out to pick up the ducks that you want to shoot. You could probably float a couple of rivers for ducks as well, though one does not come to my mind at the moment.
With waders, you could hunt from shore at some places like sections of Luther Marsh, but you'll be SOL if you wound a bird that lands out in the middle of the lake, and will have a harder time finding an uncrowded bit of shoreline where the birds will fly close. In other locales, there are smaller creeks that hold ducks and which could sometimes effectively be walked along to jump shoot waterfowl.
A float tube with waders can also give you access to hunting that would not otherwise not be available to you, though you might be somewhat limited to the size of waterbody or the distance you'll want to travel from shore.
Finally, a few decoys can make a big difference, both when hunting from shore or when in a boat, for without them you're limited to those ducks that fly over while decoys help you draw them in. Often enough, several decoys are all that you need.
And of course, camoflage is another issue. It might mean nothing more than subdued clothing and a few yards of burlap to cover up a bright canoe in the reeds, to a pop up blind that can be set up anywher or a frame on your boat for open water.
If you could provide more details as to the equipment that you have, then we could give you more detailed advice as to where you should go and what you can expect. I would give very different advice for someone with a dog or boat than I would for someone equipped with simply waders and a few decoys.
Cheers,
Frank
