Among waterfowlers, there's a big debate about whether or not you should hunt a pond where ducks and geese spend their nights. This is called "hunting the roost." Some hunters believe that if you shoot birds on the water, they won't return to that pond again. My buddies and I have found that if we hunt a roost pond only first thing in the morning, don't hit it every day during the season -- and leave a few floating goose decoys out when we're not hunting -- that waterhole will attract birds all season.

In order to have a good morning shoot over decoys on a roost pond, however, you must arrive before daylight to flush the ducks and geese off the water. Over the years, every time we've done this -- without exception -- the birds have returned shortly after shooting time starts. And the action is great!

We've found that if we try an afternoon hunt over decoys, and flush any birds that might be sitting on the pond while it's light out, they're not as likely to return before dark. Of course, if you're just interested in jump-shooting birds, that's not a problem.

If the pond is surrounded by an open area such as a cow pasture or harvested crop field, plan on using both water and field decoys. If the pond is surrounded by heavy cover, such as tall grass or timber, stick to water dekes.

Whether we're hunting ducks or geese on our farm-pond hunts, my crew uses goose decoys primarily. They're bigger, which means they're easier to see. And they attract both ducks and geese, while duck decoys alone don't work as well on geese. Famed call-maker Sean Mann of Maryland once said, "The best duck decoy is a goose decoy."

And so far, our experience has proven Mann correct. The only exception we make is when we're hunting a pond in heavy timber. Then we stick to duck decoys, because geese rarely bother with these secluded holes.

When hunting ponds in open fields, we use our field decoys as cover. These days, we hunt from low-profile coffin blinds. The camouflaged blinds blend into our surroundings, and a few well-placed decoys around them hides us from the view of incoming ducks and geese.

Before we had these blinds, however, we simply lay down on our backs on camouflage mats. We wore camouflage clothing from head to toe and surrounded ourselves with decoys to hide us even more from the birds.

DECOY OPTIONS
Set up your blinds and your spread so that the wind is at your back. Ducks and geese might approach from any direction, but when it comes time to land, they're going to head into the wind. You want them gliding toward your setup rather than passing over you and heading away.

When you're hunting a pond that's in heavy vegetation or timber, your hiding options are endless. There should be plenty of natural cover for concealment. Just be sure to match your camouflage clothing to your surroundings.

How many decoys should you use? Well, if you're hunting a pond in open country, I don't think you can use too many. On some of our hunts, we've planted 200 -- mostly field decoys. Generally, we increase the number of decoys as the season progresses and the birds become increasingly wary.

When hunting in thick cover, you don't need as many decoys. On our timber hunts, we typically put out fewer than three dozen duck dekes.

If your farm doesn't have a pond, but does have a creek, use the same strategies just described.