Hunting Ducks While on the Move for More Success

It was 20 minutes before shooting light, and Dad and I were ready. The decoys looked good. A glow on the horizon took shape. My dogs watched as silhouettes of ducks circled overhead. All the signs were there for a promising morning, but come shooting time the ducks disappeared. An hour passed and we’d not fired a shot. Then, 400 yards to the east, ducks started dumping into a shallow pond.

Wasting no time, my 82-year-old father grabbed a half-dozen floater decoys and headed that way. We’d stashed a little homemade blind there a few weeks prior, anticipating the arrival of ducks. I stayed back, hoping birds would work once Dad started shooting.

In less than 10 minutes, Dad fired eight shots and killed his seven ducks. We swapped places and soon I had a limit, too.

BLINDS: Keep It Simple

Dad and I found success that morning in the third week of November in Oregon’s Willamette Valley because we were prepared to move. As winter conditions push ducks south, being ready to move and adapt can take your success to another level. For us, being prepared starts with the blind.

I’ve never been fond of big, fancy duck blinds for the simple reason that they can limit where I hunt. They’re great if you’re where ducks want to be, but if not, being stuck in a large, immobile blind is the most helpless feeling in duck hunting. No matter how good your decoys look or how seductive your calling sounds, if ducks don’t want to be there, your only choice is to go to them.

My most versatile blind is a small, one-man, homemade version crafted from panel wire. It was cheap and quick to make, and it’s easy to carry afield. I didn’t spend time creating a solid wall of camouflage on it. Instead, I secured a bit of foliage and then finish it off with whatever cover I’m hunting in. I like having holes in a blind, as it allows shadows and light spots to form, which creates depth of field. Too much cover can result in a blocky looking blind that educated ducks will shy away from.

If hunting an open field, ditch or brush row, a layout blind is a good option, but if the ground is flooded, a layout won’t work. Enter the MOmarsh InvisiMan blind. This one-man blind was a game-changer for my buddies and me last season.

The first time I hunted from an InvisiMan, I was amazed at how many ducks circled directly overhead without flaring and eventually ended up in the decoys. A buddy and I shot quick limits that day in a flooded field we’d have not been able to hunt were it not for these sturdy, impressive, mobile blinds. In fact, we got several limits from them last season. A panel blind is also good option. Late last season I hunted a small creek with my friend Richard Kropf. We brushed-in a panel blind and it looked good ... until daylight came. That’s when we discovered the brush we’d used was too bright. We got out and kicked muddy water all over the bright yellow grass. With the sheen gone, ducks immediately bombed into the little decoy spread, and in less than 45 minutes we were packing out limits.

DECOYS: Downsize Spreads

Small decoy spreads can also be a good move this time of year.

“I like scouting a spot, seeing what time ducks start arriving and beating them there with a handful of decoys,” says Austin Crowson, one of the duckiest guys I’ve hunted with. “If birds see a dozen decoys and think they’re among the first to arrive, they’ll pile in fast.”

Last season, Crowson and I hunted a flooded filbert orchard at the edge of a slough. We took a half-dozen wood duck decoys and one spinning-wing decoy on a jerk cord. The spinner was used to catch the attention of birds flying up and down the river. As soon as ducks saw the flapping, we stopped it. The floater decoys and light calling finished the job on both woodies and mallards.

A one-man blind and a half-dozen or a dozen floating decoys are easy to carry. If you want to create a bigger spread and still stay mobile, consider silhouette decoys. By Thanksgiving, wigeons pile into many of the spots we like to hunt, and adding three to five dozen Big Al’s wigeon silhouettes to the floaters has been one of the biggest game-changers the past four seasons. These photo-finished decoys look great and are easy for one hunter to pack, arrange and move as needed. Rising and dropping water, along with changes in wind direction, can spur the need for decoy adjustments, and silhouettes allow that to happen quickly.

When ducks are landing in water then swimming toward shore to feed in shallow water or graze on the banks, silhouettes are perfect since they can be placed both in the water and on land. Last November, my dad and I found such a spot. It was mainly mallards, so we went with silhouettes in addition to a dozen floaters. We shot birds there twice a week for three weeks, then the mallards left and the wigeons moved in. The cotton tops flocked in by the thousands. That’s when we switched to a dozen floating wigeon decoys and five dozen Big Al’s wigeon silhouettes. We went with high numbers of silhouettes to create the look of a tightly packed, feeding flock. That move worked for us on dozens of hunts in many places. Creating realistic spreads is key as educated birds continue moving into your hunting area.

CALLING: Dial It Down

Calling is another important part of the hunt, and less is often more. Limited calling is especially effective when hunting public lands where over-calling and sub-par calling are common.

“I like using a high-quality call and not overdoing it,” says Crowson. “I’ll call just enough to catch the attention of passing ducks, then let the decoys do the work.”

Crowson’s go-to call is a single-reed Slayer Calls Ranger.

“This call is easy to run and is loud, which is great for the open places I hunt where it’s often windy and raining hard,” he says. “I also use Slayer’s Whistler’s Mother call for pintail and wigeon. We get a lot of mixed flocks as the season goes on, and these simple whistles can convince hesitant birds to finish in the decoys.”

Watch ducks as they approach your setup and adapt your calling to their behavior. If they’re coming, let them come in silence. If they’re coming then turn away, call to regain their attention. If they obviously flare, be quiet and let them go. You’re not pulling back a spooked flock.

My friend Richard Kropf is one of the best duck callers I know. He’s always watching ducks and calling based on what they’re doing. He calls smartly and minimally. When birds are approaching or directly overhead, he never calls. When it’s calm, he calls with finesse. When hunting with Kropf, I put my calls away and let him do the talking. With duck season upon us, now is the time to really study birds and hunt them wisely. By being mobile, employing minimal but quality gear and hunting smart, you’ll raise the bar and have more limits to show for it.

CELL CAMS FOR DUCKS

Let real-time intel guide you to more limits.

Last season I switched to cellular trail cameras to scout for ducks. Before that I ran standard trail cameras, but I grew frustrated with missing great hunting opportunities because I couldn’t check the cameras often enough. Moultrie Mobile Edge cameras changed that.

Now, instead of scouting after morning hunts or sacrificing hunting days to scout, I let cellular cameras do it for me. Track storms, wind direction and intensity; monitor water levels; and keep an eye on food sources. Understanding the relationship of these things will tell you where and when to set trail cameras.

In skinny creeks and confined sloughs, I let duck numbers build before hunting them. Those spots might only be hunted a couple times a season. However, as soon as ducks start grazing on fresh, sprouting rye grass or hitting flooded fields, I’m hunting those locations right away.

Many times last season, I went to bed with a plan to hunt one spot the next morning, only to have big numbers of ducks move in to feed where a cellular trail camera was set in a different spot. With a small blind and some decoys in the truck ready to go, it was easy to change plans. On these hunts I get there early, shoot fast and get out of there to let more birds keep coming in. This resulted in three or more hunts per week in the same places—for weeks on end.

---

• This article was featured in the November 2024 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.

---