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Hey duck hunters

I tried duck hunting yesterday for opening day in Arkansas. My buddies boat motor ceased up before he even picked me up. I took it as a sign.


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Get rid of all cotton clothing. Use wool or synthetic material. Cotton is a six letter word for death if you take a dip in cold watter. Wool will keep you somewhat warm even if it's wet. Spend your money on good waders and good clothing. Duck hunting is no fun if you're cold and miserable. Find deals on used and cheap decoys and learn how to set them according to the situation you're in. A zinc ph2 polycarbonate is an easy call to learn on.

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dalton916 said:
But did you kill any birds?
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I was at the boat ramp waiting when he called on his way from island he camped on. As soon as he said boat problems I told him I was leaving (knowing he had other friends to help with him and there was nothing I could do). I went deer hunting with a modern gun for the first time after all these years bow hunting. He actually just txt me that he just got off lake after all that haha. He did kill some


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So I have scored some mallard decoys and a blind bag. Looking at Cabelas waders and Lacrosse. Reviews on the Lacrosse are iffy


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I've had lacrosse brush tough for about five seasons now and they are still holding up well.

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kelly.jayp said:
I am going to budget 300 for him to start up so it sounds like I can get him a decent start. Never heard of Banded so I will check those out. What’s a decent price on dekes and do I need more than just mallards?


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Get two 12 packs of flambua mallard drakes and hens, 24 decoy anchor rigs, academy waders, a buck Gardner duck and goose call combo, and some warm clothes and he’s good. Assuming you already have a shotgun.
 
Probably set up the counseling sessions also because some of the lengths you end up going to just to chase ducks makes the normal minded people wonder. Then again last few people that seen my saddle thought it wasn’t sane to hunt from one either.
 
I am no expert as I just started duck hunting last year. Only thing I can recommend is the Buck Gardner Double Nasty call. Super easy call to sound good on as a beginner. Tried all the cheap Primos poly calls and could never sound like a duck. The nasty helped me actually kill some ducks!
 
BTW most all of the guys I take hunting never wear waders. They wear hip boots at the most. I hunt big open water most of the time so chest waders are necessary to set decoys. A guy could probably get by with hip boots for quite a while. Also pick up a tube of seam grip at academy. It's amazing stuff for repairing waders. If he doesn't have a boat then he'll need a deer cart or something similar to haul gear.

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Duck hunting in my part of the US is basically entirely too much work for very little reward, especially now that we have a 2 mallard limit per day. But I'll be out there now that my deer season is winding down. Chest waders are mandatory, most of our mud will kill a normal man, we have new guys lose waders often in this muck. Be prepared, I've fallen and went completely under twice in below freezing temps and it isn't fun but I managed to stay and hunt a few hours both times. Kayaks have changed the way we get around a lot in the last decade for sure.

Good luck out there and stay safe!
 
Gator said:
Kayaks have changed the way we get around a lot in the last decade for sure.
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I refuse to use a motorized boat for duck hunting. If you can motor to it, chances are it's getting hunted too hard to be worth it. I love those little creeks and ponds that you have to get out and pull your canoe over log jams. Those places hold ducks like a manhole holds roaches.

@kelly.jayp, something to consider is that decoys and calls can quickly become more of a hindrance than a help. If you're spending more time thinking about and tinkering with your spread and calls than you are with being where ducks want to be, you're losing.

I would advise new deer hunters to hunt from the ground, and new duck hunters to hunt without calls or decoys for a bit. Makes you pay attention to what the animals are doing.

I do not hunt a body of water unless I know ducks will be landing in it. Dekes and calls are just icing on the cake to coax the birds into doing what they already want to do.
 
Nutterbuster said:
I refuse to use a motorized boat for duck hunting. If you can motor to it, chances are it's getting hunted too hard to be worth it. I love those little creeks and ponds that you have to get out and pull your canoe over log jams. Those places hold ducks like a manhole holds roaches.

@kelly.jayp, something to consider is that decoys and calls can quickly become more of a hindrance than a help. If you're spending more time thinking about and tinkering with your spread and calls than you are with being where ducks want to be, you're losing.

I would advise new deer hunters to hunt from the ground, and new duck hunters to hunt without calls or decoys for a bit. Makes you pay attention to what the animals are doing.

I do not hunt a body of water unless I know ducks will be landing in it. Dekes and calls are just icing on the cake to coax the birds into doing what they already want to do.
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Can't disagree. If you are on the X, nothing else is needed but to shoot straight!
 
Nutterbuster said:
I refuse to use a motorized boat for duck hunting. If you can motor to it, chances are it's getting hunted too hard to be worth it. I love those little creeks and ponds that you have to get out and pull your canoe over log jams. Those places hold ducks like a manhole holds roaches.

@kelly.jayp, something to consider is that decoys and calls can quickly become more of a hindrance than a help. If you're spending more time thinking about and tinkering with your spread and calls than you are with being where ducks want to be, you're losing.

I would advise new deer hunters to hunt from the ground, and new duck hunters to hunt without calls or decoys for a bit. Makes you pay attention to what the animals are doing.

I do not hunt a body of water unless I know ducks will be landing in it. Dekes and calls are just icing on the cake to coax the birds into doing what they already want to do.
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It's hard to cover 39 square miles in a kayak. That's the size of the body of water I hunt. We have shot lots of limits over the years and generally hunters in our area shy away from big water. No way you can hunt it without decoys either. On the other hand, I will say that I hunted it out of a canoe for several years. Using the limited capacity of the canoe, and having to break the big water down into small areas, made me a better waterfowler. The canoe made me think more about the areas I hunted and how they hold ducks because of its limitations. Now that I use a duck boat I still find myself hunting those productive areas I found with the canoe. To each his own I guess.

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Nutterbuster said:
I refuse to use a motorized boat for duck hunting. If you can motor to it, chances are it's getting hunted too hard to be worth it. I love those little creeks and ponds that you have to get out and pull your canoe over log jams. Those places hold ducks like a manhole holds roaches.

@kelly.jayp, something to consider is that decoys and calls can quickly become more of a hindrance than a help. If you're spending more time thinking about and tinkering with your spread and calls than you are with being where ducks want to be, you're losing.

I would advise new deer hunters to hunt from the ground, and new duck hunters to hunt without calls or decoys for a bit. Makes you pay attention to what the animals are doing.

I do not hunt a body of water unless I know ducks will be landing in it. Dekes and calls are just icing on the cake to coax the birds into doing what they already want to do.
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I like the thought process on this a lot as far as staying away from other hunters. However, it is very convenient to cover some water with a bigger boat, and then toss the kayak out for the drag / very skinny water.
 
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