Success with ducks...Questions about honkers

[Hoffer]

Hey everyone,

Wanted to get on here and share about some of the successful duck hunts I've been able to have over the season. As a newbie in the realm of hunting (my buddy as well) this bird season was my first real successful season in putting birds in the freezer. After a bit of door knocking I managed to secure a great spot to hunt on a private farm, hunting over a cut corn field that floods in the rolling depressions with all the winter rain here in the lower mainland of BC. We have been running anywhere from 12-28 mallard decoys including a mojo and a diver. It's been a great season of learning, spending hours in the blind even on slow days trying to get a grasp on behaviour and the different factors that will affect just what the heck the ducks decide to do. In short, duck hunting has become a borderline problematic addiction!


With that being said, we are struggling to get the geese to cooperate with us. We are running five dozen Dive Bomb silhouette decoys in the field and we are about 500 yard away from a huge river (fraser river) that is adjacent to the field, have been experimenting with different shapes based on what the winds doing(U, broken U, X). We're having the same outcome everytime, we manage to get the birds attention through calling and waving the flags, they will drop down significantly, lock up and continue to effortlessly flutter downward in the wind, then out a few hundred yards they will flare hard and bail, rarely ever coming back for a second glance. I know its late in the season and these birds have been seeing spreads for months now...wondering if they are seeing us shuffle around in the blind? Would be great to hear what any of you experienced waterfowlers have to say about things to fine tune for the honkers this late in the game!

 

[Oregon]

A few questions:

1. Are you hunting geese in the same exact spot you saw them the day before?
2. Are you hid really well?
3. Are you calling?

that will let me help you.

 

[full choke]

Are you trying to hunt the geese the same time as the ducks?
Do you have the spinning wing out while goose hunting? Canada geese don't really like spinners.
Also- canada's do not really like having to fly over ducks. If you have duck decoys mixed in with your canada's make sure they are up wind of where you want the canada's to land.

 

[Fatcamp]

All of those questions.

What calls and who is using them?

How are you setting your decoys, alternate angles? Hunting flooded water but no floaters?

What blinds? Stuffing stubble in all the straps? Mudded?

 

[midwestkilla]

I’d make sure you’re hide is a perfect and hidden as possible. if they continue to flair from something i’d look at the decoy spread and try a different look, venture away from the typical “letters” that are so commonly taught. a blob or unknown shape is so much more natural, good luck!


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[slvrslngr]

If they're flaring and not coming back, they see something they don't like, probably you. And as stated above, put your dekes out in a more natural shape. I suspect those birds are heavily pressured and have seen every single setup known to man, you have to make your spread look natural and make your blind disappear. As for calling, less is more. Call just enough to turn them and go quiet, the birds know where you are.

This video ought to get your blood pumping! Good luck!

 

[Hoffer]

Are you trying to hunt the geese the same time as the ducks?
Do you have the spinning wing out while goose hunting? Canada geese don't really like spinners.
Also- canada's do not really like having to fly over ducks. If you have duck decoys mixed in with your canada's make sure they are up wind of where you want the canada's to land.

We do have our ducks set up in the water, and our geese we have set up on the dry fields amongst some of the left over corn feed. I will certainly re-think our combined set up. Thanks for the insight!

 

[Hoffer]

Thanks for the reply and insight. Awesome video, hope to have a day like that one day in the not so distant future!

If they're flaring and not coming back, they see something they don't like, probably you. And as stated above, put your dekes out in a more natural shape. I suspect those birds are heavily pressured and have seen every single setup known to man, you have to make your spread look natural and make your blind disappear. As for calling, less is more. Call just enough to turn them and go quiet, the birds know where you are.

This video ought to get your blood pumping! Good luck!

 

[slvrslngr]

Spend some time looking up goose hunting in the Willamette Valley. The guys that consistently kill birds there have it figured out. About 400,000 geese winter in the WV and they are hunted hard for over 5 months and this time of year they are very hard to decoy. It’s pretty awesome to see 1000’s of birds flying over your spread though!

 

[kpk]

Silos are great, but there's no substitute for full bodies. I run 2 dozen full body around the landing zone. I mix shells and silos around the full bodies until we get the size spread we want.

If the birds are coming to you and then flare hard - they don't like something.

We've had really good luck putting our blinds about 3 feet apart and then filling in with corn stalks between them. We then transition out probably 10-15 feet around the blinds. It gives the appearance of a small mound or hill. Blinds spread apart are easy to spot - especially to birds that have been schooled a few times.

Silos can have glare on them. Walk around your spread - if you see any glare or reflection on those things you'll need to find a way to remedy that.

Sometimes a smaller spread works better. I've probably been most successful using 18 full bodies than anything else. Huge spreads can make birds nervous.

 

[midwestkilla]

another thing is flagging, i quit flagging when birds are within a few hundred yards. flagging as the birds turn away on the corners only. if they pinpoint the flagging to your blind they might spook off


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[MR5X5]

Hunting honkers - not cacklers - up your way in WA in late season we drop down to 12 or so decoys in the spread. Big spreads early in the year, small spreads late. Place spreads on the higher ground, closer together, 6-8 ft max. Limit calling. Maybe a little flagging initailly. Don't doubt that they see you. Think small "safe" family group trying to attract another small family group. Expect passing shots, much harder to land anything late. Big flocks will take a look, but will be tough/impossible late. Just takes one bird with PTSD to blow the flock...

 

[Hoffer]

Silos are great, but there's no substitute for full bodies. I run 2 dozen full body around the landing zone. I mix shells and silos around the full bodies until we get the size spread we want.

If the birds are coming to you and then flare hard - they don't like something.

We've had really good luck putting our blinds about 3 feet apart and then filling in with corn stalks between them. We then transition out probably 10-15 feet around the blinds. It gives the appearance of a small mound or hill. Blinds spread apart are easy to spot - especially to birds that have been schooled a few times.

Silos can have glare on them. Walk around your spread - if you see any glare or reflection on those things you'll need to find a way to remedy that.

Sometimes a smaller spread works better. I've probably been most successful using 18 full bodies than anything else. Huge spreads can make birds nervous.

Great info thanks a ton!

 

[Hoffer]

Hunting honkers - not cacklers - up your way in WA in late season we drop down to 12 or so decoys in the spread. Big spreads early in the year, small spreads late. Place spreads on the higher ground, closer together, 6-8 ft max. Limit calling. Maybe a little flagging initailly. Don't doubt that they see you. Think small "safe" family group trying to attract another small family group. Expect passing shots, much harder to land anything late. Big flocks will take a look, but will be tough/impossible late. Just takes one bird with PTSD to blow the flock...

Appreciate the insight!

 

[Hoffer]

Spend some time looking up goose hunting in the Willamette Valley. The guys that consistently kill birds there have it figured out. About 400,000 geese winter in the WV and they are hunted hard for over 5 months and this time of year they are very hard to decoy. It’s pretty awesome to see 1000’s of birds flying over your spread though!

Will check it out for sure thank you!

 

[kpk]

I should clarify a bit. When we build a "hill" by placing our blinds close together and filling all around it - it's not only to hide the blinds. It's to kill the shadows your blind may cast. Early morning sunrise can cast terrible shadows off your blind - watch that. However many blinds you have, it may look like that many "black holes" in the field.... very unnatural. If stalks are sparse we've even dug blinds in, but that's impossible late season around here.