MAINELY OUTDOORS
by Bill Graves
I can’t count how many times over the years after arriving somewhere during a heavy rainstorm some glib person has commented, “Great weather for ducks, huh?” Since I’m a devout waterfowl hunter I skip right over the sarcasm and to their surprise often reply, “It’s awesome actually, I got a limit just this morning.” To be brutally honest, hunting in cold fall rain is uncomfortable, muddy and of course chillingly wet, but it doesn’t seem to bother the ducks. In fact, waterfowl decoy better, as well as flying and feeding more during constant, cold rain and sleet storms.
Contributed photo
SETTING UP – Buddy Horr of Dedham drove to Aroostook to hunt ducks and ended up setting his motion decoy and floaters in a large farm field puddle because the streams were too high.
It’s been an extremely wet autumn, and if the last couple of weeks are any indication that’s not going to change much until the precipitation turns to snow. I’ve seen many falls when small ponds were already iced over by mid-month, so at least the wet, warm weather has done duck hunters a favor there. On the down side, the steady rain has the river and brook levels so elevated area waterways are running back in the bank-side bushes.
These conditions make float hunting or jump shooting local streams useless since ducks won’t roost or rest on such fast flowing waterways. On top of that, float hunts are supposed to be slow, quiet, sneak and peek paddling, not a whitewater canoe race. There is one notable plus to fast floating streams, the normally dispersed waterfowl now must congregate on quiet water such as lakes, ponds, backwaters, bogans and even huge puddles forming in rural farm fields.
Ducks fly right at daybreak from their roost ponds to nearby fields for a morning meal and will usually stay for an hour or two before returning to fresh water to drink, digest and rest. Again about mid-afternoon the birds will leave ponds to feed until dusk. Using a canoe to set out a dozen or so floating decoys on roost waterways at mid-morning or a couple of hours before dusk can yield some great shooting as birds filter back to the ponds after eating.
There have already been a few cold nights and a couple of episodes of snow so the more fragile species such as blue-winged and green-winged teal have moved south already. Big, hearty ducks like mallards and blacks will provide the bulk of the action, but there are still a few ring neck ducks, an occasional wood duck and even the odd scaup, pintail or wigeon to be seen.
I mention a canoe or small boat to set out decoys on ponds and lakes because even if the shoreline is shallow enough to use waders, the canoe will usually be necessary to retrieve downed ducks. When gunning bogans, backwaters, eddies and shallow coves, a set of chestwaders will often allow access so the extra burden of a boat isn’t necessary.
Mallard and black duck decoys will work fine to attract all species this month and while a dozen is usually enough, two dozen is better if distance and manpower allow that many to be carried.
Regardless of how few dekes are used, the addition of a battery-operated spinning-wing decoy set on a pole to imitate a landing duck will greatly increase the effectiveness of the fake flock. Of course the ribbon that ties all the decoys together to assure attractiveness is good calling. Motion and sound are what really temp wily, sharp-eyed ducks into shotgun range.
Hunters who don’t own a mechanical motion decoy can use other means to add action to their blocks when there’s no wind to help. An inexpensive shaker-style decoy is one that vibrates constantly sending ripples along the surface to move surrounding floating decoys. These shakers run on a couple of AAA batteries. Running a cord form two or three decoys to the blind on shore allows a hunter to pull the cord when ducks are near and thereby create movement. A long, thin door spring between each decoy and its anchor weight lets the decoy move a foot or two and then return as the jerk string is pulled and released against the tension of the spring.
Other productive waterfowling locations that are often overlooked, but occur after prolonged rain, are the huge mud puddles which form in area crop fields. These mini-ponds are especially prevalent in harvested, but not yet plowed potato fields. They are muddy, miserable spots to walk into and set up layout blinds, and decoys, clothes, and gear all get dirty, but the fast and furious shooting often makes it all worthwhile.
Ducks love to feed on the remaining roots and vegetation, even the soft, starchy spuds left by the harvester, and when the large puddles of water form in field depressions birds have no need to fly back to fresh water or a rest area. Action is best at dawn and dusk, but until the puddles dry up birds will visit on and off throughout the day.
Once mid-November arrives ponds and wet holes could freeze up in a day or a week, it’s all up to Mother Nature, so waterfowl hunters need to get out soon and often. There are plenty of ducks still around and they will stay in the area until all the water ices in or the ground gets a covering of six or more inches of snow. Ignore the rivers and streams and hunt the small waterholes and farm fields with rain puddles, that’s where the action is right now.
Contributed photo
ON THIN ICE – Beaver Pierce of Mars Hill broke a thin layer of ice to set decoys in this small farm pond, and the ducks couldn’t wait to visit the open water.
