A sharp cold north wind whistled through the trees. Although we couldn’t see them in the darkness, the occasional hollow thump of one decoy bumping against another let us know that our spread was still out there bobbing in the water, patiently waiting to do their job. The only other sounds were the water lapping against the ice that had formed along the shoreline, and the quiet conversation of the four very cold hunters who were hoping to have an eventful morning.
As the sun began to break over the horizon, a sense of anticipation began to build amongst the men. One of the keys to successful smallwater hunting is to shoot well early and kill multiple birds on the first few flights that usually arrive right at daylight. On some days those early birds might be the only ones you see.
A group of 20 bluebills streaked in over our backs sounding more like jet fighters than ducks. They made a wide circle over the lake, then swung back toward our decoys. Time seemed to move in slow motion as they dropped in above us, every hunter frozen in position, hearts thundering, waiting for the command. “Take ‘em!” I shouted, as the first duck landed in the water. It went from slow motion to all hell breaking loose, with ducks breaking in every direction, and four frantic hunters trying to make the best of every one of their three precious shots.
I killed my first bird at 10 yards and saw several others drop as well right into the decoys. I swung to my second bird only to have it shot out from under me by one of the other hunters. I moved to another bird that was just approaching the limit of range and touched off the big Browning A-5 “humpback” Magnum 12 gauge, reveling in the hard push against my shoulder and the metallic clang of another round being cycled into the chamber. Feathers erupted, and the bird tumbled into the lake. When the shooting stopped, we had six ducks on the water—one limit. Such is the challenge and excitement of small water duck hunting!
You don’t have to be crazy to be a duck hunter, but it helps. In my 30 years of pursuing the sport, I’ve discovered potential new hunters react in one of two ways upon their introduction. They go one time and vow to never set foot in a duck blind ever again, or they shoot one bird and become totally obsessed with it; maxing out their credit card at Cabela’s within a month of that first hunt!
Examining it objectively, it’s hard to imagine anyone liking it. We get up at a ridiculous hour, usually between 4-5 a.m., then drive miles to a “can’t miss” pond that is usually a “miss.” We pull on our waders which are still wet from the day before in a freezing cold wind behind the pickup because there’s no way our wives/girlfriends would let us bring them in the house, then grab our decoy bag and wade out into the waist deep freezing cold water in the darkness to place them in what we hope will appear to be a natural spread to the live ducks flying over.
If you’re serious about it like us, you head back to shore to rig up a motion decoy or two with spinning wings or paddling feet to help bring the decoy spread to life. Shotguns, and all needed gear is then unloaded at the place you intend to hunt from, with particular attention placed on concealment. If you’re lucky, you may have a blind of some type to help block the wind. Generally, the nastier the weather the better the duck hunting. Thirty mile per hour north winds mixed with sleet or snow make a duck hunters heart go pitter-patter, and make sleeping the night before about as easy as a 5-year old on Christmas Eve. If you arrive and find you must break through ice you’ve just struck gold!
One advantage of small-water hunting is you don’t have to put out huge spreads of decoys. On a big lake, it sometimes takes 100 or more decoys to even get a flock of ducks to come take a look. I’ve killed limits of ducks on farm ponds with as few as 3 decoys, and rather than a long, drawn-out affair like it usually is on a lake, the shooting can be fast and furious. One of my best hunts was with buddies Layne and Bregan Heitz on a 30-acre pond. We shot 19 times to kill 18 birds in the first 10 minutes of daylight. I won’t mention who required the extra shot so as not to embarrass him other than to say it was not Layne or me. Although we don’t always shoot this well, stories like this are not uncommon on small water.
Another advantage is it’s easier to retrieve the ducks if you don’t have a dog. Usually, the wind will push them toward the far bank, and they can be quickly rounded up at the end of the hunt. You can also cast to them with a rod and reel and a big top water plug to bring them in or use a small kayak. Some hunters build a blind in a flatbottom boat which serves the dual purpose of putting out decoys before the hunt, then rounding them up at the end along with the ducks. A boat blind can provide a very comfortable way to hunt when equipped with padded swivel chairs and a small propane heater or two to knock down the cold.
Hunting can begin 30 minutes before sunrise, which is when many of the ducks will barrel in. Some arrive before we can shoot, so we set one of our phone alarms to sound when the legal time arrives. It’s not unusual to fire shots within a minute or two of the alarm. If the sky is cloudy, you may not be able to see well enough to shoot until the sun comes up a bit more.
Once the sky is fully illuminated, it becomes much more of a challenge to get the ducks to decoy within range, preferably 25-40 yards. They have tremendous vision, and are very sensitive to movement, plus some of them have been educated by being shot at all the way from Canada to Oklahoma.
That’s where one’s skill as a duck caller comes into play. There are as many types of duck calls as there are decoys, but the most popular and easiest to blow is the single reed call. The basic “quack,” while it may not win any duck calling contests is the most important of all the sounds and will attract just about every species of duck to some degree. The “comeback” call is used on ducks that have flown past the decoys.
It’s a plaintive series of quacks to convince the ducks to circle back around and land. You have a feeding or chuckle call that mimics the noises ducks make while feeding, which is one of the hardest to master as you must triple-tongue the call. Even though I played the trumpet years ago it was still a difficult one for me to master. Finally, you have the hail call, which is designed to attract ducks from a great distance that may not have even seen the pond. It’s a beautiful sight to see a flock of ducks wings all bank at once and turn your way when they hear the hail call! I learned to be a better caller by spending time at a public park in Oklahoma City that attracts wild ducks that have become somewhat domesticated by all the people who bring food for them to eat. Spending an hour on such a pond will teach you more about duck calling than 10 hours of YouTube, which is also a great resource.
Small-water duck hunting is a sport everyone can enjoy. When my daughters were young, they would frequently tag along just to watch. They especially enjoyed it when we had a golden retriever who had been trained to retrieve ducks on the water, which can add a whole new dimension to the sport. Hot thermoses of coffee and hot chocolate along with some venison jerky or summer sausage and crackers will never taste better, ever. I would encourage anyone to give it a try. It’s some of the most challenging wing shooting you will ever experience, and provides for great social interaction with your fellow hunters. Plus, it’s a heck of a lot of fun!