Hunting Ducks from Boats

My experience hunting ducks from boats has been limited, but significant.

If you’re a fisherman and a hunter, boats are a necessity. I’ve owned more than a half-dozen of them.

About thirteen years ago, I purchased a used Boston Whaler – 13 1/2 footer. Until recently, it has sat next to Mayberry Slough and served as a ride for an occasional fishing trip, but this year I began to think of it as a potential duck hunting platform.

About twenty-five years ago, I owned a similar Boston Whaler and somebody stole it from me. I was bummed out, so when I  spotted this similar boat sitting on the ground in a neighborhood yard, I stopped and asked if it was for sale. I was surprised when the owner said yes and accepted my offer of $350.

After thirteen years, I finally trailered the boat and brought it home for a repair and paint job. A search via the internet lead me to several possible blind options. After reading reviews and using gut instincts, I selected the Northern Flight Boat Blind and purchased the bare frame from Cabela’s for about $400. From a local supplier, I purchased some natural looking camo grass that blends in with the tules and cattail at Mayberry.

Yesterday, with the blind complete, I launched the boat at Mayberry and took the boat out for a test. I was impressed. The whaler, powered by a 9.9 hp mercury outboard, powered me and the boat accompanied by Lola and a half-dozen goose decoys into the Mayberry marsh. We didn’t shove off until about 9:30 AM and it was a clear day with not a great prospect for  bagging a duck, but I figured to take a few photos and maybe get lucky.

After setting up in an untested spot and putting out the decoys, I raised the two sides of the blind, opened my folding chair, loaded the shotgun and waited.

I could occasionally see mallards working in a nearby pond and called to them without success.

After a half hour or so, I heard geese honking and spotted five Canada geese heading in my direction. I called a couple times and it looked like we would have action, but they passed by just out of range. I don’t think they saw the boat, but I could be wrong.

I while later, I was beginning to become bored as none of the mallards were responding to my calling and nothing interesting, other than a family of five river otters, came close to the boat.

Then three mallards appeared to the south of me about 200 yards away. I called and they turned directly towards me. One of them zeroed in on the boat and soon after, I raised the twelve gauge and dropped him.

The retrieve was a bit of a fiasco, but Lola chased him out of the cattail and I finished him off. I’ve got to do some work on the retrieving process as getting Lola back into the boat was injury threatening to both Lola and I, but we got it done.

Fired up I hunted for another hour without success, but the ice has been broken and I’m ready for another adventure.

There were definite advantaged to hunting from the boat. It was comfortable for both Lola and I. Not standing in crotch deep water was much warmer and standing three feet taller made observation of nearby waterfowl much more effective.

Other advantages are that I can sit in a comfortable chair, take photographs without fearing for ruining my camera and I can take along a cooler and even a radio for boring moments.

Here are a few photos of the boat. I brought it home for a few tweaks, but generally I’m quite satisfied with the Northern Flight Boat Blind.

The blind matches some of the tules, but could use a touch-up. I can do that with paint and by collecting some nearby material.

Here’s photos of the construction process.

The frame takes a few hours to assemble, I worked slow and mostly by myself. With a partner it would go much faster.

Lola’s Achilles Heal

Lola with the expanse of open water behind her.

Lola doesn’t let too many ducks get away. Over the past four years, she’s averaged one or two lost birds per year. I don’t count birds that sail out of sight.

But she does have a weakness that I’m going to work on next summer, but its to late to fix it for this year.

Her Achilles heal haunted her last Wednesday, on a grasslands hunt. The club I hunted has a vast expanse of open water with limited escape cover. Intuitively you might think that a lack of cover would help Lola, but that is not the case.

With six ducks in the bag, it was about 10:30 in the morning and I wasn’t in a rush to shoot my last bird. I passed on a couple shot opportunities and hoped to end the day on a pintail drake.

Sure enough, one came along and passed in reasonable range to my left. The bird came down on the first shot, but I shot again because I could see that it was still quite lively. Unfortunately, my second shot missed and the bird hit the water swimming. I hollered, “Lo,” and Lola was off and running. As she approached it bird, it attempted to fly but couldn’t quite lift off. Lola was in hot pursuit and nearly had the bird in her grasp when it dove.

Lola stood, frustrated, waiting for the bird to surface. Surface it did, but not until it was about ten yards away as Lola continued her pursuit.

Concerned that we might lose the bird, I climbed out of the blind and traveled as fast as I could in hopes of getting a shot when the bird resurfaced. Unfortunately that never happened. We looked for that bird for a solid 30 minutes. Somehow it had evaded us – in open water.

Our first lost bird of the season. It wasn’t long before a teal passed by on almost the exact path that the pintail had taken. I fired and broke the bird’s wing. The chase was on again and the story of the pursuit it was almost identical to the first one.

Again the duck dove and again it disappeared. Again I climbed from the blind and “sped” to Lola’s aid. It too was lost. We searched all around. Two lost birds in a row.

It wasn’t over yet. I was now determined to finish off the limit. A widgeon passed by and I whistled at it. It circled and passed overhead. I pulled up and fired. A miss. The second shot was at a the bird’s rear.

I broke its wing and down it came – very much alive, in fact, this bird was even more lively that the first two. It was a full 200 yards from the blind by the time Lola caught up with it. And, then it dove. I climbed from the blind in pursuit.

Lola lost track of the bird for a moment. Then, without seeing the bird, Lola took off towards a clump of tules about 30 yards to the north. She circled the tules and then found the widgeon, but it alluded her. She circled the tules again and then trapped the fleeing bird up against the tule stalks. Finally we had bird number seven.

I mentioned this issue with my host and he suggested that I work with Lola in the water by placing a tennis ball or some other object between my knees under water and train her to snorkel. I’ll work on it next summer.

I’ve experienced this type of escape by teal and sprig in the past, but I’ve never lost two in the same day. Snorkeling birds are most difficult when there’s a slight chop on the water. When the water is calm, it’s much easier to see the wake of the bird’s bill as they attempt to swim away.

Sometimes it seems like the birds vanish into thin air, but actually it’s thin water.

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Grasslands Holding Lots of Waterfowl

Large expanses of open water are very attractive to sprig, wigeon, shoveler and teal. The mallard component is smaller on the open water ponds, but the number of overall waterfowl is higher.

Made two trips to the Grasslands last week. Wednesday afternoon I scouted out San Luis NWR and on Saturday morning I hunted the Kerry Cub near Volta.

In both instances, I was impressed by the numbers of ducks. At San Luis, mallards were numerous and on Saturday we were welcomed by teal, shoveler and sprig. Early limits were the rule on Saturday.

San Luis has great mallard habitat with mowed smartweed and watergrass intersperced with clumps of tules just right for hiding. In addition many concrete barrel blinds have been installed over the years. The biggest problem with San Luis is that hunters tend to crowd each other making it difficult for everybody. Bring your mosquito replellant.

The Kerry Club is wide open with swamp timothy galore. Perfect for teal and sprig. It was a pleasure hunting from well placed blinds with plenty of open water between hunters.

I barbecued two teal and a spring when I got home Saturday and they were spectacular. I don’t normally shoot teal because they are small, but these birds were so delicious I will make them a priority when the mallard hunting is slow – which may be more often than I like.

As of Sunday, I’d received two refuge reservations, but took a pass when my friend Jeff invited me to hunt with him. I’ve got two refuge passes for this Wednesday, but haven’t decided whether to act on them or not. Looks like there are plenty of birds, but they get tough this time of year. I’ll report back later in the week.

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Mayberry 2012

(Note: For those who are not familiar with Mayberry, that’s what we call our Sherman Island duck club. We owned it for years and sold it to the State (under threat of condemnation) in the ’90s. Since that time we’ve been in a lease agreement with management of the property our responsibility – until about four years ago. That’s when California decided to put a new program into place. We still have a hunting lease, but do not manage the property. This update may interest those who have followed my duck hunting and property management stories on this blog.)

The Mayberry transformation is complete. There is no longer any habitat that is prime for dabbling ducks and wading birds. The property has been changed from a shallow-water seasonal wetland to a deep-water marsh inhabited by tules (hardstem bulrush) and cattail, but very little wildlife. Yes there are a few river otters, fish and blackbirds, but a census of wildlife would show a fraction of  the inhabitants from just a few years ago. To be fair, it is  a fact that the bulk of migrating waterfowl have not reached the area yet, so things will get better.

I’m on the outside looking in, but the way I understand it, the primary purpose of the ongoing project at Mayberry is two fold – study the subsidence of delta islands and also evaluate carbon sequestration associated with the dense stands of tules and cattail. It is hoped that covering the land with water will stop the sinking of the islands by reducing oxidation of the highly organic soils. And, that a study of tules and cattail will provide insight into ways to improve air quality and reduce global warming trends.

These are lofty goals, but the losses associated with this study are by far more clear, to me, than the gains.

Mayberry looks like a lake.

During  my last three trips to Mayberry, I’ve not spotted a duck on the ponds, not even a coot. The closest I’ve seen to a duck has been a cormorant that landed on the water. The good news, I can take my fishing rod out with me on opening day of duck season.

There is still hope for some waterfowl activity, but it’s sketchy. I’ve been told that there are a couple pair of honkers using the property and the shallow seasonal ponds next door hold quite a few ducks that could possibly flyover Mayberry. Maybe ducks will begin to use the property as the waterfowl migration arrives, but there is very little food for them.

Here’s a photo of a shallow pond next door. This is what we used to see at Mayberry before the ponds were converted to permanent water.

The sad part of the story is that 300 acres of great duck and shorebird habitat has been destroyed. It’s too bad that at least some of the property wasn’t left as seasonal marsh. It would have been a nice compromise and it would have allowed for more use by migratory waterfowl – both game and non-game. Or better yet, they could have left the seasonal marsh in place and converted 300 acres of cow pasture to marsh. I guess the pasture was too valuable.

Thousands of waterfowl formerly used Mayberry as a significant winter feeding area.

The bottom line is that management of the property in is the control of others and I have been blessed with great opportunity to hunt there for many years, so no matter what happens, I will always be thankful that my partners and I have had such incredible good fortune.

The good old days with shallow marsh and seasonl wetland habitat.

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Almost as Good as Hunting, but not quite.

Indulged in a little fantasy this afternoon. Received the “Waterfowl Hunting Newsletter” from DFG today and it spurred me into applying for waterfowl reservations on many of the public hunting areas. https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=54614&inline=true

Large expanses of open water are very attractive to pintail, widgeon, shoveler and teal. For mallards, hunt ponds less open water where they can hide from view.

With a good draw and a full day of hunting, most refuges can produce a mixed bag like the one shown.

You might ask, “With two private clubs available every day of the season, friends who invite me to their clubs and additional hunting opportunity available, why would I spend about $300 to apply for waterfowl and pheasant hunting on California’s public areas?”

First reason: When the public areas are good, there’s nothing better.

Most of the public areas have excellent habitat. Most clubs cannot afford to create natural habitat. I enjoy hunting in natural shallow ponds, rimmed by alkali bullrush. To me this is the best type of habitat for duck hunting.

Second reason: I have many fond memories of trips taken over the years. Many stand out and I enjoy returning to the scene of previous hunts and finding out how my favorite locations hunt today. Most of the time, ponds hunted in previous years tend to be pretty much the same. It’s like visiting an old friend.

Third reason: If you want to make the most of your waterfowl hunting, you need options. The more the better.

There are plenty of others….

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The Year of the Specklebelly Goose

Fred dressed in full goose garb with his first spec of the day

The 2011/12 waterfowl season will be remembered as the year of the spec (white-front goose). Duck hunting has been below par and I haven’t had many fully satisfying duck hunts this season, but the goose hunting has been fabulous.

Friday was a personal first for me. For the first time in my life, the spec limit is six this season and Friday I left the field with a heavy duck strap of six specs.  Fred also shot six geese, but we did it in different ways, both effective.

I stuck it out over the decoys and eventually enough specs decoyed within good range for me to bag my limit. After sitting in the blind for several hours, Fred shifted to the pass shooting mode and got his birds.

Pass shooting, moving into flight paths and bringing down birds at maximum range is a very good way to kill geese. But for me, nothing is as exciting has having a goose set his wings a few hundred yards out and sail down within range.

On Saturday, I stuck with the decoy mode while Fred continued to seek out flyways and pass shoot. While I fired a couple shots on Saturday, Fred bagged four more geese with fast action for the first few hours of the day.

No matter how you slice it, this will be the season remembered for the specklebelly goose.

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ADA Blinds

I’d decided not to duck hunt last Wednesday until I recieved a call about 9:30 AM.  My friend Roger was headed for the grasslands with the intent of hunting the ADA blind at Kesterson WA or the Gadwall Unit. Roger has had hip replacement surgery and gets around slowly.

His doctor has granted him a disabled hunter pass which allows him to hunt the blinds set aside under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). He is entitled to also take a guest hunter, me.

Our first attempt would be Kesterson, where Roger has had limited success finding an opening.

My first hunt in a special “disabled blind” took place about 20 years ago. At the time, I’d met a disabled hunter at Sacramento NWR while waiting in the sweat line. He was mobile, but limited to travel in a wheel chair. I don’t even remember his name, but he invited me to hunt with him at the only blind set aside for disabled hunters.

He was a paraplegic and his disability also affected his shooting ability as he had limited strength in his hands, but he was proud of the fact that he was still hunting.  A couple weeks later I received a photo of him with a nice bunch of snow geese taken at the Tule Lake spaced blinds.

Disabled hunters are not limited to ADA blinds. This shot was taken at the Tule Lake spaced blinds in about 1990.

The “handicapped” blind we hunted on that day was located on the edge of the access road. It was a tank blind, similar to the Yuba City steel doubles we used at our club. He was able to lower himself into the blind. We had some success and I remember him bringing down a hen mallard, while I managed a double on cinnamon teal.

We didn’t hunt together again and I don’t remember his name, but I still have the photo he sent after his successful trip to Tule Lake.

Surprisingly, on our most recent trip, the ADA blinds at Kesterson and the Gadwall Unit were filled, so we hunted the stake blind area at Salt Slough. ADA blinds tend to be a much better hunting opportunity these days than they were 20 years ago and they are in demand.

It was a tough afternoon for waterfowling, but we managed several chances at spoonies and took home a couple. The action was fast enough to keep us on our toes – all in all a good outing.

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Waterfowl Sunrise

Matt Bloom and I watched geese rise in the east as shooting time arrived last weekend. Check out the video. One of the side benefits of waterfowl hunting is observing the sun rise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UUOp0WJAAo&feature=plcp&context=C3ed6166UDOEgsToPDskLfl3sE28uheiCg_XpdmZ7L

We did well.

Matt shows off a couple of our geese. Specs were the main target.

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Waterfowl Mid-Season Ups and Downs

The waterfowl season has been up and down so far. Three trips to the grasslands produced two busts and one boom. Hunted Salt Slough on Wednesday the 30th of November when the winds nearly blew us off the area. We didn’t do well in the howling winds.

By the time we found a pond with ducks, the wind was blowing so hard that the ducks didn’t fly – at least not where we were. We held out until about 3:00 PM and headed home with one ring-neck duck between us.

On the following Saturday, I hunted the grasslands on a private club. My host and I shot 14 ducks of the mixed bag variety. Strong winds helped us on that day. I had a poor shooting day, which is common in strong winds.

On Wednesday the 7th of December, my friend Tom and I took advantage of reservation #4 at Merced. We decided to go with area E in the bypass. This is a mallard resting spot drainage that’s about 30 yards wide. First time at this spot for us, but we wanted to give it a try.

Mallards worked frequently, but they were very shy. We never fired a shot despite having birds in sight most of the morning. Our afternoon pheasant hunt at Salt Slough was also a bust. However, we accomplished some serious scouting and we’ll be back.

The slough was about 30 yards wide and the mud made for difficult wading. Wear stocking foot waders and tight boots for this area.

This last weekend we hunted Webb Tract in the Delta and shot three geese out of about 50,000 we saw. The conditions just weren’t right, but the birds were there.

We saw plenty of geese last weekend, but didn’t kill many.

Click on the photo to see the geese in the sky.

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Hunting the San Luis Unit Oct 26, 2011

The San Luis Unit is part of San Luis National Wildlife Refuge. The California Department of Fish and Game is authorized to operate the hunting program. The check station for San Luis is operated out of a trailer at the Salt Slough Unit. It’s about a ten minute drive from Volta.

North Grasslands Hunting Areas

At the check station I asked many questions, and where Nancy had been nothing but helpful, the guys at Salt Slough were contrary. I don’t blame them as they put up with a million questions from novice duck hunters. I took what info I could glean from them, which wasn’t much.

One hunter, on his way to the Gadwall Unit, offered that is was a good spot for teal and an occasional pintail, but not a mallard spot. I was thinking about going to parking Lot 1 at San Luis, but was a little worried about it being crowded. I don’t like too much competition.

Another hunter signed up to wait for an opening at one of the Salt Slough “stake” blinds. He corrected me when I incorrectly called them space blinds. Oh well. While standing around, I put my name on the list.

It was now almost noon and hunters were checking out. When a hunter checked out from Lot 1 at San Luis with six mallards, I decided to make a decision. There were four hunters left in Lot 1. Didn’t sound too bad.

http://www.fws.gov/sanluis/Maps/Hunt%20Unit%20Maps/San_Luis_Hunt_Map.pdf

I left the parking lot at noon with backpack, dog stand, tule seat, two decoys and jerk string. The pack seemed heavy. It it was breezy, but hot. Nothing was flying. I set up at a decent looking pond and watched for ducks. A flock of specs came out of the south and looked like they might come over me in range. About a hundred yards out they turned. Maybe I called too much – or maybe they just turned for no particular reason.

About 2:30 I spotted a flock of ducks to the south. They were working.

At 3:00 PM I decided to make a move. I moved close to where the flock had passed and set up again. At 4:00 PM some mallards came in and I blew my chance by getting tangled in the tules. Oh well, at least I’d had a chance at a greenhead.

About 4:30, more mallards and a couple pintails with them. They flared a bit as I rose, but it was a good chance and a clear miss. At least something was happening. Fifteen minutes later another group of mallards. This time I waited for the bird to pass and shot him in the rear. Down he went.

I was worried as he’d come down out of my sight. Lola was all over the swimming drake and I had my first mallard of the day. Back to the tules. There was time for more. A greenhead come over and I missed him three times. I shouldn’t have kept shooting but my blood was getting hotter.

Now ducks were working regularly and another hunt to the east was having a lot of action. Still there were birds for me. Specs passed over regularly and I noticed that mallards seemed to be attracted by my spec calling. Maybe they were foraging together.

A pair of mallards came towards me. They locked on my decoys. Without calling I laid low and waited. As they passed in front of me I drew on the drake and they both came down. I didn’t plan on shooting hens, but sometimes it happens. I sent Lola in to the tule patch where the two ducks had dropped. Out she came chasing the drake. She had it. I took the bird from her and sent her back for the hen.

She rattled around in there for a few minutes and them popped out with the hen in her mouth – giving it up reluctantly.

More ducks. A pair of mallards passed on the wrong side of me – towards the sun. Since they were in range I took the shot and one of them sailed down about 150 yards away. It would prove to be an ugly retrieve. After a bunch of sweat, three more shots and a long chase, I had my second hen and called it a day.

I still don’t know if the hen was the original mallard. I think I shot the drake and the hen landed with it. When it jumped up I thought it was the drake and knocked it down. Afterward I wished that I had gone back to look for the drake, but it was too late.

At 6:00 PM I called it quits. The hike in was long, hot and mosquito covered. I ended up with bites everywhere, but it was all worth it. I felt 25 years younger. And, once again, the marsh seemed unchanged from 1986.

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