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.

Final Verdict on the Final Approach Duck Boat

I bagged more ducks when I left the boat for Lola and hid in the tules, but having the boat allowed me to stay out all day and hunt from locations I couldn’t reach on foot.

After nearly a full season of evaluation, I’ve got a pretty good handle on the Final Approach Duck Boat.

I took my evaluation seriously and conducted all my duck hunting from the Final Approach to date. I even hunted from the boat all of the time – until this last weekend. In fact, I’d say my approach to using the boat was a bit dogmatic.

This past Saturday, I spent the entire day in the marsh, working at bagging some ducks. There were plenty around, but during the early morning fog, they didn’t fly much. Later in the day the action was better and steady.

Late season ducks are tough to decoy and I found that the ducks responded best to just a pair of mallards. The early set of eight mallard decoys didn’t work as well. They just sat there and looked lifeless.

These late season birds also picked up the boat well, no matter how hard I attempted to camo it out. The flaring birds caused me to shoot a low percentage and my shooting got worse as the day progressed and became frustrated.

The deep water of the new Mayberry made it tough on Lola and she stayed high on her dog stand, but also kept our hunting profile high, also affecting the birds.

Finally I shifted my setup, moved the boat away from the decoys and hid in the tules. Lola was happy with her perch and I was better hidden. A few ducks fell as I began to hit them. As my frustration lessened, my accuracy improved.

Unfortunately, my early poor shooting led the sailing two pintails that could not be recovered. One landed so far away that it was not practical to go after it and the other came down about 250 yards away in waist-deep water. I went after that one, but gave up as Lola was too bogged down in the cold, deep and brushy waters.

The other four ducks I bagged were all spoonies. I shot at a variety of ducks, but only one was a mallard. Another mallard almost came within range, but I moved too soon and it flared off.

It was a fun day of duck hunting, much like hunting the refuges.

Final verdict. The duck boat improved my chances by allowing me to cross deep water and hunt from locations not available otherwise.

Hunting from the boat works, but is limited. The better you hide the boat the better your shots. Hiding the dog is sometimes tough, and the boat is not big enough for both of us.

Hunting away from the boat, while using the boat as a home base, as a resting spot and a place for the dog to stand works well.

For traveling a long distance, towing the boat on foot works best as paddling is slow. I paddled the boat long distance a couple of times when I wasn’t in a hurry.

In general this is a fun way to hunt and a necessity when hunting deep water, but in shallow water walking is more efficient and productive.

(Note: After a couple years of calling this boat the Final Approach Duck Boat, I came to realize that I’d created a new name for it. Why fix it now? The manufacturer’s name is the Final Attack Duck Boat.)

After a Great Week in CA, Leaving for a BC Trophy Deer Hunt Tomorrow

The middle of November is both frustrating and exhilarating. Duck season is always ebbing as pheasant season begins. Yesterday morning was classic. After three hours of working at bagging  a mallard, a stiff late-morning wind brought a flock of mallards within range and I managed to bring one down. The final approach duck boat is working well and I’m getting comfortable with it. Hauling the boat is sometimes a lot of work, but when you finally get into position, it’s deadly.

Final Approach duck boat

Expectations of  bagging a rooster were very low. I was surprised when we corralled one right off the bat. Cousin Wes brought him down easily and any one of the four of us would have killed him if Wes had missed. Same thing with the second bird, which brother Rob dropped.

Later in the afternoon, we split up. Wes and Rob finished off their limits and Lola followed a rooster for nearly ten minutes before putting him up at my feet. I too had a bird.

Here's Lola with a rooster from last year.

This was a good wrap to a week that included a very nice grasslands duck hunt at a friend’s club on Wednesday. This morning the birds went into the freezer and now it’s time to conclude my packing for BC which is nearly done.

What does a trophy hunt mean to me? It means the best of everything. Best guide, best food, best equipment and most excitement. I’m prepared to bring home the venison in large U.S. Army duffel bags and insulated soft coolers.

However, trophy hunting often means coming home with the least game, as trophy hunting means selectivity. I won’t shoot a deer this week unless it’s the bigger than any deer I’ve killed of that species.

A mule buck will have to be bigger than my 2008 Nevada buck

For whitetail that doesn’t say much because I’ve never killed one. For mule deer that means a mature, heavy-horned,  four-point buck with very good outside dimensions.

I’ll be hunting  with Kiff Covert of Dome Creek Outfitters. I met Kiff at the Mule Deer Foundation Convention last February.

For me, trophy hunting is just like any other hunting, except it’s usually just a little bit better.

Best Way to Rig a Duck Decoy

Went duck hunting with a friend yesterday and we adjusted decoys at two blinds. At the first blind, the decoys had been tied to the decoys and the anchor. As I carried decoys, the anchor and decoys twisted in my hands, creating a massive tangle of lines, decoys and anchors.

In order to move the decoys without spending too much time untangling lines, I was limited to carrying a few decoys at one time, making the decoy move very time-consuming. I hate spending any more time than necessary moving decoys when I could be shooting.

In yesterday’s case, we were hunting over a large decoy spread, and moving the decoys was a major issue. On the other hand, we wanted to kill some ducks and moving decoys was a necessary evil.

Here’s a sketch of the best way I know to rig decoys .

How to best rig a duck decoy

With the decoy line properly tied, the decoy and anchor will slide down the line to the end, allowing you to carry a couple dozen decoys without tangling them up. In this manner you can move your decoys without frustration and with the decoys in the proper location relative to wind and other objects you’ll have better shots and come home with more birds.

Just Ordered a Duck Boat

What limited experience I have related to hunting ducks from boats is that it doesn’t work very well.

A friend of mine once owned a boat called “The Duck Boat.” It was a 17 foot boat designed specifically for duck hunting. It looked great, stayed afloat in terrific storms and was very comfortable. Cost? About $7,000.

After hunting Ryer Island in the Susuin Bay, we returned to port in four-foot seas. My friend powered that boat into the waves while I prayed. We made it.

On another occasion we drug the boat through the marsh at Lower Klamath. Not so good.

We hunted the slough at Mendota. Never fired a shot.

On the other hand I once owned a Boston Whaler that made a pretty good platform for duck hunting. We built various types of blinds to put over it and killed a few ducks on Frank’s Tract. It was fun when I was young and had more energy, but now days it wouldn’t be worth the effort. Not to mention that the agencies have created a web of regulations that nearly shuts down duck hunting in the Delta waterways. 

When Webb Tract was flooded, Rob and I drug out 14 foot aluminum boat over the levee and hunted ducks from it inside the island. A mallard flew directly over and we stood up at the same time, coming very close to fipping the boat. So much for that.

I once directed a boat builder to build me a layout boat. Thought I knew what I was doing, but the boat didn’t work. It finally rotted away at our duck club.

However I still have a desire to find a boat that will work and today I broke down and decided to give it one more try. Our duck club is being reworked this summer and we’ll have a lot more deep water when the work is complete. And, there will be no blinds to hunt from. Hence, a new duck boat. Here’s a link to what I decided upon.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712-cat601995&id=0014257014070a&navCount=4&podId=0014257&parentId=cat601995&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=QL&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601995&hasJS=true

If anybody has experience with this Final Attach Duck Boat, let me know. I also purchased a camo cover for it and a back rest to make it easy to lay back and wait. Hopefully it will work better than the boats of my past experiences.

A Beautiful Duck Hunt

What’s a beautiful duck hunt? 

No duck hunt is perfect. Often we attempt to reach perfection, but duck hunting is too dynamic to ever be perfect. Somewhere along the line, something goes wrong to diminish the effort slightly. When that happens the hunt is no longer perfect, but it is still beautiful. And, that’s the way it was on Saturday January 9th. 

My hunting friend Tom Billingsley and I arrived at Mayberry around shooting time. As usual Tom was ready to go and I was lollygaging around with my gear. We got into the marsh and set up by  about 8:00 AM. A high fog settled in and there were very few ducks on the pond. We put out three mallard decoys, set up Lola’s dog stand to keep her dry and settled in. Tom took his position about 75 yards from me and I sat on my tule stool 

As I lifted the pintail whistle to my mouth and twirled my tong to make the sound of a drake sprig, three birds came in over the top of me from behind and passed over the decoys whistling – two drakes and a hen. They flew past the decoys, made a u-turn and passed back over the decoys, arriving on my left at about 30 yards. Boom, I hit a drake, boom he dropped. Lola jumped from her stand and made the retrieve. 

Well, she made most of the retrieve. I walked the last few yards and picked up the bird. Three minutes into the hunt and we had our first bird, However, perfection had already eluded us and thus the hunt could now only be beautiful. 

The action slowed after the shooting and it was a while before more birds began to work. There were a few teal and wigeon, but we wanted mallards and sprig so we waited. A marsh wren hunted in the cattail a few feet from me. It alway impresses me that they are so unafraid of humans. 

Geese were calling in the fog above us – mostly white fronts, but there were also a few snows and Aleutians. Occasionally I called on my spec call, but only one came in and Tom later informed me that the bird had slipped by me in range.

As I sat waiting, a black weasil like critter ran across a downed patch of cattail about thirty yards away. It was the first mink I’ve ever seen, but it wasn’t in sight very long.

Eventually a flock of mallards circled to my call and passed directly overhead. I knocked down a drake. Things were looking up. 

I carry a turkey seat with leg extensions so Lola can stay out of the water. It is light to carry and stable.

I played with my camera and attempted to video the marsh wren, but it wouldn’t hold still. 

Although we didn’t take a lot of shots, working birds held our attention and the morning flew by. A mallard drake passed by and I called, but he didn’t turn. A couple minutes later he came back and flew right past Tom who dropped him with one shot. Lola made a fine retrieve and now we had three nice birds with most of the day still ahead of us. 

After retreating to the trailer for some soup, we returned to our decoys and more action. Teal, wigeon and spoonies were the first to work the pond, but we held out. About three in the afternoon, mallards and sprig began to drop down. Who knows where they came from or why, but they had arrived. And, they came to the call. 

After I dropped a drake mallard that buried himself in a thick cattail patch, Lola dug him out. She didn’t retrieve him, but did point him out to me. After she snorted into the cattail, I walked over and peered into the crevice she had made with her head. Sure enough there he was. 

The closest to perfection we came all day was on the next series of ducks. First a pair of pintail came in towards the decoys from behind Tom – heading east. As they passed over the decoys, I called on my mallard call and the banked away from me to the north while setting their wings and dropping down. 

It looked as if they were about to come up short and land to the north of the decoys so I made a soft mallard call they the held up off the water long enough to attempt to land in from of Tom. That’s when Tom dropped the drake. Lola made the retrieve. 

Within minutes, a flock of mallards passed by and I hailed them with the mallard call – they banked and passed behind me. I chuckled on the mallard call as they passed behind me and disappeared behind the cattail on my left. The next thing I knew they reappeared at about 40 yards in front of me and landed between me and Tom. I stood up and they jumped from the water heading directly over Tom who dropped the drake. 

Birds continued to appear overhead and a flock of mallards circled around us to the north and turned back heading directly towards me. They were low and they were humming. I took a drake with a head-on shot (always thrilling) and swung to another drake but missed. It’s a lot more difficult to make doubles when you’re shooting only drakes. It was the first duck we shot at without killing it all day. It was also the last.

To finish the hunt off, a couple hundred greenwing teal came in off the nearby fields and worked the pond over our decoys. Sometimes the two groups of birds would come in from opposite directions at full speed and nearly collide with each other. The sound of the air rushing over their wings and the speed with which they passed at only a few yards was thrilling.

 We picked up about 4:30 and made it back to camp with a little light left. We hadn’t seen or heard another hunter all day.

Tom is wearing his guille suit. These suits are effective camofauge in the cattails.

 With a four-hour drive ahead of him, Tom posed for a photo before he left.

 It was a beautiful hunt.

A Few Shots of Mayberry Last Weekend 2009

Rob and Wes tried to downplay the significance of killing ducks by holding a jam session.

 

If you’re  serious about duck hunting, you may be interested in some of the items that I believe are valuable in the marsh. 1.) Note that my Bennelli pump is camoflauged. I like a pump because I can stick it in the water and not worry. I like the camo for the obvious reason. 2.) The walking stick is an addition this year as my balance isn’t as good as it used to be and I was sticking the shotgun into the mud too often. 3.) The tule stool is better than a bucket. 4.) Wool shirt is the way to go. 5.) You can’t see it but there’s a ghile suit in my pack. 6.) The pack is water tight and it’s nice because I can set it in the water and my stuff stays dry. 7.) The mallard call is a Paul Kingyon double-reed call. It’s a great call, but old and it sticks too much. 8.) The cap has built in head lamp. Very nice. 9.) I carry only one or two decoys (mallard) any more. 9.) The dog is two year old Lola and she was nearly perfect during the last two weeks of the season – retrieving almost everything that went down. 10.) If you look close you can see my dog stand. It keeps Lola out of the cold water while we hunt. It is a turkey stool that you can purchase from Cabela’s for about $10 and I’ve lengthened the legs with electrical conduit to the length I need. It is very light and Lola has no problem standing on it. (Credit goes to Joe DiDonato who created this concept.) 11.)Note the red plants at the waterline behind me. That’s smartweed, probably the duck’s favorite food during the last weeks of the season, especially if it is cold.

 

Fred says, “See you next season.”