Attn: Waterfowl fanatics!

[beginnerhunter]

Dang, lots of new gear!

Gotta spend that stimulus check before the wife does!

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Gotta spend that stimulus check before the wife does!

You’ll like that Franchi!

 

[JShane]

You have my attention.

Almost forgot to post these Nick.

 

[beginnerhunter]

That’s the one I used!

Turned out really well! Now I'll have to spend the extra time saving the skin. That's okay because we don't shoot that many birds lol.

 

[AlaskaHunter]

For me its all about the dog work....I would not hunt waterfowl without my lab.
I keep it simple, 1 1/8 oz steel shot and typically close shots.

 

[Dwreckers]

Tanglefree panel blinds are the bees knees. Can run it as the single panel or like an A frame with 2. Decoys I swear by would be Avian X and greenhead decoys. Something I have everytime is my Whipsplash pullstring decoy cuz I’m WA state we can’t have battery operated decoys.

Biggest piece of advice is don’t over call. Learn to read ducks body language in flight and that’ll help put more birds on the strap.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Tanglefree panel blinds are the bees knees. Can run it as the single panel or like an A frame with 2. Decoys I swear by would be Avian X and greenhead decoys. Something I have everytime is my Whipsplash pullstring decoy cuz I’m WA state we can’t have battery operated decoys.

Biggest piece of advice is don’t over call. Learn to read ducks body language in flight and that’ll help put more birds on the strap.

Too much calling is especially undeadly for geese. Hale at a distance but not much. Honkers coming around for a look then maybe give a bit of clucking. Don't overdo it. Most guys do. Motion in goose decoys is fatal ... for the hunting. Wave the flag only when they're way way out there. Get their attention and then put it away! Honkers are a whole different game than ducks. Wind is much more a factor with them, especially field hunting. Geese can make a sloppy landing with the wind on water no problem but tumbling ass over teakettle on a frozen field can be dangerous for a fifteen pound bird. Painful at least. I find that even in the fields ducks are less vulnerable to wind direction. Over water it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference to them, especially teal. I think those little buggers could land in a kitchen sink during a hurricane. Bloody acrobats.

 

[JDH]

Oh man.

Gear:
1) new decoy spread with better variety of species
2) motion ducks ultimate spreader
3) franchi affinity 20 ga
4) boss shotshell
5) academy decoy backpack
6) high roller whistle
7) DC BWT call

Tactics:
1) Hunting crosswinds instead of wind at back
2) targeting teal and pintails since mallards dont make it to the south anymore
3) taking advantage of weekly draw hunts to minimize competition on public land.
4) hiding spinner in brush to minimize fake appearance.
5) ditching splashers, too much weight.
5) thank FIL for buying more land in flyway (and be nicer to MIL).

May get a kayak or beavertail for some slow/small water public areas. Hunted out of a friend's beavertail this year and it was great. Good for fishing as well. Kinda heavy compared to kayak tho.

Interested in an A frame for better portability. Idk.

Gadwalls saved my season last year...even though it's not really necessary, I've already picked up a gadwall call and might pick up some gadwall dekes before next season.

 

[1_pointer]

You did a good job timing that for avoiding hunting seasons!

Exactly! Both my boys were born in June and that wasn't by accident. September thru January was a no birthday zone.

 

[TN_Rifle_Junkie]

Try SkyFly Decoys

WELCOME TO HT!!!!

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

I literally cannot wait for waterfowl season. It’s only may...I’m in trouble...

 

[Runnin_Chupacabra]

Another thing I realized I want to work on this next season is efficiency. I'm tired of getting blown by guys on their bikes as I push my cart down the dikes and missing out on potential spots. I'm looking at making a bike trailer to hold my sled that contains my decoys, chair(s) etc like the photo below but have had no luck on craigslist or FB Market place. Thought I'd ask if there were any other areas I may be over looking or thoughts on the topic? Our solid spots can be about a mile away from the parking lot so efficiency is key! Thanks!

 

[wtrfwlhunter]

Another thing I realized I want to work on this next season is efficiency. I'm tired of getting blown by guys on their bikes as I push my cart down the dikes and missing out on potential spots. I'm looking at making a bike trailer to hold my sled that contains my decoys, chair(s) etc like the photo below but have had no luck on craigslist or FB Market place. Thought I'd ask if there were any other areas I may be over looking or thoughts on the topic? Our solid spots can be about a mile away from the parking lot so efficiency is key! Thanks!

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Are you in California? That scenario has happened to me pretty much every time I’ve hunted Volta or Yolo.

 

[WestKyHunt]

Look for pull behind baby strollers. That is one converted

 

[Runnin_Chupacabra]

Are you in California? That scenario has happened to me pretty much every time I’ve hunted Volta or Yolo.

Yup! Of course right when I'm figuring out my rig set up everyone and their mother will by flying by on e bikes haha

 

[Deleted member 38069]

Another thing I realized I want to work on this next season is efficiency. I'm tired of getting blown by guys on their bikes as I push my cart down the dikes and missing out on potential spots. I'm looking at making a bike trailer to hold my sled that contains my decoys, chair(s) etc like the photo below but have had no luck on craigslist or FB Market place. Thought I'd ask if there were any other areas I may be over looking or thoughts on the topic? Our solid spots can be about a mile away from the parking lot so efficiency is key! Thanks!

View attachment 182490

I prefer dual purpose items, so I use a Hawk deer crawler to haul my gear. Not as fast as a bike but carries everything securely!

p.s. I try to structure at least 45 minutes for setup and brush in!

 

[JShane]

Its not a tip or technique just another coping mechanism for the doldrums of summer

 

[Deleted member 38069]

View attachment 183377
Its not a tip or technique just another coping mechanism for the doldrums of summer

I almost setup my A-frame to customize it for the fall but I realized that wasn’t good use of my time.

 

[Nick87]

Another thing I realized I want to work on this next season is efficiency. I'm tired of getting blown by guys on their bikes as I push my cart down the dikes and missing out on potential spots. I'm looking at making a bike trailer to hold my sled that contains my decoys, chair(s) etc like the photo below but have had no luck on craigslist or FB Market place. Thought I'd ask if there were any other areas I may be over looking or thoughts on the topic? Our solid spots can be about a mile away from the parking lot so efficiency is key! Thanks!

View attachment 182490

Whole other world your hunting in. No public to speak of here. But 8 outof 10, 80 acre fields have a spread in it. It's sort of the same as far as pressure goes but I dont have to race anyone.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Here's my cart for two dozen honker shells, gun, and stool. I use cover on the edge of fields so don't need a blind. The bottom shelf folds flat and chrome wheels are thrown under the bag when hunting. I made it from a golf cart bought at second hand store for $20. A new tube for one tire cost more than the cart!