Realtree.com

20 Tricks for Waterfowl

By Steve Hickoff

We caught up with two Realtree pros to get their thoughts on a range of waterfowl-fooling challenges. You might be surprised at what they have to say.

1) Match the Terrain:

Ever hear of matching the hatch in fly-fishing? It’s the same deal in blind building—sort of: “It’s hard to relate a blind-building discussion when there’s such a vast array of locations and setups guys use around the country,” Rod Haydel of Haydel’s Game Calls emphasizes. “Down in the South, the hunting I know best, it’s critical to match the terrain we’re hunting in.”

2) Test it Out:

Haydel then asks his buddies to check out his work. “I use a little test when I’m taking somebody along to a place where I’ve built a blind. When we pull up, I’ll ask them if they can find the blind. If they can’t, I’ve done it right.”

3) Fool the Ducks:

Haydel reminds Realtree website readers that the next thing is to fool the ducks.“Anything above the natural grass in an area looks unnatural, so we scoop out blinds, and put in fiberglass pits. As a result, we’re down thirty inches into the marsh, so when we stick our heads up, there’s not too much of a profile.”

4) Keep it Natural:

“By all means, you need to keep things as natural as they can be,” Haydel stresses. Don’t use pine tree branches if they’re aren’t any around. It sounds funny, but you need to think about that along with keeping that profile to a minimum.”

5) Tote That Blind:

No time to build a hide? Sean Mann of Sean Mann Outdoors has the answer: “Take your blind with you. Use blinds every chance you get, but don’t put too much vegetation on them. (Mann recommends Final Approach blinds). Advantage Max-4 is the most versatile pattern I have ever seen or used, and over-grassing a blind defeats the purpose and actually makes the blind stand out. Let the camo do its job. Use a little vegetation to touch it up, but don’t make it a beaver lodge!”

Okay, your blind is built, or trucked to the spot. Now you’ve got to fool those sky-bound ducks. What if the ducks won’t drop in tight, and land outside your spread?

6) Tighten Your Spread:

Rod Haydel suggests moving decoys closer and making your pocket right next to the blind using a hook-type set. “I try to put several duck species in close, especially those ducks I’m specifically hunting and imitating with my calling. Ducks can then reference the decoys tight to the blind when I call. Also, if ducks are lighting to the right side of the blind, I can move the decoys to the left side, and vice versa.”

7) Stop, Look and Listen:

Sean Mann says to first try to figure out why ducks land outside the spread. Did you miss the right spot by a few yards in the dark? This is usually a scouting issue. “If you are ‘on the X’ then try opening the spread up either by removing decoys from the outer edges or simply by creating more space in pockets. They call it a SPREAD for a reason, and I have seen very few situations that opening things up wouldn’t fix.”

8) Pressured Ducks.

What if your spots won’t hold birds? “Down in our area [Louisiana],” says Haydel, “after pressure heats up, ducks move elsewhere sometimes. Guys who are having trouble with their usual spots will tell me they find ducks in big numbers in locations they’ve never seen them before. They’ve moved due to hunting pressure.”

So, what’s Rod Haydel do?

“What you need to do is find an out-of-the-way place without hunting pressure. A small cattle pond might work. It might not have huge numbers of birds on it, but if you line up several of these areas—which might not stand the pressure two days in a row, but will be good for one—that could help. Hunt one locale, switch, then go somewhere else. Some of my most memorable hunts around here were in places so small I could throw a rock across them.”

9) Hunt Earlier, Quit Sooner:

Another thing to consider is not hunting too late in the day. “Guys are staying out in the fields longer and longer,” Haydel insists. “Sure, it’s our passion, but sometimes it’s better to stop one duck shy of a limit rather than hunting another couple hours to get it. Don’t get in the routine of being too focused on the limit. It might hurt the quality of your hunting in the long run.”

10) Shut Up:

Mann has the best advice of all if ducks flare to your calling: “Don’t call!” Rod Haydel seconds the notion: “If ducks don’t like my calling, I then try to call as little as possible, or as little as I can get by with.”

What if you’ve bottomed out and nothing seems to work?

11) No-Call Ducks:

“Are you using a call for the species you’re trying to call?” Haydel asks. “It sounds funny, but if not, do it. Are you trying to outcall other guys in the blind? Forget it. Let one guy lead. And sometimes when ducks don’t come to calls it’s because all of them aren’t callable all the time.”

12) Much Too Much:

Rod Haydel believes that nowadays, a lot of hunters are probably guilty of overcalling a little. “Often this happens in a big hunting party,” he says. “All the callers seem to go to the feeding chuckle at the same time. When you have six guys doing that, it sounds like machine-gun fire. It sounds unnatural. I’m a strong believer in single quacks. If I’m the sole caller, I’ll throw quacks in there. This can add to the sound without muddying the water too much.”

13) Silent Geese:

“If silent Canadas are moving above your blind in the morning fog,” Mann says, “quiet clucks and moans that simply sound like birds on the deck talking to each other can work.”

14) Calling All Woodies:

“Wood ducks are widespread, and they migrate early with the teal. They’re also so crazy that you won’t necessarily call them as you will mallards, but it can be done,” Rod Haydel reminds. “Sometimes hunters will jumpshoot them on creeks, or they hunt near the roost, which only lasts a few days at best. If there’s a lot of activity you might run birds right out of there. If a lot of season is left, you don’t want to do that, of course.”

15) Roosting Woodies:

“What you should do is hunt near the roost but not in that exact area. Scout to find their flight pattern,” Haydel says, “as they take certain travel routes between roosting and feeding areas. Avoid the actual roosts to keep the birds using them consistently as resting areas. Then you can try to call them in.”

16) Squealing Woodies:

“Wood ducks make a whole slew of funny noises,” Haydel says. “The typical squeal call is often heard after you spook them, but I’m not entirely sure if that’s an alarm or social call. It’s also heard sometimes when they come in.” He uses the loud “wheat-wheat” squeal of a woodie in flight, which will get other birds’ attention. “You can choke down on your call with your hand, and change the way you blow it,” he instructs.

17) Whining Woodies:

I start with the “wheat” call, then add a “whine,” which is softer, and definitely good at close range (under 150 yards). They’ll make that sound after landing on the water as if to say, “Where y’all at?” Sometimes they’ll swim in, and I’ll jump up to get them in the air if they do that. A few decoys will help draw them in too.”

18) Tough-Sell Ducks:

“In Louisiana, I’m down into the flyway,” Haydel says, “and ducks have seen and heard everything by the time they get here. I try to catch their attention, to get them on a line, and to keep them there. Rather than throwing in feeding or greeting calls, the way we traditionally would, I’ll make a single quack to keep them in line, pausing between quacks, slowly calling, quack (pause) quack (pause) quack (pause). If they break, I’ll hit them with a comeback call as soon as they get off line, and fix that problem immediately if I can.”

19) Fresh Geese:

“A hunter new to an area can find feeding areas geese are using by looking for high ground somewhere near roost water,” says Sean Mann. “Use your binoculars and truck to follow birds out in the mornings and afternoons.”

20) Ducks In, Buds Whiff:

Sean Mann emphasizes that if buddies are missing ducks, first hit the clays range with the loads you use when hunting. Expensive? Yes. Helpful. Ditto. “Ask to shoot a bunch of targets that look like the ones giving you the trouble. Make sure you shoot some gravy shots too so you don’t lose your confidence. Don’t leave the range until your problem is solved, or you are out of ammunition,” Mann says.