This is my first year duck hunting, so far i love it. Love hearing the sound their wings make as they come in on final approach. The describable feeling you get when you fold a duck up in mid air, or seeing them land in the middle of your spread keeps me going out.

Now with that said ive been hunting public lakes and its been ok so far. Although today im really starting to change my mind, i get up early (3am) to be able to get out there early enough making sure i get the spot i wanted. Now after treking all of my gear to the spot, i set up all of my decoys and get them positioned just right. Build a blind to perfect specs, while sitting in the blind three guys show up. No big deal i figure they are passing through to another spot.

Then they stop and ask me "are you alone?", i told them yes and that they were welcome to hunt with me over my decoys since it was already 7am. They ignore my invitation and walk 25 yards away and start throwing decoys!! Ducks are trying to come in to my spread but they are standing out in the water throwing decoys talking to each other and laughing, needless to say my hunt was ruined.

Now my question, is all public land hunting like this? How can other hunters be this malicious, inconsiderate and disrespectful to another hunter? In my years of fishing i have ALWAYS exercised proper etiquette and respected someone else spot. What is wrong with people these days, what has happened to the world?

I was planning on taking my nephews out for their first duck hunt, but wanted to find a good spot first. After this escapade im not so sure its actually safe to take children out on public land.

Its all about supply and demand.

Texas is one of the states with the least amount of public hunting spots.

You can have some great hunts during the week, but then again, everybody is thinking like you.

Its sad, cause i had some of my greatest hunts public,....in a different state though...

Oregon and Washington

I can't tell you how many times, I've had my hunt ruined by rude people. Been shot over, Shot at, Decoys shot, laid on my belly as rounds whizzed overhead, picked up more trash than ever imaginable hunting public. On the flip side, I've met a lot of good people too. Depends on the person I suppose. I had one guy hike a mile past his position because my wallet fell out of my pocket when I got out of the truck and he wanted to return it to me before the GW stopped by. I personally have had probably an even amount of good and bad hunts on public. I found if you do your homework, and are not afraid of some hard work or a good hike, you can get to a spot that is holding good birds and not a single person in sight.

Right but why set up right on top of someone? If they liked the spot i was in and wanted to make sure they got, why not wake up earlier like i did? Being lazy isnt an excuse to encroach on someone else, i could have used the few more hours of sleep. I woke up earlier than most to get to the spot.

Jerks. Simple as that

Hunters on public can be the most ignorant and rude people around. I've dealt with them more than once, and it really gets old. Multiple times we have had some guides set up right on top of us, but we were on the "X" and shot limits. They didn't shoot squat. Guess it didn't help that we let the birds keep coming in after we limited out so we could photograph them lol

Hunting public brings out the best kinds of folks. Especially for "Duck Dynasty" being such a popular show. Everyone is growing their beards, buying duck calls and thinking they are Pro duck killers.

Most of my public hunts have been good other than the occasional guys setting up within 75 yards of me sky blasting. I've found you gotta take the good with the bad. The guys you dealt with would have had me in their laps

Yes...I get to frustrated. I now pay WAY to much for a lease but I don't get up at 2am and I know some jackass isn't going to get up late only to set up next to me. I don't get fighting or shooting mad but I let it ruin my day. It wasn't worth it to me. I sold the ProDrive and bought a ranger and paid for a duck lease.

They have their own set of negatives but dealing with a bunch of dumb donkeys ain't one of them

Sorry and good luck.

Hunting public or big lakes in nice, you can really use your skills to work the ducks into your spread. However, "Barney" is just around the corner and coming for you!!!!

Ive been fortunate and not seen that yet. Im sure my time is coming though.

223_Sniper: Were they literally 25 yards away - like you could shoot their decoys close? That's nuts.

You're right!! That's insane! I don't understand why some will do that to others.. Lord only knows if someone did that to them, they'd be fighting mad!!

Some people just don't give a crap, period! Good thing is Karma is a b*tch, and she was raised right here in TX..

25 yards is very close. There's no doubt people will set up close, but 25 yards is questionable. I am almost positive it was further, but even 50 and 75 yards doesn't surprise me.

This is my first year duck hunting, I hunt public land 3-4 days a week. I usually shoot 2-4 ducks each time I go out. Had only 1 limit and only been skunked once. I've been shot at across a small lake, had a few Bubba's stalk my decoys and even had a lady cuss me out at a gas station about my senseless killing. All in all I can say it's been a pretty good experience though. I've went out 17 times, shot about 50 ducks and got a few to clean right now. The most valuable lesson I've learned so far?? You got to go where others won't and if you dont have time to scout, you dont have time to hunt ducks.

They were close enough i could throw a rock and hit their decoys.

I didnt have my range finder on me but it was 25 yards give or take a few.

Yep. Public can make you pull your hair out sometimes. Next time tell them you got 3 buddies in the woods that will be back in a few minutes and you got another Guy with a dog on the way. Works everytime. When you say you're alone they don't care about you and your 6 bird limit ... I've seen crazier out there....

I've been hunting ducks since my arms were long enough to operate a shotgun and until six years ago had a nice private lake my grandmother owned to hunt. She passed on and with her the land and the lake went.

We still have a number of small private ponds to hunt at some other family land but nothing like the lake was.

Moving right along, I never even considered hunting public water for ducks until then. Some buddies talked me into it. I've hunted about 75% public 25% private for about five years now. We pretty much stick to the same four lakes, know the areas well (scout), and try to learn the spots where people (the idiot jerks that is) are likely to move in on you, and avoid those spots. Now given, that's no guarantee. But in all the times I have hunted public, I have only had one time when someone was close by and they were still about 200-300 yards away. Maybe I've just been lucky but as far as run ins with idiots moving in on me, no real problems.

Now as for the quality of the duck hunting on public... I sure miss grandmother's lake... I miss it more every season.

I haven't had anyone that close. But I have had people 150-250yds away. We got peppered all morning and they would draw flare ducks off of our pond with all of their pointless calling.

We had a huge flock of geese right over top of us and were waiting until the perfect moment to shoot when they started blasting at them from 200+yards away. <----That really ticked me off and we left shortly after. The following season we found a new spot that is VERY hard to get to and holds more ducks than the other spot. (Smartest thing I've ever done) We've hunted this pond probably 20+times over the last 2 seasons and twice had other hunters in the pond. And we/them were able to setup well away from each other.

So, if you scout and work harder, there are remote spots that probably hold more ducks that the average joe won't work to get to.

I think im going to take yalls advice and find a difficult spot to get to. General consensus seems that will work, and must have been my problem, my spot was just too darn easy to get to. Dont get me wrong i have no problem with meeting other people and hunting with them. Its the A-holes that im trying to avoid, since there is no way to tell one from the other until its too late it seems i need to avoid others all together.

Had a dad and his son pull up shortly after I got to a spot and I invited them to sit with me and hunt anyway. They shared coffee and banana bread with me and good stories. It all depends.

223, you just met three guys who are punks. There is a reason that they asked if you were alone. Three vs one. It was in their odds that they felt powerful since you were by yourself.
It is almost certain that if you were with a couple of guys, they would not have done what they did.

I think that those three guys are also the same who would cut you off on the freeway, pick up your wallet if you dropped it and keep it or any other selfish act.

It just so happened that you ran into them while hunting.

Most of the people I have come across on Public land have been considerate. Only had an issue once or twice.

Keep chasing the birds and just know in your mind that these three punks will one day run across three bigger and stronger punks who will give them a much needed and deserving arse whooping.

If they setup that close and it's going to ruin your hunt then you should pack up fast and move away and setup again. Maybe then you salvage your hunt and if not it was ruined anyways but why just sit and diffenitly ruin the hunt. That's what I would have done. Or ask to join them.

I had three guys park after I was at a spot and could tell they were staying. They asked if I wanted to join and I did. If not it would have been a bad situation.

buy a boat

Public can be a beat down.

I've had worse happen. A paced 23 yards from my boat to theirs even though I was hitting them with a 2.5 million candle power wave off. They set up on the upwind side. Fortunately fog rolled in right before legal. We shot ducks and they didn't pull the trigger.

I've also met some of the nicest and honestly some of the most skilled duck hunters on public.

I used to get up at 1:30. Now I get up at 4 and drive to a private lease with plenty of time to stop for donuts. More age and health problems than being fed up with the public scene.