Duck advice

Hey guys I'm heading out Wednesday to duck hunt for the week and was needing some help. I've never duck hunted on the coast and was wondering what kind do decoys I should put out and what calls I should use.. Also if I should hunt the freshwater ponds or in the small saltwater bayous? Here's a pic of some of the terrain. Thanks for any advice..

Gotta go scout and see where the ducks are wanting to be

Stay right there. Extra turkey full choke. 3 1/2 inch BB heavyshot

^^this

Actually, now that I look at your post more closely, I have hunted in that exact location. Full limits in less than an hour, but only use pelican decoys. Old-timer, who grew up hunting the area and that I was fortunate enough to meet, gave me the insight, and wow!

Where is that??

Set up 75 yards away from the guy with the biggest spread and call very loudly and terribly all day long.

So helpful thanks guys

Hahahaha

Go scout it for yourself. You set up where you see ducks. There, is that helpful enough?

Duck hunters are mean...

Not being mean, just being real. I and a few others are trying in our own sick twisted ways to actually help the OP.

Questions are fine, but when you know the area where you want to hunt, post an aerial picture of it, and expect (or at least hope) that someone is going to tell you where they think the "X" is- c'mon man... Why not just save your pennies and hire a guide? Better yet- the satisfaction of putting in the time and effort on the ground, then enjoying the fruits of your labor or learning from your mistakes should trump the "quick fix" online forum scouter mentality.

It's simple. The question I pose to the OP and any other members of the forum who post similar inquiries is this:

Do you want to hunt ducks, or shoot ducks?

If the OP desires to shoot ducks- save the money for the decoys, calls, and save the gas money and time spent on scouting and hire a guide or go with somebody who has already done the work.

If the OP wants to be a duck HUNTER, they should go ahead and get them boots muddy. I promise the smile will be bigger and the reward is greater if you choose to hunt ducks, and you won't be as mad about not shooting a limit than if you expected your guide to deliver it to you.

It is what it is, I don't judge either side of that coin. But don't for one minute think that by our smart alecky comments that we aren't actually trying to help.

Scooter we own 7000 acres so there aren't any guides familiar with my property. I just wanted to maybe be pointed in the right direction.. And I never said Mark a spot just said here is an idea of the terrain would you hunt the saltwater marshes or the freshwater ponds.. I'll just figure it out when I get there. My family owns 40,000 acres in the panhandle so I'm just used to dumb birds and just thought someone could sort of give me pointer besides put pelican decoys out or shoot ducks with Turkey chokes..

I've hunted really close to that area more than once - so here's some serious advice:

1. Like others have said, scout the area as much as you can to see where the ducks are feeding at. That will be your best indicator as to where to go.

2. You are on a large shoreline with a lot of brackish lakes and coastline with coves and small bays - so there are a lot of options in terms of where you wan to set up. If you can find an existing duck blind (very common on the south shoreline), get there early and set up. They are first come, first served.

3. Decoys - most of the time on the bay you want a decent sized spread, but you don't need the dozens and dozens and dozens that many people claim you do. It depends on where you decide to set up, but I've typically hunted with anywhere from 4-6 dozen with good success. But we also set up in a smaller cove that kept us from needing the 8-10 dozen to get birds to come in.

4. Ducks like to feed in calmer waters, so look in protected areas that have relatively shallow water with good grass and cover.

5. If the area is really easy to get to, don't go there. Because that means everybody else has as well and hunting pressure likely has been pretty hard. Find an area that you can get to that is more remote - the more remote, the better. That means more work getting in and out, but your chances of success (combined with scouting) are usually much, much better.

6. Take the time to enjoy the sunrise and watching the birds work. It really is a pretty sight to see.

7. Calling - normal calling works. Typical calls like the hail/attention getter call, feeding call, etc. work just fine. But if you aren't good at calling, you are better off not calling. Bad calling is far worse than no calling, and ducks will decoy without calling them in just fine.

8. Know your duck ID's. There are a lot of ducks on the coast you won't see in the panhandle, and vice versa. Know what you are shooting at so you don't violate any game laws.

9. We need to become friends with your panhandle land and coastal land. Just throwing that out there....

Thanks schmellba99 for the advice I really appreciate it!!! PM me and I'd love to take you out sometime.. I'm needing some duck hunting buddies!!!

I would get 3-4 Dozen
Higdon Red Decoys and 2 dozen Higdon Pintail Decoys . They should be put on long lines like these: Long Lines and anchor them with 4 to 5 lbs weights.

Put the Red Heads in vertical lines at about a 45 dergree angle from your blind space the lines about 3 feet apart and put the Pintails on the other side the same at 315 degrees (opposite of 45 degrees). Space them the same way at about 3 feet apart. Create a "V" between the Red Heads and Pintail Decoys. The Pintails will land in the Pintails the Red heads should land in the "V". I have hunted a setup like this on the coast many many times and it works well.

As far as where the ducks are you will have to scout. I would buy some Palm Leaf Mats and Pallets to make a blind. Have fun Red Heads are my favorite duck to hunt. Nothing decoys better. Good Luck...

That is the best explanation I've ever read in response to folks who get buttsore to answers to "how do I hunt ducks" questions.

Wow I love how this was totally blown out of proportion... I'm a big duck hunter and I'm pretty experienced just not with hunting down South. I don't know why Scooter feels that he should speak down on someone because I just wanted some general advice, can you not read Scooter? I never said mark the spot to hunt I simply posted a pic of the general terrain and didn't know whether it would be better to hunt the saltwater marsh areas or if freshwater ponds of that size in the pic would be any better because it doesn't seem like ducks would hang in salt water. Like I said earlier I've never hunted saltwater areas so I have zero clue where to start. And I'm not a lazy hunter. I'm all for scouting but we just got this property less than a year ago so I have zero clue where any birds would be as of now, so I asked so I could start planning where to scout on google earth til I arrive because its a lot of property. And I've read to only use a few decoys in magazines but maybe somebody that has hunted far south maybe has advice on whether to put a lot or few decoys out. And I didn't know if normal mallard calls worked because I've read mostly diver ducks are around saltwater so didn't know whether or not to try different calling and if I should call less. And Scooter here's for the "quick fix" online forum scouter mentality comment. Obviously I've gotten my boots muddy plenty to scout. I just thought as hunters on this site we we're here to help each other.




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I wouldn't let these guys get ya down.

I know absolutely nothing about hunting the coast or I would have helped ya.

Looks like you got some nice places.

I might try setting up near that island by the channel to the left of the google man.

Thanks Fooshman! I was thinking about checking that area out its just tough scouting out there because I haven't gotten around to buying an airboat yet and roads are limited because it's mostly marsh and mud..
Where do you do your duck hunting at?

I have hunted the coast a few times, but was also hesitant to offer "advice" because I'm far from any kind of expert, or even seasoned salty when it comes to birds.

I agree with Foosh, though, I'd set up on the island if possible. By if possible I mean if you can get there, and if there is shallow (duck feeding) water on the north or south end.

Divers don't like to land facing land, in general, especially once they've acclimated to that big water with lots of options down there. Of COURSE there will be exceptions, but it's one of those things like try to hunt with the wind and sun at your back if you can help it.

So I would set up on the north point or south point of that island. Set a string of divers out a little from the island trailing down into the wind, with a wad of decoys just upwind of the island. They'll fly up the line and stop at the wad, so you position yourself to shoot there. This way they are facing open water when they land, and not facing you. Best of luck. I love hunting the coast and hope to get down a few times this year.

Thanks Speer I don't know they didn't like landing facing wind.. I'll definitely keep that in mind.. I'm gonna check that island out for sure.. I may need to bring a layout blind because it's a pretty much all low brush out there..

I didn't know they didn't land facing land... Lol

It obviously looks like you can put plenty of ducks on the water and don't need anyone's help. I cannot help but wonder: why even bother asking? My apologies for offending you, but I guess I misunderstood the questions where you were asking what decoys to use and which areas to concentrate on. I assume with that much duck hunting experience that you'd be at least mildly aware of how they get it done on the gulf. I've never hunted the gulf, but I've read up on it enough to know that you probably need a few pintail and diver dekes, and to set up where the ducks like to be which will require some binocular/spotting scope scouting before you go in there and jump rafts of birds (if they are using that area). I know if I had access to prime real estate like that, it would be fun for me to figure it out on my own and not worry about what somebody else on an internet forum would do. You hunt panhandle ducks... I imagine that some of those same ducks make it down to the coast so you already know what they like. Just find the birds and do what they are doing as far as decoys and calls. It's the same thing wherever you hunt. Wasn't trying to start a peeing contest, just trying to figure out why people ask these sorts of questions and what their expectation is of the fellow forum members when they answer.

Also, if you have that many dumb ducks and geese working your panhandle property... why would you ever leave??? Good luck brother- no harm intended, just grumpy I guess.

The type of decoys to use is largely overrated. Most ducks don't care if your decoy is a mallard or a pintail or a teal - they see ducks in an area that is apparently a good feeding area, and that's what they care about. Back in the old days, most decoys were painted straight black - and they worked just as good as the water dipped HD decoys you see today.

The biggest thing is to be where the ducks want to be, and to have a good decoy pattern for the area you are hunting. Most of the coastal ducks land parallel to land, so you need to take that into account with your spread pattern.

Our setup was in a slight cove on the south shoreline, so typically the wind was a crosswind to us. We had the most success with a J-hook or V type pattern, where most of the decoys were concentrated on one side of the cove, but you had a string along the shoreline and some on the back side. This left a landing zone for ducks coming in. We typically wanted the hook side of the spread on the downwind side, but that's always a guess given that winds change all of the time.

Here is kind of an example:

See scooter he has 47,000 acres of private land...we call those "friends" where I come from. He is not going to take your ducks. He is just taking his ducks...on his land....without you.

What is your point exactly? Trolling? Did I butthurt your best friend with my post? Am I supposed to be mad that I won't get to hunt on his private land? and I'm trying to remember being concerned about "my" ducks. I'm at a loss on that one.

I don't generally come on here to make "friends" and I certainly don't come here to kiss arse for spots on other people's private lands- clearly.

So go ahead and go all Ferguson, MO on me if it makes your day- I'm probably not going to cry anytime soon.

SQ2- good luck, and stack them birds up... Looks like a great property. Find them with good glass and then hunt the wind.

if I had 47k acres I would just hire a guide to ensure a good hunt. if you dont have the cash on hand just sale an acre to a dude with a single wide. No one will look down on you for only having 46,999 acres

Just find a place that looks good to you and have fun... luck runs the show on the coast

^^^This guy. Whatever scoots your boots. I don't even know SQ2 I just thought the way things played out between "Guide" and "OP" deserved some fun too since you were having fun. Until you got all sourpuss. Then it was hilarious.