EP149 Four Duck Hunting Strategies To Get Started

Show Notes:

There are many ways to hunt ducks and each has a time and place where it is effective. But most people only have the right conditions, gear, and access to implement a few different approaches. On this episode I cover four big strategies for hunting in different conditions to help get you started.

4 Duck Hunting Strategies

  1. Jump Hunting – This is essentially stalking ducks on foot, trying to get the jump on them. This is difficult to do but it requires the least amount of gear and money to get started with.
  2. Field Hunting – Here you are looking for feeding areas where you can setup with land decoys, a blind, and calls. It is similar to water hunting but you don’t need any water gear. However most new hunters do not have access to cut grain fields that would be ideal for this.
  3. Water Hunting – This is the number one way most new hunters will get into the sport. Setting up a good hide next to some water with floating decoys while trying to call ducks into you. Tried and true. 
  4. Boat Hunting – If you have kayak or canoe you can get into marshy areas and setup decoys in order to hunt from your boat or you can stash your boat and sit or stand in reeds and thick cover and try to call them into your decoys from there.  

 

EP148 How To Find A Spot To Hunt Ducks | Waterfowl Scouting 101

Show Notes:

The most important thing you need to hunt ducks, is ducks. Scouting makes a successful hunt possible. On this episode I talk about several strategies for finding a good spot to hunt ducks without needing to invest an unrealistic amount of time and effort.

Take Aways

  • Ducks only need a stream that is a few feet wide to attract them if it is accessible from the air.
  • Super small ponds can be perfect places for resident and migrating ducks.
  • Big streams and lakes can be good spots if they are shallow enough for you to place decoys and retrieve birds.
  • Wheat fields, corn fields, and most cut grain can be excellent feeding areas.
  • Ducks land into the wind, so you should never set up with the wind blowing directly into your face, else they will not be able to land within range.
  • The water almost cannot be too shallow, remember many are called “puddle ducks”. Deeper is not better.
  • The best spots have cover near by that you can easily use to help your hide.
  • The best time to scout for aerial activity is early morning or late afternoon.
  • You can scout ducks midday to try and find them loafing and resting on the water, that will let you know they are in the area.
  • Just because you think ducks would like an area does not mean they really do, always scout and check first to save time hunting.
  • When you are scouting, look for ducks, look for duck sign, and listen for ducks. You want to find where they want to be but you always want to confirm they are in the area.
  • You want to setup “On The X”. This is the mysterious and mythical target spot that ducks will fly directly to as soon as they have enough light to move. It is your goal, but it is not always possible find such a place. 

 

EP147 Intro To Duck Hunting – How To Get Started

Show Notes:

Duck hunting is an amazing tradition and American past time that is both fun and challenging to break into. In this episode I talk about the three major parts of duck hunting to help orient you to the sport so you can get started!

The three “S”s of Duck Hunting Are:

  1. Stuff – This is your equipment, great, decoys, calls, trinkets and the many small and large things that are used to hunt ducks. You do not need it all to get started!
  2. Setup – This encompasses everything related to where you will hunt, finding a place, getting there, and preparing a good place to hide. There are no shortcuts here.
  3. Strategy – Everything relating to the methods and tactics you use for the hunt falls into this buckets. Your calling, decoy spread, motion rigs, when to call and when to be still, when to pass on a shot and when to take it.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you can start small, and grow from there. Small stuff, small setup, and small strategy. Do not feel like you need to dive in with both feet. Get a sense for what you can reasonable do and just do that.

Growing and expanding will happen easily if you stick with it. The hardest part is just finding a place to start and starting!

 

EP146 The Top 10 Reasons YOU Should Hunt Ducks

Show Notes:

Duck hunting is an amazing pursuit and there is good reason it quickly becomes a consuming hobby for many of those who give it a try. On this episode I talk about the top 10 reasons you should hunt ducks!

Take Aways

  • There is nothing like duck hunting, and there are few pursuits that can be done as many ways as duck hunting. It is a fun, versatile, and rewarding experience.
  • If you do not like deer hunting there is a very good chance you will adore waterfowl hunting. It is an active and interactive style of hunting that is not boring and often has a lot of action.
  • Ducks come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors. And you can hunt more than one at the same time. There is so much variety that for everything you might not like, there are many more things you can find to thoroughly enjoy.
  • Some people say duck hunting is too expensive to get started in, but that is because you are thinking about it like a lone hunter. This is a team sport. If you have three people that share in getting the necessary equipment, it can be cheaper than most types of hunting.
  • Hunting on the water at dawn is one of the most beautiful experiences in all of creation. This is a wonderful way to enjoy being outside!
  • Listen to the episode to hear the top 10 reasons to hunt ducks.

 

EP145.5 My Picture Perfect Spring Turkey Hunt

Show Notes:

Today was a dream come true in the turkey woods! Gobbler down within 5 minutes of legal shooting time! But it didn’t happen by accident, this turkey hunt took strategy, preseason work, and a carefully thought out plan including tactics that are out of the ordinary for me.  On this episode I share the story and the strategy.

  • I am so excited and so thankful to God, Josh for letting me hunt here, my family supporting my hunting season absences, and everyone who has helped me learn, grow, and acquire effective equipment over the years.
  • This was an awesome hunt, even though it was short. It’s the stuff that dreams are made of, taking a long beard at daybreak on opening day! Especially since I got skunked last season. It felt like a redemption moment.

Check out the video for the full story and the five strategies that helped me take this beautiful bird. 

 

EP145 How Hunting Helped Me Thrive In The Year Of COVID

Show Notes:

You cannot always control what comes at you in life, but you can decide how you will react. On this episode I share about how hunting not only helped me to survive a year of pandemic, but it helped me to thrive, to come out better.

  • Often in life we find ourselves in a mess because of our own mistakes or choices. Sometimes we are in difficult places because of someone else’s mistakes and choices. And then there are times where our lives are impacted by factors beyond the control or negligence of ourselves or those around us. Those can be exceptionally hard times because we do not understand the reason or the solution. We feel powerless in the face of factors beyond our control. But we are NOT powerless.
  • We have complete control over how we respond, how we bounce back, how we focus our thoughts and our lives. We can be driven to internalize our frustrations and fears, we can let those emotions lash out at people or groups, or we can let those forces propel us on to something good. Maybe even something better.
  • COVID pushed me deeper into the woods, more into my family, and more into God’s beautiful creation. I didn’t like everything about the past year by any means, but I focused myself on things that were good. And that didn’t just help me to get through, I came through better in many ways. This has been a year of thriving for me. The good outweighed the bad, the fun outweighed the loss, the beauty outweighed the ugly, and the peace outweighed the turmoil.

No matter what comes next, you don’t have to defer your thriving. You can thrive in spite of what happens. You can have your best  year yet.

 

EP144 Late Morning Turkey Hunting Tactics

Show Notes:

Turkeys behave differently as the day wears on, so to boost your odds of success you need to adjust your strategies right along with them. On this episode I talk about a variety of late morning turkey hunting tactics.

Take Aways

  • Prime turkey hunting is usually the first hour or two of daylight, but it is only prime because birds make the most noise and are the easiest to locate.
  • Turkeys can be called and taken just as well as the morning goes on. But the game changes as the sun rises.
  • Late morning you need to hunt sign, travel areas, and where you heard the birds and called to them early on.
  • Tom will at times come back after the hens have left them, if you were close to them early, you have a chance in that same general area later.
  • Covering ground becomes a different game as the day wears on. But patience and persistence are both rewarded.
  • Listen to the episode to hear a variety of late morning tactics.

 

EP143 How To Find A Great Turkey Hunting Spot

Show Notes:

Hunting where turkeys are supersedes all gear and every skill, nothing can help you unless you hunt near birds. On this episode I explain how to find a great spot to hunt gobblers be it on public or private land.

Take Aways

  • Turkeys need food, and occasionally take a drink as well.
  • Turkeys love three main habitat features; open hardwoods, cover, and grassy fields. 
  • If you hunt where turkey’s want to be and spend their time you will have drastically more success than if you just hunt random areas.
  • Turkey’s are upland birds, so focus your search on places that are dry and support good tree growth.
  • Whenever you are hunting you should also be scouting, trying to determine where your next hunt should be.
  • Turkeys are perhaps most visible when flying up to a high tree to sleep, if you can catch a glimpse in the evening you have found a spot.
  • Birds can move quite a bit of distance in a day, but they often roost in the same areas, look for roosting evidence.
  • Every time of day has its advantages for scouting. Try scout early in the morning to listen for gobbles, or mid day to look for ground sign, and late in the day to see them going to roost.
  • Listen to the episode to learn how to find a great turkey hunting spot.

EP142 How To Hunt Silent Turkeys

Show Notes:

Different tactics are needed to be successful hunting silent turkeys. Lots of gobbling sure helps, but you can still take a turkey even on a quite morning. On this episode I talk about the strategies needed to be successful when birds give you the silent treatment.

Take Aways

  • Quiet turkeys is not the same as no turkeys. There must be birds around for you to have a chance.
  • Before making a decision on what to do on a silent morning, review the evidence in your mind about why you believe gobblers are in the area.
  • If turkeys are quiet you need to be quiet. Call sparingly and do not make any identifiable human noises at all.
  • Patience is the biggest skill on quiet mornings.
  • The two kinds of birds you are mostly likely to call in are the ones that heard you early and joined up with real hens off the roost or birds that are traveling through the area.
  • There is no such thing as a bad day in the turkey woods!
  • Listen to the episode to learn how to hunt silent turkeys

EP141 Should You Take Jakes Or Wait For Bigger Turkeys?

It is an age-old turkey hunting question, should you take a shot on the jake that comes by, or hold out for a mature tom? On this episode I examine the ins and outs of this question and heartedly answer it from the perspective of the new hunter.

A jake is a juvenile male turkey that is 1 year old, they have a shorter beard, staggered tail fan feathers, no spurs, and weigh a couple pounds less. Jakes are still large birds and are bigger than the largest hens most of the time. They gobble and can be very excited, although their gobble is not as a full sounding as a mature turkey.

A tom is a mature male turkey that is 2+ years old, they have a longer beard, uniform tail feathers, developed spurs, and are a bit larger. Toms are the kings of the turkey world. They fight for breeding rights; they can defend themselves with their spurs and they strut majestically in full plumage to show off their stuff for prospective mates.  So many of the turkeys taken every year are the full grown but less experienced 2-year-old toms. They are eagle to breed and strut their stuff but are not as crafty or cautious as older toms tend to be. 

Turkeys do get a little heavier the older they get, but diet matters much more than age. A five-year-old Tom is not necessarily going to be bigger than a three-year-old tom. Access to food and lesser winter severity will do more to add weight to a gobbler than age alone. Well-fed birds can keep getting larger every year to a point, but it has more to do with food than age.

Younger birds are usually more tender and tasty than older birds. Everyone wants to hunt old boss toms, but jakes and two-year old toms tend to make better table fare. The older they get the more slowcooking you need to get the same results.

Jakes tend to be a little less cautious than mature birds but may also not react as strongly to calls. These birds do not want to cross a boss tom and get beat up on. So while they may be more likely to make rash decisions they can also be strangely weary. Their behavior will often depend on the number of other older birds around and their place in the pecking order.  

Jakes often travel in pairs and groups, even during the season. They can breed but it is unlikely they will unless there are no toms in the area. If you see one jake, there is a good chance there is another close by. Sometimes they will move with older gobblers, but it is very common to see jakes in pairs. Don’t hesitate to take one of a pair, it should not impact the survivability of the jake left behind. 

Listen to the episode to hear the answer to the question of whether you should shoot jakes, and the reasons behind it.

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