Waterfowlers are a different lot. Ever wonder why they wake up at ungodly hours and suffer through weather that ranges from simply cold to “OH MY GOSH!” cold, just for the opportunity to take home a few ducks or geese? Ask a waterfowler why he or she does it and you’re apt to get a lot of stammers and stutters, because it can be difficult to describe the beauty of watching a flock of mallards work your decoys during a winter dawn. Or, the perfection and pride of a double retrieve from your favorite dog. Waterfowl hunting is something many must experience to understand, and here are a few tips to consider when setting up for a morning’s hunt.

In general, waterfowl like to land and launch skyward into the wind, so set up with your decoys in front of you and the wind blowing from your back. Remember to leave a hole in the middle of your decoy spread to provide a good spot for waterfowl to land, and include a “confidence” decoy or two, such as a heron decoy or a few feeders or sleeping ducks. Hunters can get a step ahead of the competition by simply providing “something different” that other hunters aren’t using. So many hunters have a group of decoys on the right, a group on the left and a hole in the middle. Strive for something different, such as adding a swimming decoy or other motion.  A small group of four or five teal also provide the variety that convinces wary waterfowl to set their wings. The idea is to have your decoy spread look different than what the ducks have been seeing.  Motion is important, too, which is one reason Carry-Lite brought out the X-tra Motion Lander – to add that realistic motion.

When calling don’t be timid when calling too distant ducks. A loud hail call does not reach the distant birds the way you hear it sitting in the blind – the birds often only pick up a tiny portion of the call, just enough to get their attention. Once the birds are coming in, stop calling unless they appear to lose interest.