I want to start duck hunting this year. I have hunted pretty much everything except ducks as I don't know anyone who really does. I grew up in west texas and have only ever jump shot some ponds.

I have a 16 ft. aluminum boat that I plan to use to access areas. I am in East Dallas/Lake Highlands.


My main questions:
1. Waders - Bootfoot or stockingfoot? - I tried on some boot foot ones at academy and they rubbed my calf terribly and seemed too hot, but will stockingfoot be too cold?

2. Decoys - Should I just start with a 1/2 dozen mallards? Maybe a mojo?

3. Calls - What is the best starting point here?

4. Places/Access - I understand the WMA areas pretty well as I can find that on the APH booklet, but it is extremely difficult to find information on what other lakes I can hunt and the rules/regulation. Places I am checking out: Tawakoni, Cooper WMA, Lake Fork, Lake Lavon.

5. Duck identification - I am extremely wary of mis-identifying a duck. Whats the best way to work on this?

6. What am I missing/Common mistakes - What is going to get me in trouble? I honestly don't have the first clue about duck hunting regulations, methods, etc. So what are the common beginner errors I need to look out for.

harge57 said:

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I want to start duck hunting this year. I have hunted pretty much everything except ducks as I don't know anyone who really does. I grew up in west texas and have only ever jump shot some ponds.

I have a 16 ft. aluminum boat that I plan to use to access areas. I am in East Dallas/Lake Highlands.


My main questions:
1. Waders - Bootfoot or stockingfoot? - I tried on some boot foot ones at academy and they rubbed my calf terribly and seemed too hot, but will stockingfoot be too cold? This is personal preference but I generally prefer boot fit for duck hunting. If you have a good pair of wading boots like Simms or something similar, go with the the stocking foot. I use breathables almost exclusively and my duck pair has an insulated zip in layer

2. Decoys - Should I just start with a 1/2 dozen mallards? Maybe a mojo? up there you're fine with mallards and most places that works just fine, in my experience. We don't have any mallards where I hunt so most of my decoys are Teal (Greenwing and Bluewing), Gadwalls, Pintail, Shoveler, and a mix of divers.

Mojos work in the right situations…. Early season, especially teal - they're great! Hunting mostly divers (dumb ducks) - great! After big duck season starts birds get really educated about them though and Gadwalls and Pintails, and even teal, will start to flair off them as the season progresses. If it's not very sunny and you have good cloud cover or if it's very early in the morning, they're still good at getting birds attention. Later in the morning, especially on a sunny day, I shut them off or pick them up.

I would invest more into motion/water movement in your decoys (wonder duck or Higdon pulsating duck)…

3. Calls - What is the best starting point here? listen to podcasts and YouTube videos and practice year round. This is going to sound controversial but some of the best duck hunters I know barely use a duck call… you can absolutely over call and scare birds away. Less is more in my opinion.

4. Places/Access - I understand the WMA areas pretty well as I can find that on the APH booklet, but it is extremely difficult to find information on what other lakes I can hunt and the rules/regulation. Places I am checking out: Tawakoni, Cooper WMA, Lake Fork, Lake Lavon.

5. Duck identification - I am extremely wary of mis-identifying a duck. Whats the best way to work on this? Time in the field… coloration and flight patterns are easy way to sort species out. How fast a bird is flapping their wings and how they hold their head when the fly are also keys. I've been duck hunting consistently for the last 8 years and I still have issues with certain species. This part takes time!

6. What am I missing/Common mistakes - What is going to get me in trouble? I honestly don't have the first clue about duck hunting regulations, methods, etc. So what are the common beginner errors I need to look out for.
Overcalling, not being concealed enough, not hunting where the birds want to be (scouting helps with this), too much movement in the blind, not letting the birds work close enough into the spread, etc.

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Comments in bold above. Way better duck hunters than me on this board can chime in and give you better feedback.

Good luck!

This man has you one the right path….
As a part-time guide for over 30 years, proper concealment and scouting are BY FAR the most important things in killing birds.
I grew up hunting the upper coastal marsh where most calling consisted of a a whistle, peeps and few gadwall grunts…. Every time I had a client show up hitting high balls every time he saw a bird I knew I was in for a long day. Watch some videos on YouTube, practice non-stop in your truck and remember less is more.
Good luck and enjoy the addiction!

Good info posted...

Half dozen dekes aren't very many...I would try for two dozen minimum to start. Teal, gadwall, pinnies, maybe a few mallards in North TX. Texas rig them for ease of putting out and picking up. Throw them out and leave a hole in the middle for birds to land.

Mojos IMO are way over rated except up in Canada when the baby ducks are really dumb.

Duck hunters usually set up decoys to have the wind to your back. Birds will land into the wind, so you can shoot them in the face and catch them flaring straight up and back.

Don't worry about calling...less is more usually. Pintail peeps and widgeon whistle work great.

Concealment is critical. You can sit in brush or reeds or grass. Cut brush and bring with you to build small blinds. Push cut limbs in mud to break up your outline. Layouts work sometimes. In timber hug a tree. Remember to not move when birds are working and don't look straight at them.

Number one thing is to be where they want to be...if you are on the "X" they can be stupid and you will kill birds in spite of your technique...

Great advice.

Warning: You can spend a fortune on this new hobby, and it's addicting.

A cheap alternative to get movement in your deeks is a jerk string.

You're going to want to watch some videos on cleaning ducks. I'd get a friend to teach you.

There are lots of theories on how to arrange your decoy spread and how many decoys to use. Ducks like to land into the wind, so always consider the wind direction when choosing your spot to hunt.

Be still. Ducks are very good at seeing movement. Part of the thrill is hearing them fly but resisting the urge to whip your head around to see them.

Have fun!

Well said by everyone above, I went away from a Mojo and started using a Higdon Pulstaor and it works well. I mainly hunt out at Ray Roberts. If you are trying a new lake, look at a topo map as well as google earth to help before you go out scouting to maybe narrow down a few spots. If you are hunting only public land, plan on getting there early and try to have one or two back up spots. Some of my best days are when another hunter that is close either over calls or sounds like a car horn and they push the birds toward you, so as others have said, don't over

Boot foot waders
Check out Ray Roberts public hunting but weather is key
Don't call until you know what you are doing - but Buy a call and learn to use it - pintail whistle to start (pretty simple lol)
Yes to Mojo and quantity over size (magnums) in my opinion

Find an experienced duck hunter to learn the way of the Jedi!

Well $600 in gear and two morning hunts later i haven't seen a duck yet.

Hopefully more birds start to show up. I should be able to hit a few days around Christmas.

Don't get discouraged, it's gunna be really tough starting out but it will get better. It doesn't help that it's been extremely hot for this time of year and there's not a lot of birds down yet. You've gotta just stick with it. Scout, scout some more, and when you think you've scouted enough you've got to scout even more. Going in blind to places never works out that well unless you know it's been holding birds.

This has been a tough year overall. Don't let this year discourage you.

La Niña year is a bad year for duck hunters.

As someone who has hunted ducks in NTex back to circa 2000 this year has been up with the worst as well as last year and possibly the year before. Wet summers and dry winters are not your friend. Add in no major fronts until Feb1 can be pretty hard.

Some birds will ride these small fronts so there is hope. I've also noticed pond hunting doesn't get good until later in the year and even later in bad years.

If you can scout that's 3x better than hunting blind.

How do you most effectively scout?

I marked about 5 spots and went and checked them out mid morning after hunting, but didn't see anything. Driving around ray roberts is dangerous... hidden stumps everywhere.

Also what are yall looking for when e scouting? Certain depths? I was mainly focused on trying to find spots that are less than 3 feet deep and blocked from the wind. I have read they will land into the wind and like protected areas so I was aiming to have the wind at my back. Also how important is it to get away from the walk in access points? Are duck very sensitive to pressure? I'm applying my elk hunting approach of finding overlooked or hard to get to areas, but not sure if that matters.

I found two old ponds that were connected to the main lake. They required a little walk from the boat and not reachable for a walk in. First one was dry, second one looked promising but nothing this morning but two deer. .

Duck hunted the Navasota River bottom and and lakes/tanks in the Brazos Valley for 40 years, now live in Wisconsin. I suspect ducks aren't down there yet in large numbers as we still have an unusual amount of ducks up here due to the mild winter thus far. I wouldn't expect many birds to arrive until January.

Depth isn't as important as finding food. But for the most part your shallow water is where the food is. Sometimes you just have to watch where the birds are going if you're hunting then head to that area to scout. You don't want to guess and miss em by 60 yards.

You'll start to learn the spots they like more then you can key in on those and fund which spot they are using. I always like to get my eyes on birds before 9 or 10, mid day scouting can be tough and not exact.

End the end you just have to spend the time, put the boots on the ground or boat in the water. Cover water burn fuel and spend more money.

My company is building a project in Alberta and the construction manager told me last week the countryside was still covered with ducks.

Was in South Dakota 1st week of December and there were birds but BIL said they still hadn't moved into there yet. Geese had though.

Shoot me a dm. I hunt NE TX public areas regularly and am happy to bring you along.

Welcome to duck hunting. Honestly, duck hunting has a high buy in, but it's more about the scouting than the gear. You have to figure out where they want to be and then be there before first light.



To your quesiton about calls, - I don't blow on my call unless a duck has made at least one or two passes and hasn't landed. If you don't call well you are more likely to flare them than call them in.

Geese, in my experience, well check out just about anything that is making noise and more likely to give you a pass shot.


In my area all of the duck hunters carry one or two dozen decoys so all of the spreads end up looking the same. I'll go with a standard spread at the beginning of the season but once they seem skiddish I've had a lot of luck with just 2-5 motion decoys and not always ducks. I just shot a limit of mallards two weeks ago in Wyoming on two mallard decoys.

I know a guy that has a spread of coots. Once they get skiddish that's all he uses.

water turkey said:

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My company is building a project in Alberta and the construction manager told me last week the countryside was still covered with ducks.

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THIS.

It's been unusally warm up north and the birds haven't had to move yet

Watch the weather in SD and Nebraska and that will tell you when they start moving. California is getting it's first big snow of the year tonight.

OP - Saw you can't PM.

Shoot me a text.
210 three six five 8620

I make custom duck calls, shoot me a PM if you are interested

Back2Back said:

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I make custom duck calls, shoot me a PM if you are interested

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Can confirm, calls are great!