Fields, Ducks, and Decoys by Jerry Carlson

It had been a slow morning in our layout blinds. The ducks that were sitting on a slough a half mile away had not been in the flying mode. The few birds that did pass overhead had shown little interest in our spread.

Two of our four members had already given up on the ducks and had gone off to chase the pheasants that were cackling in the distance. My long time hunting friend, Roger Lydeen, and I had opted to wait out the birds a bit longer.

As I watched the empty sky above me, I could visualize the mallards that had visited our spread the day before. These birds had been so anxious to feed in our decoys that they would have landed on top of us had we let them. Today, however, was a different story.

Today, the birds seemed content to rest on the water. The early morning flight had been feeble at best and if it weren’t for the fact that we knew where the birds were, we would have packed up long ago.

I have never been able to figure out what it is that changes the mood of animals. One moment they are content to lollygag and bask in the sun and the next moment every critter around feels the desire to move.

And that is how it was. At ten o’clock, the birds began to lift off of the water. We could see several flocks heading in different directions and knew it was just a matter of time before some birds came our way.

A flock of gadwalls were our first mid morning visitors. They made one pass and then came in with the landing gears down. Lydeen and I were pretty hard on this bunch of ducks and dropped a number of them in the decoys.

We barely had time to collect our birds and reload before the next bunch was winging our way. As we worked our calls in an effort to bring them in, I began to realize that our patience was going to pay big dividends.

Field hunting for puddle ducks has become one of my fall passions. Not only have we been extremely successful with this method of waterfowling, I believe it is a lot less work than sloshing through knee deep mud in a slough.

Even though we have experienced some great duck shoots in the field, there are tricks we have learned that makes a difference in our productivity. Paying attention to detail is important.

Location is one of the main considerations when field hunting ducks. Finding an area where ducks are feeding or resting is critical. However, if you are concentrating on birds coming off of water, don’t bust the roost!

Both ducks and geese can be hunting heavily in fields without leaving the area as long as they have water to return to for their midday rest. If you burn them off of the water, they will move to another location.

Our decoy spread is usually quite simple when targeting field feeding ducks. A couple of dozen good looking goose decoys and a half dozen full body mallards is the backbone of our system. We also utilize a spinning wing decoy of some type and have had success with both wind and battery operated models.

The Canada goose decoys are important. They provide the visibility and confidence necessary to attract distant ducks. Full body geese with flocked heads will definitely out produce shells and silhouettes. This is especially true when targeting mallards.

Calling is another part of the equation that can help. There are days when the birds come right in without hesitation, but there also those times when they need a little extra coaxing.

We utilize a number of calling techniques. A mallard call with quacks and feeding chuckles is always good as is a widgeon whistle. However, since we are laying in a spread of geese, it never hurts to throw some honks and feeding grovels into the mix.

We have learned from experience that size one steel shot is a good choice. This load has great knockdown power and carries a considerable distance. It is also heavy enough to fold the Canada geese that often disturb our duck hunting efforts. Size one shot is less affected by strong winds than lighter loads.

As for concealment, we always utilize layout blinds. We are very picky about spending considerable time stuffing loops with appropriate vegetation. Heavily pressured birds will not make that final commitment if they suspect something is wrong.

Field hunting for ducks is a system that seems to be gaining popularity with hunters. Although we have found it to be effective, it is not a foolproof method. Hunters still need to pay attention to detail as well as pick a quality location.

Once success is experienced, you may find that field hunting becomes a duck hunting priority with water hunting falling to a distant second.