6 Ways I Goofed Up This Duck Season
Posted 2018-01-18T23:28:00Z
And How These Mistakes Can Make You a Better Hunter
Disclosure: I made some mistakes this past waterfowl season. Don't get me wrong. It was a great year ‚ better than the past few. Still, in the bright glare of hindsight, I've recognized some situations where I made seemingly innocent errors that hamstrung my efforts.
Let's look at six of my gaffes and examine what I should have done instead. Hopefully, this critical review will make you (and me) a better waterfowl hunter.
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I suppose everyone does this once or twice almost every season. Still, such goofs are tough pills to swallow.
My top botched shot call occurred during a late-season goose hunt, as several huge flocks of honkers descended on a buddy and me in a cut cornfield. I was trying to watch each group to see which would finish when four broke off and skirted the decoys on my friend's side. I started to say, Take 'em and rise up but hesitated. Too late. The four slipped away, and the other birds landed short or behind us. We were sunk.
Solution: Don't hesitate, especially with pressured late-season birds. I should have immediately recognized the opportunity, asserted myself and loudly called the shot.
Photo © Bill Konway
Sometimes, shooting proficiency comes and goes. Don't ask me what happened one sunny October morning in South Dakota, but when a group of gadwall decoyed to my side at 35 yards, I rose and whiffed three times. Muffled laughter followed, and my dad asked, What happened?
Solution: No real surprises here. Bear down harder on the next shot. And as always, practice as much as possible during the off-season. Everyone misses now and then. Just strive to eliminate bad misses on easy shots.
Photo © Bill Konway
My buddy and I were set to spring the trap. I'd located a large group of mallards that hung out by a protected inlet during east winds, and conditions were finally right to take advantage. The birds would probably approach from the southwest, so I reasoned that a small spread in a tiny protected bay south of the inlet would be the ticket. However, the first flock of 60-plus skirted our dekes and flew over a rocky point to the southeast. Argh. I'd placed our blocks about 50 yards off the flight line. We still killed some greenheads that morning, but my friend and I might have filled up in 10 minutes had I set the decoys correctly.
Solution: Don't anticipate. Scout and observe more carefully. I should have watched the birds more to see how they might approach the inlet. You can make little mistakes with some ducks but not late-season mallards.
Photo © Bill Konway
Figuring I had enough options for my final morning in South Dakota, I pointed my truck toward the cabin. I'd originally planned to drive north a few miles and scout a large walk-in area my father and I had hunted the previous year. However, I was tired, and the scouting mission would require a 2-mile round-trip walk, so I bailed. The next morning, my easy option blew up. Oh, ducks zipped into my decoys, but 90 percent of them were shovelers. Soon, I was scrambling to find a back-up area and save my hunt.
Solution: It's pretty simple: Don't be lazy. Get after it. Check every option until you run out of time. There's no guarantee the big walk-in spot would have produced, but at least I would have known for sure. And had it provided a better option than my easy spot, I'd have had a much more pleasant final-day hunt.
Photo © Tom Rassuchine
Large flocks of late-season geese in big fields scream for equally large and impressive spreads. So why was I unloading a mere 21 full-body decoys for an afternoon hunt? I'd hunted ducks that morning and was tired, and I didn't feel like picking up 100 blocks until long after dark. I'm not certain that my casual attitude and tiny spread sunk our hunt that day, but it didn't help. Plenty of geese flew over, but none got serious about finishing, and we were skunked.
Solution: Again, simple. Don't be lazy. If a situation calls for lots of decoys, use lots of decoys. Yeah, that requires lots of work, but effort usually equals success. Skimping does not.
Photo © Bill Konway
Sometimes, excitement leads to hastiness, which causes failure. This past October, my dad and I turned the corner on a lonely South Dakota two-track and gasped as hundreds of gadwall poured into a windswept slough at a waterfowl-production area. Let's go, I said, jamming the truck in park. We can hunt right off that point. And we did … only to watch hundreds of gadwall land 100 or more yards short for an hour. Those pressured birds were there to escape the wind and waves of larger water and had no interest in working our meager spread.
Solution: Take a moment and think. Observe. Had I done so, I would have noticed that the ducks approached the slough low from the southeast, directly into the biting wind, and then plopped down in the middle. Arrogantly assuming my tiny 18-decoy spread could seduce some to the lee shore was a big mistake. Next time, I'll settle down and think things through.
Photo © Bill Konway
