this waterfowl stuff is easy

[ARO]

just kidding ;D ;D ;D ;D

i am really just getting into waterfowl hunting, i have a couple mallard and pintail decoys,(thats all walmart had) and just bought a pair of neoprene waders today.
i have shot a couple ducks over the last few years (woodies,hoodies,buffleheads), mostly jump shooting them off ponds around my house. but tonight i actually set up for them, and got lucky. shot a canada goose and mallard hen, i could easily get hooked on this quack!!!!
if any of you seasoned duck whackers would like to share any of your secrets, i would love to learn more about this thing called waterfowl hunting!!

one question is, will different species of ducks decoy to another species of decoys, or do you need to match the hatch so to speak.

[shoreman]

It can be, Aro. ;D

Other times, well, it's debatable whether or not it would have been better to sleep in.

Woodies will come in to wood duck decoys, although, the flooded timber areas they frequent also will hold mallards, blacks and other puddlers, so don't be surprised if they come in to other species. However, they will readily come in to nice wood duck decoys.

On larger water, we run lines of diver dekes up to the blind and a swarm of puddler decoys right around the blind favoring the direction of the wind (waterfowl land into the wind.)

We'll have scaup, cans and buffleheads come in to diver lines of scaup, as well as mallards, but they generally see the diver rig and come right to the large puddler dekes right around the blind.

Knowing the areas they frequent, the food upon which they are feeding and their flight times are all part of the game. Buy a decent call and practice. Listen to geese flying and landing. Learn the different calls they all make as the groups on the ground call to the ones in the air. Listen to when they stop calling and are about to land.

It's a long learning process, but it's well worth it.

[ARO]

thanks for the info!! i can tell its gonna be a trial and error process.