Duck Hunting Trips

Duck hunting trips – Duck hunting requires skill, knowledge and dedication. Since ducks are migratory water birds, locating a good hunting place depends on plentiful water that isn’t frozen over. During the winter as the northern waterways become iced over, ducks and geese migrate south below the snow line. If you live above the Mason Dixon Line, one week they may be plentiful in your area and the next they have flown away, removing themselves from iced-over conditions. Their home is where there is water and food they can easily access. Droughts and floodwaters drive ducks out of an area. Both of these conditions keep them migrating elsewhere in their constant search for food.

To get the most enjoyment out of duck hunting trips, having a dog along that can retrieve the ducks you bagged from marsh water is a must, unless you want to trample in water that can get above your waders. Most duck hunting trips utilize guides which provide this service for a fee.

Typically you set up a blind and settle down behind it, hoping the ducks come into shotgun range. There are duck calling devices you can purchase that will hopefully draw them to you with some very realistic duck quack language. There are times when they are migrating in such great numbers; there is no need to call them. During these times, just keep your eyes trained on them as they move toward you, with your gun held on your shoulder, ready for the best shot. If they are circling looking for the perfect landing spot, you will want to use your calling device. When ducks start an erratic wing beat, use a single come back call. If they appear to be drifting off-line, do a single quack plus feed calls to bring them back in range. There are times that ducks will ignore your calls, so don’t become discouraged.

Utilizing realistic life like duck decoys is a great way to attract ducks to you. Setting up your duck decoys so they will attract these birds is a learned art. You can find detailed diagrams for your decoy spreads on the Internet. If you have booked duck hunt trips with guides, you should be in good hands that can teach you the skills you need to enjoy hunting at it’s best. If you live near a waterway, a delta, or marshy land, you are good to go at anytime during duck season. Make certain you check with the Wildlife Laws ruling the state you are hunting in regarding months, dates, hours you can hunt and bag limits.

If you enjoy water fowl and have been yearning for a pet you may wish to combine man’s best friend, with a breed of dog that loves to retrieve from water. That is another subject you can learn about from searching the Internet.

As for equipment, hip boots or waders along with camouflage clothing can make your hunt more comfortable and successful if you are walking during your hunt. There are duck boats, duck blinds and sneak boat blinds that work well on waterways that have marshes along the banks. If you hunt only once in a while, renting a boat of this type from a guide would be most cost effective.

The Mississippi Delta is a great place to hunt specklebellies to mallards, wood ducks, scaups and shovelers along with snow geese. If you are hunting along the delta and you get tired of the hunt you can always throw a fishing line with a cane pole and cork and catch a big fat catfish to fry. Happy hunting and good luck!