Posted: 11/5/03

Midseason waterfowling

Steve Carney
Guest Writer

The initial exuberance of Opening Day has now been replaced with the ìdoldrumî of October aw we await the duck migration and the weather to make things happen.

There are ìcalendarî ducks such as Canvasbacks, Redheads, and the like which almost always migrate according to the calendar, regardless of weather. These calender birds make up a slight minority of the actual birds that as a whole migrate when they are ìpushedî by Mother Nature.

This writer has been finding small pockets of birds by moving around and ìjumpshootingî small creeks, ponds, and sloughs looking for the birds instead of waiting for them to come to me. Yes, it is hard work, but I would rather have a few birds in the bag on my terms than waiting around for something to materialize.

Canoeing small creeks is another tip for midseason waterfowling that few people participate in because they think it is too much work. Isnít hauling out a john boat full of gear and setting up three dozen decoys only to see a couple of birds on the horizon also a lot of work? At least by propelling your own craft and sneaking up on unsuspecting birds you can make things happen. Many times canoeing small creeks has provided decent duck shooting when most of the masses believe there isnít a duck in the county.

If you are an extremely motivated waterfowler, you can always make the pilgrimage to the duck meccaís within our neighboring states. North Dakota offers a non-resident license available over-the-counter that is good for two periods within the same season. South Dakota has a lottery system in the summer trying to put a ìcapî on nonresidents but every season there are a handful of licenses left over and still available in October and November.

Instead of waiting for the ducks to come to you, consider going to where the action is either by vehicle or duck boat. The Dakotaís are probably the best duck areas in North America today and because there is such an incredible migration throughout the season, timing is not as crucial as it is here in Minnesota. The only ìtimingî question would be on what species you prefer to hunt in the Dakotaís...the puddlers are early birds and the diving ducks are traditionally later in the season.

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