As I've returned from North Dakota, I've begun reminiscing about the great times and flocks of birds. It's also natural to think about what worked and what didn't work. Whether that be location, calls, tactics, decoy spreads, or the best duck recipe. I made a short post on Facebook about an "epic" hunt I had in my Backwater. Now that I have some time, I'll detail what made it so epic.
There is a river that meanders through a wide valley. Ron, who owns the house, said "Nobody has ever paddled that river." The temptation to be a pioneer, of sorts, was too great. I could claim and name new lands, or at least name spots. We already have the buffalo skull and I was looking forward to naming some others. From aerial images, I could tell there would be a lot of sloughs, oxbows, and other waterfowl enticing habitat. The big question was whether the river channel is choked out by cattails. Without a solid answer, I figured I'd still give a try.
My friends dropped me off with my Backwater and my chubby buddy, Drake. Within five minutes we came into a small pocket of what seemed like a dozen ducks. I dropped a redhead easily and christened the first spot "Redhead Hole." I'm a redhead, so it seems fitting, too. The diver duck was much slower and an easier target than the puddle ducks in the tall cattails. A few minutes later a few mallards came whipping down the river channel. I think these were ducks I had just flushed, but they were returning. I had to shoot a hen mallard in self defense for fear it would strafe me. I had to be judicious in my shots because Drake is an old dog and doesn't do cattails well and I didn't want to lose birds there. Drake was mostly along for a joyride.
I was feeling very confident and intelligent because I was being rewarded for my adventuring. I picked up a blue-winged teal in another spot, too. One slough seemed to be filled with ducks, even though I didn't bag one. Some Canada geese were a bend away and took off at the sound of my shots. The sight and sound of 200 geese taking off in the marsh is an experience, even if no shots were afforded. It was a beautiful bluebird day and about 55-degrees. Everything seemed perfect.
Then my fears happened. I lost the channel. I paddled in several directions and checked every possible cranny looking for some type of opening. No dice. I could see some current going through the cattails. I was along one bank and started dragging my boat through the cattails in a diagonal fashion to try and intersect any possible channel. I came into a few muskrat eat-outs, but still no channel. Drake tried getting out of the boat and wading along, but the vegetation was too thick for the old dog, so I was forced to pull my 52-pound boat and an 85-pound hound through the cattails.
I eventually found the channel and life was good again. Ducks seemingly flushed around every corner. I'd hate to guess how many times I came around a bend and saw ducks sitting on cattail mats or muskrat feed beds. Their eyes seemed to get as big as quarters before they flushed. I had already shot a hen mallard and didn't want to bag another one, if I could help it, so I held off on a lot of shots. Not all of the drakes had lost their eclipse plumage and I'm not great at identifying ducks on the wing.
After about another hour of paddling, the channel was choked out again. This time, I paddled back to an abandoned farm, ditched the boat and began hoofing out through a hayfield to the designated meeting point. My friends met me in the field and knew it's never good when a person starts a boat trip, but finishes on a hiking trip. We went back and got the boat and loaded it up.
There are several lessons to be had. Being first can be good, unless there's a reason nobody else has done it. However, going places after ducks that aren't pressured has it's rewards and therein lies a balance. When trying to hunt pressured ducks, try to think of locations that others haven't thought of or aren't willing to go to. When the weather is considered less than ideal duck hunting weather, the ducks don't disappear, so it may be necessary to go find them. A boat and it's cargo (Drake) should be as light as possible when dragging it through cattails.
Good luck this fall!
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