By Wade Bourne

We were in Kansas, on a reservoir built for power generation and to store spring floodwaters, but the ducks didn't know that. They thought this lake was strictly for them, and they fogged it. My two partners and I crouched in buck bushes on an island and worked several flights of 50 mallards or more right into our decoys.

We were in Kentucky, on a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) reservoir known for great fishing and summer houseboat vacations, but the ducks had their own use for it. A hard freeze had pushed them out of nearby swamps and sloughs, and the big water was a convenient resting spot. A buddy and I built a brush blind on an old roadbed and bagged a mixed limit of puddle ducks and two bonus Canada geese that worked to its downwind side.

We were in South Dakota, on the upper end of a reservoir on the Missouri River. The big river had been dammed for navigation and power generation purposes, but the ducks didn't know this, or care. To them, the reedy flats bordering the channel were the perfect loafing spot after a morning of feeding in nearby cornfields. My guide and I shot only greenheads as they dropped in from a bright blue sky.

Big reservoirs: Sometimes they offer the best duck and goose shooting to be found anywhere. When conditions are right, reservoirs are like magnets to these birds. Plus, most reservoirs are open to public hunting. They're large enough to allow hunters to spread out. And many reservoirs don't get enough pressure for waterfowlers to have to worry about spreading out. They have their pick of spots.

Still, many hunters regard reservoirs as the stepchildren of waterfowl spots. Other "family members" – swamps, potholes, flooded agricultural fields, green timber bottoms, cattail marshes – are more traditional and draw more attention from those who seek ducks and geese. Also, many of these places are easier to hunt than reservoirs. The latter can require major investments in time, equipment, and effort.

Nevertheless, big, manmade lakes can be hotspots. Hunters who learn their secrets and who don't mind a little spray on their face can run reservoirs and experience waterfowling that's wild, free, and unencumbered by club rules or management area regulations.