Starting Strong

Todd J. Steele

The colors of autumn. The first north winds. The chill of cool temperatures. Fall is a season of change, but for a waterfowler there is one thing that always remains constant: the building anticipation for opening day.

The following tips from veteran hunters will help you channel this excitement into preparation, so you can be ready to go when the bell rings for the upcoming waterfowl season.

Early-Season Birds

From the marshes of upstate New York to the flooded rice fields of California’s Central Valley, the opening morning of duck season is typically a mixed-bag affair, offering a variety of species over the decoys. The opportunity to harvest so many different kinds of ducks in one hunt is part of what makes the early season so special, but it also presents some unique challenges.

“The areas that these early birds utilize may be different than those places where you are going to find mallards later on in the season,” explains Tony Vandemore, co-owner and guide at Missouri’s Habitat Flats. Dabblers like gadwalls, pintails, blue-winged teal, and wigeon are especially attracted to shallow waters that have native seeds and other aquatic vegetation. Vandemore says that freshly flooded areas create a buffet of these food resources that early-migrating ducks can’t resist. “This means keeping an eye on changing water levels leading up to opening day, so you know where to focus your scouting efforts.”

Mallard decoys tend to work well early in the season, Vandemore says, even if they are not the predominant duck species in the area, but he says that including some shoveler or pintail decoys, with their bright white colors, will add the contrast needed to attract birds from a distance.

One area where it absolutely pays to be more species-specific, Vandemore emphasizes, is calling, and he suggests having a duck whistle on your lanyard when decoying these first birds of the season. “A whistle is really effective on teal, wigeon, wood ducks, and pintails,” he says. “Sometimes, especially early in the year, it is the only call these ducks will respond to.”

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It takes work to make sure you’re well hidden, and much of this work can be done before the season opens.

Staying Hidden

There may be no more important factor influencing the success of a waterfowl hunt than being concealed from the sharp eyes of ducks and geese. Vandemore points out that it takes work to make sure you’re well hidden, and that much of this work can be done before the season opens. “Building a good base layer of cover on your blind is a really good place to start, no matter if you’re hunting out of a boat, an A-frame, a layout, or a permanent blind.”

Natural materials, such as grasses, rushes, and tree limbs, as well as fabricated materials like FastGrass and Invisigrass, are good options for a base layer. They help break up the outline of the blind and create shadows, which are an important element of effective concealment. You can add additional natural vegetation to the base layer to help the blind blend into the surrounding cover. “If you’re using tree limbs, I recommend cutting them before the leaves change colors. It seems that the leaves stay on the branches better this way,” Vandemore says. “And don’t be afraid to cut extra brush so you have enough to touch up your blind throughout the season.”

Ready Retrievers

Preparing for the season includes getting your retriever ready. Beyond the typical training that goes into having a dog primed for hunting, South Dakota waterfowler and guide Ben Fujan says that a retriever should have prior exposure to any gear that you may be using. “Opening day is not the time to introduce your dog to a stand, a blind, or any other piece of gear. There will be enough distractions in the excitement of the day. No need to make things worse for you or your dog,” he says.

Even more important than introducing a retriever to gear is making sure that he is physically capable of handling the rigors of a hunt. “By far the biggest contributor to poor performance, injury, and a number of other problems I see with our dogs early in the hunting season is a lack of conditioning,” explains Dr. Joe Spoo, a veterinarian who specializes in sporting breeds. “We can’t expect the dogs to go from couch potatoes to world-class athletes overnight. That isn’t practical, and it just isn’t safe for the dog.”

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With hunting seasons now on the horizon across the different flyways, Spoo suggests starting a basic conditioning program—walking, swimming, short runs—if a dog has not been active over the summer. It’s wise to be extra careful during the first hunts of the year as well.

Spoo advises hunters to check their dogs for injuries after every hunt and to carry a basic dog first aid kit that they know how to use. “I think it is important for hunters to understand which emergencies they can and should handle and have the proper tools to do so,” Spoo says. “I also think it is very important that they understand what emergencies need immediate veterinary care and how to stabilize a dog and get it to a clinic.”

Scouting and Landowners

For New York hunter Mike Bard, the weeks leading up to opening day are the perfect time to cruise the countryside and take stock of habitat conditions in the areas he typically hunts. While looking at water levels, he also takes note of the different crops in the fields, which will provide food resources for waterfowl at different points in the season. “All of this information helps me plan where I am going to scout, and that helps save time and money,” he says.

Bard suggests that even after you have secured permission to hunt a particular property, it is a good idea to touch base with the landowner shortly before the season starts. “It is a small courtesy that can pay big dividends down the road,” he says.

Here are a few simple reminders about gaining permission to hunt:

1. Be honest about where and when you will be hunting and how many people will be hunting with you. If any of those details change, be sure to let the landowner know.

2. Avoid any misunderstandings about where you are hunting by using resources like the onX Hunt app. When asking for permission, have a map pulled up on your phone that shows where you plan to hunt, or text a screenshot to the landowner.

3. Avoid interrupting a landowner while he is in the middle of doing chores or harvesting. When you do connect, keep your conversation short and to the point.

4. After the hunt, pick up after yourself. Don’t leave trash or empty shotgun shells in the field. And be sure to circle back with the landowner in person or on the phone to say thank-you.

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Proper maintenance before the season will help you avoid those big hurdles that can derail a hunt.

Gear Tune-Up

The gear that Ryley Haugh uses while guiding with California’s Merlo Waterfowl doesn’t look much different from the gear that most waterfowl hunters use, including guns, calls, decoys, waders, and much more. Waterfowl hunting is a gear-intensive experience, which means that there are a lot of things that can potentially go wrong with your gear on any given day.

“This is why it is so important to make sure your gear is in working order before the season starts,” Haugh says. “There are always little things that are going to come up, but proper maintenance before the season will help you avoid those big hurdles that can derail a hunt.” This means servicing shotguns, tuning calls, cleaning decoys, and checking decoy lines, among other things.

The need for preseason maintenance is nothing new, Haugh says, but the addition of new technologies and new categories of equipment have added additional layers of preparation. “For example, waterfowl hunters have come to depend on UTVs, which require regular maintenance, and the same goes for boats and motors.”

The amount of gear that requires a power source brings additional challenges. Hunters who use permanent blinds have somewhat of an advantage, Haugh says, because they can run power directly to their motion decoys, splashers, and other gear. This might include large, heavy batteries that can power multiple items. Regardless of your setup, Haugh says having a plan for how to maintain your electronic gear will help you enjoy a more successful season.

“No one wants to mess with this stuff on opening day,” Haugh says. “When the season is here, we all want to be able to focus on what is really important: the birds, our buddies, our dogs, and the hunt.