Waterfowler's Journal: Nowhere to Hide

A wide-open field or marsh full of birds can be both tantalizing and frustrating. You can see the birds. You know where you need to be. But where will you hide? Sometimes all that’s required is some extra effort, outside-the-box thinking, or a little of both. 

Mike Miller operates Whiskey Creek Outfitters, near Fort Cobb Reservoir in southern Oklahoma. It’s a wintering area for thousands of geese, which roost on the lake and feed in nearby agricultural fields. There’s a fair bit of local hunting pressure, so the geese are wary. When you combine that with the open terrain, Miller says, concealment becomes the top priority, especially when guiding large groups of hunters.

Miller believes that keeping a low profile is the first step in being well hidden. Many field hunters have switched to A-frame blinds in recent years. But he is convinced that geese have become wary of the stand-up profile of these blinds, so he’s gone back to layout blinds. “If we can get in a fencerow with the wind hard at our backs and the geese coming straight in, then A-frames are great,” he says. “But that’s the exception. Out in the middle of a field, it’s easier to finish them in the layouts.”

Layout blinds are easier to brush, too, and Miller is adamant about doing a thorough job. “When you think you have cut enough brush, you’re halfway there,” he says. “We extend the brush 10 or 15 feet on both ends of the blinds and pile it up behind them too. You don’t want overhead geese seeing those straight lines and unnatural shapes.”

A thoughtful decoy presentation also helps hunters stay hidden. Miller creates an open landing zone in his spread 35 yards from the blinds. This is farther than the norm for many waterfowlers, but it puts some distance between the hunters and the landing geese. “If it’s late in the season and birds are acting wary, we’ll put the hole up to 40 yards from the blinds,” he says. “That’s still in range, and I’d rather have birds landing at that distance than flaring at 60 yards because they’re looking right at the blinds.”

He says it’s also important to maintain the spread throughout the day so that circling geese don’t spot anything amiss. “Between volleys we pick up empty hulls, wads, and feathers, and we make sure harvested geese are hidden down in the layouts with the hunters,” he says. “Leave no stone unturned is our motto, and it works.”

Fields aren’t the only open areas where hiding can be a challenge. Sprawling marshes and mudflats are duck magnets, but minimal cover can make hunting them tough. Few people I’ve hunted with are better at disappearing in such places than Jared Chesnut, a field producer for Mojo TV. Chesnut’s job has taken him to every flyway in North America and to countless duck holes, but his standing order is always to capture crisp footage of decoying birds. The best angle for doing that is usually outside of the blind. As such, Chesnut must routinely find ways to hide himself, a camera, and a tripod out in the open.

“We really have figured out some good ways to disappear,” Chesnut says, “even in marshes and mudflats with little grass or brush. One of the best ways to do it is with a ghillie suit.” Chesnut often carries his suit in and then puts it on once the hunt begins. In especially open areas he’ll kneel, draping the suit’s hood over his head and the tripod and leaving only the camera lens exposed.

“It’s not always the most comfortable thing to wear, but it’s one of our secrets for getting the footage that we do,” he says. “And it’s so effective that on the days when I get to hunt for myself, I bring it along. Getting hidden is the most important part of getting close to ducks, and the ghillie suit is one of the fastest, easiest ways I’ve found to do that when there’s nowhere else to hide.”