Every week on our On The X Podcast powered by Ducksouth.com we focus on the things that other hunters do to be more successful at taking ducks and geese in their area. These are things that serious, Hard Core hunters do to beat the crowd or gain an edge. While these tips are great anytime during the season, they become even more important late in the year as the birds become much more wary. Here are three late season tips to help you beat educated, end of season ducks!
- Keep your decoy spread fresh. I could write an entire individual blog on this subject alone (and soon I probably will). For now though, I will keep it brief. Almost all of the most successful hunters I know are obsessive about their decoy spread. They pick up and put out their decoys every day even if they are hunting the same spot. They also change the configuration on a regular basis and they keep their dekes looking good. As the season grinds toward the end it is inevitable that your decoys are going to be muddy, dinged up and definitely looking a little tired and ragged. To keep your spread looking real give those muddy blocks a good washing and replace the worst with new ones before the season ends.
- Stay concealed! Whether you are hunting out of a permanent blind or a Deluxe Man Cave there is not such thing as too much concealment! I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen hunters fail because they failed to hide. No matter how good your spot is, and no matter how beautiful you set up your decoy spread, if you aren’t hidden, you will not kill late season ducks. Just as decoys get banged up and dirty, cover around the blind gets beaten down and destroyed during the season. If you want to effectively fool ducks that have seen it all from Canada to Mississippi go the extra mile and freshen up your blinds with new brush and grass during the lat season.
- Be sure and make some waves. It amazes me that there are many hunters out there who either do not understand the importance of having a ripple on the water in the decoys, or who resign themselves to failure on a calm day. Unlike a passive decoy spread, live ducks always create a ripple on the water. Nothing can cause a duck to not finish like a bunch of blocks sitting on a slick surface, and this is particularly true during the last days of the season. Adding a couple of Hard Core Snap-Back Jerk Strings to your blind bag can make a huge difference late in the year.
If you are going to be successful late in the season you have to beat the crowd. Sure, it takes a little extra work to pick up the decoys everyday, add more brush to the blind or set out a couple of jerk strings, but then again, it’s not easy being Hard Core.
