hunting in buckbrush

[Rice]

Ducks always want to land in the hole that is completely surrounded by about 50 yards of the thickest buckbrush there is. If it is easy to get to they won't land there usually...unless you do walk through 50 yards of buckbrush with 2 dozen dekes a gun shells in knee deep water in the dark...THEN they will land in that place that is easy to get to just to mock you

[champcaller]

[Trip]

[greenheadgrimreaper]

Outside of the delta, I hunt buck brush thickets 90% of the time. I would bet there has been more true talk on this thread about hunting in buck brush thickets than in any other place-period. I ain't seen one thing said that I ain't found out to be true in the last 20 years of stomping around in the swamp thickets.

No matter how thick it is- it ain't thick enough for a mallard duck to miss you. He will spot you every time if you don't have overhead cover. If you got cover over your head you have solved 70% of the problem. A piece of NatGear camo over your head brushed up will put birds in your lap.

Buck brush thickets spell security for birds. The thicker and more out-of-the-way they are the better. Big and open in buck brush does not usually equate to better hunting. More so than even in timber, buck brush is one of the areas you are wearing them out or watching empty skies. Birds in our area seem to have no set pattern when they are in the thicket. That is why come-and-go hunters in my area claim it has no ducks. They're hard as hell to hunt, much less kill unless you understand how a mallard duck acts when he starts using the area. It's no different than anywhere else.

But, around here, it is second to none when speaking in terms of difficulty of hunting mallards. The way the crow flies, you have 15+ miles of unbroken buck brush thickets at normal pool on the outside bend of the floodplain. When you have this much thicket you can't pattern a mallard duck. You have to outsmart him or be damn lucky.

Calls work well to solve boredom most of the time. You can't pattern the birds in the thicket because they have no pattern. Never have. You watch where they roost the day before and sit until 1:00 PM at least. When I was little I use to sit up with my dad and listen for the ducks calling at night from a friends camphouse that sits smack dab in the middle of the swamp. We would go out the next morning and hunt exactly where we heard em. Sometime it worked, sometimes it didn't. That must be why I hate a mallard even to this day. He's a heartless son of a bitch.

Work your booty off getting hid and 3 decoys on a quality jerk string with some realistic feed calls is the ticket most of the time. Quality is the key word. Not all jerk strings are equal. I have seen some that look like crap. The only times it changes is when fresh water comes in and cold clear days roll in at the same time. Get hid and the birds will chit on you. They are using the buck brush for cover from the cold and dozens of hawks and bald eagles in the area. You still have to hide. This is one of the few times where you can cut down on a mallard duck in the thicket. I haven't hunted a buck brush thicket in the delta that has ever been any different.

There is no such thing as “thick enough” when it comes to hiding in buck brush. You have to hide yourself overhead. It's best to make notes of where you always see birds getting up from in the thickets. It seems to me that if you bump them they take a couple days to come back around. And if they come back soon- you better be invisible and screw the decoys- they are already looking for em'. Unless you have a nicely hidden blind, you are usually pissin' in the wind trying to hide more than 3 people in buck brush. I love going alone. Cloudy cold days stay late, real late. I shoot em while I got em nowadays. I don't “let em' build up.”

And if that first group of birds flares or even flat out doesn't respond, make sure the jerk string man is well hidden. WELL hidden. Chuckle, feed and quack once in awhile and sit real still. Still like alien queers are hunting your anus relentlessly. That kind of still. Like making whiskey in the woods still. I guarantee they'll light in your lap and you won't even know it. Sooner or later. Maybe. Or you can quit huntin' and tell me where you're at.

[Daisy& brutus]

Awesome words man. Thank you

[Brock1]

[flyhi2]

Being still is probably the most important part. Ducks can see ripples on the water for miles when there flying ( that's the easiest way to find them from an airplane). I would try it by myself a time or two. That way you know if everyone is being still.

[JDgator]

This is the best thread I've read in a long time.

[cupnglide]

[bigwater]

Hands down

Nat gear camo is the best for buckbrush

[teul2]

[mossyisland]

It really is some great advice in this thread.

[ScottyLee]

[jcr286]

One thing that we've found to work well in the brush is to set up where the sun comes up right behind you. On a clear day the sun glares off of the water in the brush and keeps you a little more hidden.

And its even better if the wind is also coming from behind you. Ducks looking into the sun to land are usually dead to rights.

[IttaBenaKilla]

All aformentioned information is pretty accurate. I hunt a large brake at my deer camp that is about 1.5 miles long and shaped like a V with the widest part dead ending at Steele Bayou to the north. There are every size, shape, and make of buckbrush holes throughout. Here is what I have learned in my 25 years hunting it (for what it's worth):
1. Don't put out many, if any, decoys.
2. Don't overuse motion or commotion. 3-deke jerk is plenty.
3. If they commit, don't try to land them. Shoot em at first chance. (within your ability)
4. As with many places, let them dictate the calling, but in these settings getting it right quickly is at a premium.
5. Screw the wind, hunt the shady side at ALL times.
I hunted it 14 mornings this year, limited out 14 mornings this year. I don't have blinds anywhere in it. Hide well, sit still, shoot straight.
Note: A lot of people make the fatal mistake of thinking that ducks using this type of habitat are going to float in and land like flooded fields or timber, but they rarely do. If you can get their attention and make them circle down within range, shoot. They rarely fully commit, and can easilly land just out of range. Not talking about sky blasting, just don't wait for the photo finish, I don't care who you are or how great a caller you are.

Hope this helps.