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here lately I have used the no mercy approach b/c of them doing the same thing. We would keep thinking they would make one more pass and they would just leave. Now if they get remotely close, we let em' have it. Someone once told me to look at your hole as a square and only call aggressively(so to speak) on the 4 corners and if they are looking at you or cupped and coming call soft if anything. May not be the best advice but it has worked for me in alot of situations.

wandy wrote:i was huntin last weekend and i could break some off a big group and get um in and every time i was gonna shoot um on the next pass they would fly off... they didnt flare they jut flew off... what do i need to do to finish um???

wow...there's lots of possibilities.... this is what folks mean when they say you have to learn to read the ducks....

assuming everything else is okay (setup wise) I'll narrow my answer to duck calling. There are as many different calling styles as there are people, aggressive, passive and variations in between.... But, all the old timers that taught me how to call wanted me to finish the ducks, either with a chatter or a "chop chop", basically clucks or VERY short quacks...but I've also used a few simple quacks to finish them....
However, in my experience open water ducks may need more finishing than ducks coming into a timber hole....

yeah i tried everything pretty much like a feed cluck and just not calling and they just wouldnt come in... maybe it was the setup

Get ya a jerk string and cover up REAL good. Bad karma ta eyeball working dux a whole lot. Soft qwacks at the end

I travel about 15 miles to get to work,thats the best time to practice that way if it sucks nobody else knows. Play a calling cd and just practice driving down the road.

I agree...Definitely get a single reed if you really want to get good. It will teach more about calling and make you an overall better caller!! I have Big Guy's Best, Bourban call but also have RNT Daisy Cutter!!

wandy wrote:yeah i tried everything pretty much like a feed cluck and just not calling and they just wouldnt come in... maybe it was the setup

it was either one of two things
they were seeing you
or
you were not taking wind into consideration

or, you had no motion on the water. Ducks figure it all out this late in the season.

GulfCoast wrote:or, you had no motion on the water. Ducks figure it all out this late in the season.

and thats number 3

two words..... jerk string

Yeah we've had alot of ducks work the deeks, but majority wouldnt commit, for all three reason, not being hidden enough (in a boat), not enough motion, and the wind was swirling. finallly got a jerk string ready to go.

Motionless decoys will kill an otherwise great hunt! Make a good setup and calling is the icing on the cake!