[Thebigbaby]

Public water, esp the fuge...3 decoys on a jerk cord or 10 dozen. The birds know what 36 or 48 motionless decoys are and what it means. That's what your typical guy packs.

You are way late, I only have a few hunts left this year.

Like you are trying to do, I learned as an adult, and most of my hunting partners these came off this site. For me the trick is finding guys who like to hunt like you do. Many different styles/levels of effort involved and generally you can go through quite a few partners before you find one that matches yours. I know guys that will drive 10 hours, sleep in their car, walk 10 miles, wait in sweat lines, drag 12 dozen decoys around, etc. I know other guys that go to their spot, throw the same spread every time, and either shoot ducks or don't. I am somewhere in-between these two.

Good luck, I am sure you will get some invitations if you post on open seats next year.

Thanks for the response. Finding a good hunting partner is harder to find than a good/compatible spouse. I’ve been blessed with a couple good big game hunting partners.

I have a co-worker that might duck hunt with me. It wouldn’t be until next year. 🤞 thing work out.

 

[Thebigbaby]

What I did this season was I bought a pair of acid rubber gloves then put a pair of light gloves inside, doesn’t sound that appealing but it works..

I’ve experienced something similar. Latex gloves on the inside. Regular gloves on outside. Old trick I learned from riding motorcycles. Not sure how great it would be for dexterity and shooting but worked great riding bikes.

 

[BudW]

I’ve experienced something similar. Latex gloves on the inside. Regular gloves on outside. Old trick I learned from riding motorcycles. Not sure how great it would be for dexterity and shooting but worked great riding bikes.

The acid rubber gloves with light gloves inside actually work out ok for shooting..

 

[BudW]

Thanks for the response. Finding a good hunting partner is harder to find than a good/compatible spouse. I’ve been blessed with a couple good big game hunting partners.

I have a co-worker that might duck hunt with me. It wouldn’t be until next year. 🤞 thing work out.

The best hunting partner I’ve found is Charlie my Lab, he’s pretty forgiving unless I miss more than once!

 

[seaworthy]

I have few tips. Go as much as you can. About 5 years ago I had a buddy take me duck hunting a few times. I was addicted. I had a lot to learn. Now I hunt 1–2 times a week. What has helped me also is watching tons of YouTube videos. Watch what they do and use. See how they set up. You will learn a lot very fast by watching guys that hunt a lot.

 

[Thebigbaby]

I have few tips. Go as much as you can. About 5 years ago I had a buddy take me duck hunting a few times. I was addicted. I had a lot to learn. Now I hunt 1–2 times a week. What has helped me also is watching tons of YouTube videos. Watch what they do and use. See how they set up. You will learn a lot very fast by watching guys that hunt a lot.

Thank you, will do.

 

[Wreckless]

Has anyone suggested going to YouTube and checking out "Surviving Duck Season"? Some of the info doesn't apply to a first year public land hunter, but there's a lot of good stuff for beginners and veterans alike. Some that goes against what a lot of us old timers have believed forever.

 

[Thebigbaby]

Has anyone suggested going to YouTube and checking out "Surviving Duck Season"? Some of the info doesn't apply to a first year public land hunter, but there's a lot of good stuff for beginners and veterans alike. Some that goes against what a lot of us old timers have believed forever.

Someone mentioned YouTube but I don’t believe “surviving duck season”. I’ll check it out tonight.Thank you!

 

[Flatfish]

Surviving Duck Season did very interesting piece on patterns, shot strings, downrange velocities and choke tubes. Pretty much the single best source of info I have seen on the subject. Very informative.

The short story is, you wont learn everything you want to in a year or two. It takes decades to learn how birds react to conditions changes in any specific area.

I've been chasing birds for nearly 50 years, and I screw up all the time.

The learning curve is much of the fun. And what works for someone else might not be your favorite way to do things. Doesn't mean anyone is right or wrong. It's just what you like to do.

The best advice I've gotten in a long time is, if someone is trying to sell you something (They profit from it), at best trust but verify. If someone is talking who did well(And you trust them- Not that a public land guy would knowingly, willingly and intentionally try to bamboozle someone on location/time/tactics.....) listen to them. Over the years, if you listen, you can glean bits of info.

You don't always have to talk to folks to find out....There's a couple guys who hunt the same general area I like to hang out in. We will call the The Guys In The Red Dodge. They are retired. They hunt 5-7 days a week if it's good. I can drive by that boat ramp, and simply look for their pickup. If I see it day after day, I know there's birds to be had. If I go there, and they Red Dodge aint there for 2-3 days in a row....birds are not there. Intel ripe for the picking, simply because I took a few minutes to look.

Have fun with it. See you out there. I'll be the third trimester guy who is short on sleep and heavy on decoys.