Need a new duck hunting spot? Open a map. See those blue lines? They're rivers.
Gallery
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Late-Season Freeze
Find a pocket of open water and you’re in business. Sean Hammock of Big Sean's Outfitting, who hunts and guides the St. Joseph River in northern Indiana, widens the hole until the ice will support 50 to 100 rester and sleeper goose decoys. Ducks will also work the spread.
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Small Rivers and Big Creeks
You can still achieve good visibility with a small spread if you add a little motion. Tim Herald, host of "The Zone TV" on the Sportsman Channel, places his spread at the edge of a riffle and adds two spinning-wing decoys.
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Early- and Mid-Season
Before the freeze, visibility is key. Even if Field Hudnall, Avery pro staffer and founder of Field Proven Calls, is duck hunting, his favorite spread (see sidebar, above) consists of 90 to 120 floating and full-body geese plus a dozen ducks.
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Deep-Water Divers
Captain Bob Wetherald, pro staffer for Benelli and Final Approach, uses two gang-rigged lines of bluebill decoys to form his V-shaped spread. The “V” points toward the current. A sandbar is an ideal location.
Mike Roux considers the conventional wisdom on chokes and shot for turkeys, pondering whether the tightest constriction and heaviest pellet is always the best move.
A bill has passed the Vermont Senate seeking to expand the state's Fish and Wildlife Board to non hunters, while simultaneously amending state law to ban some hunting practices.
Brad Fenson gives hunters some ideas for what to do with the snow geese from spring conservation hunts in this game-fueled twist on a culinary classic.
Eastern birds just seem to be wiser and uncannily adept at escaping us. If you don’t believe it, you’d best read this before trying your luck on an Eastern tom.