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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.
Coming out of the skunkworks lab at Henry Repeating Arms is one lever-action series mighty enough to bear Supreme in its nomenclature. And given the fact this is a Special Products Division (SPD) rifle, it’s sure to host a few features otherwise not-so-standard on yesteryear’s lever gun. The SPD Predator is the focal point of this range session. So, let’s take it shooting and run through some details.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published “Rooted in Purpose 2026” on Nov. 6, a review that identifies changes in the policies, organization and spending that can improve the National Wildlife Refuge System’s ability to better fulfill its mission and serve the public—including hunters. The 20-page document [PDF] was quickly lauded by conservation organizations.
Five elusive Coues bucks in three days? Odds for that are low in the Southwest habitat the diminutive deer call home. But that never stopped a family from trying.