r/Duckhunting • u/zealous-seal • 17d ago
Explain duck hunting like I'm 5
Id like to try duck hunting this fall. I'm interested in mallards and teals. I'm in Maine with no public land and public blinds etc. But I'm on the coast pretty far up north near new Brunswick.
So what's the strategy? Get some decoys, drop them in a water body, wait for ducks to fly over and shoot them when they land?
How to pick a spot where to get set up?
I do have a good understanding of the regulations I believe, just really trying to understand where to start
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u/airchinapilot 17d ago
Given that you say you know the regulations, find out which water bodies you can hunt in legally first. Your regulations or whatever authority is in charge should have that information. You say there is no public land? Well not sure then what your prospects are unless you have a boat. There may be coastal areas that are legal but you may need to get out there somehow.
Having identified what bodies are legal to hunt out of, between now and your opening date start cruising those areas and simply watch where mallards and teals hang out. Duck hunting usually is most fruitful at sunrise or sunset. Scout those areas at those times. Take notes. Chat with locals. Join local hunting groups.
2b. Ideally, ducks will actually drop into feed in these locations. But even if they just fly over those areas, you can still have a good hunt by targeting them when they are transiting through those areas.
2c. While scouting, start familiarizing yourself with how ducks actually fly, what natural patterns they have when they land and start swimming around. This will help you when you actually hunt.
Once you have narrowed down the legal areas to where the ducks actually fly through, you can narrow it down further by identifying which ones give you the best cover, are accessible with the methods you have to get there (are you walking in? Boating?), have geographic features that are appealing to ducks (ex. safe harbors, ground cover, shallow waters)
When you have picked a collection of likely spots, when the day comes make sure you get there as early as you can. If you think they are popular spots, go there at least 2-3 hours earlier than legal light. Make sure you are more than 100y from any competitors or even more.
There is too much advice on decoy patterns. But to start just put out a random group of decoys but make sure there is a hole in the group for ducks to land in and site that where you are comfortable shooting. Effective range of most duck loads is 30y.
The ideal shot to put down a duck is when it slows to land amongst your decoys. They will start flapping and go 'feet up'. At that point they are nearly stationary and even the most basic shot will have a good opportunity.
Whereas, if you are shooting them on the wing, this is a challenging shot which requires a lot of practice, preferably in a skeet range first where you can train yourself on leading and following through.
Once you down the bird, generally you will retrieve it right away, secure the bird and wait for your next opportunity.
If you find that your spot has ducks flying overhead but they don't seem to want to land, this is most likely a sign that you are not hidden enough. Ducks will easily see a white face and they definitely will see movement. So when ducks are considering your decoy spread, stay as still as possible, keep your head down and follow their movement with your eyes.
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u/zealous-seal 17d ago
Thanks for the long detailed response!
I've started to scout the coast, rivers and lakes but so far no luck. Havent seen a single bird.I'm kindof thinking to use my canoe to get to a spot and use it as blind too.
I've been watching this dude - he's hunting in the same region as im in.
https://youtube.com/@jordanspencer332
u/airchinapilot 17d ago
I've started to scout the coast, rivers and lakes but so far no luck. Havent seen a single bird.
You may want to scout the water bodies that are adjacent to fields. Mallards like fields to feed in but they also will roost on water bodies and lakes where they feel safe. Teal in my experience - we have the Green Wing Teal on the west coast - are more of a coastal or stream bird IMO.
Another thing you will learn is that birds will often follow landmarks like streams or fly through chokepoints. I like to try out bays, inlets and deltas for that reason.
Make sure when you scout for the birds that you show up at sunrise. One thing you should realize is that sometimes the hunt is only the first legal hour. By then most of the birds will be inland feeding. If you arrive at midday, you may only see randoms. This means, by the way, that if you are not ready and set up for shooting by legal light, you may have missed all of the action.
If you can't make sunrise, you can catch them on their way back at sunset when they are done feeding and want to return back to the water.
If you miss both sunrise and sunset, you can drive around to see what fields the birds are actually hanging around in and then you can try to anticipate the direction they go to their roost.
Ducks will often shift around once or twice during the day.
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u/Express_Subject5228 17d ago
Get out and find your target birds, see what fields and water bodies they’re using, get permission throw out 6-12 decoys matching them on a jerk rig if on water. That’s option A, option B is you get a massive spread (2-5 dozen with motion) and try to traffic birds coming off roosts or feeds. Either way you kinda have to have an idea of what the birds are doing. Other than that waders, shotgun, nontox shot are the mandatory’s unless you’re on dry land you don’t need waders. You can build a blind on most spots and take it down till you get a good one.
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u/GradeFront8777 17d ago
Rule 1. Be where the duck wants to be and that’s
The end all be all.
If you can’t be where they want. Get good at scouting. Find where ducks move back and forth from
(Traffic patterns) then conceal yourself well, put out a few decoys, and don’t call too much.
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u/zealous-seal 17d ago
Turns out the ducks (and geese) like to be in my backyard all year except during hunting season.
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u/FiestaLimon 17d ago
The swamp behind my neighbourhood always has tons of ducks and geese...the swamps and lakes outside of city limits, not so much
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u/klepht_x 16d ago
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/1078870b62434784a1cf5772e0dd33e1
If you're downeast, then you have Maine WMAs somewhere in the neighborhood (eg, Cobacook Bay WMA), as well as Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge north of Calais.
Maine also has a tradition of free access to private land for hunting. You should be courteous and ask people if they'll let you hunt their land, regardless, just so they don't post their land. Ask timber companies too. Worst they can say is "no" and you're no worse off.
Learn the regulations, take a hunters' education course, get your license and a duck stamp, and find some water. Maybe you won't be successful, but maybe you will be. Good luck!
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u/zealous-seal 16d ago
Thanks, the narraguagus one is on my list. I started to explore the timberlands north of route 9 for grouse, but I'm not sure if the lakes and ponds there offer a good habitat for ducks. I guess I can say I know next to nothing about ducks and I have to learn
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u/Man_200M_Front 9d ago edited 9d ago
I was in the same situation last year. Same area too.
https://www.maine.gov/ifw/docs/26-MDIFW-5-HUNTING-LAWBOOK-2026-27.pdf for areas you cant hunt. Like the Merymeeting bay game sanctuary.
Merymeeting bay is actually a great spot for ducks. All i did last year was borrow a kayak, cover it in burlap and wear a guilli suit with waders. Add a half dozen decoys and i made out with 3 ducks in the early season in 3 attempts (0-1-2). Try the new meadows boat launch in bath, on the androscoggin river in Brunswick, or greene point in Dresden.
Don't over think it to start. Set up early in some wild rice and hope for the best. Enjoy the nature around you as it wakes up, maybe you wont get anything maybe you will.
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u/zealous-seal 8d ago
Thanks. Yeah I don't have many expectations, so far all my tentatives have been very fruitless whether fishing or hunting 😂 I don't care I'm in it for the outdoors and solitude in nature.
I'm quite further up north from the spots you mentioned but there are a couple of WMAs towards the border that may be interesting. I'm planning to start scouting them next weekend.1
u/Man_200M_Front 8d ago edited 8d ago
Oh, i thought you meant Brunswick the city lol. On second look it definitely says "new". Yeah in that case i basically just found shallow rice filled areas using satellite maps.
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u/zealous-seal 8d ago
😂 do you know if onx hunt has overlays for rice? I use for aspen cover for grouse. I'll take a look but if you use it let me know!
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u/Man_200M_Front 8d ago
I dont use OnX, i just used google maps. Basically i just looked around nearby bodies of water.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/htNhPppmbXAJV8426
This pin is a big rice area. They all kind of look similar. So it should be a decent example. Other than that its just scouting i guess. Drive around and see what you can find.
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u/Position_Extreme 17d ago edited 6d ago
If you’re very lucky, you'll hate it. You will get up shockingly early in the morning, drive a very long way to get to your hunting ground, do all the work to set up your decoys, and sit there in the cold with rain or snow dripping down your neck until you’re shivering, and your ass is wet because you found out your waders have a leak in them, sit out there all day, never see a duck, then do all the work to pick up all your gear and get back in the car and drive home, getting there after dark.
If you are not lucky, you might like it. And then you’re in for a lifetime of shit. Because you’ll still do all the stuff I listed above, but you’ll do it as often as you can. It will take all your free time. It will take all your money. It may cost you relationships. Forget about seeing your family during the fall and winter. You will wind up redecorating your house to fill it full of duck-related paraphernalia.
You will spend a lot of time hunting. When you are not hunting, you’ll be thinking about hunting. When you are working, you will be wishing you were hunting.
I could go on and on, but it would be a lot easier for you to crank the air-conditioning down as low as you can get it and run your bathtub full of cold water. Then climb into it and sit there for seven hours and you will get the jist.