Beginner looking to get out on some bigger water and I have a bass boat. I spend all summer on Lake Ontario and was looking at trying to get a blind setup for my boat or get a second boat for hunting.

I could find a bigger v hull jon boat or something like a tbd classic 14. Not worried about mud really as I’ll be basically on open water all the time. Not sure how practical it is or if I can even get birds in with that setup

Just picked up my first duck boat, a 1448M

It's got a floor, and a blind, plan is to add nav lights/stern light, light bar, carpet, and bilge pump.

Is there anything else I should consider? Might extend the bow a tad and make it into a dog blind of sorts. But I'm mainly concerned about electrical things I should be buying (I.e. rocker panel size, and battery size)

But any thoughts are welcome. I mainly will be hunting a mix of big(ger) river, and off shoots and marshes/ponds.

First buffleheads!

First scotch-double!

Tough hunt on a really windy day here in SW Wisconsin. 10-15 mph sustained, 30 mph gusts. We found a somewhat sheltered bay; but it was still blowing good.

Trolling motor couldn’t push us into the wind, so we had to pull the boat (14ft John) a couple hundred yards back.

Mallard prosciutto. Got interested in this idea after talking with someone I work with who for religious reasons doesn’t eat pork. By salt curing then hanging to dry a bigger duck breast you can mimic prosciutto/pancetta. Man did it not disappoint my whole family loves it and eats it like crazy even the I don’t like game meat people it taste just like pork with minimal effort.

Duck opener is 11 days out. Anyone seeing any ducks in NE Arkansas?

Is anyone a member of any Denver area duck clubs? If so I’d love to ask you some questions.

I spoke with a buddy this past weekend who said he has successfully decoyed crane and geese by having enough decoys to make a field look like it’s a feed. Socks, silos and full bodies of mixed species were used. They even threw some crane decoys in the mix.

Has anyone heard of this before? Tried and successfully used this tactic?

Hey, I’m new to waterfowl hunting and have been at it for about a month with my Mossberg 500. So far, even though I have done lots practise with trap shooting, I haven’t had much luck hitting ducks, except for one time when there was heavy rain, and the ducks were flying really low.

Would you recommend sticking with the Mossberg 500 and practicing more, or should I consider switching to a semi-auto shotgun? Would a 3 1/2 chambered semi auto be more newbie friendly ?

Thanks.

Hoping to get more this year.

I have a 2019 Prodrive 37hp. Looking at getting more power to help get on plane with a heavy load. When fully loaded down it is so close to getting on plane but doesn’t have enough to jump up.

Currently all stock, even propeller which is the splined version.

Would just getting a worked prop help? Would a 3 blade do anything to help?

If I do upgrades, the only kits I’ve found are the backwater performance ones. Are these pretty reliable? Any other option that people prefer?

I have a darke timber wading jacket in timber green and don’t get me wrong it’s a great jacket. I can take out the insulation by area (arms, chest,back) which is great. It’s got perfect pockets etc. great jacket tbh.

But, my wife owes me a “gift” (she got a nice thing on vacation wants me to get something too) and after falling in love with my stormy kromer/FL waxed hat got me thinking is there a “timeless” duck jacket?

I have some Filson tin cloth chaps I’ve had for years (dad still has his originals from the ‘80s too). I’ll never buy “brush pants.” The hat, the chaps, made me wonder if there’s a ‘timeless’ jacket I should ask for. And is it just something waxed cotton?

I like merino wool layers (partial to first lite), but just want a shell I can wear for the next 20-40 years and love. Same as I’ll drive my old Toyota tundra til it quits.

I'm slowly teaching myself to hunt, and have been looking to hunt waterfowl in a few weeks. But online I'm finding huge discrepancies for number of decoys. Some say 6 would be good, others say 60 is a good place to start. Is there a decent breakdown based on general area (Big Lake, Small Pond, Wetland/Swamp, River/Creek, Field).

With decoys sometimes costing $40 for a box of 6, I'm trying to understand what could be a realistic general amount.

Edit: Something that came to mind is whether or not the advice changes based on North or South US. I'm in the Midwest but would it be much different in Texas? Or just time of year.

Yesterday on a vet hunt I was helping with the birds would flair just out of range, always came over our back, and turned away at every call presented. Being a refuge that you had to hunt out of their blinds I figured they were stale birds. The weird thing is the few birds that did come in we “missed” and they flew away. This kept happening until we pillowcased a couple and they flew off not wounded. We did end up downing two birds but they wouldn’t die. I used a finisher, still alive, rug their neck, still alive, ended up having to suffocate the birds to get them to die. It seemed like they were wearing body armor. Anyone ever experience this?

I have the opportunity to purchase either a Cz 1012 12 28, or a Stoeger m3000 for a similar price. Which would be better for a beginning waterfowl hunter, who intends to hunt in a warm part of Florida?

So,

A few years ago I hunted for the first time and took home one duck, froze it and cooked it a few weeks later having brined it for about 18 hours and it was horrible. I was assured by the folks who took me hunting and other friends who hunt that whatever I experienced was out of the ordinary and the mallard must have been eating something other than grain. I had eaten game meat before (never duck) so it wasn’t just game-flavour, it was off-putting and made me want to gag a bit from the strength of the flavour.

Anyway, I have this duck that was given to me by someone and want to cook it this evening and am looking for ideas, but mainly I’m wondering if I should remove the breasts and legs to cook or cook the whole body? I thought I read somewhere that when you cook the whole duck it may increase the strength of the flavour, but I am not sure if that means it should have been breasted out when it was cleaned or if doing it before cooking will work too?

Also - skin on, skin off?

Any recipes for breasts/legs or whole duck roast would be most appreciated as well.

Northern Indiana

Was set up at 2pm and was packed up with 2 limits by 4

Quick 2 man this morning to kick things off, felt great to be back in the woods.

From what I’ve found Kent doesn’t make them in 3” anymore, they’re goose smackers for sure. They make em in 3.5” but not 3”

Anyone have any experience texas sandhill crane and duck hunts? Looking for recommendations on an outfitter to book for the next season.