| Public wildlife management areas still offer duck | | | | ducks flying over, ducks landing, and landing, etc. By |
| hunters some great duck hunting. But unlike a guided | | | | doing so you will eventually be able to pattern the |
| duck hunt, it's up to the hunter to do the work of finding | | | | ducks, essentially predicting tomorrow's hot spot. |
| the ducks and pulling them into shotgun range. | | | | Hunt The Weekdays - This can be a little harder for |
| Open Day Success - While the majority of acres in a | | | | most of us with day jobs but you don't have to hunt |
| given public land will be drained in the summer time to | | | | the whole day. Just take a half-day of vacation, or if |
| allow for moist soil plant growth, there is typically some | | | | possible a few hours of vacation in the morning or |
| part of the area where the water will remain such as | | | | afternoon so that you can get in a couple of hours of |
| a river or natural pond. These are key areas to hunt | | | | hunting. |
| during the early season, even though the rest of the | | | | Save Yourself Some Legwork - Use aerial |
| management area may be newly flooded. Keep in | | | | photographs of the public lands you hunt to identify |
| mind this is where the birds have lived all summer long. | | | | potential duck hunting spots. These maps can be |
| Just In Time Scouting - If you don't have time to scout | | | | viewed and printed for free on the internet at Google |
| the area you hunt on the weekends you may be | | | | maps or Microsoft virtual earth. |
| better off starting off by staying in the parking lot and | | | | Avoid The Crowds - Hunting public land usually means |
| seeing what the birds are really doing. Many times you | | | | some degree of competition from other hunters, which |
| will be able to identify a spot to setup in and have a | | | | can lessen your chances from bagging a limit of ducks. |
| successful hunt. | | | | When too much competition exists many times other |
| Make The Most Of Your Available Time - Cold fronts | | | | hunters will start sky busting or over calling at the |
| and northerly winds most often bring in new ducks that | | | | ducks. Your much better of avoiding this type of |
| are not wise to the boundaries of the refuge and | | | | competition. |
| hunting areas on public wildlife management areas. | | | | Whether it would be first thing in the morning, mid-day, |
| These new ducks will also not be educated to the use | | | | or a few hours before sunset, identify which time |
| of decoys or duck calls and much easier to hunt than | | | | period has the fewest amount of hunters out in the |
| educated ducks that have been in the area for weeks. | | | | area you wish to hunt. Very duck hunters realize just |
| Identify Patterns - Whether you shoot a limit of ducks | | | | how good the duck can be on public hunting lands |
| or not keep a journal that notes the date, weather | | | | during mid-day. |
| conditions, time of day hunted, where you observed | | | | |