Expect crowds for
start of waterfowl season Click to return to Waterfowl Outfitters Unlimited
Groups should
work together to make most of experience
Copyright 2007
Houston Chronicle
For
The
resultant rush, both to public and private hunting areas, is understandable.
Regardless of general prospects — better for ducks this year than for geese —
there is something legitimately special about hearing and seeing waterfowl in
the air on the first morning that really counts. Even that first Sunday, 24
hours removed from the tipoff, is not the same.
But
don't count your ducks before they decoy because opening day is not in any way
synonymous with a heavy strap.
Rain
or shine, the first Saturday of the season always is crowded. Small-town coffee
shops and breakfast houses on the prairies east and west of
And
as light gathers in the east, many of those folks will discover that for all
the driving they did, they're not a whole lot farther from the next group than
they were at breakfast.
Still
popular in area
Waterfowl
hunting around
The
prairie continues to be divided and subdivided, but most of the birds find
their way here — and will until their genetic compasses can be rewired.
Despite
setbacks, the sport remains extremely popular and even marginally profitable
here for those whose livelihoods depend on it. Most every available acre of
legitimate waterfowl habitat is leased or subleased by folks who appreciate
wild wings, and they'll all be out for opening day.
Similar
situations can occur also on public hunting areas, such as the state's Wildlife
Management Areas and federally managed refuges, but those areas are monitored
carefully to minimize overlaps.
Public
ground or private, it isn't uncommon on the opener and again at major holidays
for hunting parties to suffer "waterfowler's
claustrophobia," the sensation that other groups are uncomfortably close.
Phone
calls, handshakes and common courtesy can reduce risk of two groups essentially
working the same flights of ducks or geese, but any time hunting groups can
wave at each other and be acknowledged, things can go awry.
Patience
a must
On
opening day, should you find yourself close enough to hear distinctly the
calling (or worse, conversation) from nearby spreads or blinds, expect and
accept some missed opportunities. Know that those other guys are going to wind
up shooting a couple of times just as you're working birds close — and that
they'll get burned equally when floaters hang over your decoys.
Solitude
in duck blinds and grain fields within a two-hour drive of
Rather
than curse their neighbors, veteran waterfowl hunters learn they can be used to
advantage.
Unless
I knew the guys next door were led by an ace caller whose hunters went
statue-still as he worked incoming flights, company seldom bothered me through
14 years as a professional guide.
I
had confidence in my ability to set a good spread and conceal my crew. That is
critical in a crowded area.
Around
here, for November duck hunts, stack your rig with more teal, wigeon and gadwall decoys — you do own gadwall decoys,
don't you? Dust off the mallards and full-plumed pintails, but don't add many
of them to the spread until mid-December.
A
proper goose spread before Thanksgiving should include a high percentage of
dark decoys, perhaps more of them than white ones until snow geese show in
appreciable numbers. Even the light geese that are here know they're in the
minority. Specklebellies dominate now, and
Limiting
calls good strategy
A setup
of 500 new snow goose decoys and six dozen plastic greenheads might look good
to you or me, but it wouldn't fool many early-season birds on the
Another
pro trick that works almost any time or anywhere that several groups of hunters
are within earshot of each other is to minimize calling. David Lobpries, one of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's
most respected waterfowl biologists for decades, described duck calls to me
years ago as the "greatest conservation tool ever."
When
artificial quacks and honks rip the air all around you, consider letting your
calls hang quietly. Nervous birds don't "talk" much, but they pay
attention to realistic spreads.
Make
sure everyone is hidden, something else with which many opening-day hunters
have trouble, and let birds work at their pace.
If
you must call, do so sparingly. Better to say nothing at all than to scream the
wrong message.
There
has to be an opening day, and it's going to be crowded.
Like
the same-day opening of deer season, this is a major event. Make the most of it.