A gohuntbirds.com Marsh Duck Setup
I want to talk about another waterfowl setup that I learned from the veteran waterfowl hunters from the gohuntbirds.com crew when they generously took me out hunting with them in Quebec a few weeks ago.
This one is a marsh duck setup. For anyone thinking they need access to a large body of water think again. The marsh we set up in was probably 2 acres in size. We parked our cars about 100 m from the water and walked our boat and decoys in.
There were ducks flying in and out of the marsh even as we set up, so things looked great from the get go. Our decoy spread was a only 12 decoys split up into 2 groups of 6. We were set up on a sort of island in our waders, concealed in vegetation. The map below gives a general overview:
The basic tactics and duck setup were relatively simple. Ducks would come off the river to land in the marsh or come up from behind has and circle back to land into the wind.
From the moment we sat down there was a lot of action but most of the ducks were flying to high or too far from us to get a clean shot. Despite our calling attempts, ducks did not want to land into our decyos – they may have been wary given season had already open. Also, given that we were standing up to our hips in water, we couldn’t easily re-position ourselves like in a field hunt.
This meant having to take passing shots as the ducks presented themselves. This made me appreciate the importance of target shooting. I don’t think I would have made some of the shots I did if it were not for all the days I spent at the range shooting clay targets.
In retrospect we should have set up a few shooters on the far left bank of the marsh. This would have given them better shots at the birds coming up from behind us.
All in all it was a great hunt with lots of action! Thanks again to the gohuntbirds.com crew for the great experience. These guys seriously know their stuff.
#sharebirdhunting
