# Canvasback



## take EM' close (Oct 21, 2004)

Anyone ever shot one? They are very rare around here! I luckly found this one and about 4 others on some duck ponds we hunt sometimes during the season. Hopefully he will stay there!!


----------



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Used to get a bunch of them in AK but they never were full plume. A great eating bird for sure!


----------



## qwakwhaker883 (Jan 19, 2005)

I shot a hen canvasback the first year I went out to Nodak (2 years ago). Beautiful bird and she tasted great!


----------



## Lance Pardee (Oct 28, 2004)

We use to shoot alot of them here on the Mississippi. We don't get the numbers like we use to. And YES they do taste great.


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

take EM' close said:


> Anyone ever shot one? They are very rare around here!
> 
> Take EM' close - Rare?? We come to ND for a week each fall, and we see a lot of them in the areas we hunt. If you're hunting dry fields all of the time, I can understand because Cans eat aquatic vegetation. But I guess I assumed there were lots of them in ND. One pothole out there we hunt has lots of wild rice and freshwater shrimp (can't recall the technical name for those critters), and the place is full of Cans each year. We usually pick one day each year and specifically target Cans, Redheads, and Bluebills. Never seemed to hard to us out there. Are we just lucky in finding them where we hunt?


----------



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

just ducky said:


> take EM' close said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone ever shot one? They are very rare around here!
> ...


I have honestly only seen a few pairs in the spring and only saw 1 flock on a WPA during the season last year. It was my first fall so maybe that is not the norm but I did do a lot of traveling in most directions and figured I would see a lot more.


----------



## mallardhunter (May 15, 2004)

There is quite a few around, they just come down later in the season, and they are on bigger water ponds.


----------



## Water Swater (Oct 23, 2003)

I shot this one in Texas in 2003 and have two more in my freezer waiting to go on the wall from last season. This one was done by Roughrider Gamebirds it is also on his website in the gallery www.roughridergamebirds.com


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

I guess we just have a good spot for divers. Here are a couple of pics from our 2004 hunt. First one is me with our two man limit of mallards, redheads, and cans...you can see the belly of one can on the right. The second pic is from high above us showing our typical hook pattern to our dekes, which worked like a charm that day.

[siteimg]1862[/siteimg]

[siteimg]1863[/siteimg]


----------



## trigger2 (Dec 6, 2004)

we shoot quite a few on the upper miss. but the seasons ore messed up, so by the time the majority of the cans show up the season is closed.


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

trigger2 said:


> we shoot quite a few on the upper miss. but the seasons ore messed up, so by the time the majority of the cans show up the season is closed.


Trigger2 - Same thing happens up here in Michigan. There are spots along the east side of the state where tons of Cans/Redheads flock up in late January/early February after the season ends. We have had a two day January hunt as part of our season here for several years now, which allows hunters to get at some of those late arrivers. But they get real thick after the hunting is all done.


----------



## trigger2 (Dec 6, 2004)

just ducky,
we get lots of cans, but they stay in the refuge all of the time. once can season is over it seems like they are everywhere. the can season is only a month long here. so when can season closes, you have to be careful because all of the other divers fly with the cans. gets pretty frusturating seeing 50 cans that you can't shoot land in the decoys.


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

Yep, we only had about a month on Cans too. But we have had that one January weekend for the last few years when they reopen the season for two days, and the bigger waters that don't freeze as fast can be real hot then.


----------



## SNOWSNBLUES (Oct 23, 2004)

trigger2 said:


> we shoot quite a few on the upper miss. but the seasons ore messed up, so by the time the majority of the cans show up the season is closed.


At least you guys on the WI side get to hunt them a little longer. You want to talk messed up seaon dates just look west to MN. That's messed up. Canvasbacks are one of my favorite ducks. I've shot some nice bulls on Miss. River when I used to live down there. Why I never had one put on the wall I don't know. Really kicking myself for it now as I haven't shot one in 4 years now.


----------



## OTDRSMN (May 17, 2005)

Just wondering, whats a typical set up for huntin these great birds. We just dont see very many around here at all, but we ran into guys last season up there who were pretty consistent on baggin some, I thought it would be neat to try them this season. Any reccomendations would help----=-Thanks :beer:


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

OTDRSMN said:


> Just wondering, whats a typical set up for huntin these great birds. We just dont see very many around here at all, but we ran into guys last season up there who were pretty consistent on baggin some, I thought it would be neat to try them this season. Any reccomendations would help----=-Thanks :beer:


Nothing special really, just a typical diver set-up. Back home here, we might use dozens of dekes on the big water. But when we come to ND with limited room to carry decoys, we use probably 3 to 4 dozen mixed diver/mallards. Typical hook or "J" pattern for the rig works well (look at the picture I posted above). I think the key is to find the food sources that they love (rice, celery, freshwater shrimp, etc.), and you'll find birds.
I'd love to try a layout boat on one of these larger potholes, but it's just too hard to drag it all the way to ND


----------



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

just ducky said:


> [siteimg]1863[/siteimg]


I'm curious if you tried setting on that point in the background as well? I've always had better luck with divers being as close to the slough's center as possible rather than right off shore. Just curious.


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

_


Chris Hustad said:



I'm curious if you tried setting on that point in the background as well? I've always had better luck with divers being as close to the slough's center as possible rather than right off shore. Just curious.

Click to expand...

_Sure have. But the problem is that the water levels have been down so much lately that there isn't much cover right out near the end. We tried making a makeshift blind out there, but the birds kind of shied away from it. Back in '01 when water was higher, that was the place to be.....we killed 'em there. On this particular day, the wind seemed right for this spot, and the birds wanted in there pretty bad. A couple of days later with different wind, we hunted along the other side of that point about half way down (left in the picture) and did okay too.


----------



## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

When we hunt out from Ferryville on pool 9 the Cans swim right in to our mallard dekes. They dont seem very bright atleast thats what I got from watching them. We usually cant shoot any cause the season closes for them early.


----------



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

bratlabs said:


> When we hunt out from Ferryville on pool 9 the Cans swim right in to our mallard dekes. They dont seem very bright atleast thats what I got from watching them. We usually cant shoot any cause the season closes for them early.


I have stood by the water's edge and have had Cans swim to within 15 yards of me. Definitely not the brightest bird out there.


----------



## qwakwhaker883 (Jan 19, 2005)

I would also say that they are not the smartest bird out there. The one that I shot in ND seemed pretty dumb. My dad and I walked over to a pothole (because there was nothing flying) and it was just sitting there looking at us. It couldent have been more than 15-20 yards away. My dad walked around the pothole to kick it up and it just swam towards me? We finally kicked it up and I got the first shot at it and knocked it down. To me it just seemed like she had never seen a human before or she was just dumb?


----------



## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

As far as decoying them, Id think a guy could use white bleach bottles. Just by watching them I dont see where youd need to spend alot on dekes. Hell, I might try bleach bottles this fall.


----------



## trigger2 (Dec 6, 2004)

ive tried the bleach bottles before, with no luck. the birds see them from a long ways off but seem to shy away just before they get into range. when we have diver decoys out, the cans are usually the first ones to hit the water. as far as pool 9 goes, if theres wind it seems like we kill ducks. the last time i was down there we had right around 30 dozen decoys out(divers and puddlers) and between 5 guys we only had one gadwall come in. the water was like glass that day. for the last couple of years the weather has been too nice to hunt the big water much.


----------



## trigger2 (Dec 6, 2004)

hey bratlabs where you from?


----------



## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

We hunt the north end of pool 9 most of the time, just inside the islands. Youre dead on about the wind, if its blowing hunt the pool, if its calm hunt the sloughs. Im from Edgerton, about half way between Madison and the state line. A freind has a cabin between Ferryville and Desoto off of Rush Creek. We try getting up there everyother weekend till the flocks show up then its every weekend till close. We sit at the Sportsmens bar every night we're up there, if youre in the area stop in if you see a maroon Tacoma with a double dog box in the bed. :beer:


----------



## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

*


PorkChop said:



I have stood by the water's edge and have had Cans swim to within 15 yards of me. Definitely not the brightest bird out there.

Click to expand...

*Not disagreeing there. In fact, most divers seem a bit less wary than your average mallard or black.


----------

