# how to flood corn fields



## duckhunter23

How does everyone flood corn fields? Any info would help. New to this whole duck hunting thing and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I THINK I HAVE AN ADDICTION


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## goosehunternd

first of all it is not a spur of the moment deal. takes dikes, planning and a avalible water source that is not to far away. If you do not own the land it is really to much work IMO.


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## Bob Kellam

On the other hand it could be a easy as plugging the drain tile


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## iaduckkiller

Check out the new Fallin Skies 5 by Jeff Foiles. In between hunts, he shows how he floods his duck club cornfields down in Illinois.


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## KEN W

Sure sounds like manipulating to me.....Should be baiting.


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## diver_sniper

KEN W said:


> Sure sounds like manipulating to me.....Should be baiting.


I can not agree more. I don't mean to start a mud tosser here, but I don't see any difference in flooding a cornfield or keeping a pond open by pumping warm water into it any different than taking a gravity box full of shelled corn out onto a regular field and tossing it on the ground.

As a duck hunter I feel we should hunt things as they are, especially in a place like ND where the options aren't limited to the few parcels of land that we own or have paid access to.


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## djleye

I think it is different than using corn, but we certainly shouldn't be penalized for the fields that get hailed out and then plowed under and are suddenly off limits for one year!!!


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## iaduckkiller

Two years ago, we had a public area that they had planted corn in and right before the season they combined about 3/4 of it and then flooded it with about 2 feet of water and it was great duck hunting! We would just stand in the rows with the dekes out in the open water and the ducks would just pile in day after day. This was a DNR controlled public hunting area. Last year and again this year, the area was and is flooded still so only weeds and grass grew and the duck hunting was fair, but not nearly as good as when the corn was flooded. Is it baiting? I say no. Baiting is taking corn or seed and putting it where it wasn't before and then hunting over it. If your idea that flooded corn is baiting, then so is field hunting in harvested fields. Same difference, you are still hunting over sometype of crop field.


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## huntingdude16

I make it rain. 8)


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## 6162rk

YES THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED BAITING. FLOODING CORN IS NOT A NORMAL FARMING PRACTICE. THE ONLY TIME I HAVE SEEN IT FLOODED WAS BECAUSE A BROKEN TILE OR BEAVER. THIS IS NOT NORMAL AND NEITHER ARE THE MANAGED OR MANIPULATED DOVE FIELDS THAT THE MINNESOTA DNR CREATES.


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## wetspot27

how is it baiting and why would you want it to be baiting it makes the hunting better for everyone who can hunt over them. flooding corn fields is done everywhere and it is far from baiting. you are supplying food for ducks and then we still cut the corn in the winter. the conservation floods corn in missouri in the places you hunt and in the refuge where you are not allowed to hunt. its a good food source


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## Old Hunter

wetspot The reason that many of northerners dont like the federal waterfowl baiting rules is because they are stacked against us. Plantcorn, let it grow, then flood it, is this a normal farming practice? No but it is legal to hunt. I believe you can plant most any food, flood it ,hunt it right? There several farming practices some of which have been used for hundreds of years that we of the north cannot hunt. The oldest farming method would be burning crops that may have mold or other problems. Happens fairly often and we can not hunt it.Normal farming practice. Rolled corn is similar, crop is poor in some way and not worth harvesting. The farmer flattens the field with large rollers.Normal farming practice and we cant hunt it. So if I have a bad attitude towards baiting laws forgive me, they are not created equal.


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## 6162rk

IF YOU WANT TO FEED THE DUCKS THEN FEED THEM. IF YOU WANT TO MANIPULATE A FIELD WITH NON NORMAL PRACTICES THEN DO SO AND LET THE DUCKS FEED AND REST THERE. IT IS BAITING JUST THE POLITICS OF THIS COUNTRY DO NOT ALLOW SUCH A RULING BY THE FEDS.


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## shooteminthelips

How do all of you guys feel about planting biologic for deer or ducks? What about someone who owns their own land who plants a quarter every year for the deer. While that person might harvest a couple off of the property? Don't you think as a whole the area is better off for having the cover and food then if it wasnt there.

What happens if there is a hard winter and the deer survive because of this quarter that is planted? Now I am not for baiting. What I consider baiting is taking a load of beets out to a tree stand a week before the season dumping the beets on the ground then shooting a deer standing on the pile choking on a beet!

Enhancing your land that you bought and pay taxes on is a diffrent thing entirely. It doesnt matter if it is planting trees, letting crp grow up for pheasents. Or planting corn and flooding it for ducks. If it is your land and you pay for it and have the resources go for it. If I ever win the lottery you will see this happen on my land. And some of you complaing on here would be the first ones to stop and ask if you could hunt it if it wasnt posted!


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## Myles J Flaten

This is a pissing match! hahha Flooded corn sounds fun


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## kberggren

This will be our 10th season hunting a flooded field and its nearly as easy as some people think. My dad, brother, and I work on this thing year round to get it ready for the season. Just to enlighten, our first season we made a dike flooded a disked corn field and thought we wouldn't be able to keep the birds out of there. Our first season we shot 7 ducks and 3 geese out of it, lot less compared to our numbers from previous years hunting out of a boat blind. Its not as simple as just putting out some pipe, plugging the drain, and letting it fill like a bath tub. Ever year we learn more about how to manage our property with what type of food the birds like under certain conditions. We do not bait by any means and on several occasions have had biologsts out to check out our property to make it that much better for the ducks while still making sure everything is legal and legit. I see it no different than hunting on the X as long as everything is done legally. You are trying to create a place where the birds want to be and feel safe. You have to learn how to hunt something like this or after 3 or so good hunts the birds have it figured out and either stay completely away or only use the pond during the night! There is a lot of hidden work that goes into something like this but the time spent together doing it with family and friends is way worth all the effort. Here are a couple pics, hope you enjoy!


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## mshutt

Is it time to go hunting yet?


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## PJ

It's like Foiles says. If you don't flood your field in Il, your neighbors will, and they will shoot all the ducks.


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## 6162rk

DO YOU FLOOD THE FIELD AFTER HARVEST OR DO YOU PLANT THE FIELD JUST TO FLOOD IT AND HAVE A PLACE TO HUNT?


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## R y a n

6162rk said:


> DO YOU FLOOD THE FIELD AFTER HARVEST OR DO YOU PLANT THE FIELD JUST TO FLOOD IT AND HAVE A PLACE TO HUNT?


A quick moment of ettiquette. Please don't type with all CAPS 

On internet boards it is considered yelling and is bad form. It is also harder to read.

</housekeeping>


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## wetspot27

DO YOU FLOOD THE FIELD AFTER HARVEST OR DO YOU PLANT THE FIELD JUST TO FLOOD IT AND HAVE A PLACE TO HUNT?

Are field are planted then before we flood we cut about 3/4 of the field leaving strips of corn after the season we drain the feild and cut the remaing corn. this is what most people down here in missouri manage there duck lakes. some people will also plant soybeans where they want to show open water and then cut the beans before they flood that way they can still rotate crops.


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## Chuck Smith

I know of people who flood fields in the spring to have sheet water for the snows. Yep they keep it open with mallard machines and what not.


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## hunt4P&amp;Y

kberggren said:


> You have to learn how to hunt something like this or after 3 or so good hunts the birds have it figured out and either stay completely away or only use the pond during the night!


If they are staying over night in the field, woulden't that be the roost?

Why not make something like this or a slough then not hunt it? Then hunt on dry land?


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## bluebird

The way that we did it is we dug out three ponds side by side in the middle of the corn field with pit blinds built into the burms between the ponds, we drain the ponds and plaint corn just like it was a field and then when the corn is ready to be harvested we fill them up again we have also plaint biologic for the ducks as well. Then on one side of the pond we leave a huge strip of corn so when we get a heavy snow the geese are all over it. :beer:


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## kberggren

Our pond is any where from 8 inches to 30 inches deep at the most. We flood anywhere from 3 1/2 to 6 acres and most the places where we put our decoys is anwhere from 6-15 inches deep. After the spring snow goose season is over we drain the pond, which doesn't take that much time (less than a week and its competely dry) and have our farmer plants the field to corn. We pick the corn but like some other fellow flooders we leave strips of corn around and in the pond for food for the ducks. We also leave stips in all areas of our 80 acres so theres more food for the birds. Plus if its just one or two of us we can use our layouts and hunt different parts of the dry field if the birds are keying in on a certain area. This season we are also planting around 5 acres of barely in certain areas around our pond plus millet, millow, some corn, and other duck and goose foods in the area we flood. We've had a couple different times where we had millet grass in our pond and it was really nice because you didn't track mud every where and it was nice to walk on and it seemed to help keep our decoys cleaner that were put in the water. We tired sweet corn but that turns to mush a lot faster than regular corn. Regular field corns last much londer in a flooded field.

And we are not really hunting a roost, most of the birds if not hunted proberly come in right after sun down and begin feeding, most of the ducks and geese are gone when we get their in the mornings but some are still around.


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