# Duck Season Prep



## hunterdu5 (Jul 9, 2010)

I know duck season is still a couple of months off but, I'm looking for ideas to hunt more. Ice tends to cut the season in half so I was wondering what ideas any of you may have to help make the ice a non factor. Currently besides the normal breaking of ice the newest and intriguing idea I have heard is to cut and shape the hole with a propane torch. I like the idea of making the ice sheets larger and more manageable. It seems easy enough. Has anyone tried this before? Does anyone have any other ideas?


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## the professor (Oct 13, 2006)

hunt fields instead of water. :wink:


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

If you are hunting water. ONe way to keep it open is a mallard machine. It keep the water moving. So after you cut your hole put the mallard machine in it.


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## WhiteRockDecoys (Dec 29, 2009)

Hunt snow geese! They hang around in very huntable numbers until Thanksgiving most years in ND.

Fall is great because you don't need nearly the amount of equipment that is standard for the spring season (1/2 the spread, mouth calls, leave the vortexes at home, drive trucks in the field). They also see very little pressure in the fall compared to the spring. And from early reports juives should be plentiful this year! :beer:


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## Bug Guy (Jul 19, 2009)

I have learned that it doesn't take a large opening to bring in ducks. I take burlap and spread it over the ice and add water to them from my foot steps. Let it freeze and then chop around the burlap and move that all in one piece. A few strips about 20 or so feet long and vwallah. Open water. Is it perfect, NO, but it's better than chasing dinner plate sized ice chunks around in the dark and I am usually done by 20 minutes after shooting light when there is ice everywhere. If I can shoot straight.


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## LockedWings (Jul 19, 2009)

That's a good idea Bug Guy. Many times we've drained the bar oil from a chainsaw and cut openings through 6" or more of ice. We normally do it on the edge of a river where we have some kind of open water so the current will take the larger flows downriver.

I saw over on the fuge guys trying to make homemade ice eaters but I'm not sure how well they work. Might want to look into it a bit.


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## Bug Guy (Jul 19, 2009)

Yeah, the burlap blends with the cattails pretty well and at the end of the hunt I just rip the ice off and roll up the burlap in my decoy bag, which is usually only half full as I only use about 6-10 deks. If you wring the water out of the burlap it doesn't weigh to much. Again, it's not fool proof and the burlap rips after two or three uses depending on ice conditions, but it's cheap and easy to replace.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Hunt fields...

if you must hunt water, bring a rake to sweep all the chunks out.


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## wtrfwl havoc (Dec 14, 2009)

depends if your hunting big waters or smaller rivers where you can touch bottom. i don't know if you are familiar with seigning fish nets or not but, thats what we use to clear the ice after we break it up. takes about 3 min, and your ready to hunt


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## Snowgooseman__SD (Jan 22, 2010)

Hunt FIELDS, or if you wanna have a hunt of your life time. get by a roost or lake that is open and holding alot of ducks. then find a pond near by weather there flying over this pond or you think its close enough to the lake that they have a chance of seeing you. Wait untill the ice is 2-3 inches thick and take a chain saw and cut a half moon shape. mojos and a few decoys can have hundreds of ducks landing ten yards away if conditions are right.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

the professor said:


> hunt fields instead of water. :wink:


Concur. What you propose sounds like way too much work for ND waterfowling...

My prep consists of waiting for the season to open then going out & shooting some birds. Everything I need is ready to go in the field trailer. I bet I haven't put water decoys out in 12 years or more. About as close as I come to that is standing on a pass between a couple big sloughs & pass shooting divers...


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## hunterdu5 (Jul 9, 2010)

I think I should clarify. I'm in SW Missouri. I hunt over 10 different farm ponds/lakes. My goal is a mixed bag and have found this to be the best way to succeed in my part of the country. Geese aren't a problem. I limit out almost everytime out.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Didn't mean to be flippant, just sounds like the schemes we used as teenagers growing up in Minnesota. There was so much pressure, so little land to get on, and so many hunters on that land that we had to try anything to get even a few birds. We did everything from break ice out by foot/hand, lay out sheets of plastic anchored with decoys to mimic a pothole, and even mixed buckets of blue dye and threw them on solid ice to give the appearance of open water (this would probably get you arrested by some alphabet soup agency nowdays)..

I left Minn as soon as I could, moved to a state that really values hunting (ND), and never looked back...

If the ice is thick enough to walk on, why not just put your blocks on the ice itself? Ducks still come in and there's no worry of freezing the blocks in or shine from spray freezing on them. Better yet, get a field spread and hunt harvested fields. Do that a few time with the no getting you or your dogs wet, easy retrieves on crips, and easy set out & pickup of your spread, and you'll never look at water again (unless you're really bored or want to pass shoot some divers).


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## THEIRCOMMITTED10 (Jul 19, 2010)

We have been battling the ice for years at our place. This year we will have an ice eater. Id rather hunt water than a dry field any day of the week and twice on sundays ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! :beer: -Gary

The guy who said keep the ice chips out of the hole is dead right ! ! Keep your hole clean


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## jrp267 (Dec 17, 2007)

NDTerminator said:


> Didn't mean to be flippant, just sounds like the schemes we used as teenagers growing up in Minnesota. There was so much pressure, so little land to get on, and so many hunters on that land that we had to try anything to get even a few birds. We did everything from break ice out by foot/hand, lay out sheets of plastic anchored with decoys to mimic a pothole, and even mixed buckets of blue dye and threw them on solid ice to give the appearance of open water (this would probably get you arrested by some alphabet soup agency nowdays)..
> 
> *I left Minn as soon as I could, moved to a state that really values hunting (ND), and never looked back...*
> 
> If the ice is thick enough to walk on, why not just put your blocks on the ice itself? Ducks still come in and there's no worry of freezing the blocks in or shine from spray freezing on them. Better yet, get a field spread and hunt harvested fields. Do that a few time with the no getting you or your dogs wet, easy retrieves on crips, and easy set out & pickup of your spread, and you'll never look at water again (unless you're really bored or want to pass shoot some divers).


Really cuz I think they are plowing under the habitat as fast as they can to grow corn. But it's your story so tell it how you want.


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## icefishny33 (Aug 3, 2010)

i shot my first ducks when i was 12 and i shot 3 mergansers


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