is it just me or did any of you have trouble getting ducks to respond to your calling and decoys????? i hunted the same hole i have hunted in past years. spread out my decoys the same. and nothing. i tried changing things up. still nothing. i even put a spinner out. nothing. i saw lots of birds the later part of the season. but they pretty much ignored me. any ideas???:head::head:
is it just me ?????
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Yes.
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You said you saw birds??? Maybe theY were black birds and red birds and not DUCKS.
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Yep, best day we had was kicking water. No call and no decoys.
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Ducks were extremely tough to work. But I saw on a few occasions when they were doing that and we tried everything and nothing worked and then we stumbled on one thing that did and then you could work them like new ducks. That didn't always work the next day but the days I saw it happen it went from nothing worked to absolutely working like a charm. It helped that only half the groups around you were running spinners after the ban. Of course there are always the South Carolina hands running 4 and acting like they had no clue. Which I would agree with in every sense of the word. But yes they were tough to work. Which made the days they worked and you felt like you could make them do whatever you wanted them to, way more worth it. Get use to it, it's the new normal as long as hunter numbers are this high and they're getting hunting this hard from north to south.
No, it's not just you.
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I've bin taking 5 or 6 decoys few times I did good this year little calling and jus a few
The old timers know how to handle call shy ducks. An old game warden instructed me on what to do. Don't be ashamed to ask a seasoned hand when the time is right. The great duck caller who has a loud call and loves hearing himself blow it non-stop is a gift to you.
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Yep, can't kill ducks with a loud call during late season.
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Yall should all leave your calls at home that way I can flush them to ya
bingo we have a winner.
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My best hunts this year were no decoys,and minimal calling.
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Hunted about 45 days this yr at Bayou Meto. Best month was Dec and early Jan. Ducks responded to call and decoys up until early Jan., then they would not pay attention to either. They would cup for about 2 wingbeats when they heard the call or saw the decoys, and then keep going or flair. Best thing I could do was scout my butt off and try to find feathers or ducks going down somewhere and get there next morning with no call or decoys. They would land all around me, and sooner or later a couple would try to land within range, and if you got a close treetop shot, you better take it. All in all, it was an awesome season, met some super nice ppl, and my thanks to AGFC for providing this for us.
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I had a biologist, which I am not nor claim to be, tell me 10 years ago that this would happen and be more prevalent and start happening sooner each year due to spinners. As we kill more and more juvenile ducks year in and year out because of the increased number of "shooters" who can get them close with a spinner, the overall average age of the mallard population will begin to increase. The older a duck is the sooner it begins pair bonding. As the juveniles are killed off year in and year out, the percentage of the population that is older will grow resulting in pair bonding beginning in early January/late December instead of middle to late January. Oncee they begin pair bonding they do not want to be around other ducks. Sure sounds good.
No dekes, no calling just find a tight spot the ducks want to get into and wear em out. Stay away from holes and be where they want to be. Most people refuse to accept this and that's why the conversation happens so much late season. We wore em out like this all of January just spend plenty of time scouting
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Wish I'd read this sooner, I never fired a shot this January. But at least I know what to do next year.
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Notice I said best days I had no dekes and did little calling .
Meaning I didn't go!!I've been fishing all winter, best decision ever
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