I learned the value of scouting this Saturday.

valetroutfisherman

Ten Pointer
Opening day of session 2. I had to go it alone since my son-in-law had another commitment. I had to use my kayak since the boat motor needs some work.
So i planned on going to a creek across the river, agricultural fields on both sides. We had went up this creek last 2 years and there were quite a few wood ducks and a few mallards. No real pressure that we know of.
I get to the parking lot, drive down to the river, unload my kayak and all my gear, drive the truck back up to the parking lot and then walked the 150 yards back down to where my kayaks waiting for me.
It's only about 200 yards across the river to the mouth of the creek. The fog was so thick that it was hard to see at all. So I go up the creek (maybe 20yds across) about 30 yards and what do I see, a tree that's down across the whole Creek. I go back and forth in front of the tree trying to find a way around it but with the fog being so thick I couldn't see a way around it.
So back across the creek I go, walk back up to the parking lot get my truck, bring it down, load the kayak up and try to get to another put in site so this day won't be a bust for my hunting. ( If I would have been able to hunt the creek I would have plenty of time to go up it and get set up and be waiting on first light for shooting time.) But now it's around 5:15 and have to drive about three or four miles to a boat ramp to go to another area and do it all over again.
So fast forward I get paddling down the river and I'm probably still about an eighth of a mile from where I want to set up at and now it's shooting time. Well there were already three boats at the boat ramp and about 6:45 the shooting starts.
I was able to get to a spot and get set up, didn't have no ducks come into my spread. But there were a lot of ducks flying yesterday morning I bet I saw about a hundred ducks from about 6 till about 10:30, wood ducks and local mallards.
There was one group of hunters that was in a beaver pond just up from where I was and it sounded like Fourth of July. All the birds that I saw were too high to shoot at and I couldn't call them back.
I got bored around 9:15 packed up and went down river to another big hole. I saw a group of mallards having a good time in the water but I was probably around 300 yards away when they flew off. It's kind of hard to sneak up on ducks in a kayak in the middle of the morning on a lake like environment.
Anyway the moral of the story that I learned was that it would have paid off to have went out and scouted that Creek in the daylight and I wouldn't have wasted all that time going to two places before sunup.


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gnorris74

Spike
Pulling a similar move in the morning, going in blind with the kayak on some local water, hopefully it works out.
 

JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
If it makes you feel any better...Sometimes they go elsewhere for reasons known only to the ducks. I know I've seen 1000 geese feeding in a field, only to get there the next day, perfectly setup, and see empty skies.
 

cootmayne

Button Buck
To make you feel better sometimes scouting can also work the opposite way. I scouted a place last Thursday and literally only saw 4 ducks. This made me decide to change my plans for saturday. Found out from some people that hunted the place I had scouted that the ducks showed up on saturday. Same as seeing loads of birds in an area one day just to go back the next day and see nothing. Overall scouting is definitely important though and atleast gives you confidence in what youre doing.
 
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woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
a tree that's down across the whole Creek.


that is what I use duck hunting scouting for,,,,what the water, weeds, brush conditions are like, what do I need to hunt that spot, etc etc ect

seeing ducks is nice,,,not seeing them doesn't mean I won't hunt a spot if it "normally" holds ducks some,,,
 

grim reaper

Ten Pointer
Yep, even then scouting doesn't always pay off. Got into some birds Saturday, found some more to hunt Sunday which should have been an even better hunt. Hunted all day Sunday and birds were doing something different than the day before and didn't kill anything...oh well beats work any day
 

Buxndiverdux

Old Mossy Horns
Yep, even then scouting doesn't always pay off. Got into some birds Saturday, found some more to hunt Sunday which should have been an even better hunt. Hunted all day Sunday and birds were doing something different than the day before and didn't kill anything...oh well beats work any day


You hunting another state? Or did I miss the Sunday duck hunting memo?
 

kingsize

Four Pointer
Got burned for not scouting after the rain this week! My spots were all so flooded I had to hunt from the kayak in order to get out of the woods
 
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