4 Duck Hunting Myths Debunked

Loads of information is passed down from one generation of duck hunters to the next and much of it is sound hunting advise, but there is also plenty of disinformation passed along, which can only be described as duck hunting myth.

Often it is difficult to tell the difference between duck hunting fact or fiction, but here is a reality check for a few common duck hunting myths.

EARLY IS BEST

Many duck hunters believe that the best hunting occurs at the earliest hours of the morning. While hunting is often good at this time of day, it is not always the best.

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Ducks are often very active right at sunrise, but as the morning progresses they have other waves of activity. In most cases this there is one an hour or two after sunrise and another in the late morning.

It is not uncommon for hunters to pack it up after this first wave of activity. This means if you stick around until lunch time or start hunting later, you can take advantage of quieter hunting times with less hunting pressure, which could improve your odds of success.

CLOUDS ARE OPTIMAL

It remains a widely held belief among waterfowl hunters that cold, cloudy days are best, but there is little evidence to support this myth.

There is, however, some evidence to suggest that cool, breezy sunny days may be better, especially for non-diving ducks. For one thing, when it is clear and sunny, ducks can spot your decoys from farther away, meaning you are likely to bring in ducks from a greater distance.

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Also, with bright conditions and a greater contrast between light and dark, it may be more difficult for the ducks to identify your decoys as fakes or to spot your duck blind.

HENS ARE REQUIRED

A myth continues that is related to hen decoys. A significant number of hunters believe that it is important to have hens in your spread, but this belief has no basis in fact.

The truth is that flying ducks are unable to identify hens of a particular species when they are flying. The most significant factor that attracts them to your spread is color, so the most successful strategy is to use all males in your spread. The more color you have, the more likely you are to draw ducks towards you.

DUCKS CALLING

It is a widely held belief among some waterfowl hunters that ducks on the water will call to ducks that are flying. Unfortunately this is not true.

It is true that the sound of duck activity will be one of the factors that can draw ducks to your location, but it is not true that the ducks on the water are actually calling flying ducks to come towards them.

The use of calls imitates duck activity and may help you bring ducks toward you, but your decoys play a more important role in attracting ducks than calling does.

Photo credit: Wikimedia

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