Water Fowl General Area

[Bush Gorilla]

kinda new to water fowl hunting but i would like to know if any body knows of any general areas close to Calgary?

[SolidSnake]

find a pothole, ask the farmer for permission, throw out a few decoys, build a blind, you will kill ducks. It really is that easy.

[Blake]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake

find a pothole, ask the farmer for permission, throw out a few decoys, build a blind, you will kill ducks. It really is that easy.

Yep. You have time now so practice calling too. Lots.

[scrapper]

Just find some water, get permission and bingo you are a waterfowl hunter.

[ontario gunner]

Most of us consistantly succesful waterfowl hunters put ALOT of miles on trucks finding where birds are coming from,, and going too.. Sure getting permission for any willy nilly slough or pothole will possibly get you a few ducks,, putting miles down will put you into alot more!

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by Bush Gorilla

kinda new to water fowl hunting but i would like to know if any body knows of any general areas close to Calgary?

Frank Lake area ,about 10km east of high river,just south of calgary! lots of other big ponds close to frank aswell that harbour thousands of waterfowl!

[RoscoeT]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

Frank Lake area ,about 10km east of high river,just south of calgary! lots of other big ponds close to frank aswell that harbour thousands of waterfowl!

I would stay away from big water unless you have a boat or a good dog.

Potholes, field shoots and canals are your ticket really.

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by RoscoeT

I would stay away from big water unless you have a boat or a good dog.

Potholes, field shoots and canals are your ticket really.

I disagree,I dont have a dog or a boat,I dont use decoys and I hunt big lakes and limit out On ducks everytime I go out!

[densa44]

You can go out on that "big water" a few days after opening and the dog will get you 1/2 or more of a limit. I use any thing that I don't shoot myself as a training bird, but there will be lots of them out there.

[GoneFishin']

a good pea, lentil or grain field of some sort with water close by or in the vicinity is always good too...

[Jimboy]

If you dont have a dog , rig up a fishing rod with a large hook made from galvanized 1/8 in wire , then attach a steroform float to keep it afloat , and you can cast this beyond your bird in the water and walla , a good retrieve without a swim

[RoscoeT]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

I disagree,I dont have a dog or a boat,I dont use decoys and I hunt big lakes and limit out On ducks everytime I go out!

And I(my dog) come home with birds winged/shot by other people all the time.

It's not nice to be packing up to go with a limit you've shot and then have your dog start finding extra birds from the bush that someone else left behind. Still alive sometimes. So, then I am the one who would be in SH!T if inspected. I must now, knowingly, leave these birds behind. Very uncool feeling.


When I make a suggestion to a noob about waterfowl retrieving I suggest it because it makes sense based on my experience. You can do what you like but just because you do it does not make it correct.


Did I used to hunt ducks before I had a dog? Sure. Did I get wet lots of times and lose more birds than I should have, you bet.

If you can't get out onto Frank lake to chase down a cripple you need a dog, boat or some other retrieving tool.

[nube]

Roscoe is riht!

[SmokinJoe]

Don't forget your Robo-Duck!!!!

[scrapper]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

I disagree,I dont have a dog or a boat,I dont use decoys and I hunt big lakes and limit out On ducks everytime I go out!

How do you get the ducks that don't make it shore after being shot, I have shot enough ducks in my day to know they don't always fall where we want them to.

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by scrapper

How do you get the ducks that don't make it shore after being shot, I have shot enough ducks in my day to know they don't always fall where we want them to.

It's Magic

[nube]

The type of duck whitetail junkie shoots are the type that ususaly fly in and land next to his feet and quack at him. He has no problem pickin them up.

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by Just lucky

The type of duck whitetail junkie shoots are the type that ususaly fly in and land next to his feet and quack at him. He has no problem pickin them up.

Nube.......My Family has been peddling Liver with wings out of the swamp before your dad was a stain in your Grandpas pants!

[jryley]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

I disagree,I dont have a dog or a boat,I dont use decoys and I hunt big lakes and limit out On ducks everytime I go out!

Ive gotta ask out of curiosity....how do you go about retrieving the odd cripple that makes its way out to deeper water?

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by jryley

Ive gotta ask out of curiosity....how do you go about retrieving the odd cripple that makes its way out to deeper water?

Magic!

[scrapper]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

It's Magic

Yeh just what I thought! That magic probably save's a lot of time wasted cleaning ducks. I have a dog so I get to clean all the ones I shoot, not just the ones that make it back to shore.

Are you going to let us in on the magic or do we just assume you kill more than you clean.

[jryley]

I think its a valid question no? Im legitimately wondering as its nice to learn something new. No actual response?

[GooseHunter 667]

Originally Posted by jryley

Ive gotta ask out of curiosity....how do you go about retrieving the odd cripple that makes its way out to deeper water?

There are always options a fishing rod with some kind and hook device is a cheap retriver, also get a good set of hip wadders, i always hunt in places where i know i well not get wet, this pass year was a little more difficult considering the amount of rainfall.

If u down birds dipense them as quickly as possible and if the drift in a puddle for a bit they can only go one side of the pond or the other, little harder on the lake thought!

[jryley]

Ya ive heard of guys using those techniques before. Im struggling with the thought of shooting over a lake and having a bird get hit and pull a 90 degree turn on the shooter and head out to the middle of the lake....where waders and a rod would be useless. Guys lose birds on land without a dog let alone a 20 foot deep lake. I abstained from lake shooting for years until i bought a canoe due to thought of even one bird sitting out in deep water while i watch it suffer. Hopefully the secret will be told!

[scrapper]

Originally Posted by GooseHunter 667

There are always options a fishing rod with some kind and hook device is a cheap retriver, also get a good set of hip wadders, i always hunt in places where i know i well not get wet, this pass year was a little more difficult considering the amount of rainfall.

If u down birds dipense them as quickly as possible and if the drift in a puddle for a bit they can only go one side of the pond or the other, little harder on the lake thought!

Hmm casting some sort of a hook at a cripple 75 yards away and moving, trouble with that method you would spend the whole day on a retrieve and not hunting, besides that I want to shake the hand of any man that can cast a hook over 50 yards accurately at a moving target....I guess that must be the magic were hearing about.

[catnthehat]

Canoe works well for me, dog works better at times. not as well in other circumstances.
I don't like to use a dog in some of the beaver ponds we hunt because of so many snags and such.
Cat

[whitetail Junkie]

Originally Posted by scrapper

Yeh just what I thought! That magic probably save's a lot of time wasted cleaning ducks. I have a dog so I get to clean all the ones I shoot, not just the ones that make it back to shore.

Are you going to let us in on the magic or do we just assume you kill more than you clean.

This is a picture I took from an island on big water, last Fall duck hunting! All the water you can see I can walk through! Now do me a favor and draw yourself a picture of chest waiters and Stare at it!

[scrapper]

Originally Posted by jryley

I think its a valid question no? Im legitimately wondering as its nice to learn something new. No actual response?

It's morst certainly a valid question I think we can all agree it's both unethical and illegal to shoot water fowl that we do not retrieve. I mean lets face there isn't a sportsman in the world that would argue that fact. There also isn't a duck hunter in the world that hasn't had to either chase a cripple down either by themselves or with the help of a good dog.

[jryley]

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

This is a picture I took from an island on big water, last Fall duck hunting! All the water you can see I can walk through! Now do me a favor and draw yourself a picture of chest waiters and Stare at it!

Fair enough based on the picture. Didnt you say it was a full on lake
Though? Youve never ever had one bird take a light hit a glide a few hundred yards past your wading point? Unless im missing something? I know of a couple "lakes" in wmu 232 that are more 3 foot deep giant sloughs than actual lakes....i understand if thats the case. I guess the waders thing in a big body of water just doesnt make sense to me. To walk through even a few feet of water to go after a bird 2 or 300 yards away that was wounded would take an eternity in my eyes and kind of goes against common sense in a real life practical hunting situation. Youd spend more time wading through water than actually calling and shooting.

[scrapper]

The goal posts are moving on this deal, we were all talking about a lake, you were talking about a puddle a person can walk across. To me a lake is something with a boat launch, a fish population, not something that dries up on a hot summers day.

And here I was thinking we were all going to be treated to some magic, but instead we just got chains jerked a little.