Waterfowl Newbee

I just recently moved here from Missouri. I am new to the area but really excited about it. I cant wait to hit the ponds and lakes to fish, but I'm especially interested in waterfowl. its always been an interest of mine, just haven't had the resources. Now that i live on Paddock Lake I really want to take advantage of it. what do i need to do to get involved in this sport? I have a 12 week old chessie pup. i want this to be a learning expereince for both of us. i have looked at many online sites and forums as far as training her, but i know i have a lot to learn. please give me your input.

Hey p.m. me I'm from the paddock lake area I can help you out with the hunting part but I'm not to good with the dog training

Welcome aboard.....My advice would be to scout now....I have been out on the duck lake, marsh, and you would be surprised at all the duck holes now that the snow has matted down the cattails...I have pinpointed alot of potential walking around the ice and going into the cattails...Man, places that would probably hold ducks in the fall that I didn't even know they were there.....Take your pup with ya!!! makes for good bonding time...

Id suggest looking into a few place right now. They are often so much easier to find when the leaves are off the trees/and the marsh grass is matted down by the snow. Come season the trees/grasses will hide many good spots. Usually these secluded spots produce if you know where they are. Thought on dog. Work work and work some more on basic dog command. Come, heel, sit, stay. Nothing blows a hunt than having a dog that is completely out of control. I run into people that have dogs that shouldnt be out. The dogs are usually humping my dog, barking/whining at everything that moves and or running at large with the hunter spending days trying to find it. I think the trainer on Water Dog suggest getting these four down......

Everything that has been said is a good. Some of my suggestions would be to go online to the wisconsin dnr and look up different spots to try. Scout them ahead of time. One thing you will learn about wisconsin is that the marsh might 2 feet deep of water but you can sink several more feet in the mucky bottoms. There are several good books out there for training labs. Another good website is waterfowler.com. I have used that website that many times for tips on training my lab. Dog clubs and sport clubs are also a great place to start. Ask questions on here and on waterfowler. Most of the time people give pretty good ideas and help you out.

You can check out the wisill hunting retriever club. They train at Bong Recreation area right up the road from you. Geese are abundant in the area but ducks can be a little tricky.

I am familiar with your area but often there are training clubs that can help you with training your pup. You may meets some folks there that may be able to help fill you in on other details. Right now is the time to buy. Look at some of the stores but also check websites like Rogers Sporting Goods, Cabelas, etc. There are a number of great sites, duckhuntingchat.com and lots of others. This stie is good to just need to weed through some of the crap. Welcome to the family!! It is very addictive.

Welcome aboard! If you can, find out where the closest D. U. Chapter is to you, and see if you can make contact with some of those folks. I'm sure that there are plenty of guys that will be more than happy to fill you in on the who, what, and where topics. If you need to start to purchase decs, shells, etc., now is the time to do it. Lots of sales. You should also be able to get info on the "train your pup" from those same folks. Good Luck with everything. Have Fun!

Good luck on your new WISCO hunting adventures! You got a lot of beautiful land in this state to gun ducks!

PM me if you want and we can swap emails. Lots of good advice on this site. so do some reads and feel it out.