What's everybody seeing out there on this bone dry year?? Most smaller potholes are dry or just a puddle not seeing much for local hatch either atleast for ducks, some geese but very few and far between SE WI.
Waterfowl Hunting
2023 DUCK and GOOSE REPORTS.
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Hi all, been fun seeing everyone's comments this season. Griz nice to see someone else from the northwoods. I live and hunt in Price Co. Never was a bow hunter so I chase ducks and grouse most of the fall. My season started great like it usually does for woodies. One thing I noticed this year was all my jump shooting beaver ponds and frog water were pretty dead, had the best luck on the larger lakes and rivers with rice. I couldn't hunt the big Halloween cold-front, but when I picked back up all the woodies were gone. Geese picked up on the rivers and became predictable. Drove up to Bayfield for a change of pace once and got into a few divers in a driving rain. Scouted a few lakes last week on the national forest between grouse walks. They had some ringers and mallards but were gone when I hunted. After the opener never ran into another duck hunter. That's maybe the best part of duck hunting northern WI away from the vacation towns, regardless of bird numbers, sunrises all to yourself.
It's been awhile but it's been a grind of a season. And I'm afraid it's not going to really improve before the end atleast in my area. I was out yesterday morning with only killing 2 a drake mallard and a black duck.On the plus side the drake mallard was a 5 curler. SM that block is right on point.
I'm still chipping away at it. I hunted Friday and based on that decided to sleep in today. Despite the front that came through on Thursday and the stiff NW winds overnight into Friday morning, I only saw about 20 ducks total (but about 500 geese, a bunch of sandhill cranes, and some tundra swans). 3 ducks did it right, however, and came right up the middle of the decoy spread; a drake mallard, a drake buff, and a drake goldeneye. Pic below of the drake goldeneye. He was a mounter.
I own one Herters model 72 decoy. It originally was a drake mallard, but based on some pics Griz posted a few years back of some black ducks he painted, I converted that decoy to a drake black duck. Friday, I decided to bring it out and use it. It looked great on the water.
Abest, my son, who lives in SE WI, tells me all the time that when he sees a bunch of "new" mallards in the ponds and creeks down by him, the hunting back at home is usually good (based on my results I share with him). So based on your observation, I may have wished I went out this morning.
I own one Herters model 72 decoy. It originally was a drake mallard, but based on some pics Griz posted a few years back of some black ducks he painted, I converted that decoy to a drake black duck. Friday, I decided to bring it out and use it. It looked great on the water.
Abest, my son, who lives in SE WI, tells me all the time that when he sees a bunch of "new" mallards in the ponds and creeks down by him, the hunting back at home is usually good (based on my results I share with him). So based on your observation, I may have wished I went out this morning.
waupaca co:
hunted my home water sat am and never fired the benelli had 1 flock of mallards make a couple loops and then boogied out. Not a ducky day really with the cold and no wind, we need a push but i dont think the end atleast for northern zones going to be any good. o well
hunted my home water sat am and never fired the benelli had 1 flock of mallards make a couple loops and then boogied out. Not a ducky day really with the cold and no wind, we need a push but i dont think the end atleast for northern zones going to be any good. o well
I've been chipping away at it this past week. Been out 4 times in 7 days. Bird activity has been somewhat slow, but had shooting each time out; taking 2 to 4 birds per day. I could have limited on Thursday, but the sun glare off the water (even with polarized sunglasses on) was so intense I could not take a good shot at a flock of ringnecks that I landed in my decoy spread. Pics from a couple of hunts.
Hunted friday out on the bay and got 4 had some other swings and misses but flight really died by late morning and did'nt see the normal amount of ducks I usually do out there. Monday hunted out near stoughton and we got 1 mallard and seen maybe 15 ducks all morning rather slow and mostly stale birds around now, we need another push soon.
goodhuntin all!
goodhuntin all!
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