Cold weather necessitates tactical change More preparation required for better waterfowl hunting

I’ve been a duck hunter since I was old enough to shoot a 20 gauge. Goose gunning is my true bane, however, and I’ve made more than a hundred trips to Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Connecticut, New York, and various spots in Canada in pursuit of honkers. Since Maine’s goose transplant program took hold and boosted the numbers of native birds, and the flocks of migrating Canadas have skyrocketed in the last five years, I’ve been a home state honker hunter. Great goose gunning is available throughout the Pine Tree State all season long, but cold weather and snow arrive early in the northern zone and waterfowling sportsmen need to change their tactics to enjoy consistent success.

Frozen ground

When nighttime temperatures drop into the mid-20s, fields form a slight crust, about an inch or two deep depending on water content of the soil. String several of these nights together and earth may freeze to depths of four inches. Waterfowlers using silhouette decoys or any shell decoy that requires a stake need to carry a tool to punch holes through the hard ground. The best stake hole tools have an upper handle for stabilization and a horizontal foot rest about 12 inches above the sharpened point. It’s always easier to step down and use body weight and leg muscles to punch a hole than to jab with the arms or pound a stake with a hammer.

Another way to beat frozen ground and get a better response from late-season, decoy-wary ducks and geese is to set out full-body decoys for the bulk of the spread. Full bodies are much more realistic in appearance from every height and angle a flying bird might approach, and they are freestanding, so they require no stakes or holes in frozen turf. In most cases, half as many full-body decoys will provide the attention and action of a full compliment of shells, rags, silhouettes, or wind socks. For the last three years, I’ve used only 48 multi-position Hard Core decoys for late November and early December goose hunts and 24 full-bodies for duck outings. Their coloration, poses, and body detail are superb.

Correct field selection is another crucial decision that affects daily results when ground begins to freeze. Cut grain fields and harvested cornfields that are within 10 minutes’ flying time from a roost pond are favored. Harvested potato fields, a great soft-dirt favorite during warmer weather, offer difficult feeding when frozen. Remember also that waterfowl, especially Canada geese, tend to leave their roost water later on sub-freezing days. They know that once the sun is up, surface frost will melt and the top layer of earth will soften.

Other techniques to remember on frosty mornings include having a rag at hand to wipe frost from decoys and to soak up water from the backs. Real birds don’t collect frost or water and they certainly don’t shine or sparkle in the sun. Camouflaged layout and hay bale blinds made of waterproof fabrics tend to have a sheen, especially with a warm body inside and cold air outside producing a layer of condensation. One sure cure is to mud the outside with a thin dirt and water mixture to prevent glare, or shooters can use indigenous plant growth to break up the form and possible sheen.

Frozen water

More than any other factor, ice greatly affects duck and goose hunting on fresh water. In fact, a lack of significant amount of open water in a region can send waterfowl winging south to warmer climes and essentially end the season. When roost ponds freeze solid for more than three days, it’s likely birds will begin to move out. Certain ice conditions can be dealt with, however, and with specific techniques, gunning actually improves due to limited available open water.

When puddles, pot holes, and small ponds skim over with an inch of ice or less, hunters can break up a portion of the surface ice by wading and stomping it into pieces on smaller waters or using a boat and pick pole on moderate-size waterways. Breaking out large sections and shoving them under the standing ice works better than smashing the ice into smaller sections that just float about in the open water and tend to freeze back together. Selecting a shooting site within 10 minutes of a regular roost water will ensure an influx of both ducks and geese.

When opening up frozen pot holes select a spot near natural cover where a makeshift blind can be constructed or a prefab mobile blind concealed. Place decoys in the open water and even position a few on the ice edges and along the shoreline. Motorized decoys and jerk lines to animate the spread on calm days will improve gunning significantly. Calling is an asset but secondary to attracting flocks from a distance with flagging and spinning wing decoys.

Once ducks and geese leave the roost to feed and dabble on their regular pot holes and puddles but find them ice-locked, they will continue to explore. When you have the only open water around, business is bound to be brisk. When ice on small waterways becomes too thick to break up, move on to larger ponds and lakes where currents, spring holes, and wind tend to slow surface freezing. When all stationary waterways ice in, gunning on rivers and streams is the next step, and many of these will have sections that remain free of ice all winter.

Even when most of the larger lakes are iced in, goodly stretches of open water can often be found at thoroughfare mouths and stream inlets. If no shoreline cover is suitable, use a layout boat, camouflaged canoe, or jonboat with a collapsible blind, surrounded with two or three dozen decoys. On rivers and streams, set up in an eddy or backwater along the main flowage, breaking ice if necessary. Birds will move upstream and down all day, and many will spot your inviting calm-water run with a handful of decoys and wing within range.

As a last resort, when most everything is frozen up and all else fails, think salt water. Even if it’s an hour drive to the ocean to locate a brackish cove, bogan, or backwater, or perhaps a tide-affected river or stream, it’s worth the trip. Puddle ducks flock to these spots because there’s always open water. A blind along the river bank or a floating boat blind for the more open waters are the best approaches, and who knows, you might even get a shot at some passing sea ducks.

Snow cover

We all know it’s coming sooner or later, and when it arrives, as my grandmother always said, “That sure changes the water on the beans.” Geese will tolerate deeper snow than ducks before they move on, but 8 inches to a foot is the breaking point for even the big honkers. As long as they can scratch up food, waterfowl will stick around. A trick I learned in Maryland and New York is to carry a rake or shovel along with my decoy spread.

Before setting out the blind or decoys, scrape or shovel several blocks of ground clear of snow so the dirt or grain stubble is exposed. Then position the decoys around the bare earth in groups of threes and fours; it’s like a giant neon sign that says bird buffet. Walk around the outside edge of the decoys kicking up snow with your boots, too; this makes it look like the birds have been rooting and digging for food.

Once snow is on the ground, normal camo pattern blinds are no longer effective. Special covers can be purchased to imitate snow, but I’ve had good luck just pinning a section of white sheet to the top of the layout or hay bale blind to imitate a covering of snow. White coveralls will work for hunters who plan to just lay out in the open among the decoys. Flagging and motorized decoys are even more visible against a white backdrop, so make with the motion whenever birds are spotted flying in the distance. Although it seems trivial, when a duck or goose is shot, make sure any blood that stains the snow is covered or wiped away completely. Finally, real birds use their wide-webbed feet to walk on top of the snow, so don’t set decoys in snow up to their bellies. Figure out a way to stand them so their legs show or they are at least suspended a few inches over the snow.

Creature comforts

Late-season waterfowl hunting is usually cold and wet, and while the birds are equipped to handle such conditions, many hunters are ill prepared. Dress in layers of clothing to retain warmth, with wool or fleece as a middle layer and waterproof, windproof camo as an outer layer. Insulated coveralls and bib overalls are excellent for holding in body heat. A wool or fleece ski hat that pulls down over the ears or a cap with earflaps retains head heat. Some sportsmen opt for a neck gaiter, balaclava, or a full-face mask on sub-freezing days.

Boots need to be comfortable and fully waterproof as lots of walking through mud and snow is involved with setting out a decoy spread. Think Gore-Tex and Thinsulate or full-felt liner and an innersole in a rubber outer boot. Gloves must be warm yet flexible enough to handle a shotgun and feel the trigger and safety mechanisms. That’s a tough combination to find, so I opt for thinner gloves and a handwarmer or a fleece hand muff with two chemical handwarmers inside. Proper clothing is essential for cold weather waterfowling lest freezing extremities affect shooting and safety or shorten the outing.

Geese and ducks aren’t driven south at the first signs of snow and frozen ground, so don’t let the elements keep you away from some of the season’s last and often very productive waterfowling. Birds change habits to accommodate the weather; hunters need to do the same. Tweaking tactics and techniques to conform to changing weather and waterfowl habits should assure gunning until either the season or the birds slip away for another year.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached via e-mail at bgravesoutdoors@ainop.com