Duck Hunting | How to Scout | Tips for Success

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

What's your answer to the question of the day? Give us some feedback here in the comments!

[@jacobmartin4592]

Surviving Duck Season y’all have one of the best channels for duck hunting just letting y’all know your doing a great job! More like surviving the off season!

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

jacob martin thanks so much! Yeah, we’re surviving the off season too! We’re looking forward to teal season coming up. It will be a little teaser of what’s to come!

[@alexferland8140]

The worst days to be out there are the best days to be duck hunting, they don’t seem to corporate as well on sunny days as they do on the days when no one wants to be out there.

[@Hale0902]

Every day i can get a chance to go im going

[@drakefiles4780]

Sunny days are the best in the green timber of Arkansas! The sun bouncing off of their white bellies is an awesome sight to see. I also feel like ducks are not able to see as well since the sun is reflecting off the water up towards them. On cloudy days they see very well.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Right you are! and the shadows too, makes it easier to hide.

[@gooseflatwaterfowlers]

Ideal conditions is when a front comes through during the hunt especially a cold front that brings in a changeover from rain sleet to snow. A good tactic to use when scouting is use game cameras on your spots then you know exact time they arrived and what time the left. Another way of scouting that works is use drones to scout for some strange reason it doesn’t spook the birds. I start scouting 2-3 weeks before season and 2-3 weeks after season the reason for after season is you can find new hunting spots and get ideas on blind/setup ideas for the next year. A thing I’ve been doing for over 10 years is keep a scout/hunt journal I write down date weather how many ducks we got/holding in a hole. By doing this you can about pattern pushes of ducks with time of the year and weather. A good rule of thumb to use when scouting to determine a spot to hunt is go where the most ducks are and don’t “sit” on ducks hunt them while they are there. It’s definitely a good idea to have multiple spots to rotate holes so you want burn them out of one spot.

[@jamesweisenhorn6373]

Nice! Sunny days! Now your teaching me something! Good job. The more we learn the more success we have the more we hunt. I know you see the pattern. Thanks

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Great, thanks for the feedback!

[@colewood6432]

Sunny! Sunny! Sunny! Birds always finish better are much easier to kill. I have years of records to prove this.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks, what state do you hunt?

[@colewood6432]

West Tennessee and SEMO.

[@idshoot4ya]

Great perspective on scouting, loved the video! We do better on sunny days.

[@timothywilder3183]

Both! If I'm hunting mallards. I want it sunny clear and cold. If divers? I want it to be cloudy and a little bit of wind blowing on the big water. 😊

[@kraigkaatz6858]

I like a cloudy day but have had great success when its sunny too.

[@calebmcnelly2885]

My two year old son watches Surviving Duck Season helps him go to sleep! he already rattled in his first buck!!

[@christopherhull5501]

Cloudy day. And thanks for another excellent video. I guided for over 25 years and I know,and agree with everything you’ve been saying.

[@bobdog279]

great tips for a better successful scout

[@Trompeta1972]

I prefer hunting on sunny days. One reason for this, I believe is because there are more shadows which make hiding from the ducks easier. I also believe the spinning wing decoys look more natural. My most memorable, big limit duck hunts have been on sunny days and I think it is because of these two reasons.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

I think you're right!

[@ScottHillOutdoors]

I love sunny cold day's here in Michigan. But flocked decoys are a must to keep any glare off

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Right on!

[@ksoutdoorsports]

I love to scout. Its warm! LOL

[@PonderousSage]

When I was a kid I use to go down the tracks behind my gmas house and dove hunt. One yr this corner started flooding and over the next few yrs small trees and cattails started growing, and soon TONS of ducks started coming there. Mind you I didn’t know anything about duck hunting and the tips in this video but I’d hide along the tracks in the weeds and about a half hr before sunset they would pour in! You’d bust em for a good 15 mins and then it was over til the next night lol. I’m wanting to get back into duck hunting and get my son into it

[@scottstorrer5435]

Question: Cloudy or Sunny... Answer: depends on where I am. When in southeast Missouri from a blind, sunny days are KILLER, cloudy stay home. In southwest Indiana, it was TOTALLY opposite!!! Great on cloudy days, hated the sun!!!

[@FirePirate099]

6:32 “do they get there together or trickle in?” Early Goose season when you find a hay field with 75 birds (what we in New Hampshire would consider a good hunt.) Only to watch them all show up in one big wad the next morning when you scout the field. I constantly worry that no matter how they trickle in during my scouting- the day I hunt it, they are all gonna show up at once. Been burned on birds changing it up so many times over the years

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

FirePirate099 yeah, I’ve been burned with specklebellies a few times that way too.

[@halfblindbear]

Going hunting makes the trip a success

[@daveoutdoors9206]

There should be more people in hunting like you.

[@RetrieverTrainingAlone]

Excellent tips! A pile of ducks is usually important to newbies, but as we get more experienced success is more about dead ducks. I've been hunting ducks for 40+ years and the dog work is what I enjoy the most. I will not hunt without a lab because it would not as much fun. Here in Alaska the water level changes substantially, so looking at satellite images from a variety of water levels indexed by a river gauge helps in scouting, for example, when the river gauge is at 7 feet, these willow islands are underwater but these willow islands are perfect for hunting, at 6 feet level these willow islands are surrounded by 50 yards of dry land and not as good. Excellent tip about birds trickling in the ideal situation. I also believe if no shooting while walking in and setting up helps to let the birds fly away and then trickle back. Blasting at the flock as the leave and they likely will not trickle back.... Binoculars also help to setup the lab for a long blind retrieve to make sure that brown clump is the dead duck. They seem to decoy best on sunny days I think because shadows conceal the hunter better on sunny days.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks for the comments. We think a lot alike. I've been to Alaska many times, but only once to duck hunt. It's an incredible place. You certainly live in God's country!

[@martinchen3838]

Cloudy day. Thanks for the tips. I think I know the patterns at my local spot but I should scout more times of the day.

[@getstuffdonelandscapemaint1858]

always cloudy. I feel like the birds move for food more, and I feel like I can blend in better with my blind/cover. I only have public lands to duck hunt. and some cold cloudy days keeps some wannabes away In Texas

[@OutdoorsandBeyond-ow6nn]

I like cloudy, feel like i can stay undetectable longer. And it seems like more birds moving, but I could be seeing things. Haha

[@Youno954]

Really appreciate your tips.

[@LifeofMurphysOutdoorsChannel]

We are just now getting into trying to go duck hunting. So appreciate the tips

[@HangingMossMedia]

I hunt a lot of timber and those sunny days make the decoys pop and the ducks seem to work better and be less weary.

[@toddlarson883]

Cloudy skies around here birds seem to move more! Sunny days you get them when they fly out and your done till last hr if you see them then.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks for the feedback. What state do you hunt?

[@toddlarson883]

@@SurvivingDuckSeason Northwest Mn

[@DoingStuffWithMiq]

I am 100% in the cloudy day preference. I hunt big water bodies and it pushes them down. They seem to be way less stressed and there's less traffic on those days too. If I have a choice though my optimal day is 20mph wind and some rain or snow.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Are you hunting divers?

[@DoingStuffWithMiq]

@@SurvivingDuckSeason yes most of the time, I only hunt puddle ducks and geese until divers show up.

[@DoingStuffWithMiq]

The funny thing is that we get a pile of nice puddle ducks if we aren't too far out from shore and I'd almost say that I get as many or more when targeting divers as puddlers but that's likely because of the extra scouting, setup, concealment efforts we put in and that the decoys get moving really well in the open.

[@davevann2925]

In my area, on sunny days they are on the lake and on cloudy days they fly inland.

[@davidwoodruff3736]

In NW Louisiana cloudy days are best for open water .

[@weshancock9571]

Prefer cloudy weather. Ducks seem to move more and easier to blend in. Geese feed too late in the day on sunny afternoons, shooting time is over before they even get up to feed.

[@aaronsnatic2446]

Marsh hunting it is 50/50 on type of day. Rice field / Bean Field sunny seems to be the best, especially if chasing specks.

[@duraldehunter]

Cloudy and rainy

[@gilwhitmore9682]

Central Florida, 100% cloudy days.

[@clinte9897]

Down south it’s harder to scout than say Oklahoma where it’s open and you can see for miles. With the timber, by the time you see the birds, they see you. Im not saying it’s not important to scout, just some areas you can do it far easier than others. Also conditions can change overnight, if birds were landing in a particular corner of pond with northwest wind, then it shifts to east by next day, well might be making changes last minute. Hard cold front brings a wad of fresh ducks down, next day none to be found. It can be so frustrating.

[@smacksam4417]

We haven't had any ducks in green country

[@johndoeglogloku5333]

Wish I had time to scout , im a ups driver and work 50-60 hours a week:/ oh well , gotta put food on the table !

[@clinte9897]

U got paid time off, u usually save my vacation for hunting season

[@ericdavis3736]

I v only shot 5 or 6 duck a year just to have some to eat during the year. My grandpa taght me not to take more then you can eat that year. O matter what it is that you are hunting.ou remind me of the good old times with him.

[@claytonsmith8816]

Cloudy, Cold, and Rainy...4 years late!! LOL!

[@coleanderson3802]

Joel, what happens if the only ground you can hunt becomes a roost?

[@scottackeret6916]

cloudy , less shine on the decoys or water and birds seem to fly llater in the day

[@C_Tutt]

I like shooting ducks when it’s cloudy and rainy, not like downpour but drizzling, the sung can be good, but also dangerous to you

[@brandonrobbins8308]

Cloudy day

[@scottackeret6916]

cloudy , no shine on the decoys or water and birds seem to fly later in the day

[@Laughinghawg]

Give me sunshine on my blocks in the timber with a 5 to 10 from the nw and 28*

[@coreysmith6518]

I k ow I'm late to the party. But is there any good links to normal flyaway patterns such as a more in depth look than just Mississippi flyaway, coastal, etc. I'd really like to know if there is something that shows average numbers through say 100mile blocks of states.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

I’m not aware of something that detailed. USF&W does put out stats every year on harvest data and migration numbers for every state and Canadian province. It also includes duck stamp sales and estimates on hunter days in the field.

[@mikeries8549]

My father, along with a woman named Judy Montgomery designed and patented the radio collars. Judy manufactured them herself and we did the testing at Ries Labs Inc. for many years. There is no pattern to the migration. I watched a duck fly around in central illinois for 2 years centering around chataqua national wildlife refuge. It was a mallard hen banded and collared by AGFC.

[@fishingwithchase2274]

Hey Joel, I’m just getting into duck hunting and I gotta pond on my land but can’t find any duck so how can I attract more birds in my pond

[@nathanmorton4080]

Put in a water control box to control water level, run water levep down to expose 2-15 ft bank, jap millet, brown top millet, and the pink smartness seeds broadcast on the bank mud. Reflood about month before season

[@mikeries8549]

The pattern I look for is where a low comes thru. An Alberta clipper is what I'm wanting. There's a hot side and a cold side. I will actually set in the blind thru the whole storm waiting... on public. When the wet n warm turn cold and icy where it hurts it's hard to stay put but I know I just know that when the clouds break there are ducks up there and they're tired and hungry from riding that storm front. By the time I'm taking pictures it's bluebird weather. Sound familiar? It should.

[@joshmarthe5711]

Cloudy

[@MarshallBass-bd9pm]

Lol come to NC and try to find birds.....

[@brothacole7143]

NC has a decent amount of ducks if you know where to look

[@Dylan1094]

Any sense in scouting before the duck season starts and the ducks are down or no??

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Dylan Smith it depends on where you hunt and how much experience you have hunting there. If you are on private ground and you know how the property hunts then I don’t see the benefits. If you are hunting unfamiliar areas then the benefit to scouting is knowing what the habitat looks like. Either way, I think it’s more important to scout within a day or so of when you hunt.

[@Dylan1094]

@@SurvivingDuckSeason i appreciate the response I will wait until closer to season

[@kennypaul851]

cloudy day s old duck in win

[@kindredspirittv8598]

I hunt when I can and where I can.

[@Hawk77j]

Hey buddy I’m a new duck hunter and have a few questions. I have a lease with a pond, and the pond has been so high the dam constantly flows water on other side of the driving trail and flooded a field/wooded area. There’s hundreds of woodies in the flooded area , they are there way before daylight and still in there at night. I believe it’s the roost and don’t want too hunt the roost but if the ducks do not leave that flooded area what do I do. I’ve only ever seen a few birds in the pond , most just stay in the flooded area.

[@johncutillo6220]

Cloudy they seem to fly lower

[@wadewarriner139]

Way late to the party... Sunny days in timber are better in my opinion. Shadows give better hiding spots, the ripples in the water are easier for the ducks to see when sun shimmys off the water...I've got a hole that I rarely kill anything until the sun gets down in the hole at which point, the ducks decoy SO much better.

[@DrakeMiester]

To many instagram hunters out there today ,all about the pile pics and hashtags. Scouting unfortunately around here is a waste of time,gas and knuckle skin. Leases have been king the last 30 years,and big money talks and helps you get on birds. Public ground is beat flat by the second week of early season. Duck hunting has became a rich mans past time.

[@mikeries8549]

We are allowed to participate in THE SPORT OF KINGS. Sure things have changed and for the worse but if you've participated in duck hunting for four or five decades you'd see a pattern. Right now we're at a point where it can't get much worse. Ppl are quitting...thank God.

[@aaronnoyes4059]

@@mikeries8549 Ive read reports that state numbers are dwindling. Must be a regional thing,because numbers are not dropping,but have increased exponentially here in CO. Hard pressed to drive an agricultural area and not have decoy spreads in almost every field or body of water 5-7 days a week. Average lease or "club" run you anywhere from $1500-$15,000 for the season. I will say one thing Ive noticed,you dont see much if any youth in the social media grip and grin pics that get posted. Crew of well fed,well healed middle aged guys,each swaddled in no less than $1200-$1500 worth of Sitka,shooting the latest $1800 shotgun,drove there in a $50,000 pickup,pulling another $15,000 worth of decoys in a $20,000 enclosed trailer "Sport of Kings" you say ? It hasn't been a sport around here in 35 years,it's a business model of the rich . We are our own worst enemy.

[@mjuberian]

Fly 100 miles each day to go feed??? I dont think so....

[@Kraftoutdoors]

Cloudy day