Duck Hunting Boats

The nation’s rivers, lakes, and backwaters provide public land duck hunters incredible experiences.  In many cases, in order for duck hunters to reach the remote locations that ducks and geese call home, they must turn to various types of watercraft.  

Duck hunting boats have a strong tradition and the amount of options available are numerous.  Our family has owned and hunted out of most of them over the course of the years to include canoes, skiffs, kayaks, flat-bottom boats, and even a V-hull boat. Each has a purpose, positives, and negatives.

1756 Alumacraft with a 50HP Mercury outboard

One of the many reasons my father spent most of his time chasing ducks and geese instead of deer, as most Wisconsinites do is because duck hunting afforded him the opportunity to take his two boys with him on hunts.  Duck hunting has a unique social aspect that sets it apart from other forms of hunting.  Because he was always bringing myself and my brother on hunts, when we were younger we always hunted out of a boat.  This also helped because many of the hunting locations in Wisconsin offer deeper water access. We have had so many different flat bottom boats that I cannot even give an accurate count, but they were pretty similar in length and size of motor.  Our most current is a 1756 Alumacraft, similar to the one pictured here.  We ran 50 HP Mercury outboard on the back for years, but recently switched to a Pro-Drive shallow water outboard to handle the challenges of the Mississippi River more effectively.  Flat-bottom boats provide the hunter with the all-around package.  These boats provide the hunter with enough room to pack in a good number of decoys, gear, and friends, as well as with a motor such as the Pro-Drive, virtually no spot is unreachable.

Carsten's Pintail 14ft duck hunting skiff (left)

For those looking for something less involved or are interested in keeping a smaller footprint, canoes, skiffs, and kayaks are the answer.  When I went to college and moved to New York for the military, I brought my 14ft Carsten’s duck skiff with me.  The Pintail model offered me just enough room for a dozen decoys, my gear, and my dog. Most of my hunting in recent years has been out of that skiff.  The obvious benefit to something like this is the accessibility.  I was able to handle it myself, carry it in the bed of my truck, and paddle into very secluded areas.  Of course, this maneuverability came at a cost.  Most of my decoys had to stay home, it took me a long time to paddle in (many EARLY mornings to get to my spots), and my friends had to have their own canoe or kayak to come with.  Either way, skiffs offer hunters a great starting point to really experience duck hunting in its purest form.

Duck hunting boats come in many shapes and sizes. Choosing a duck boat will depend on where the hunter wants to spend most of his or her time hunting and what their budget looks like.  Hunting out of a boat can be a really cool and unique experience.  It was how I learned how to hunt ducks and will always be my favorite way to chase them down the flyway.

What is your favorite way to hunt ducks and what kind of boat do you use? 

A Duck Hunter's Best Friend

The utilization of canines to assist hunters in the pursuit of wild game has a strong history.  This is especially true for those of us chasing waterfowl.  In the United States, the most commonly used dog for duck and goose hunting is the Labrador Retriever.  According to this article from Wildfowl Magazine, labs gained their popularity quickly with waterfowl hunters after World War II when more American’s had the time and money to pursue hobbies such as hunting.  The Labrador Retriever has proved itself time and again as the best hunting and family dog combination available.

My family has always had a dog around.  When I was younger we had a dog named Max, a black Labrador Retriever.  I remember him being a burley character that was a bit rugged. Max lived outside in a large kennel and dog house that my father had built for him in our back yard.  I used to come home from school as a kid, open the back gate to the yard, and Max would come running full speed and tackle me, licking my face as we fell to the ground.  After Max we got a dog from a friend, so don’t judge on the name, but our next dog was another black Lab named Brandy’s Baby Bear II.  Baby Bear was a great family dog.  She laid in front of the sink and allowed my younger brother to stand on her to fill up a glass of water.  Baby Bear was a solid field dog as well.

Sammy

After we had to put Baby Bear down we found a yellow Lab.  Sammy was a character.  She was very difficult to hunt over.  She was an extremely smart dog but was not as interested in what we had to say.  She always wanted to explore the marsh, swamp, or woods and wasn’t in the mood to sit still and wait for ducks.  The next dog my father found for our family has proved to be the most stubborn, bull-headed lab we have ever worked with. Decoy is a female chocolate Lab that we have had for about eight years now.  Kind of like Sammy, Decoy’s favorite activities include up-rooting full-size trees and carrying them around the yard.

 

Decoy

Naturally, having been raised with dogs my whole life, it didn’t take long before I found my own Lab. While I was living in New York I went to the Ducks Unlimited banquet in Oswego.  The banquet offered a “pick of the litter” raffle and an eight-week-old puppy was the number one item.  They only offered around 40 tickets and I wasn’t lucky enough to get my hands on one. The table we sat at was a collection of older couples, my friend, and I.  They were very interested of our military service and how much we loved duck hunting.  One of the couples offered to pick the dog and give her to me if they won the “pick of the litter” raffle.

Madison

Sure enough, her number was called and she looked at me and asked if I still wanted a puppy.  I couldn’t say no.  I wrote a check to cover the couple’s dinner and the paintings they wanted.  I now had my first dog at 11PM on a Wednesday night with no kennel, food, or real plan. We brought Madison back home that night and I had a new best friend.  Madison has been a great hunting dog and even better friend and companion over the past five years.  I am excited each and every season to see her work.  I don’t know what duck hunting would be without my dog.

Hunting the Mississippi River

The Mississippi River has its own flyway. From Minnesota to Louisiana, ducks and geese follow the river during their migration.  When the migration is on, hunting on the river is exceptional, especially compared to the rest of the state of Wisconsin.  In order to capitalize on the opportunity, my father, uncles, and a family friend would head to the river for a hunting trip when I was growing up.  Every year sometime between Halloween and Veterans Day, Dad, Uncle Bill, Bob, and Bill’s friend Tom would meet in Buffalo City, Wisconsin.  Buffalo City is located on Wisconsin 35 just north of Winona, Minnesota.  The group stayed at the “famous” Viking Motel in Buffalo City.  I remember hearing stories of the place.  Something to do with carpeted walls, but it got the job done.

I remember it being difficult to get out of school to go along on the trip, but Dad could usually talk the teachers into letting me have a couple days off.  It was only fair because in Wisconsin, most kids get time off for deer season.  I remember how cool it was to finally go on the trip my uncles and father had talked so much about.  I finally go to experience Sand Run and the other spots of family lore. 

Dad sending a message to some high flying Mallards at Sand Run.

Sand Run was the “hot spot” when I was growing up.  Bill and Tom found the spot way back and returned each year.  We would set up across a cut from the refuge and try to convince ducks to drop in our decoys instead.  This spot was where I shot my first Mississippi River mallard and my father shot the first Black Duck I had ever seen.  It is truly amazing that some spots provide luck year after year.

Although the Mississippi River provides some of the best waterfowl hunting in the country, the river can be unforgiving.  Dad shared stories like the Great Armistice Day Storm of 1940 as well as some of their own.  One of our early duck hunting boats was a 16-foot Lowe job boat with a 25-horse power engine.  Dad had to leave the boat out on the river at their spot one night because a storm moved in that caused the river to be too dangerous to cross.  Tom and Bill brought Tom’s 18-foot, center counsel boat to pick him up.  After that trip, we were always very cautious on the river.  The weather, currents, sand bars, and stumps add to the challenge of chasing fowl.

Hunting the Mississippi River is can be extremely rewarding and equally dangerous.  It provides incredible experiences for those pursuing waterfowl.  I am glad that it has been such a big part of my life and provided me with so many great stories and experiences.  If you have any stories to share from hunting the Mississippi River and its flyway, comment below!  I would love to hear them.  Now get quackin’!

The First Hunt

Bird hunting has always been a part of my life.  My father introduced me to waterfowl hunting very early on.  I was around three years old when I went on my first hunt.  Dad took me to “the swamp” as we call it.  It was a small undeveloped portion of Legend Lake.  Legend Lake is located just north of Shawano, Wisconsin on the Menominee Reservation.  Our family has had a cottage on the lake since the 1970s.  Our swamp was just a quick boat ride down the lake from our cottage. The convenience of the spot made it a perfect place to introduce me to the duck hunting lifestyle I would grow to love.

That first hunt was a memorable one for sure.  We had the whole crew at the cottage that weekend including my uncles Bob and Yovan.  This is where I first began to see how incredible waterfowl hunting is for building relationships and the comradery that develops at duck camp.  Duck hunting is not easy and difficult things bring people closer together.  The shared struggle becomes the glue to the relationship.  We struggled together that first hunt.  Obviously, it was a long time ago, so my memory is not perfect, but I sure do remember the rain.  

We got up early and headed to the swamp.  The swamp is off the main lake along a channel.  It is accessible to anyone and isn’t very big so really only one group can hunt the area.  That day (and I think every time we have gone in the last 25 years) we were the only ones out there.  Usually the spot provides some great early season wood duck action.  That day did not turn out that way for us.  As I said earlier, we struggled that day.  I remember it pouring rain the entire time we were out there.  Yovan didn’t bring a rain jacket so I remember him huddled under a large pine tree to try and stay out the rain.  With the weather we were unable to harvest any birds, but looking back on that first hunt, it showed me how little that matters.

I might not have realized it that day or even later on as I grew up chasing ducks and geese, but it is definitely evident now.  Duck hunting is not about killing birds, it is about spending time with those you love. The early mornings, terrible weather, broken boats, sinking decoys, and whatever else we faced, we faced together. We grew together as a family and with friends, enjoying the outdoors.  Every hunt has and will be an adventure.