Decoys and Calling If you set your decoys along a flyway where you normally pass shoot, wood ducks will likely ignore your spread while en route to a preferred feeding or roosting area. But if you’re waiting for woodies at their final destination, they might fall right into your decoy spread like a flock of mallards.
Do wood ducks come to decoys?
Wood ducks will decoy, but they’re not wont to do so well outside the vicinities of their intended destinations. Set up where the woodies want to be, and use your decoys to fine-tune their approach. A small spread of about a dozen decoys is typically all that’s required.
How many decoys do you need for wood ducks?
If you’re where they want to feed, loaf or travel, they’ll probably plop down into a spread of two decoys just as readily as they’d commit to a 100-block rig. For water hunts, I throw out six to 12 wood duck decoys to attract the attention of birds and perhaps slow them down for a split second.
Do wood ducks like wing decoys?
Love them or hate them, spinners, where allowed, are deadly on wood ducks, grabbing their attention at a distance and helping focus them visually on the small spread of decoys. Calling wood ducks is like decoying wood ducks—sometimes it works, more often it doesn’t.
How do you get wood ducks to come?
Since the wood ducks do not require big elaborate decoy spreads to draw them in, the number one thing that will bring the woodies in is if you are in the area they want to feed. Often time you could have as few as 2 decoys and they will fly in to feed regardless.
Where do wood ducks go during the day?
Woodies like to roost on ponds, and in corners of wetlands large and small, usually where there is some cover. They leave at first light to spend the day in ponds, wet cornfields, and creeks, but pinning down their exact spot is rarely easy.
What size shot is best for wood ducks?
Wood Duck Guns and Loads
In reality, most shots at wood ducks are at close range if you’re set up right. A 12- or 20-gauge loaded with steel 4 shot and an improved cylinder or light-modified choke is all the gun you need. Test your gun at 20 and 25 yards to be sure your pattern is wide enough at close range.
Are wood ducks hard to hunt?
Wood ducks are predictable, especially during the early season, so this is a high-percentage way to hunt them. The limit on wood ducks is only a few birds, so it can be tempting to bring several buddies along. But more guns mean more pressure and fewer quality days of hunting.
Can you call in wood ducks?
Many hunters are familiar with the traditional “wheet-wheet” squeal that a woodie makes in flight, and most call manufactures produce these types of calls. Because they are fairly loud, these calls are effective in getting the attention of most wood ducks.
Can you use too many duck decoys?
Packing too many blocks in a small area won’t look natural. Just make sure decoys are visible and look relaxed. Use common sense for in-between scenarios. Two to four dozen blocks will probably work fine in marsh or river backwater situations.
Are the wood duck early migrants?
Early Birds
Early migrating species of waterfowl like teal, gadwall, wood ducks, pintails and widgeon are the first to leave the breeding grounds in the north for warmer climes in the south.
Do wood ducks feed at night?
Waterfowl are typically more active at night in mild weather and curtail their nocturnal activity during severe weather. Waterfowl generally fly out to feed earlier in the evening on moonlit, windy nights than on moonless, calm nights.
Do wood ducks fly in the rain?
Yes, ducks do fly in the rain and wind. Although it may seem strange, duck hunting in the wind, fog, and rain can be a good idea.
Where do you put wood duck boxes?
Boxes can be installed on posts or poles in the water, at least 3 feet above the high water mark, facing south or west. If installing on land, choose a site within 100 feet from the water with no branches around the entrance hole. Predator guards should be installed. Place 4 inches of wood shavings in box floor.
What is the best thing to bait ducks with?
Baiting is the use of corn or grain to lure ducks and geese within shotgun range. The usual approach is to broadcast it in the shallows surrounding a blind.
What choke is best for duck hunting?
A modified choke tube (0.020”) is the best choke size for duck hunting. It allows for all-around performance for both decoying and passing shots. All types of shot and shot sizes can be put through a modified choke tube with no issues. Full chokes are specialized chokes for long distance shots only.
What is a wood ducks favorite food?
While acorns are the primary winter foods, the seeds of bald cypress, hickory, sweet gum, buttonbush, arrow-arum, bur-reed, and wild rice are also common winter foods. Wood ducks feed primarily in shallow water areas, but will also forage on the forest floor for seeds, acorns, and nuts.
Do wood ducks return to where they were born?
The female has an amazing ability to return to the same tree where she was born to lay her eggs. Her nest cavity is typically about 30 feet above the ground.
What month do wood ducks nest?
Nesting: The breeding season for wood ducks begins in April. The hen will pull some of her down feathers out to line the nest hidden in a natural tree cavity or a man-made nest box. The nest can be up to 50′ (15 m) off the ground.
Is 4 shot too small for mallards?
Size #4 shot is the best load for shooting ducks up to 35 yards away. Of all the shot sizes that have enough power to be effective at this range, 4’s have the highest pellet density within a 30” circle. For ducks further than 35 yards, a larger shot size is required.
Can you use 2 shot for ducks?
Size 2 shot is a versatile load for situations in which you might encounter geese as well as ducks; otherwise 3 shot is a good all-purpose duck pellet. At ranges inside 40 yards, BB, 1, or 2 shot are good for geese; 2 or 3 shot works well on ducks.