Parker Knox for SPLIT REED
Many of us can still remember our first duck hunt, and a lot of these stories sound very similar. The tales usually involve some old men – a father, grandfather and/or a mentor of some sort – and an early morning wake-up call. There’s either a long boat ride in the pitch dark, or memories of being floated in on a bag of decoys to an old wooden blind or dry ground. The smell of gunpowder fills the air as a seasoned Labrador retrieves the first downed birds of the day. You’re young and can’t figure out if you’re shaking from the cold or the excitement; and it’s that excitement, those emotions that keep us coming back morning after morning, year after year.
Let’s try another scenario.
It’s a bright, sunny January afternoon in the croplands of the Midwest. You spent the previous day scouting and found a cornfield juiced with thousands of ducks. The A-Frames are grassed and hidden in a drainage slough 20 yards from your decoy spread. Trucks and trailers are stashed half a mile away. Dogs are whining with anticipation. You and your buddies try to keep things jovial with jokes and old stories, but the truth is that your anxiety is through the roof. You’re racing the clock to legal shooting time and you now have 35 minutes to shoot your 6-man limit of greenheads, and there isn’t a single bird in the sky. Before too long the only sounds you hear are the dog’s wagging tail beating against the fabric of the blind, and your buddy’s lighter as he fires up a lucky smoke. You now have 33 minutes. Then… It happens. Someone says, “Ducks. Ducks!” and everyone reaches for their calls as their hearts skip a beat. It’s on!
Though both of those settings sound ideal – especially now as the summer heat rolls in – there’s undoubtedly more work and thought that took place behind the scenes. Deciding on what time of day to hunt is often the difference between success and sub-par results. Add the late morning or midday set to the mix and you can quickly begin to overthink your game plan. For simplicity, let’s consider the two most common scenarios – mornings and afternoons.
A morning duck hunt is tradition. There’s something spiritual about it. Whatever “Higher Power” you believe in; it can certainly be felt in the moments leading up to legal shooting time, and throughout the extent of the morning as the world around you wakes up for another go at survival. We as waterfowlers are there for the harvest, and to make memories with family and friends. But when it comes to success, there are a few factors to take into account when considering a morning or afternoon hunt. First and foremost being the information gathered during your scouting. If the birds have been hitting a certain location at a certain time, then it’s usually advantageous to be there at that time. Like deer hunters pattern whitetail movements; we duck hunters can learn by taking some mental notes during our scouting trips. We all know that it’s never a guarantee, but having all of your information straight can pay dividends when prioritizing time and effort.
Now… let’s say you’ve kept eyes on a drink pond for 3 days that birds have been hitting between 3-4:00pm before going out to feed. You and your guests show up at noon to set the afternoon trap and it’s already packed full with ducks, and zero birds are left on the roost. What changed? Likely, it was the weather in some fashion. Weather will obviously play a huge role in deciding which part of the day to hunt. Did a cold front roll through the night before, bringing with it some precipitation and cloud cover? Remember – it’s all about survival for these animals. A cold, wet, windy night will deplete waterfowl of their stored resources and intrinsically drive them to food and shelter earlier in the day, especially without the sun’s warming infrared rays during the daylight hours. So, be sure to keep a close eye on the forecast and monitor changes in weather patterns.
Another weather component to take into account is wind. Wind speed can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Have I seen no-wind, bluebird mornings where 3 and 4 packs of ducks give it up at 20 yards? Yes. But the inverse has been true far more often. Ask any avid duck hunter what their ideal hunting conditions are and I can guarantee that you’ll hear something about a 10-15 mph wind. Wind seems to get the birds off their nightly roost to search for daytime feeds and hangout locations. It also adds liveliness to your decoy spread with movement to appear as live birds feeding and loafing, not just hunks of motionless plastic floating on the surface of the water.
When the you-know-what hits the fan, the decision for most of us often comes down to life’s priorities. Some of us live busy lives with careers and families, while others have the freedom to hunt whenever they please. My advice: get out when you can, do your homework through scouting, and keep close tabs on the weather to prioritize the time that you do have. Apply some of the information above and formulate your own hypotheses to determine when you make your next successful outing.
