Please understand that waterfowl hunting is no different than any other kind of hunting. Even though the latest episode of (insert your favorite hunting show here) will have you believing they only hunt in areas where they kill limits of birds every day, this isn’t the case. There are just as many days of no birds, as there are days where everyone in the group limits out, and everything in between.

Don’t get discouraged and give up if your latest outings haven’t produced the outcome you’ve envisioned in your head. One of the easiest mistakes to make, is to sell yourself on the idea that a certain location should have ducks and geese. Just because you’ve bought into the idea that they should be there, it doesn’t mean that they will be. You have more hunting knowledge at your fingertips right now than any previous time in history (TV, social media groups, magazines, etc.); make sure you’re taking advantage of it.

As for gear, after the basics, such as a gun, warm clothes, boots or waders, you’ll need a few decoys. You don’t need many. For most of my hunts, I carry six or eight. Although I don’t believe huge numbers of decoys are important to the kind of hunting I’m going to describe, I do believe the quality and realism of the decoys is important. If you own a hand-me-down bunch of decoys, that are weather worn and beat up, consider applying a fresh coat of paint, especially on the heads; this seems to be a key feature of getting finicky birds to commit to your spread.

One of the decoys I carry along is usually a motion decoy. If you’re not able to buy a new motion decoy, a simple pull string, attached to one of your old decoys, can be a great way to create some ripples on the water and create the realistic look you’re going for. The sight of water moving, or even the sound of water splashing, can be a great way to get birds to work close enough to shoot.

I hunt mostly on public land. For the most part, I leave my house early in the morning, and I can get in the first few hours of the morning before I need to head home to my other obligations. Because this is my situation, I look for areas that are near my home. Usually, this means they aren’t “hot spots” or historically proven areas of success—but not because there isn’t success to be had!

Use technology to your advantage. Many apps can show you unlimited maps and land features. I start by trying to identify small bodies of water, close to my home or where I’m going to be hunting. These can be rivers, streams (slower-moving pockets of water, off the edge of the river or stream are great), beaver ponds or even flooded fields or ditches. I’ve found ducks are more likely to land in smaller bodies of water than geese, but I have killed geese in these lesser-known areas on occasion as well.

After I map out all the possible locations where birds could be, I start considering other factors for the day I plan to hunt: The weather, the wind direction, where other groups of hunters may be, the food source, etc. The first thing I consider when selecting my upcoming spot is other hunters. I enjoy being where no one else is. This doesn’t mean that because no one else is around I’ll automatically be successful.

I try to mark areas on the map where I know there are historically a lot of hunters. These are the areas I try to identify first, exactly where I think people/groups are going to set up on the days I plan to hunt. If you can identify a small pond or flooded ditch in the middle of an area where groups have been shooting at them all morning, this is great.

Some of my best spots are ponds and streams in between other larger bodies of water as far as several miles away. You’re trying to position yourself in an area that appears to be safe, tucked away from other people and civilization. Only having a few decoys out makes it appear that it’s a more realistic “safe zone.” Ducks and geese aren’t the smartest creatures to exist, but they are smart enough to learn decoy patterns and spreads. If you constantly fly into a decoy spread that looks the same, and you continually get shot at, you either learn to avoid it, or you die.

Remember how far away you’re setting up from other hunters you predict to be out on that day. Ducks and geese generally start flying at first light. If they’re going to fly first into the areas where you think the other hunters are, you need to give them time to fly there first, get shot at, then leave that area, and make their way to your location. If possible, I try to select locations that are downwind of the other groups. Often, birds that are getting away from a location leave heading into the wind at first, to help gain altitude, then circle and leave with the wind for a speedy evacuation. If you can be positioned along that route, with a friendly, realistic looking spread, you’ll be positioned for a great hunt.

Looking for more ways to increase your harvest this season? You’ll find plenty of suggestions in the fall issues of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.