A typical day of chasing woodies with the author starts out a blind he’s constructed at a favorite, abandoned farm pond in the middle of some big timber. It has a beaver dam across the spillway and cypress trees growing on the shallow end.
Arriving very early, he hunts the shallow end with a spread of four decoys, one rigged on a jerk-line. If the squealers land before shooting light, he waits until legal hunting time arrives, then call and work the jerk-line, hoping to get them to swim over for a flush and shoot. He does a lot of wood duck talk until mid-morning.
When the action has ceased, he will head to a section of hardwoods that has a big creek running through it. He will try his hand at ambushing and jump-shooting until he’s tired or lunch time arrives. He may stay and make an evening hunt, pass-shooting, sitting beside a group of oak trees on a field woodline between a roosting area and some beaver soughs. It’s then time to do some intermittent calling and stay ready for fast-flying action on the fringes.
Be aware of the limit, it’s three daily. The author tries to harvest only drakes, feeling like he’s conserving hens for future seasons.
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