Another thing I didn't think about, thank you. Any suggestions to videos or reading material on calling?
Go to a sporting goods store with all the stuff, like a Bass Pro or Cabelas or something. Buy a call with an instructional DVD or such. I learned from an 8 track tape that my buddy recorded off an LP album. THAT was a while back.
That tape was good, though. I only had a tape deck in my car, so while driving home from college or to college from home, I'd listen to it and practice with a call in the car. People at intersections, no doubt, though I'd lost my mind. It took learning from the tape and lots of practice putting it into action. After 3 or 4 years of calling, I finally started feeling somewhat fluent in duck talk. Calling is fun in itself. It isn't always successful, of course, especially later in the season when the ducks have heard it all, but when it works, you feel like a super hero.
Decoys are pretty much out due to lack of funds. I understand duck hunting can be pretty expensive with decoys, a bunch of different calls, nice shotgun, etc. I'm borrowing a 12 gauge Wingmaster, and pretty much gonna "rough" it without all the goodies this year.
I think the last time I bought deeks, was at a Walmart. I got a dozen carrylites for 40 bucks or some such IIRC. I like the carrylites where I hunt because it's walk in and the walking isn't always easy. Shotgun, shells, marsh chair, decoys adds up and the carrylites are not only light, but compact in a smaller decoy bag. Big deeks in a big bag bounce off the back of my legs when I'm walking, a real pain. The carrylites are inflatable by mouth and, of course, water keel meaning no weight in the keel. Weighted keel are desirable on big water like out in the bay where the wind doesn't mess 'em up. They look more natural in the highish seas. But, water keel deeks do me just fine on the potholes where I hunt, even on the little lakes. That's another thing, instructional videos will teach you where and how to set your deeks for maximum effect given calm days, windy days, etc. If set in the right spot, the ducks will want to go there. All you need on small water is a dozen. Out on the bay in big water, the more the marrier. Hunting big water, of course, usually takes a boat, too. It's more expensive than hunting pot holes on WMAs. I picked up several dozen weighted keel with some pintail magnums (bigger than life) for 20 bucks from a guy, all used, but most without holes. I never hunt big water, though, just couldn't turn 'em down. I have hunted in blinds built in the bay with friends, but never really got into bay hunting that much. Matagorda Island has all these nice round pot holes along the Espiritu Santos bay shore. They are bomb craters. There was an Army Air Corps base there during WW2 and a bombing range. State owns it now and hunting is legal there, but, being right next to the bay, it's mostly redheads with a few pintails and other ducks. I just hate having to get up early enough to drive to the boat ramp, put in, run 3 miles across a bay even in smooth conditions which don't often exist in winter, find the pothole (easier now days with GPS), and wade in and set up before shooting time. I'm lasy, the WMA I hunt actually has better hunting, and there's no boat involved. You DO need to be in line by 4AM, though, to get a good spot, but there always seems to be a spot to be had even if you're a little late.
All this is best learned by experience, but a good instructional video will get you started off in the right direction. It ain't rocket science, but there's a lot more to it than deer hunting, dove hunting, squirrel hunting, that sort of thing. I was addicted to it at a young age and would rather go duck hunting on a cold, blustery day than about anything else including deer hunting from my box blind.
When I was young, I hunted a marsh outside of a nearby town. Thing is, in Texas, you cn hunt "tide land" and if you know where that tide land is, it's free, no lease necessary. I was a kid, no money, grandpa had dropped his deer lease in Leaky, Texas and all I had to hunt was squirrel in the woods because we had no deer. I got into ducks with a friend. My dad had given me a boat with a 3HP Evenrude for birthday/christmas. My dad had money that my mom and step dad didn't. THAT was a NICE gift! Had to borrow the step dad's truck in the morning to use it, but hey, I got a truck, eventually. That opened up a world of duck hunting to me. For Christmas, my mom asked me what i wanted, told here DECOYS. I got a dozen Victor weighted keel deeks for that Christmas and I was in heaven.
Best Christmas ever.
But, before that, I didn't have any deeks. I read an article in Outdoor Life magazine where you could use paper bags for deeks. So, I went to this marsh outside of the nearby town, was a walk in spot, no boat necessary. It was a calm morning, set out my paper bags floating on the water, and as the sun came up and it got shooting light, the ducks piled in on those bags! I did fairly well with my grandpa's old 20 gauge 870 Wingmaster.
But, when the sun got higher, the bags just looked like bags floating on the water, fooled nothing, so my shooting pretty much stopped and I picked up the trash and went home. LOL
It wasn't until I was a freshman at Texas A&M that I took up learning how to call. I did all this on a po boy's budget, too. My parents were working class and I had to fund my own way through school without help by holding down up to 3 jobs at a time. Weren't a lot of money or time in those years for duck hunting, but I did the best I could. I had my little boat on top of my truck on a carrier and would run over to lake Somerville to shoot, where I got my first mallards. So, ya know, I did it on a budget and I loved every minute of it.
