Pennsylvania Game News - October 2010 - 18

during mid-October, which coincides with the time of year that wood ducks congregate at large pools and gorge themselves on acorns. Finally, I had found an avenue of waterfowl hunting where seeing ducks was not a shock, and making sure I had enough shells was actually a concern. The technique I developed for hunting these medium-size streams for wood ducks requires at least two hunters. When flushed, wood ducks have the tendency to fly directly downstream beneath the forest canopy. Using this habit to my advantage, I began orchestrating short duck drives along sections of water that I knew harbored woodies. These drives varied in length from 100 yards to half a mile, depending on habitat and prior scouting efforts. Over the course of my education in “Wood Duck Hunting 101,” I’ve discovered many sections of streams that produce ducks consistently year after year. On these hunts the driver is usually dropped off at a bridge or pull off. The poster then takes the truck downstream and sets up shop along a slow bend or deep hole. To get shooting, it helps to watch a section of stream that ducks frequent, as the ducks, after being flushed, are likely to attempt to land at such locations, or at least slow down to consider it. Once the poster is in position the driver begins the drive by slowly still-hunting downstream. A pair of compact binoculars can be a tremendous aid for scanning downstream. If ducks are spotted, a stalk is made using whatever cover is available. It’s important to pick out an adjacent landmark close to the ducks. Mentally marking a tree or
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overhanging limb is critical, because as you begin to move in you can quickly lose track of where the ducks were sitting. It’s important to always be upstream from the ducks when they flush, otherwise they will not head toward the poster. When I’m driving ducks I’ll use whatever cover available to shield my approach. On straight stretches I sneak along the bank, peeking into openings. Where the stream winds and bends more, I’ll wade from side to side, hugging the shore. Usually ducks will flush when the hunter is about 40 yards away from them. However, I’ve been startled several times, as ducks flushed a mere 10 feet away. For reasons unknown, my brother had always expressed great interest in my waterfowling pursuits. Perhaps it stemmed from the fact that our late grandfather had been a well-known river rat. Regardless of where my brother’s fascination originated, I was always hesitant to invite him on a hunt that I knew was nothing more than a wild goose chase. However, with the system that I had developed for streamside woodies proving to be quite successful, I was anticipating offering him an invite. The previous summer I convinced my brother to accompany me on a canoe trip. Our destination would be Crooked Creek, which just so happened to be one of my favorite wood duck streams. This stream basically flows through our backyard, and our 7-mile float would place us two miles down the road from our house. I had canoed this stream extensively and knew of the abundance of wildlife sightings it would garner. Secretly, though, I was hoping that a couple of close wood duck encounters would infect my brother with the waterfowling bug. A recent thunderstorm provided us with swift currents that made the float trip a real adventure, and combined with my brother’s ineptness at navigating a
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Pennsylvania Game News - October 2010

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