Pennsylvania Game News - March 2024 - 37

the hatch. " Woodies don't always decoy
as well as some other ducks, he said.
But a handful of decoys can sometimes
cause those flying up and down a creek
to at least slow down.
" If they're interested enough, they
might land in your decoys. If not, they'll
just keep going, " Feaga said. " But at
least it gives them something to focus on,
particularly if you are trying to hide. It
gives them something to focus on rather
than trying to figure out if there are any
predators or something.
" So a lot of times I use them as sort of
a confidence thing. "
Decoying ducks
Novitski, meanwhile, hunts ducks
over decoys - from Maine to the Carolinas
each fall - exclusively. Woodies
will enthusiastically respond to a good
spread, he said, if it's strategically created.
For
starters, he almost always uses an
electronic spinning-wing decoy.
" I've never seen any kind of duck
react to that electronic decoy the way
woodies do, " Novitski said. " I've had
them almost bounce off it. They try to
get on top of it. They try to beat it because
they think it's a bird rushing to a
food pile.
" They're very competitive eaters. "
How many decoys he puts out overall
depends on what he sees when scouting.
If ducks are congregating in groups
of a half-dozen or so, he might put out
three decoys, plus his spinner. If they're
grouping up by the dozen, he might go to
seven or eight, plus the spinner.
Such spreads are " more natural looking "
and therefore more effective, he believes.
" There's
no sense in putting 200 deMARCH
2024
Hunting woodies
Historically, the early portion of
duck season - starting in October in
most zones - is prime for finding Pennsylvania
wood ducks.
But that's not the only time they're
available.
" Our peak wood duck abundance is
in mid-October, but that doesn't mean
they aren't around in November, " said
Ken Duren, Game Commission Game
Bird Section Supervisor.
That's a function of weather. When
it gets too cold in New York and southern
Ontario, wood ducks from there
move here on their way farther south.
Joined with resident birds, they provide
opportunity.
" Some of the best hunting I've ever
had is when most folks are sitting in
a tree stand for the opening week of
buck season, " said Ducks Unlimited's
Jim Feaga. " That's probably one of the
better times to be in the creeks because
nobody's hanging out in that area. "
Lately, woodies can - and increasingly
are - sticking around in Pennsylvania
even later into the season than
that. That, too, is a function of weather.
Migration carries lots of risks, Duren
said. So, if birds don't have to move - if
they can find all they need to survive
in one place - they don't. And wood
ducks are increasingly finding Pennsylvania
and its recently milder winters
suitable later into the season.
" Until it gets cold, they usually hang
around, " Duren said. " I've been talking
to a lot of hunters who are starting to
shoot wood ducks into December and
even into January. "
coys out if you've never seen 200 live
birds in that spot, ever, " Novitski said. " I
kill more ducks over three or four decoys
than over a dozen or two dozen. "
He sometimes mixes things up,
though, mingling wood duck decoys
with mallard and teal
imitations. He
might even skip the spinner one day and
use a jerk string to give his decoys some
37
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