Tune in as Jon from the Just Hunt Club covers tips on decoying diver ducks on big water!
We're just wrapping up a successful redhead hunt on the big water. I wanted to take a second and just go over a tip for maybe guys that are getting into big water hunting or diver hunting.
The way these ducks decoy is a little different than a mallard or a puddle duck that's coming in from high.
It's really tempting to watch those ducks come in and a lot of times they're going to skirt the edge of your decoys first. Those are shots that are usually, 30-35 yards and you can definitely kill them doing that.
A couple downfalls to that: One, you got a better chance of probably shooting more than one duck in a shot.
Two, you got a better chance of crippling ducks, which when you're anchored with a boat, depending on your setup, can be a lot of work chasing them down and putting the finishing shots on it.
What we like to do and has worked really well for us in the past—and even today—is to let them make that swing.
It's really easy to want to shoot them on that first pass-through, but a lot of times with these divers will do is they'll skirt you on the first time, make a hook and then come in feet down all parallel right to you if your spread set up right.
You may lose some flocks, don't get me wrong. But crippling ducks is not the main goal and it's really nice to shoot them feet-down in decoys and just be able to watch them do that.
New diver hunters, guys that are getting into it, or just somebody that's looking for some tips, let them skirt the decoys first and then let them finish right in the hole. A lot of times they'll make that big loop and bury right into your boat blind.