The Blood Instinct Blog with Crazy Carl: Blood Instinct: 2012 Duck Season

It is tough in Arizona to be a waterfowler. My Grandpa in North Carolina guided for duck and took me on my first duck hunt. I shot a Wood Duck drake as my first duck and I was hooked. Hunting ducks can kind of be like offshore fishing, you never know what might fly in. I love the prospect of a mixed bag of colorful and different ducks. This year I got my first set of Mallard decoys. On my first decoy set up, I had ducks skidding into the set along with the help of Grandpa's duck call. It's always exciting seeing those small flocks way up there and wondering if they'll see your set and come to the call. Hunting in Arizona, you must be willing to adapt. You may take a 30 min. boat ride, set up, and the birds go to the opposite cove. One technique that has worked well for

me has been to use a spot and stalk method. If the ducks have not come to calls and decoys, beach the boat in a small nook between the coves. At this point slowly work your way over the next cove and glass. Once a flock is spotted, back away and try to move as close as possible. Once you crest the ledge over looking the cove, the ducks will generally jump and you'll get a shot or several. Also, another helpful tip, once the ducks are up they usually circle, so keep using a loud call. They may swing back by to have a look. The majority of what we get where I hunt are Mallards, so I love picking off a duck I haven't gotten yet. I've also checked abandoned desert canals. Every now and again there will still be pockets that still hold residual water. I've two flocks of ducks this way. Pre-season scouting is a big help too. Fortunately my job allows plenty of scouting time. One recent morning I took my Sister Erin for her first duck hunt.

It was the coldest, toughest hunt I'd had all year. The boat and lines iced up and the wind blew 20+ all morning. We had several shots at Lesser Scaup and some Teal but nothing hit the water. As the morning went on it was obvious the birds were not gonna work with us. I took Erin to a pocket that has tons of Coots in it. Once they started to scatter, she was able to get one. Her 1st duck non the less and great catfish bait too!;) This was one of my favorite moments. My sister is really one tough momma and I hope we start hunting much more together.

I took my fiance, Alyson, out to goof around the North end of the lake so she could collect interesting wood for her art projects ( which are great by the way ) and I would of course sneak over some ledges and hope to see some ducks, maybe get a shot. I also had my quail vest loaded in the truck just in case. We explored a lot of neat trails and really just enjoyed the awe inspiring Arizona desert scenery and sunset.

Green Wing Teal

Well, as my Sugar looked for interesting rocks and unique wood pieces, I snuck over a ledge and peeked into a cove and found a flock of Green Wing Teal. I backed away from the ledge and made a big U to put me closer to the flock, As I approached where the ducks were feeding, I gingerly peeked over to make sure I was in the right spot. I backed away from the ledge, got my 1100 ready and inched forward to the ledge. As soon as my silhouette come over the cove the teal shot up like rockets. I shot once as they flew towards me and missed. As the Teal just started to pass me I shot again and watched my first Teal fold and drop to the water. They are such beautiful ducks, fast!, and fun hunting.

One of my First mornings of the season I had no decoys and the loud Mallard call did little to coax birds in. This is how I adopted my spot and stalk technique ( especially ) useful during low lake water conditions, which we have this year. I would snug my little fishing boat in a small nook and put boots to the marsh. I snuck over several different coves and flushed at least a few ducks from each.. Not all the ducks hit the water, but it was exciting!

mixed bag

Nice spot N stalk Golden Eye

Hunting in the desert at this time of year you've got, quail, rabbit, varmint, and archery deer seasons open. So, usually my truck is filled with hunting gear nearly everyday just in case I get a few hours before or after work to do some hunting. I've been Bow hunting Javelina (post coming soon), shooting quail, ducks, and rabbits to keep my freezer somewhat stocked. It's nice to pick off a rabbit or some quail for the pot too. Also, I was able to find great areas exploring to set up for coyotes and varmints.

Cottontail & Merganser dinner

Of course, with all the different seasons open I generally have my bow handy too. Next years goal is get a duck with my bow on video!
I took one last trip out with my Father to see if we could get a few more for the freezer. The weather was supposed to be perfect for duck hunting, but it didn't last. We had quite a few shots, but missed due to light shotgun loads and no choke. Lesson learned. We did manage to drop a drake Mallard and a hen. I was also able to pick off a little Wigeon hen. I always have a good time hunting with my Dad. I used follow him around with a pop-gun dove hunting, so It's nice to show him he's instilled good hunting ethics and that he passed along the love for the outdoors to me.