Combo Hunt for Ducks and Whitetails and Other Animals
 Enjoy Midday Duck Hunting
If the wind starts howling from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm as a front comes in, often you’ll not see or hear any deer.  However, on those bad, blowing, rough days, waterfowl may pile into a backwater pond, creek or flooded-timber site. The ducks want to dodge the rough weather on the big water. When these weather conditions occur, I’ll often take a midday break from deer hunting to shoot webfoots. Duck hunting in the middle of the day seems contrary to the traditional early-morning, late-afternoon duck-hunting mentality of most watermen. However, with the right weather conditions, you can have as productive a hunt over a resting site as early-morning feeding sites and/or late-afternoon roosting sites.
Learn to Love Ice-Ups
The day after an ice-up provides on of the very-best times to take waterfowl in  the woods off major waterways. When shallow-water ponds and embankments freeze-up, ducks will look for moving water to feed and loaf.  Under these weather conditions, float hunt small streams and creeks off main rivers for the most success in a canoe or a flat-bottomed johnboat.
When I know an ice-up will occur, I also realize the deer won’t move readily, especially early in the morning. Therefore, before first light, I’ll often launch my canoe down a small stream and jump-shoot the ducks that come up off the water as well as pass-shoot the webfoots flying up and down the creek. If you plan ahead, you can have a fantastic day of hunting by floating a small creek in the early morning and arriving at your tree-stand site, close to the small stream you’ve floated, just after midday.
Tomorrow: Take Bushytails and Webfoots |
