2013

[SledNeck]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

2. Yes you can over call (or better yet, wrong call at the wrong time)

Down south (and this is the way I hunt)..... If Ducks are coming hard into the spread we dont call. If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

[Shane Z]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

2. Yes you can over call (or better yet, wrong call at the wrong time)

Down south (and this is the way I hunt)..... If Ducks are coming hard into the spread we dont call. If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

I tend to disagree with 1. Mike Anderson won the 2009 World duck calling championship not to mention countless other state titles. Scott threinen is probably the worlds best goose caller . hammock has also been the worlds number one in goose caller for a long time. These are just a few names that come to mind but as others can attest, Minnesota has some the THE best callers around the world.

[GooBack]

1. Minnesotans are some of the worst callers Ive ever heard.

That, i'd totally agree with. Most of the better callers you witness in the field here rank much lower than most of the below average callers in many other states. You've spent enough time in AR to know!

[mallardnwalleye]

Guys lets not turn this into a Who's better than Who deal. What Goo Back said above about MN duck callers is right. There are some great

goose callers here but the duck calling leaves more than a lot to be desired.

Contest callers can be but are not necessarily great field callers.

I would have to see these guys work ducks in the field to see if they are worth a hoot.

Lets move on to solving problems instead of makin more of em.

Below is an observation of SledNeck while hunting:

If they are indecisive and circling we feed call, soft quack and drake call. Ive seen ducks flare from groups calling a lot.

Here is probably a more effective strategy for this situation- single spaced quacks or better yet single spaced quacks with two people in a rhythm -like this..q..q..q..q..q..q..q or two people q..q2..q..q2..q..q2 and so on. A great demo of this with one caller is done by Wade Bourne at DU. Do not go up or down the scale on the quack. The quack is a second to two seconds long with that same amount of time paused between the notes. Using two people like a see-saw back and forth with one just a hair louder can work better than just one person. I stumbled upon this way of calling years ago when I had forgot to cut the reed down on a call I was tuning and then had no scissors in the field. All I could get out the call was a single quack. From calling in half my Mallard limit and all of my brothers that day- I serendipitously learned to "quack em in" like the Reelfoot boys have been doin for a century.

SledNeck if those ducks you are calling at with drake calls and feed calls can hear you please give the above tip a chance. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

[Shane Z]

This would be a great video to put up in the future!

Not to 180 the topic but It'd be nice to get people's opinion on calls. We've all been there, using the old $10 fleet farms calls I'm sure. I know I was one of them! My first high end call was a Foiles Straight Meat Honker which has the built in GUT system. A slightly shallower channeled insert in the guts which helps beginner goose callers learn the certain muscles to use such as diaphragm emphasis. After learning the basics such as a honk and moan, I went to YouTube. There are a lot of good tutorials on how to do advanced note such as the quick spit, train, ect.

I never used a flute but I sure had my fair share of the cheap-0, fleet farm brand!! For me it took hours, and hours to finally get a honk down, and then more hours to be consistent. I tend to emphasize to other callers that before moving to a different note, get a good range of honks down. That's exactly the benefit of using a short reed right?! To be able to change pitches, tones, and to sound like more than one goose.

My question is: What was your first call? If it was a flute, was it harder to move to a short reed? What worked and what didn't and most importantly how did you learn to blow a goose call?

We can get into what calls we use right now at a later subject but a little background on how you learned to call and what call worked for you would help others.

[mallardnwalleye]

This would be a great video to put up in the future!

Not to 180 the topic but It'd be nice to get people's opinion on calls. We've all been there, using the old $10 fleet farms calls I'm sure. I know I was one of them! My first high end call was a Foiles Straight Meat Honker which has the built in GUT system. A slightly shallower channeled insert in the guts which helps beginner goose callers learn the certain muscles to use such as diaphragm emphasis. After learning the basics such as a honk and moan, I went to YouTube. There are a lot of good tutorials on how to do advanced note such as the quick spit, train, ect.

I never used a flute but I sure had my fair share of the cheap-0, fleet farm brand!! For me it took hours, and hours to finally get a honk down, and then more hours to be consistent. I tend to emphasize to other callers that before moving to a different note, get a good range of honks down. That's exactly the benefit of using a short reed right?! To be able to change pitches, tones, and to sound like more than one goose.

My question is: What was your first call? If it was a flute, was it harder to move to a short reed? What worked and what didn't and most importantly how did you learn to blow a goose call?

We can get into what calls we use right now at a later subject but a little background on how you learned to call and what call worked for you would help others.

I think calls and brands are a way way over focused topic. My hope is the incredible waste of time people spend on this topic can be used for actual "field tips".

Get a J frame single reed Arkansas call by a reputable manufacturer such as RNT, Echo, Buck Gardner in a non specialty style and be done with it.

LEARN TO CALL DUCKS not look at catalogs.

Goose calls the same thing applies get a short reed from Tim Grounds, Lynch Mob,S Hammock or other reputable makers and be done with it.

LEARN TO CALL GEESE not look at catalogs.

[Shane Z]

I agree, but it's always an interesting topic to many out there. mallardnwalleye- so as i digressed in the last post, what do you do in the off season to prep for the upcoming season? Has your decoy spread stayed the same throughout the past couple years or have you bought some of the new decoys out there? I know this is another gear topic, but IMO there are a lot of people out there who are looking for gear than can stand up to everyday use and abuse.

[mallardnwalleye]

Tip # version 4.23

DO NOT Throw your decoys while setting up in the water on a cold day it will at worse form ice on them and at best make or a shine in the AM.

Do not pay attention to extreme detail on your decoys paint job. Ducks see patterns not tiny details like we do at 3 ft.

[Gordie]

mallardnwalleye does have a great point because if you watch some of those southern waterfowl shows they do stay on the calls for those birds, but to be perfectly honest some of the best hunts I have had the calls were left in the truck.

I'm not saying I'm a great caller but I do know how to work the ducks and I have called my fair share in to range. Ducks do get educated very fast or as its called "call shy".

You sit on a slough that has 10-15 groups of guys on it all calling some great and some not so great and when the ducks decide to take that last look or lock up they get shot at and not every duck gets hit so they learn a valuable lesson. In my opinion they will not be as active towards calls they may give a look but no intrest. They also look more intensely and if your not concealed good enough all the greatest calling in the world will not entice those ducks.

As for the ducks down south I do believe they are easier to call because they are starting to get to the end of their journey they are tried and they are easier to coax but thats just my opinon,

[GooBack]

Ducks down south are easier to call because they have been hunted more, are decoy shy, call shy, hole shy, cover shy, blind shy, shore shy, and above all we can't forget that whole pair-bonding thing that begins in mid November.

[Sifty]

I think some of the calling part of duck and goose hunting is if a guy is willing to pick up a call and mess around with it.

I'm sure we all here have been in the spot where you are going to town with your call as you drive into work,hit the stoplight and the person next to you is wondering what type of pipe that is and what you are a smokin. Then the next light the guy next to you is blown away and gives you the thumbs up.

My fist duck call was from my Grandpa who was a warden in wisconsin.When we would go over to visit we would go to the lake and listen to what the ducks where doing and how they acted when other ducks where calling.

It was a combination of a couple of old calls he had that had broken or he had lost a part. I really miss that call it seemed to work good for me. I think the cost of calls and how everyone has to have the latest and greatest is hurting the young hunter that can't afford the new calls, but I think it is how comfrotable you are with the call that will help you out most in the field or on the water.

[Gordie]

Ducks down south are easier to call because they have been hunted more, are decoy shy, call shy, hole shy, cover shy, blind shy, shore shy, and above all we can't forget that whole pair-bonding thing that begins in mid November.

Don't forget that the concentration of ducks is much greater than here in the north well at least in Minnesota.

They pass by on there way to greener grass

[fishersofmen]

It seems like everyone has made good points in my opinion. Doesn't it all depend on the particular situation as far as calling goes? Weather, location, other groups in the area all seem to be factors. There are times when you can't call enough and times when a flock almost takes your head off when your call is hanging from your neck. Adapting to your individual situation on a particular day should be more important than going into every hunt with a preconceived mindset of if you will call heavy or light.....

[SledNeck]

It takes way more work to get a duck to come in down south than up here. Most of the mallards I kill up here are splashing in the decoys just as I get the call to my mouth.

The hunting shows in the south are often done in private flooded timber where they keep the ice melted and the ducks will suicidally flock to it

[mallardnwalleye]

You sit on a slough that has 10-15 groups of guys on it all calling some great and some not so great and when the ducks decide to take that last look or lock up they get shot at and not every duck gets hit so they learn a valuable lesson. In my opinion they will not be as active towards calls they may give a look but no intrest. They also look more intensely and if your not concealed good enough all the greatest calling in the world will not entice those ducks.

With all due respect-

Gordie, please see my previous post. You can throw all the callers you want around here on a slough and have them call. You can still call the ducks right in. Just get on them and stay on them with some solid calling. This happens each year particularly on the first after 4pm hunt when everyone is out there waiting for the ducks to come back.

New ducks are easier to call as they are migrating and for the first 3 days after, as they are just setting up their feeding routines.

So called stale ducks can be called and I really don't believe in the "call shy" theory.

Many people call at ducks that are leaving to go out to feed and yes those are tough ducks to call.

My whole point of all this is that if there is a young or middle age caller that wonders if you can really call ducks effectively??? YES you can, but it takes a lot of failure, embarrassment, work, observation and time in the field. What it doesn't take is studying catalogs filled with a million calls or watching videos of guys in pea fields in Canada with spinners or groups yucking it up at a managed high bucky club down south.

Tip# Version 5.34

Make sure you are 100% covered up when calling, use a mask and or face paint, make sure your blind isn't longer than 8ft or much higher than 3 ft.

Tip# Version 5.35 Remember Tip # Version 5.34 - and don't wing it with half way cover up or a monster boat blind that looks like a "turd in the punch bowl"

As for the south, Arkie and west Tennessee have some great callers because as someone said they have a lot of mallards to practice on.

If you want to get good go where there are mallards if not throw out the dekes, pop the spinner in, fold over some brush into the boat and shoot as you just are kinda wasting your time if you may or may not see many mallards.

[Shane Z]

I also dont believe in "call shy birds". I'm sure throughout their flight down South, they hear thousands of callers, but it's the ones that truely sound ducky and have other talent beside them that can still pull them down. THE biggest thing about waterfowl hunting at least IMO, is good cover and blending in naturally. even mounding stacks and stack of corn silage left over, can leave you exposed. I've been more fond of using fence posts and edges of fields to hunt nearby. Camo-ing up can be one of the worst and most undesirable things to do in the morning or late at night, but when u take frost in consideration, and dew. the game changes once again. It's little things like decreasing foot tracks when there is a heavy dew on the grass, or stuffing blinds the night before so frost can naturally form on them that really made some of my hunts memorable in 2012. If your on the "x"the amount of decoys should be the least of your concern in the morning.

[SledNeck]

The worst thing you can do is forget the copenhagen

[booger]

The worst thing you can do is forget the copenhagen

thats about the best thing you could do....yuck

[SledNeck]

helps your calling and attracts dux

[TylerS]

You guys gotta quit painting such broad strokes about stuff.

For instance:

"Ducks down south are tougher to call."

Bull-oney.

If you'd have said, "ducks down in the green timber of Arkansas are tougher to call because there are hunters behind every tree and they're shooting from dawn to dusk and everything in between," I'd say, a-yup, okay, I can see that.

But Texas is also "south," and from what I've seen, the ducks were just as easy, if not EASIER, than the ducks I hunt most of the season in North Dakota.

I hunted about an hour from Corpus Cristi along the coast for four days. We were mouth calling pins and widgeons into our spread at 2 in the afternoon. The redheads were cupping in, locked and loaded, 40-50 in a bunch. This happened every day, for four days, like clockwork. And it happened all season from what I heard.

So no, ducks "down south" aren't all tougher to call. Just like I can guarantee you, if you come up here in mid October, I can put you on a slough where the ducks are probably just as flighty, nervous, and educated as the ducks seem to be in Arkansas.

In my humble opinion, folks put way, way, WAY too much emphasis on calling. Most of the time, I wish people would just shut the heck up. Take some time, scout a location, set up your decoys, stubble the ever-living-heck out of your blind, stay still, and see what happens.

Personally, I think a lot of guys call and get birds to come in and think they're awesome callers, when if they'd have stayed quiet, the birds would have come in anyway. Call me cynical, but it's the truth.

Now I suppose I'm painting broad strokes, but we're talking generalities here.

You'll shoot birds without making a peep -- or quack, as it were -- and you'll shoot birds blowing a call until you're blue in the face. More often than not, I'd err on the former vs. the latter.

Now, running traffic, well that's a different story.

[SledNeck]

yeah, sometimes not calling is better...some dux are just gonna drop in anyways...its usually when your out of the blind taking a leak.

Im a believer that ducks get shy of field blinds, geese even more so

[mallardnwalleye]

In my humble opinion, folks put way, way, WAY too much emphasis on calling. Most of the time, I wish people would just shut the heck up. Take some time, scout a location, set up your decoys, stubble the ever-living-heck out of your blind, stay still, and see what happens.

Personally, I think a lot of guys call and get birds to come in and think they're awesome callers, when if they'd have stayed quiet, the birds would have come in anyway. Call me cynical, but it's the truth.

Now I suppose I'm painting broad strokes, but we're talking generalities here.

You'll shoot birds without making a peep -- or quack, as it were -- and you'll shoot birds blowing a call until you're blue in the face. More often than not, I'd err on the former vs. the latter.

Now, running traffic, well that's a different story.

[booger]

^ha!

This reminds me of my missed opportunity. There's a guy we go hunting with. He likes to call. A lot. And he's not a bad caller but the ducks don't respond that well to him. So me and another buddy give him dump, partly because it isn't helping, partly because it is annoying. He does a diver call but then mixes mallard hail, feeding call, and random quacks so it's all over the place.

He decides to go back to the cabin to get his phone. Me and other buddy decide to not call at all. Shortly after he leaves and at a time I wouldn't expect ducks to fly 11:30 or so some ducks approach and circle. "Are those canvasbacks!?" "Yep." They circle again (no calling) and circle one last time. The last time the must have been about 35 yards out and I could've taken a shot. That was the last pass and I kick myself, I know I could've made that shot. My other buddy didn't have a shot from where he was standing.

So not calling, in the right spot can work ok. I did have a jerk string and probably got busted pulling it.

[TylerS]

As I said slap a spinner in then cover up stay quiet and wait if you don't have the cajones to be a caller, but please don't ever tell me I should be quiet out there.

Don't have the cajones to be a caller...boy, those are some tall words.

By all means, haul your big cajones out to the slough and blaze away on your horns until the reeds wear out and the acrylic melts. It's a free country after all.

You must really have a sore spot there M&M. Just stating my opinion. You obviously have yours. Sorry if I poured salt on an open wound...

[GooBack]

If you called, maybe they would have been half the distance.Canvasbacks are suckers for mallard calls.

[mallardnwalleye]

Don't have the cajones to be a caller...boy, those are some tall words.

By all means, haul your big cajones out to the slough and blaze away on your horns until the reeds wear out and the acrylic melts. It's a free country after all.

You must really have a sore spot there M&M. Just stating my opinion. You obviously have yours. Sorry if I poured salt on an open wound...

Not trying to be argumentative Tyler. Just trying to help some people out there who have the idea of " I wonder if you can really call ducks consistently and effectively?" with yes you can but it takes practice and hard knocks in the field. I am just trying to help by being strong on the fact that it can be done. Nothing personal. If it was anyone else I would disagree with them just as strongly.

[Scott M]

mallard, don't flame me, but I tend to agree with Tyler. The part of your argument of "call more rather than call less" falls a little flat when you watch and listen to ducks in the wild. No matter the season, wild ducks are not screaming their little throats out to invite their buddies down to feed with them, pair up, or loaf. At least we are all in agreement that being in the right place and being well-hidden are important. I guess to me it just seems a little incongruent to be in the right place, be well-hidden, but then stand out with aggressive calling. But by all means, if you are having success calling in that manner, don't stop. I would probably make a better hunting partner with Tyler as I take a conservative approach to my calling. I don't think there's any one right way to hunt or fish to tell you the truth.

I can admit I'm a poor call, which then invites a chicken versus egg argument of "do I call less because I'm poor at it?" But I hunt with a couple very talented callers and they don't call much more than I do. They do believe you can overcall. I'll keep the calls in my truck and keep practicing, as I've been doing for some time. I'm actually meeting with a guy from Camp Woodie and the MN Duck and Goose Callers association later this month to get some tips. Maybe if I get better, I'll call more and find out I'm missing out big time. But based on what I've seen from the blind, I'd be quite surprised. I'll keep an open mind though.

At the end of the day, if there are new waterfowlers amongst us, the takehome message should be - practice to become a good call and then and only then should you call aggressively....Ultimately, you will have to decide whether to call aggressively or choose your spots, let experience be your teacher, but don't be afraid to try something different.

Fair enough?

[booger]

If you called, maybe they would have been half the distance.Canvasbacks are suckers for mallard calls.

And if I would've shot, and if I would've brushed myself in better, and so on.

I just didn't want to spend the couple hundred on taxidermy (woulda been my first)

[Shane Z]

mallard, don't flame me, but I tend to agree with Tyler. The part of your argument of "call more rather than call less" falls a little flat when you watch and listen to ducks in the wild. No matter the season, wild ducks are not screaming their little throats out to invite their buddies down to feed with them, pair up, or loaf. At least we are all in agreement that being in the right place and being well-hidden are important. I guess to me it just seems a little incongruent to be in the right place, be well-hidden, but then stand out with aggressive calling. But by all means, if you are having success calling in that manner, don't stop. I would probably make a better hunting partner with Tyler as I take a conservative approach to my calling. I don't think there's any one right way to hunt or fish to tell you the truth.

I can admit I'm a poor call, which then invites a chicken versus egg argument of "do I call less because I'm poor at it?" But I hunt with a couple very talented callers and they don't call much more than I do. They do believe you can overcall. I'll keep the calls in my truck and keep practicing, as I've been doing for some time. I'm actually meeting with a guy from Camp Woodie and the MN Duck and Goose Callers association later this month to get some tips. Maybe if I get better, I'll call more and find out I'm missing out big time. But based on what I've seen from the blind, I'd be quite surprised. I'll keep an open mind though.

At the end of the day, if there are new waterfowlers amongst us, the takehome message should be - practice to become a good call and then and only then should you call aggressively....Ultimately, you will have to decide whether to call aggressively or choose your spots, let experience be your teacher, but don't be afraid to try something different.

Fair enough?

Awesome post. Obviously there is a gray area wherever and whenever your in a situation when the ducks didn't commit like you wanted them too. At the end of the day,I'm always questioning whether or not I should have done this or should have done that. It seems like we could go on and on about ducks, but what about GEESE?!? Nothing gets my heart jumping like seeing a flock of 25-30 Canadas locked into the spread!

How did your 2012 early season go? Did you make any special trips during some of the other state's liberal bag limits for Canadas? last year me and a buddy went to Nodak for the early season and did OK. We were hunting in a fairly high pressured area and the birds seemed to pick a new field everyday. Once we got out of the hustle and bustle we did much better but you have to put on the miles!!

[mallardnwalleye]

No gra

mallard, don't flame me, but I tend to agree with Tyler. The part of your argument of "call more rather than call less" falls a little flat when you watch and listen to ducks in the wild. No matter the season, wild ducks are not screaming their little throats out to invite their buddies down to feed with them, pair up, or loaf. At least we are all in agreement that being in the right place and being well-hidden are important. I guess to me it just seems a little incongruent to be in the right place, be well-hidden, but then stand out with aggressive calling. But by all means, if you are having success calling in that manner, don't stop. I would probably make a better hunting partner with Tyler as I take a conservative approach to my calling. I don't think there's any one right way to hunt or fish to tell you the truth.

I can admit I'm a poor call, which then invites a chicken versus egg argument of "do I call less because I'm poor at it?" But I hunt with a couple very talented callers and they don't call much more than I do. They do believe you can overcall. I'll keep the calls in my truck and keep practicing, as I've been doing for some time. I'm actually meeting with a guy from Camp Woodie and the MN Duck and Goose Callers association later this month to get some tips. Maybe if I get better, I'll call more and find out I'm missing out big time. But based on what I've seen from the blind, I'd be quite surprised. I'll keep an open mind though.

At the end of the day, if there are new waterfowlers amongst us, the takehome message should be - practice to become a good call and then and only then should you call aggressively....Ultimately, you will have to decide whether to call aggressively or choose your spots, let experience be your teacher, but don't be afraid to try something different.

Fair enough?