too much rice? where to set up?

[TNFL]

I'm fairly new to duck hunting and am having a hard time finding decent information just about what to look for when scouting.  So I thought I would ask for some advice here.

I found a large pond/slough i can hunt (PUBLIC) and it is loaded with rice, the thickest I have ever seen.  So thick it looks like a wheat field, 5 feet tall and tough to see through. 

So how do I go about hunting this spot?  There is about a 5 acre spot of open water in the center, but i am a little concerned about too many hunters in this area, cross fire, lack of cover for ducks, etc. 

I found one small open spot, about 20ft x 20 ft, next to cattails with rice around it.

Or, on the east end it thins out to sparse rice with some lily pads and pockets of water.

I was thinking the third spot looked like more of a "safe haven" for birds to fly to once the shooting starts, but it is also the most difficult to get to.

Any advice about finding the "spot on the spot" is greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

 

 

[MN BassFisher]

I am hoping to get out duck hunting this year for the first time but I'm not sure it's going to happen. I am hoping you get a few answers from a few of the seasoned waterfowl hunters on this forum!

[Roosterslayer05]

Set up in the most open area you can find.  If it's an area with a small pocket or thin rice use the biggest decoys you own and use diver decoys.  You want that black and white contrast so the birds can see them.  It doesn't matter if you're hunting puddle ducks, it's all about visibility.