When I was a young man fresh out of college and still wet behind the ears when it came to wildlife management, I had a brief opportunity to work at one of the top-end state waterfowl refuges in southern Missouri—Duck Creek Wildlife Area.
At that time, Duck Creek’s layout consisted of a central refuge that was essentially a large lake serving as an impoundment. The area surrounding the lake was a combination of timber and fields that were seasonally flooded by drawing water from the lake. The timbered tracts were predominantly pin oak and other mast-producing hardwoods, which transitioned to buckbrush in the deeper areas. The fields were composed of a mixture of moist-soil plants, corn, beans, and food plot crops including millet, buckwheat, and sorghum. In addition to the main lake refuge, Duck Creek was neighbored by a much larger federal wildlife refuge—Mingo Swamp. Between these two refuge systems, waterfowl had access to a large expanse of marshland (totaling nearly 28,000 acres as of today), making it one of the premier waterfowl hunting destinations of its time.
Nigel J Harris
When I first started working at Duck Creek, I was offered the chance to temporarily reside in the headquarters building while searching for a longer-term living arrangement. During that time, I had access to the on-site library and stumbled upon hunt records dating back several decades. Living in the middle of nowhere, I had plenty of time on my hands and few recreational activities to keep me occupied. With a built-in personal research facility and lots of free time, my curiosity prompted me to start poring through those hunt records, searching for trends in the data. I was particularly interested in learning which blinds, pits, or walk-in areas on Duck Creek had stood the test of time. I began spending most of my evenings and weekends compiling harvest data and essentially creating a handwritten spreadsheet documenting my findings.
After many hours of research, I was able to evaluate patterns in the data, and the results were quite eye-opening. In addition to the documented harvest data, the library also contained aerial photos and other maps, which I studied for context. This allowed me to have a bird’s-eye view of the wildlife area at different points in time and to incorporate that perspective along with the harvest records. Some of the results weren’t surprising. Many of the best spots were situated closest to one of the refuges—either the lake or Mingo Swamp. This pattern was easy to comprehend and somewhat expected. The closer waterfowl are to their safe havens, the more comfortable they are—and, consequently, the easier they are to lure into a hunter’s spread.
There were, however, other spots that were consistently good over long periods of time that did not lie in close proximity to a refuge. For those locations, I needed to dig deeper into the data to understand the trends. I started noticing locations that consistently stood out and then set out to determine what they had in common. It became abundantly clear that many of the best and most consistent spots were located near the center of a given pool. My hypothesis was that ducks and geese tend to land in the middle of these impoundments because they are farthest from land. In theory, they would be safest if they navigated to the center of the pool when descending from flight. Even if my hypothesis was off base, the data clearly showed that hunting success was much greater toward the center of a given impoundment and less so toward the fringes.
Mossy Oak
By identifying hunting areas close to a refuge or near the middle of a pool, I had accounted for most of the best locations—but not all. There were still a handful of really good areas that did not appear to follow any recognizable pattern. I needed to investigate these hunting locations on the ground to determine what made them so productive. Ground-truthing these areas proved to be a worthwhile endeavor and revealed the final missing piece of the puzzle: concealment. In every case, those hotspots provided excellent cover that hid hunters from the view of approaching ducks and geese. Specific locations were often associated with a brushy fence line, a ditch, a mound, a large tree, or some other feature providing natural camouflage to conceal hunters from view and blend them into the background. These hides prevented the keen eyes of waterfowl from detecting the danger below. In some instances, it wasn’t so much a specific blind or pit location as it was the concealment offered by a particular type of structure. For example, walk-in areas tended to show higher harvest rates when they were associated with standing corn or flooded timber.
Most waterfowl hunters already understand the importance of concealment and camouflage. My analysis provided hard evidence of its significance, showing a clear relationship between successful hunts and effective hides. It reinforced the fact that waterfowl have excellent vision, and our efforts to remain invisible are a critical key to success.
Once I had established those three primary guidelines, everything started to make more sense. When you combine two—or, better yet, all three—of these factors, you’ve definitely found a hotspot. It’s the mystical “X” where all waterfowlers aspire to be to experience heart-pounding duck and goose hunting action.
Those lessons have stuck with me ever since my time working and living at Duck Creek. They’ve served me well whether I was hunting public land, private clubs, or freelancing on permission ground. I believe those three components—proximity to refuge, positioning near the center of an impoundment, and effective concealment—can influence hunting success in many situations. If you focus on those principles, you can enjoy consistent results in virtually any area and for many different species of migratory birds.
Of course, these are general guidelines, and there are always exceptions. Over the past 35 years, I’ve had many opportunities to test these concepts and have learned to recognize caveats to the rules. For example, local birds will eventually wise up to consistent hunting pressure no matter how great your hide is. When that happens, you may need to try a different area, ease off the pressure to let them settle back into predictable patterns, or wait for fresh migrators to improve your odds. Ducks and geese also change their behavior based on food availability, weather, and other conditions. Cold fronts can push local birds out or usher in new flocks ready and willing to decoy. Waterfowl diets shift with the seasons to meet nutritional demands—mallards, for instance, feed on invertebrates in warmer weather but focus on high-carbohydrate foods like corn in cold conditions. The formation of ice can also force birds to switch up their roosting and feeding locations. These changes can all influence our success, even when we do everything right.
Mossy Oak
Over the years, I’ve learned that the “middle of the pool” rule can be influenced by wind direction and speed. In short, ducks and geese tend to finish better on the upwind side of an impoundment in a strong wind rather than smack dab in the center. It makes sense when you consider their perspective—they land and take off facing into the wind. Once airborne, they can turn with the wind at their backs and quickly put distance between themselves and any perceived threat. By finishing in the upwind quadrant of an impoundment, they have the best chance of escaping predators, whether feathered or human. I’ve had great success over the years by taking advantage of the upwind side when selecting a hunting location on windy days. By keying in on current conditions, you can adapt your strategy to maximize success on any given day.
The idea behind identifying and taking advantage of waterfowl tendencies goes beyond daily harvest totals. There’s great satisfaction in being able to accurately predict where the “X” will be on any given day before the birds show you. It can help you pick the best location when you have options and save time and energy from unnecessary in-field adjustments. For those who are competitive—as most duck and goose hunters are—it’s satisfying to have bragging rights about how quickly you set up and limited out. But beyond pride, getting in and out of your hunting spot quickly helps reduce pressure and avoids “educating” the birds that use that area. By minimizing disturbance, a spot, blind, or field can remain productive for a longer period. This approach can be especially beneficial for gamekeepers managing waterfowl on private land.
Regardless of how or where you hunt, I hope you find success implementing these guidelines for yourself—and perhaps even developing your own criteria based on your area, methods, target species, and personal style. No matter where you are in your waterfowling journey, remember to cherish these birds for what they are: an amazing and beautiful reminder of God’s creation that should inspire us all to be better stewards of the land.
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