I hunt to different public lakes here in north central Texas. I hunted one on opening morning and the other one on Sunday. Did not fire a shot either day. I hunted the second lake again Teusday morning and did not fire a shot.
Are all of you guys who are killing ducks hunting private waters? I just don't get it. There are not any birds on my lakes, and these lakes have ALWAYS been loaded with ducks in past years.

If you notice in most of the guide pics on here, they are shooting them off private ponds. Whole different way of hunting than on public lakes or larger bodies of water.
Not really my cup of tea, but hey, if it gets the job done, more power to them.

"Some days you eat potato chips and other guys shoot ducks." Phil Robertson.

Like you Im getting tired of potato chips.

I also hunt public. The ducks are NOT stopping on my public spot. Nothing to hold them there. Guys with water and food are doing good.

BINGO!

Duck numbers are still very low here in the Cen-Tex. If your spots do not have a food source then you will only be able to catch'em as they pass through. Nothing to hold them if no food is present.

One sunday we were one shy of a 3 man limit and hunted public

Very low water at our spot has concentrated the hunters. No food. Very few ducks.

We have been sleeping in and driving out at legal, parking on a hill and watching the show. It has been fairly humorous at times.

I think I'm going to hit up some public here in a couple days. I'll let you know how it goes.

We have killed limits or close to it each time out this year, hunted 2-3 days per week all on public, have not even hunted private yet. I will say it can be tuff on some of these lakes right now, you just got to burn some gas. In some cases a lot of gas, I have spent just as much time scouting than hunting.

curly- last few times i been out there there hasnt been but a few trucks! i have been getting at least 1 duck each outing!!

I'll go in blind as well.

It makes a big difference when water levels are low and every public place is getting hit hard almost every day. Even if people aren't killing them, they are still educating them in that area. On our private ponds we are letting them rest 7+ days between hunting them and it makes a world of different. Plus we get in and get out ASAP to let them come back in and feel comfortable again. We have hunted 3 ponds the second split that we didn't even hunt during the first split and we'll be going in on another one that hasn't been hunted yet tomorrow. I'm not sure what part of the state y'all are in, but I know the bay is starting to stack up with birds in our area. Lots of redheads and pintails for sure.

You just gotta scout the day before and hunt somewhere you saw birds at the previous day. If you don't fire a shot you must not be in a very high traffic area. And yes big ponds that are holding water right now are the place to be. Killed 5 limits off big mud tanks holding water. It's not real duck hunting, but its funner than messin around on the dry lakes with too many people hunting.

Scout scout and scout some more! If you don't see birds there while scouting, odds are they are't going to show up overnight.

Low water years = Tough or Excellent hunting.

This year is Tough.

Yes we are doing well, but we are scratching out limits or close to limits.

But when posting limits doesn't mean we were overrun with ducks.

I can count on one hand the days we were absolutely covered in birds.

I have hunted everyday of teal and everyday of duck season so far. So put those numbers together.

I am also covering a range of 3 hours from my Western properties to my Eastern properties.

Just to give you an idea.

J.J.

I like tater chips, but yes. I'm tired of them as well.

-Matt

Migratory Birds: Think like a mallard.
Food, Weather, Memory

Ducks are pushed along by the leading edge of major weather patters - cold fronts down, warm front home.

When the front weakens, stalls, or the ducks fall behind - the birds stop and feed and wait for the next front.

Also, cold, damp, foggy air = lower ceiling just like an airplane.

Birds REMEMBER a lot more than about lakes and landmarks than we give them credit for. They also have an excellent built in GPS.

Wait for warm muggy air pushing up from the south, then when the wind changes and comes in from the North - then go hunting.

In the mean time, try to 'feed' the area with cracked corn, oats, etc. depending on what type of birds come through your area.

Don't just hunt the waterways, get out there year round depth of water, inlets, food sources, etc.

Joining a wildlife conservation group like Ducks Unlimited is a great way to restore old hunting grounds.

Changing human habits is harder than changing hunting habitats - so get started this season.

God Bless

So... Do you have any baited holes that we should know about???

I was thinking the same thing. Do you bait for ducks?

The drought is really hurting duck hunting this year. That's why the tank hunters are having a really great year. They have water and food.

The marsh I hunt was covered in wigeon grass during teal season. And we had limit hunts pretty much every time out.

Since we haven't gotten much rain since then, the water dried up, 80% of the wigeon grass died and the ducks do not stick around.

We went this morning and there were at least a thousand ducks in the marsh. They will be gone by Sunday. Nothing to keep them there once they get shot at on Friday/Saturday.

If you were in east tx, I would tell you to pack it up and go deer hunting. I would also say that I would buy your un-needed gear for pennies on the dollar since it would now be worthless to you. But since you're out west, the best advice I can give is to scout. Public can be tough and slow or tough and action packed. The difference is scouting A LOT! Keep your head up though. Enjoy just being out there with those beautiful sunrises, and the company of a few good friends. For me that's what its really about.

I've gone twice this year, and like you..have not fired one shot. I'll keep at it. I don't mind being skunked, I just hate taking a friend or soldier like I did yesterday and they not shoot either I feel like I've wasted their time.

We already missed the big opportunity to scout. Durign the 2 week split, the ducks are not pressured and is the best time to find where the "X" is on each lake. This spot can change each year with different conditions (mainly temp and water level). I did my scouting during the split and have limited twice on public since the second season opened. They came in exactly where they were at 9am during the split, very "easy money".

And, I only hunt my private ponds once a week and they are usually "Money"!

That is exactly my situation. I took my father and a friend along twice and never fired a shot. My father is 76 with a weak heart and my friend is not experienced enough to be a lot of help. That means I did the work of 3 people to get us set up and then could not get a bird to come into our decoys. It is bad enough to get skunked, but it is even worse when you feel that you have let others down.
I appreciate all of your replies. At least I know that I'm not the only one carrying out empty bags of potato chips and no birds.
I enjoy the sunrises to much to give up. Maybe tomorrow morning will bring that single splash down that tends to reenergize and boost moral.