So I've been out 5 times in the last week and only had one chance for a shot. I posted about that a few days ago, made the best of it which keeps me going.

And I feel like I'm paying dues. I'm sort of ok with that, but, let's say you're hunting a 25 thousand acre pothole about an hour north of DFW. And let's say there are gadwall everywhere, but, they won't land in your spread. You get up to pee after a while and they are 50 yards down the bank one way or another.

Makes a guy start wondering whether his clothes are too shiny or his decoys are wrong (too many, not enough, wrong size/kind/placement). Or is his tongue on the wrong side of his mouth.

Monday I watched four dozen gadwall land out about 200 yards away from me. That was tough. Out in the open, no way to move or anything. Today I set up in a spot I've walked to three times in the last week that has a little green in the water (vegetation) and around 11/12 every day there are ducks there. But I set up and laid down there 10 minutes before legal and nada, zip, zero.

It might be late in the season for me to figure out where to go somewhere else, but, after watching report after report roll in this week of limits, or 2 or three bird hunts, not even having a bird hit the decoys is starting to sting a little.

So what does a noob do? I kinda thought if you found a place the birds looked like they wanted to be and beat them to it in the morning and laid still and didn't make any noise that was 90% of the game.

You putting out a big spread?

Scout after the morning hunts and try to move to where you see the birds.

It is frustrating for me because my wife always wants me home in the afternoon for something and being a walk-in guy like you makes it harder to scout.

I've been scouting every day after each hunt and each time I set up where I see the most birds. I don't mind walking a little, and I've been using up a little gas too. I have a boat and I could boat to places, but, for example, Monday morning I hunted a spot where I had previously seen dozens of ducks. And when I hunted it, they were there. They would just land out in the middle of the channel a couple hundred yards away.

Last couple hunts I have put out four or six decoys. They are the el cheapo Academy Game Winner mallards. Today and Monday I put out six, one drake, one quiver butt, and four hens.

I am thinking about going back to putting out 13 again.

LHD,

First you need to hang in there. I'm still new to this and I can appreciate your frustration, but you need to remember we've got a lot to learn. And if you're going at it by yourself the learning curve is that much steeper.

Now from what you've reported it seems you're hunting on some big open water. I can tell you without a doubt your problem is not the cheepo dekes from Academy. Your spread isn't big, and when the bids come in, they aren't seeing your spead. Once they start to raft up, there are no dekes that can beat live decoys. In other words, don't let them raft up. If you have to, use your boat to get them up.

The other thing is to look for those hidden holes. Check this out from DU:

http://www.ducks.org/Hunting/HuntingTips/2950/FindingHiddenDuckHoles.html

Goodluck.

Finding the most birds and hunting there is not always the best option in late season.

When I scout late in the season I look for "huntable" ducks. By "huntable" I mean, ducks that are in a place that is easier to hunt. Cover, water depth, size of landing area in the pocket of water...all of these are factors. If you hunt an area that is 300 square yards of the same veggies and water depth then the chances that decoy shy ducks are going to lite wide is very likely. If you hunt an area where there is only 100 square foot of landing area then if ducks come in they will be shootable.

I would rather hunt a small shallow back water creek that is holding 50 mallards in the late season than a huge flat that is holding 500 mallards. You may see more ducks in one spot, but all the ducks that you see in the other spot will end up on the strap.

Also, if you are having a hard time on one lake go to another. Move around. Every duck hunter I know that kills ducks all season long hunts and scouts multiple locations. That is prolly the biggest key to staying on mallards in Texas.

Are you calling at the ducks when you see them or when they are coming in?

Thanks for the info guys! I know I have a ton to learn, I'd just like to learn a new thing or two and maybe shoot a couple in the next few days.

To answer TxMedic the # of hens was a hare brained idea when I noticed that 99% of the ducks I've found on the lake I'm hunting are gadwall, I figured from a distance they might be more believable to the gadwall than a dozen nicely paired ducks on the shoreline. Like maybe they'd be mistaken for gads.

I'm not calling either. I haven't really got a basic sound down I don't think and when I test it scouting, it seems to scare them more than anything. Park ducks think it's interesting, but, those are 90% mallards. The widgeon really likes it As far as the whistle, I can get 1000 different tones of peep out of it, I need to put some sound files in my truck so I can listen and peep on the way to the lake.

imo when you get skunked dont get frustrated learn from it if you see birds workin listen and watch them learn from them. then you have been scouting so dont give up young jetti lol.. i haven't been doin this as long as some people on here but i've even went out to 1 of my spots and just watched and listened . learned alot from doin that . then the day will come and everything is in the right place and at that moment you remember why you do this and limit out ... jmo

I have to agree...we sometimes give ourselves way to much credit or blame for a duck hunt going good or bad. If they want to be at a certain location they will go there. I'm not going to suggest the white pimp suit though, lol.

I've hammered the heck out of the same spot all year, seen it go from 100's of birds in the first season, to the present time maybe seeing 3 or 4 flying TOTAL in a day. The reason I can still go out there and have marginal success is that I know the spot and I know where the birds are going to be active. As said above... Location, location, location. Because I know where they'll be at LST, I have a better chance of:

a.) Possibly getting them to work into the decoys
b.) Have them at least look at the spread low enough for a pass shot.

And by the way... I have two dozen mallard and one dozen GWT dekes of the Game Winner sort. They're made by Tanglefree and they have worked awesome for me this year and I will probably add the Game Winner Pintails to the spread next year! I personally like the idea that I have 3 dozen dekes that cost me less than $60.

Keep at it Dave... If all else fails we can still chase something with the flyrods!

Ah. all these suggestions and no one has hit on any of the points i would like to make:
1) you are new. if you are looking at some of these guys posts,like JJ, ridin9high, and others consistantly posting limits, dont bother putting yourself in their class.
2) its late season. You have to relize these birds that are still alive have been shot at since september, 2000 miles north, all the way down here. every bird on the water has seen every decoy spread imaginable, and is still alive because he didnt commit to an inviting spread of a dozen mallard dekes set up in a J formation with a mojo in the pocket.
3) I believe you are the same guy who made your first post about chasing an American Grebe around in your boat a few short months back right? You've learned ALOT about duck hunting since then.
4) You cant get a straight answer on what to change because the birds will change what they like on a day to day basis. You asked all the right questions "too many/ too few dekes? shiny clothes? wrong spot? etc..." these will all factor into your success, but no one on this forum can tell you what a group of gadwall want to see right now.

Keep at it, enjoy the last week, try to shoot a bird or two, and start looking forward to teal season next september. those things are stupid and will land in any spread you put out, and if yu have a mojo, they will land on top of it 90% of the time.

oh yeah, congrats on the snipe, and good luck hunting the dead sea.