Water Condition Influences

Water availability throughout a Flyway, may be the first factor used by waterfowl to determine their migration routes and patterns. In an article written in Ducks Unlimited, waterfowl biologists and scientists have not been able to determine how waterfowl know where optimum water conditions are, they just know they can find them. When major rains occur in the fall, for example, ducks have been known to travel literally hundreds of miles overnight to the exact area that these new water sources are available. In addition, local and regional water conditions can and will have a major impact on your overall success or failure throughout the waterfowl hunting season. As stated recently by a waterfowl biologist we were speaking with regarding an area of the state we were hunting, "If all other factors in the fall were the same, the number one determining factor to the areas overall success is optimal water levels."

An Example Of The Influence

Several years ago the area that we were hunting was extremely dry and therefore the area had very few ducks and geese. Early in December the region had two storm fronts move through that dumped 6 - 7 inches of rain. The small river that fed the area was swollen from the rain and it came out of its banks. As the water continued to rise, it filled the waterfowl management area we were hunting and flooded thousands of additional acres. Almost overnight, the area was filled with both ducks and geese. There was no weather system to the north that was pushing birds into the area the only difference was the presence of water. For the remainder of December through mid-January, the area held large concentrations of ducks and geese and provided us with outstanding hunting throughout that time.

How To Take Advantage Of The Influence

As stated above, water conditions and water availability play a critical role to your success. To take advantage of the influence you need to key in on those areas that either have optimal water conditions, have water available (i.e. ice free) or may have rising water levels. Concentrating on these three areas will help put you where waterfowl are or will be.

If you are unable or unwilling to hunt areas outside or your local region, the key to successfully gunning an area with poor water conditions and poor bird numbers is location. In years when water conditions have been poor throughout the regions we hunt, we have proven that we can still be successful if we hunt key strategic locations.

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