Summary: Duck and goose hunters hunters tend to be rather tight lipped when it comes to sharing information with other waterfowl hunters about their hunting spots and their hunting success. This of course is somewhat understandable, as one of the main keys to their waterfowl hunting success is location.
Since little accurate information is passed on about specific hunting locations or success, today's waterfowl hunter needs an inside source that can be counted on and trusted. This source can often be found with individuals that do little or no waterfowl hunting but are in areas that ducks and geese love to frequent.
Listening and networking with individuals who don't hunt waterfowl will pay huge dividends if you understand how to get and utilize this information. You will be truly amazed at how much your hunting success will improve when you get accurate and reliable information about waterfowl movements and hidden hotspots.
Who should you network with? Well, it only makes sense to network with people who frequent different areas than you do so they can be your eyes and ears in those places you may not travel to in the fall.
Here is a list of people that we currently network with. There may be even more people you will think of to network with.
Each of these groups of people can give you information about waterfowl sightings in areas that you may never frequent in the fall.
The first step to building your network is communication. In the course of conversation, you must let them know that you are a waterfowl hunter and that you would appreciate it, if they would keep you in mind, if they ever see ducks or geese in their area. Give them your phone number (have them call collect if necessary) or e-mail address and ask them to contact you.
Try and contact the people in your network throughout the year and the season or better yet, stop by if possible and share some information that may be valuable to them. You never know when you might receive a phone call or e-mail that lets you in on a duck or goose hunting hotspot.
If you go to all of the trouble to set up a reliable network make sure you always repay the favor. I can't begin to tell you how important it is to "show" the people in your network your appreciation.
Something as small as a thank you note with a gift certificate can make an impression that will last a lifetime. Giving a farmer a helping hand with chores or fieldwork can and often will put you on a pedestal.
Years ago I was fortunate enough to get permission to hunt a flooded grain field. The group I was hunting with all chipped in $10 and we went together and bought a gift certificate to a nice restaurant along with a thank you card. To see the expression of gratitude in the farmer's eyes was worth the effort.
To this day, I receive a call from him whenever there are ducks or geese in the area and I have been told by others that we are the only group he lets hunt his land.
Here's a glimpse of the success we've enjoyed with our network.
One of the individuals within our network was an excellent trapper. Late one afternoon I received a call from him. While trapping, he had come upon a beaver dam that was flooding an adjacent cornfield. He told me that for over an hour he watched ducks and geese pour into the area. He gave me the exact location and let me know the best way to get to the spot.
The next morning we headed out to the flooded cornfield and killed our limit of Canadians, mallards, and woodies within an hour. Only after the DNR removed the dam did our outstanding hunting end.
Thanks to the information provided to me, by the trapper in our network, we had our own private hunting club on public land.