Summary: Wood ducks can challenge both your hunting and wing shooting skills. Compared to other ducks their habitat preferences and food sources are quite different. In this article we are going to share with you this information along with techniques you can use to bring more woodies home for your table.
While many hunters will think of flooded timber for wood ducks, wooded creeks, bayous, sloughs and small rivers will also offer some very good shooting. These locations also serve as flyways for wood ducks are very well suited for pass shooting or jump shooting. We have also had some great wood duck hunts over decoys in marsh settings during the early season. Marsh settings are typically roosting areas and will usually be the best at sunset.
Here are some sample photos that will better describe the habitat that will and probably won't hold woodies.
The above photo is a perfect example of prime wood duck habitat. Notice the wood along the edges of the water and branches overhead.
The above habitat is much better suited for mallards and teal. If this water had some fallen trees along the shore it would be much better.
Having spent many years hunting the Mississippi river I can testify to the fact that wood duck decoys work, especially earlier in the season. I have witnessed many a time wood ducks landing in my group of 6-12 wood ducks decoys that were set out with 50-90 mallard and widgeon decoys. This tells me that the wood ducks flying overhead do associate with decoys of their own species.
Many call makers manufacturers make wood duck calls, but from our experience these calls are much better at luring hunters than wood ducks. In comparison to other ducks, especially mallards, woodies just do not respond to call near as well. This isn’t to say wood duck calls don’t work at all, just don’t expect the same results as when calling other species.
You might be thinking here, “Well any slob hunter can jump shoot woodies.”. Not in my opinion, woodies are very alert ducks and probably the most difficult to sneak up on. I have spent many hours belly crawling up to a timber pond on the Mississippi river. To make things even more difficult these ducks will also sit on limbs of fallen trees along the water. This gives them even a better view to sense approaching danger.
Floating and jump shooting wood ducks is another very effective technique on wooded creeks and rivers. Smaller rivers and creeks that have a lot bends make for the best shooting. With one person paddling, the hunter sitting in the bow (front) waits ready for action. Many times you won't actually see the woodies until they flush from a fallen tree and give themselves up their warning call. Once the hunter up front has shot his birds, or had his chance, then the hunters switch places. Remember it is illegal to shoot from a boat that is under power from a gas or electric motor. This is why canoes work best for this technique.
When pass shooting woodies you will want to hunt wooded creeks, bayous, sloughs and small rivers that serve as flyways for woodies.
Because woodies fly the most at first light your best shooting will be the first half hour of legal shooting time. The amount of woodies you see after that will decline rapidly. The next best time will be the last half hour of legal shooting time when woodies are traveling to their roosting areas.
With wood ducks being a medium sized target 3 or 4 shot steel seems to work best for us. Because wood ducks are very fast fliers and usually being hunted in timber an improved cylinder or modified choke is recommended. One thing is for certain, woodies are not an easy target.