# Newby questions?



## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

What part of the duck hunt are the majority of the birds flying? I hunt areas around utah lake, is it worth a trip up north to go hunt farmington bay? What is the best technique for finding ducks and getting them within range? Since I dont have decoys and calls yet ive just been stomping around jumping the small ponds and streams, I have shot a few ducks on utah lake even though I dont have decoys or calls, but it seems like we mostly just have coots down here and its tough learning how to find real ducks as a new waterfowl hunter. Any advice from the experienced guys would be great.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

Keep looking. Get some decoys and put your time in. The birds are there


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## martymcfly73 (Sep 17, 2007)

If you're just starting go north. Utah lake is better after it freezes. Especially powell slough. Its tough to hunt w/o a boat but can be done. It's close so keep going down and looking. Behind the landfill is good at times too.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

Up north Farmington bay lately has been fairly slow as well. I think it's kinda an inbetween time in the hunting right now. We've been taking decoys out, and haven't had nearly the amount of birds working them lately. Need a good storm/cold weather to get some new birds down/moving. That being said, if you are just walking access is certainly easier and I would assume bird numbers are still higher than out on Utah Lake currently.

I don't hunt out of a boat, but my advice would be, whether you stick to Utah Lake or not, to invest in a dozen decoys and find some ponds, smaller bays to set them up and you'll be amazed at the difference it makes. It can be the difference between not getting a single shot and shooting a couple birds on a slow day, and on a good flight day can be the difference between getting a few and shooting a quick limit. Don't be afraid to try them in several different spots and watch the patterns of the birds. Decoys will more than pay for themselves in birds.


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## snowman (Sep 21, 2011)

Cabelas has some storm front mallard decoys on sale for $19.99 a dozen I think, but the sale ends 11-25-12 .. I'm not sure how good they are I have never used them , but I have 2 dozen on order..


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## mmunson (Oct 1, 2012)

I'm somewhat new to waterfowl hunting too, but I'm already addicted and have learned so much from just throwing myself out there and learning from mistakes. I'm always down to get together and go hunt so let me know and I'll come down to utah valley or go up north, a got some decoys and gear to use(no boat).
And snowman, I bought a dozen of those storm front decoys at the beginning of the season, you get what you pay for. No leaks or anything but they do chip, like almost any other decoy. A little missing paint doesn't hurt too much though.


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## honteg (Oct 31, 2012)

Biggest mistake I made this year was buying those storm front decoys. I even sprayed a clear coat on before using them. Not even half way through season and wayy wayy too much paint has come off.

Right now you only need one set to help you get limits. Order from Cabelas the Green Head Gear Pro Grade Marsh Pack of decoys. Get the one with the mallards. It's like $45 for six but that's all you need. The paint is good and the set will work perfect for small ponds. I have limited out almost every time with just these six at the wma's around GSL.


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## Kwalk3 (Jun 21, 2012)

It is true that the storm fronts are not the greatest out there. 20 bucks for a dozen dekes kinda implies they are not gonna be indestructible. However, they look decent and I have a dozen storm fronts that are texas rigged and stored on a carabiner and they haven't chipped at all. If you're looking to get started I think they are a great way to try decoying birds, and if taken care of can be useful if you want to add to them and have a bigger spread next year.

Whether you go with storm fronts or any other decoy, I recommend trying hunting with decoys. You most likely won't ever wanna hunt ducks without them again. Honteg is right though about not needing a big spread right now , and the GHG mallards are pretty solid


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## 90redryder (Oct 10, 2011)

martymcfly73 said:


> If you're just starting go north. Utah lake is better after it freezes. Especially powell slough. Its tough to hunt w/o a boat but can be done. It's close so keep going down and looking. Behind the landfill is good at times too.


Recently my buddy decided to let me in on a secret and took me down to hunt behind the landfill, its been fenced off and shut down. Lame :evil:


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Before you start asking for tons of advice, I would suggest making four small investments if you havent already:
1) buy some waders
2) buy some low priced decoys like the Hot Buys at Sportsmans warehouse
3) buy a decoy bag (you can buy a cheap one for $20)
4) buy some neoprene decoy gloves to keep your hands from freezing when picking up your decoys.

Set your decoys up in a similar pattern that will entice the ducks to land in the empty space in the middle of the decoys









To save you some money, space, and weight, consider making some silhouette decoys which are just cutouts of a duck on a wire post. And mix them into your decoy spread to make it look like there are more ducks. (You can make these out of old campaign signs and black spray-paint).

The best technique I have personally found for bringing in the ducks is to hold still. I know that is the story you hear for everything, but just sit there and hold still. The second best thing I have learned is to study the formations you should use your decoys in. Yesterday Chaser and I went out and within ten minutes we had two or three groups of ducks fly right over us, come back, look at our spread, and leave. That was a sign that we needed to change things up. We made some adjustments and I limited out.

If you are going out on the snow, buy a sled to drag your decoys in. It saves your back.

Now to answer your first question: the birds fly all season. But the colder it gets, the better. I believe that the colder temperatures North of us will push the birds south, so you will tend to find that birds get moving more later in the season. Hope for crappy weather. I prefer to hunt on crummy weather days. Seems like the birds are always wanting to get moving when it is raining or snowing.

I dont have any comments on Farmington, so I wont weigh in on it.

Finding ducks is easy, they are everywhere in Northern UT. But finding an area that birds will be flying by is trickier. This is why guys like to hunt places like Farmington. There are lots of birds and they are continually flying around looking for other rafts of birds in the water, and for places to eat. So the point of my rambling there is to make sure you hunt a place that the birds want to be. Dont waste your time on a little spot that you see a few birds here and there (unless you are just jump shooting them on the river), look for a place that the birds are coming and going from a lot.

And then I will PM you one big hint that I hope will help you find more birds this season


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## mmunson (Oct 1, 2012)

hey bax why don't ya go ahead and fill me in with that big hint too?! I'm a newbie also!!


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