jerry russell
Senior Member
With a recent post by Larry Young, my in-box and cell phone have caught fire, lol. Folks are fired up about hunting divers and are wanting info on how to be successful. Many have tried unsuccessfully for a couple of years and are frustrated. Well, a few years back I was in the same boat.
I don't post on this forum very often because of the wild west format that most ever thread takes but since there is a lot of interest I will offer a little advice to see if I can help those that care to read this. If you don't agree with the advice I am offering here, please just move on down the line to another thread. This is about helping out other duck hunters.
First let me say that hunting salt divers in BIG water bays (4-8 miles across and 10-20 miles long is difficult to learn and a LOT of hard work. Learning to work tides, winds, find duck food, mastering longline techniques are just the beginning. If you are working from scratch, expect the learning curve to be a few years and get ready to spend some money on quality gear. Make that a LOT of money.
Right now there are a lot of Reds down in Florida and Alabama and many have said that they are having little success with them on really big water. When pressed they tell me that they are running 2-4 dozen decoys. I would begin with this suggestion- When you are attempting to pull down massive flocks of divers, you need to have spreads as large as possible. When we have the luxury of unlimited space in my boat (hunting only 3-4 guys) I like to run 140 decoys and I would run more if I have the time to get them out. Remember, when you see these groups of divers at 10am they are looking for a chance to raft after having fed up. 100 birds will most often not be interested in a tiny spread of 50 decoys.
Long lining is THE only option when running these massive spreads. We can take up 140 decoys in under 10 minutes while standing in one place beside the boat. Equally important is how your spread looks from the air when it is deployed on a longline. It shows proper spacing and structure. This is a big deal.
Spreads cant be just deployed and left out all day without consideration of changing conditions. Big water hunting requires changes to your spread as winds vary. Get lazy with this and you might as well pack up and go home.
Diver like there own kind. We runs multi-species in our spreads but they are segregated. It is awesome to see a bluebill and redhead flock come in together and watch them split at the spread at the last minute. It makes shooting a bit of a challenge as they break up at the landing.
Get a boat that is big enough to get the job done safely or consider a guide. I run a BIG duck boat. More like a tank on the water and at 4am in that black rough water, even I feel a little small when the waves are pushing 3'-4'. Remember, a mishap in that cold dark water at 4AM will be a very bad thing and rescue will most likely not make it in time. That 14/48 boat that works fine on a Georgia lake may not be suited for this line of work. It might even get you killed. I tend to get pretty serious with this advice because I see some crazy folks out there every year. I just don't want to see someone drown over a duck.
Learn how to work tides and then learn what areas can be hunted at certain time on certain tides. Most areas I hunt would require high tides to access with traditional boats/outboards. We run tunnels boats with jack plates. If I did not have this set up I would not hunt these areas. It would be a crazy mess. When you scout, scout on a low tide. Access distances can be limited by a half mile or more with tidal changes. This is a depressing thing to find out at 4 in the morning.
Set your decoys at shooting distances. Know your maximum range and don't exceed this to reduce wounding birds. Open water can fool you. Shoot larger shot than you normally do (I like 1's) and get after cripples with a second shot the micro second there head comes up. Failure to do this will result in a lost bird.
Dogs- Think very hard about taking a dog in this environment. Hunting 8-12 hours is tough on dogs that are not in shape. The salt is hard on them too. LOOOONNNGGG retrieves in high winds and water can end badly for your dog. Don't let your ego kill your dog. If it is out of reach for him to safely get the bird and get back, go get the boat. BE very careful letting them chase a cripple. A wounded diver will tease a dog out of whistle and voice range is a second. Make them drink water to counter the impact of the salt and know that having them with you will limit where you can hunt. Oyster flats/points will murder your dogs feet. DO NOT let a dogs near these areas unless you are willing to run across there barefooted first. It is horrible what these shells do to dogs. Watch out for gators every single second and don't even think about putting a dog in those tidal creeks where the gators can hide. It is just not worth the risk.
Take a gun cleaning kit and use it ever single night. Salt will kill your gun. My son can break a gun down to springs and screws in seconds. He can do this because he has done it hundreds of times. I don't think I would take a gun in salt that was not dipped but that is just me.
Always be prepared for the worst case scenario when hunting in these remote areas. I am talking lost cell phone/ boat stranded by tide/ broken leg stuff. It is miles and miles of walking through nasty marshes if something goes wrong and you cant call for help. Just be ready for anything.
Lastly, hunt with honor. If you get beat there by another boat move on... way on. Moving a 1/2 mile on this big water and sky is a slap in the face to another hunter. I try to keep a 3 mile separation at a minimum. Under certain conditions I go much farther. It is the code.
I have been at this diver thing for a long time and I love it more than any other type of duck hunting. This advice is a tiny drop in the bucket as far as what you will need to learn on the way to getting good at it. That is ok though. Enjoy mastering it.
I hope this has be helpful. Good luck and hunt safe.
I don't post on this forum very often because of the wild west format that most ever thread takes but since there is a lot of interest I will offer a little advice to see if I can help those that care to read this. If you don't agree with the advice I am offering here, please just move on down the line to another thread. This is about helping out other duck hunters.
First let me say that hunting salt divers in BIG water bays (4-8 miles across and 10-20 miles long is difficult to learn and a LOT of hard work. Learning to work tides, winds, find duck food, mastering longline techniques are just the beginning. If you are working from scratch, expect the learning curve to be a few years and get ready to spend some money on quality gear. Make that a LOT of money.
Right now there are a lot of Reds down in Florida and Alabama and many have said that they are having little success with them on really big water. When pressed they tell me that they are running 2-4 dozen decoys. I would begin with this suggestion- When you are attempting to pull down massive flocks of divers, you need to have spreads as large as possible. When we have the luxury of unlimited space in my boat (hunting only 3-4 guys) I like to run 140 decoys and I would run more if I have the time to get them out. Remember, when you see these groups of divers at 10am they are looking for a chance to raft after having fed up. 100 birds will most often not be interested in a tiny spread of 50 decoys.
Long lining is THE only option when running these massive spreads. We can take up 140 decoys in under 10 minutes while standing in one place beside the boat. Equally important is how your spread looks from the air when it is deployed on a longline. It shows proper spacing and structure. This is a big deal.
Spreads cant be just deployed and left out all day without consideration of changing conditions. Big water hunting requires changes to your spread as winds vary. Get lazy with this and you might as well pack up and go home.
Diver like there own kind. We runs multi-species in our spreads but they are segregated. It is awesome to see a bluebill and redhead flock come in together and watch them split at the spread at the last minute. It makes shooting a bit of a challenge as they break up at the landing.
Get a boat that is big enough to get the job done safely or consider a guide. I run a BIG duck boat. More like a tank on the water and at 4am in that black rough water, even I feel a little small when the waves are pushing 3'-4'. Remember, a mishap in that cold dark water at 4AM will be a very bad thing and rescue will most likely not make it in time. That 14/48 boat that works fine on a Georgia lake may not be suited for this line of work. It might even get you killed. I tend to get pretty serious with this advice because I see some crazy folks out there every year. I just don't want to see someone drown over a duck.
Learn how to work tides and then learn what areas can be hunted at certain time on certain tides. Most areas I hunt would require high tides to access with traditional boats/outboards. We run tunnels boats with jack plates. If I did not have this set up I would not hunt these areas. It would be a crazy mess. When you scout, scout on a low tide. Access distances can be limited by a half mile or more with tidal changes. This is a depressing thing to find out at 4 in the morning.
Set your decoys at shooting distances. Know your maximum range and don't exceed this to reduce wounding birds. Open water can fool you. Shoot larger shot than you normally do (I like 1's) and get after cripples with a second shot the micro second there head comes up. Failure to do this will result in a lost bird.
Dogs- Think very hard about taking a dog in this environment. Hunting 8-12 hours is tough on dogs that are not in shape. The salt is hard on them too. LOOOONNNGGG retrieves in high winds and water can end badly for your dog. Don't let your ego kill your dog. If it is out of reach for him to safely get the bird and get back, go get the boat. BE very careful letting them chase a cripple. A wounded diver will tease a dog out of whistle and voice range is a second. Make them drink water to counter the impact of the salt and know that having them with you will limit where you can hunt. Oyster flats/points will murder your dogs feet. DO NOT let a dogs near these areas unless you are willing to run across there barefooted first. It is horrible what these shells do to dogs. Watch out for gators every single second and don't even think about putting a dog in those tidal creeks where the gators can hide. It is just not worth the risk.
Take a gun cleaning kit and use it ever single night. Salt will kill your gun. My son can break a gun down to springs and screws in seconds. He can do this because he has done it hundreds of times. I don't think I would take a gun in salt that was not dipped but that is just me.
Always be prepared for the worst case scenario when hunting in these remote areas. I am talking lost cell phone/ boat stranded by tide/ broken leg stuff. It is miles and miles of walking through nasty marshes if something goes wrong and you cant call for help. Just be ready for anything.
Lastly, hunt with honor. If you get beat there by another boat move on... way on. Moving a 1/2 mile on this big water and sky is a slap in the face to another hunter. I try to keep a 3 mile separation at a minimum. Under certain conditions I go much farther. It is the code.
I have been at this diver thing for a long time and I love it more than any other type of duck hunting. This advice is a tiny drop in the bucket as far as what you will need to learn on the way to getting good at it. That is ok though. Enjoy mastering it.
I hope this has be helpful. Good luck and hunt safe.
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