Building a duck hole

ucfireman

Senior Member
If I was to build a "duck hole", would an area that can be planted and then flooded in the fall or a shallow pond be better?
If the first, what type of stuff should be planed.
I don't have a huge area but think I can get an area around 50-75ft maybe 100 ft wide and about 200 or so ft long in a hardwood bottom. Can be fed by runoff or pumped from the creek.
Waste of time or worth a try?
 

paulito

Senior Member
Building habitat for ducks is always worth it IMO. I would lean towards something i could manipulate the water versus a shallow pond full time unless you can make it deep enough for fishing as well.

as far as food, go a native as possible such as smartweed. Drive around and try and find some ponds that have duckweed on them and harvest some for yours.
 

Mexican Squealer

Senior Member
Planted isn’t as “important” as the ability to control the water and flood it/drain it when you want. Good stands of natural food, as mentioned above, can be cultivated by disturbing the seed bank at certain times of the year and by drawing down you’re water levels at intervals conducive to smartweed and other food producing moist soil plants. Being able to dry a spot out does give you the option to plant also. Rice and/or Jap millet would be good options. Chufa might be good too. Soil test like any food plot for best results. Good luck with your project.
 

Coach Reynolds

Senior Member
Make sure you can control the water. Over just a few years with the water sitting in a timber spot where the beavers dammed up the creek, it killed everything, trees too! This summer I finally busted the beaver dam and kept the water off the majority of it. These two pictures show a before and after. It's amazing what water control will do for natural vegetation growth.
 

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ucfireman

Senior Member
I don't think I could get it deep enough for fishing so maybe just a flooded area.
Would you flood it numerous times though out the year and then drain or keep it dry then flood in the late fall?
I do have smartweed in an area I don't want it so I can move it I guess.
Hey coach, what is that reed grass in your pic? I have that too. In another wet area.
 

paulito

Senior Member
Typically just one flood and dry period. At least that's what we do.

The rush in the pic looks to be juncus. Common name soft rush. It can tolerate long periods of flooding but really takes off in those marginal areas, banks of a pond or edge of flooded wetlands. Good hardy plant. Not a ton of food value that I know of tho. Good cover
 

Mexican Squealer

Senior Member
Typically just one flood and dry period. At least that's what we do.

The rush in the pic looks to be juncus. Common name soft rush. It can tolerate long periods of flooding but really takes off in those marginal areas, banks of a pond or edge of flooded wetlands. Good hardy plant. Not a ton of food value that I know of tho. Good cover

This^^^^....amazing how the ability to control water can rejuvenate an otherwise barren beaver pond....the soil is full of good duck producing food....the ability to stimulate/release these seed producers is the coolest part of moist soil management. If you can dry it out enough to get A harrow in there, the sky is the limit as far as seed production. Gradually drop your water so things are dried out by March, disturb the seed bed in April by harrowing up all you can, take notes on Everything (desirable and undesirable that comes up)....you will see many more undesirables come up when you disturb the seed bed in the hot months....Sesbania, sicllepod and other spawns of the devil will come to life. If you want planted food, plant your rice 1st of June. Rex or wells variety is what I like. Let it get some growth on it and monitor rain fall. If you hit a drought period (dry land rice needs 1”per week rainfall for best results) then put some water on it ( 1” is
Ideal) Jap millet will do well with a similar regiment. Best advice is to put water on it when it’s needed. I’ve learned from continuous mistakes so hopefully that will help you not have to make all the ones I’ve made.
 

Hooked On Quack

REV`REND DR LUV
Listen to the MSquealer, bro knows how to manage a duck plantation.
 

Juan De

Senior Member
Make sure you don’t do anything that will get untroubled with the feds.
 

ucfireman

Senior Member
Does anyone know someone in the Coweta area with the equipment to move some dirt, dig it out a bit and divert the drainage's to fill a duck hole?
I was looking and I figure I could easily get a acre plus just by digging down some and putting in a dam. There are 3 good drainage's to fill and a natural area to drain into the creek.
With the rain and standing water right now you can really see how big it could be and where it would go. I would like for a pond builder to see it while its flooded so we can discuss what to do.
Just need some knowledge and equipment.
 

Para Bellum

Mouth For War
Go up to the stickies in this forum. Joel put together a good thread on this subject years ago for people just like you.
 
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