DON’T JUST WING IT

Variety is not just the spice of waterfowl hunting in the West, it’s the whole meal. Part of this variety stems from differences in behavior among available waterfowl species, from puddle ducks to geese. Another part is due to the different kinds of habitat available to western waterfowl outside the traditional lakeside blind set-up. Great alternative hunting comes from grass and grainfields, small ponds that periodically hold migrating ducks and small creeks that serve as resting places for waterfowl on their way south.

For hunters, the plentitude of variety generates opportunities, but at the same time demands a wide range of approaches in decoy spreads, hunting tactics and blind-making strategies. The better integrated the hunting approach to the type of waterfowl and the kind of habitat being hunted, the better the chances you will have success.

GRAINFIELD GEESE

I have a fondness for trying to outwit cackling geese. I grew up hunting them in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, along the I-5 corridor, which is lined with seemingly endless grass