North Jersey never duck hunted need advice

[so_dank]

Ive been strictly a whit tail guy, never even shot a bird or varmint. Now I find myself wanting to duck, ive been learning about the different ducks and calls online. Now I think next year I might give it a go. I live in passaic county near ringwood wanaque area. Ive been looking everywhere online Ive asked all the shop owners and a few locals, i cant find a list of any public land to hunt NJ. Ive read that WMA are great places to hunt but can you hunt ducks on any WMA? In my area I have the Wanaque WMA, and a little drive away is the Newark watter shed which to deer hunt requires a special permit so I dont know if duck is an option there. I have read that you can hunt Geese on the Monksville in a certain area, but I never see any geese on the Monksville lol... Any help would be great, also a few more questions

I have a Mossberg 835 turkey gun, will it be ok for ducks?
I have no dog so I will be shooting from shore line blind how long do the birds float I will need to pick them up with a kyak?
Last if its as addicting as i hear it is whats a good larger dog for water fowl/pheasant flushing? Thanks again sorry so many questions in one post I dont know how this works exactly new to the forum.. Jay

[crewchief252]

Man, you sure ask a lot of questions, , but lets see if we can answer them, as for a list of public land, on the NJDEP website, there is a list and maps of all the WMA's, most are huntable, but obviously, your equipment will factor in, you dont really want to hunt a fast moving river from the shoreline, as far as individual WMA's like the wanaque, the best thing is to go to them and scout them out before the season, and see if there is an office there, where they can give you specifics, but there is plenty of open public land, i hunt nothing but public and usually during the week, and most of the time i am the only one there. You shouldnt be that far from sawmill ( watch the currents) or even Raritan bay, which is where i spend most of my time for the coastal zone. A lot depends on how far you are willing to drive, i'm not above leaving my hous at 2 in the a.m. to hunt ABsecon bay in Atlantic city, and i dont live far from the DEl water gap. I dont really know all the gun models that well, but your mossberg should be fine, i do suggest a gun that is parkerized, they are pretty much always getting wet and if you hunt coastal you have the salt to deal with, me, i use a Browning 10g BPS steel spcl, for retrieving birds, a kayak is fine, alot of guy's use them, just pay attention to the water conditions your putting into, always SAFETY first, and the birds will flaot pretty much forever, ducks feathers are waterproof. Last but not least , IS IT ADDICTING? man, you cant imagine, once you get into it, you wont want to do anything else, i have spent my whole life hunting everything in jersey, but i spend more time on ducks than all other hunting combined. Anyway, i hope some of this helps, hook up with me near the beginning of the season and we'll get you started.

[hardtime]

So Dank,

I too am a whitetail man, but let me say this...

first....you have found the RIGHT forum. No smart asses, no dumb answers and no bad advise.

second....The best authority on our subjrct has answered your questions.

[so_dank]

Thanks a lot guys the help is needed and I thank you.

I will go to the state park division office near ringwood state park maybe they could help. The pond in the Wanaque wma brings in some birds just not sure if its huntable.

I used to live in Bayville wish I had the urge back then sounds like coastal is where its at.. thanks again

[twowitken]

The crewchief wrote in a nut shell. I'm was from hudson county, before momouth. sawmills the best, newark has ponds, , alot of jump shooting great action, streams though out the property, green turtle pond, and even some ny state property up that way great to try. good luck and see a in the field.....

[so_dank]

Wow Twowitken Green turtle pond is exactly what I was talking about on the Wanaque WMA Figure that would be a good place to start. Dont want to be calling away near other hunters to find out that im doing more moris code than duck calling lol. Thanks again guys!!!!!

[jerseywaterfowler]

Crew pretty much summed it up. You can buy a Deloreme Atlas and also NJ State offices in Trenton have a great map for about 5 bucks. List all WMA/State Forest/Federal land that can be hunted. Spend the next month or two scouting a few places so you know what equipment you need. Your shotgun should be more then enough, just get a mod or improved chock for it.

[caglatz]

Great whitetail hunting too in NJ .... but that's a different forum. I've used a Mossberg 835 for 20+ years - never failed although it rattles a good bit. It will be fine - with either the IC or MOD chokes. Everything else said so far has been great advice. Go to the NJ Fish and Game sights and scout some WMAs. You'll be good to go next year.

[rman114]

I don't think anyone mentioned the right dog. I would think a nice lab would be a good flusher for flushing and retrieving.

That's why i'm getting one. Plus they make great pets!

We get ours in May!!

[aaa48]

I live in Keyport, NJ the best hunting is coastal with a boat dog not that necesary gut nice if you have one. Your shotgun needs choke tubes for stell shot if you only have a turkey tube DO NOT use it stell nasty things will happen is too tight If your gun came with the standard choke tubes F, M, IC you can only use Mod and IC as steel shoots full with MOD and IC shoots MOD I have great results with Carlson waterfowl tobe set(www.chokeTube,com) 785-626-3700. My friend and I co own a duck boat get in touch with me and perhaps you could join us in an outing. Good luck, Tony

[nivek0bright]

hey i live in haskell and i've got a few spots and a dog and gear, send me a pm and i can take you along sometime. i hunt with four guys , more of a younger group but we know what we are doin, or atleast we like to think that .

[papageno]

Not trying to start a zone war, but it all depends on what you want to hunt.

Obviously, diver and brant hunting is best in coastal. For late mallards and early woodies you should get up into the freshwater (SZ & NZ). Early teal are most abundant on Del Bay (SZ). Blacks are thick along the coast (CZ) and bay (SZ). Geese are better hunted inland in the agricultural areas, but they also winter along the coast.

Try hunting all these different species in all of their habitats. That's what keeps it new and fun for me year after year.

[so_dank]

Wow I forgot all about this post..came up on a google search..my buddy just saw a pheasant land in front of his shop in ringwood and I'm baffled???? I never did get out..i got the ringwood state park fire road pass to check out the ponds and wound up putting up tree stands instead. Maybe this year ill drop someone a line and we could get out for a day. Thanks a lot for all the responses this is agood forum.

[Swingo]

A great resource for you will be the DVD that Delaware Valley Outdoors has out, it's about Coastal Waterfowl Hunting. I was at the sports show in PA this weekend and went to the seminar they put on. A beginner could learn an enormous amount from that dvd.

[pvn6616]

[RustyGunz1960]

I got the waterfowl bug while still living in Passaic County, from college roomates who lived Atlantic and Ocean Counties and invited me down to hunt. I was strictly a deer and grouse guy up to that point. I took a few ducks on the lake at Wawayanda and the stray bird at other smaller waters but nothing compares to the coastal area. It's certainly worth the drive. It was part of the reason I moved down here after college.

[FFT]

A great resource for you will be the DVD that Delaware Valley Outdoors has out, it's about Coastal Waterfowl Hunting. I was at the sports show in PA this weekend and went to the seminar they put on. A beginner could learn an enormous amount from that dvd.

I guess you've never been to ringwood.

[so_dank]

Wow hey, how things come full circle.. Finally got into my first volley of woodies this year.. Im loaded with mallard decoys and all my calls are in order and well practiced. I also picked up my goose decoys and calls... unfortunately to get good hunts im traveling and hour to and from but Ive learned what I needed to to get started. Thanks for all the help!! Now I can start new threads and ask many many different questions.

[jerseywaterfowler]

jeez, this is a 11 yo post. Hope by now you have passed the learning curve. An hour is not so bad to drive for a good hunt.

[nivek0bright]

Hey, talked to you a bit in the past my offer still stands, i hunt passaic and had 5 groups of geese today. if youd like to join some thime thatd be cool ... down to only two of us that hunt together. Hunt saturday mornings and afternoons during the week