[firstblood]

i know a lot of diver duck hunters hunt out of layout boats with great success but i met a guy who hunted chesapeke bay out of a big game sport fishing yacht the outfitter doubles the use of the boat, and the hunters just sit in the fishing deck not wearing any camo and blast away as the ducks come by , i know they set up decoys but still, do diver ducks actually care about hunters and boats?

 

[Botiz630]

sure doesnt sound like it.

 

[olddkguide]

You better believe they learn about boats, and decoys too. Hunt somewhere, where the divers get shot on a daily basis. You'll find out real quick why so many of us go to so much trouble to bag these birds. Divers that don't get a lot of pressure do become easy to hunt, but just try hunting them a couple of days in a row with no cover. You won't even get close to em.

 

[rmh]

I hunted seaducks on the Chesapeake in a 24' ft. pontoon boat. We put Christmas trees on it early and then renewed them after Christmas. Used about 10 doz. oldsquaw decoys and 8 doz. bluebills. The ducks maybe were wary but they came into the decoys anyway.

 

[clemaire2]

my thinking on that is if you can kill some that way just think how good it would be if you were hid

 

[rmh]

The only place to hide was on the boat, no land toback up against.

 

[crewchief252]

i hunt divers in a salt water bay, and they definately care, we dont use a blind , but you sure as heck have to keep still, and lay down in the boat, i hunt from a layout and also from a 16' deep vee, both work, but as the season goes on , they definately get boat shy

 

[wstober]

Not in the slightest...that is until they get shot at enough. I have seen eider hanging around an area long enough that as soon as they saw boats and decoys they couldn't get out of the area fast enough. All it takes is enough education.

 

[captainduckhead]

Ditto to all above.

 

[870]

The big misunderstanding of Dives is their stupid, their not. The thing to keep in mind is, up where they're hatched it's so remote that they have very little if any contact with humans. They don't know to fear us, but they learn real fast. In a few weeks the St Lawrence will have tons of Old Squaws on it, making their way up North to breed. Their first week on the river, you will be able to drive your boat within a few yards of them before they take off. A few weeks after that and you won't be able to get within a few hundred yards of them before they take off. With experience comes education, even for Divers.

 

[DangleCity]

Well put 870.

 

[duckhunter45]

Agree with 870, if your set up has something they don't like they will not decoy in to your spread. Once they have been shot at a few times they smarten up real quick and movement sends them flaring even faster. Cover up your face, it is like a beacon out there in the boat and sends them a clear message, "this is going to hurt". We always hunt on nasty windy/rain/snowy days, gives you a slight advantage and it helps !!!!! :thumbsup:

 

[goosehunter64]

Very well put 870. Though, on the other hand. In some cases....divers are much smarter the humans.....maybe in more ways then we think. And I'm not talking just about hunting them.
As they say...stupid is as stupid does. And Ron white always says....you can't fix stupid. :no: :no:

 

[870]

Man,,,goosehunter are you ever right they are. Think about it, a hen Broadbill will nest in the very pond she was hatched in. She makes the flight down south, and then returns to that very pond, with out GPS, maps or pulling over to ask for directions. Now keep in mind, how many thousands of miles are we talking??? Just today I got lost coming home from my daughter house 3hrs away. :rofl:

I'm looking for the guy to hand me my sign :yes: