Ducks and Geese Served Up Over Corn

by Phil Salzano

It was October 4th, the day after the 2006 Connecticut River Zone opener for ducks and geese here in Vermont. My waterfowl hunting buddies, Bryan and Hank, from across the state were getting "antsy". Hank was still eager to go after only being home from Saskatchewan for only a few days, a place every water fowler has heard stories of! They also know that the part of Vermont I live in opens to duck and geese a few days earlier than the rest of the state too!

This time of year is tough on any sportsman. October in Vermont brings with it archery deer, duck, partridge, archery turkey and squirrel. Later October brings shotgun turkey, and not to mention that in places the trout are still taking a dry fly! So, needless to say decisions, decisions? It was no surprise to get the phone call that night wondering about my plans for the morning. I was looking for a reason to call in late to work anyway. With the prediction of a north wind, and still a few days from the archery opener it was a no-brainer! Is there a better way to spend the morning, than hunting with my good friends and my pup "Newt?" Besides I had only been out one other time to the woods for squirrel, and that was way back in the middle of September. We made plans to hunt this long stretch of freshly cut corn fields, and it was off to bed.

The morning we could tell was going to be great! The wind was blowing out of the north just as predicted, and cold. We set out our lay down blinds, 5 dozen silhouettes and 6 dozen full bodies, all geese, and one lonely drake Mallard spinning wing decoy on the highest part of this corn field that butts up to the Connecticut River. With everything set the command, "kennel up" was uttered, meaning get in your blind, and get ready.

The woodies were the first to fly over us that morning. They circled once only to fly off to feed further down the river. Shortly after that, the first ball of mallards were up and looking for some breakfast. Being that we were in an open corn field, I choose the Acrylic Quackmaster Single. I like this call for good loud raspy quacks that can be heard over wide open spaces. It also produces some very nice low volume feeding chuckles. With all of us quacking and chuckling the mallards couldn?t resist! The call to take 'em was yelled and my 20gauge 870 was barking!

I love hunting ducks over corn fields! At this farm you can see them coming, literally for miles and the mallards never seem to stop. And the goose decoys kept pulling them in too. The ducks and geese fly the Connecticut River south from Canada like a water fowl super highway. At one point I was outside my lay down blind getting a bird from my pup, and was almost landed on by a mallard drake! He was cupped and committed, and quickly taken out in self defense!

"Kennel up!" was yelled again as we listened to the honks and clucks of the first flock of geese to come our way. It wasn't more that a minute since we first heard the geese before they were on top of us. All of us doing our best, to sound like a very excited flock of geese happy to see them. The Long Neck Goose Flute was doing its job clucking and moaning the birds into the spread. The three of us doing our best to coax the flock into the spread. The big birds slept in as usual but when they came they presented us with some great shot opportunities.

The thing that gets me going is the amount of ducks that came over us in the field. Like many hunters here in the Northeast where we hunt ducks mostly over water, we tend to overlook places like this farm. This long stretch of a food source, the corn fields, with a great roosting/resting area, the Connecticut River, as well as a large lake nearby created by the local dam make a great waterfowl combination! Remember not to overlook farm fields like these on your next goose and yes, great duck hunting adventure!

Pro Tip: After calling in, shooting at, and dropping a few geese from the flock, "kennel up"! Get down and hit 'em hard with some come back calls, clucks and moans. Most likely your chances of calling that flock back for another shot is real good! Good luck and safe hunting!

Pictured left to right: "Newt," Phil Salzano/Quaker Boy Pro Staff Vermont, good friend and hunting buddy Bryan