- Jackie Otto


Florida is a great place to try your hand at waterfowl hunting. Our state is filled with waterways and lakes that waterfowl thrive in during the winter months. Just like the snowbirds, waterfowl need to get away from the snow covered grain fields and find un-frozen lakes and sources of food during the winter months.

Getting started duck hunting is not that difficult, you can get by with a few decoys, a little duck calling and a simple johnboat, kayak, or canoe for many of our lakes. Knowing which lakes or waterways that the ducks prefer is as important as good GPS numbers are offshore. Research online, Ducks Unlimited forums and the FWC website all are helpful places to look. You simply need to find the rules and regulations plus finding what ducks like to eat and where they hang out to get started. I am a firm believer in hiring a guide to learn the ropes if you are new at duck hunting. There are many duck hunting guides available online, Ron’s Guide Service was the first one I used and I think he is still the best on Lake Okeechobee.

Waterfowl are federally protected and managed, so there are a lot of rules including seasons and bag limits on different types of ducks that you must be aware of. State and Federal duck stamps along with HIP recording and a Hunting License are required before duck hunting. All of this information can be found at www.myfwc.com, look under hunting and migratory birds.

We have many “migratory” birds that live here year round, including the Florida Mottled Duck and some Greenhead Mallards that thrive on our local golf courses. (No, you cannot hunt on the golf course.) They are still considered migratory birds and are regulated as such even though they are here year round. Once you have located a lake that holds ducks, hunting them is not that difficult, as long as they want to cooperate. Making them want to land in your decoys comes from experience and reading many “how-to” articles in magazines. Basically you want to set up a vee shape with a few decoys, making a landing strip for the ducks to come in. (Align decoys with the vee pointing towards you) You also want to be camouflaged as much as possible, not having anything on your boat or canoe that would shine or look out of place. Using cut palmettos and placing your boat inside a cattail bunch will also help hide you and your boat. Always have the wind at your back and preferably avoid having the sun in your eyes if at all possible. When decoying ducks come in to land, they will always land with the wind in their face, which means keep the wind at your back.

Scouting is also important to your success in a couple of different ways. One way is to help you know where the ducks are and will want to be while they aren’t being shot at. In other words, they are feeding in an area that is going to attract them to come back each day. Scouting will also help you find a good hiding spot for your boat and a good area to set your decoys. Some years the ducks aren’t here until it really gets cold up north and some years they get here early. Scouting the lake first is going to let you know for sure if the ducks have arrived. Scouting for ducks can be done anytime of the day, just ride around the lake and scare them up…watching for them jumping up as you go by. Using a Go-Devil motor or an Airboat is the best way to travel as you can get back into the nitty-gritty parts of the lake where no one else can go. For many years my husband and I successfully hunted out of our yellow and brown bass boat, camouflaged in palmettos and burlap but we now have a Go-Devil and John Boat and there are not many places we can’t go.

Three of the largest lakes in the state, Okeechobee, Kissimmee and Toho often hold large numbers of Ring neck ducks, (ring bills). These are a good “decoying” duck and also make good table fare. On these lakes you can also harvest many green and blue winged Teal, Whistling Tree ducks, along with Florida Mottled ducks. Later in the season a few Pintails, Gadwalls and Redheads may show up, depending on how cold it gets up north. Accommodations around these lakes are available in many fish camps, campgrounds and motels that all cater to duck hunters, during the season.

We have a small pop-up camper that I pull with my vehicle and my husband brings the boat. I sure wish we could figure out how to pull them both without getting stopped by the highway patrol. My family has hunted ducks for quite a few years, including many trips to Arkansas hunting flooded timber, and more recently to Louisiana in the flooded rice fields. We make these trips for huge greenhead Mallards and plump Teal, all of which we love to dine on. In the many years that I have hunted ducks, I have yet to get the coveted “banded” duck. These are ducks, which have a metal band to identify where they were captured last, and when it was harvested. My husband and son both have shot a few, and now my 8 year old grandson has gotten his first banded Florida Mottled duck, what a trophy for a up and coming young duck hunter. He loves to duck hunt and we love to have him with us each time because those young eyes can see ducks long before Pop and Grammy can. I am so proud of his safety with his gun and his first trophy “banded” duck.


Duck blinds can be very dangerous places, hearing protection and gun safety is of the utmost importance, please know your regulations and be safe while trying it on your own.