Duck hunting without a dog

[sodfather]

I know this is not practical but do any of you duck hunt without a dog? 

[orion]

We do.  Just unhook the boat and retrieve the duck. Get back and start hunting again. This is on LI in the marshes.

[finfeathr]

Yep, I hunt from a grassboat on L.I... never had need for a dog, nor do I want to deal with shaking water all over the boat, making them sit still, etc...

[sodfather]

Nice do you have any pics of these boats

[Lawdwaz]

IMO, duck hunting is ABOUT the dog.  I've done it without a dog but if hunting puddle ducks it's really not ethical as you lose plenty of cripples in the places I hunted.

Big water hunting you can do it without a dog.

[finfeathr]

Never needed a dog for puddlers or divers...just unstake the boat and retrieve them, no problem. Dogs are just a pain in the butt for me when hunting from a boat and cause more problems than they solve, in my experience, but it's mostly open water around here.

[Lawdwaz]

You ever have one pile up in the brush, cattails, shallow muddy areas woods, grass etc?

Ever have a cripple run through any of those areas?

[mkrafty133]

We don't use a dog and we're in WNY.  We just dig the canoe out of the cattails and go out and retrieve it. Can't lie I would love a duck dog but we have 2 dogs already that we've had since before I started duck hunting. No way the wife will let me get another one.

[papabear]

I hunted a few years with out a dog and a few times I could not retrieve the duck as the water was too deep now with my dog OZ i get 99% of my ducks back I don't mine the shaking to get the water off and he is a pleaser to have with me when i am out their alone.

Papabear

[finfeathr]

no, I only shoot over the decoys, no pass shooting..they are dead in front of the boat. I also don't shoot past 30 yards....and Papabear, you hunt from the shore, and have no other way to retrieve birds, so OZ is a must for you. Most boat hunters around here don't use a dog, it's too much hassle.

[limolou]

no, I only shoot over the decoys, no pass shooting..they are dead in front of the boat. I also don't shoot past 30 yards....and Papabear, you hunt from the shore, and have no other way to retrieve birds, so OZ is a must for you. Most boat hunters around here don't use a dog, it's too much hassle.

thats b/c OZ is a better hunter anyways.

[finfeathr]

OZ can shoot better than his owner too..

[papabear]

we hunt as partners so one shoots it we both get the credit for it

[finfeathr]

we hunt as partners so one shoots it we both get the credit for it

Thanks for that Bill, I feel all warm and fuzzy now...

[papabear]

that because your a warm and fuzzy person

[NYDeer]

I don't duck hunt, but considering it since I have a spot down the block where its allowed..

I ran into a guy a few years ago in sports authority.. Said he hunts ducks and bring a fishing pole with a big floater surf plug for water retrieves..He sticks to close shots, then casts out over his bird to snag them..

[sodfather]

Still cant seem to find a small 2 person boat at a decent price.

[sssurfertim]

I duckhunt alot on the southshore of LI, and finfther is right, a dog is a hassel in a small boat.  I hunt out of a southbay grassboat, almost never lose ducks because I only shoot at them when they are backpeddling into the decoys at 10 to 20 yards.  Heres a picture of one of my boats.

[sodfather]

Nice set up, but I may need something smaller so I can drag it to the water, the swamp I want to hunt next year I dont think I can get to it by truck.

[Fitzy]

I hunted L.I. for years and was my own dog! In big water I was able to run down cripples with my grass boat that a dog could never had caught. I also recovered birds that landbound skybusters hit but could never retrieve! If you hunt birds long enough, you'll sometime think you missed, but watch the bird and it'll go a quarter mile and just drop dead on the wing from a 'golden BB' hit! A dog could never make a retrieve like that!