Duck Hunting from Canoe?

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Dave R

New member
Anybody ever float a section of river in a Canoe while duck hunting? I've never seen anyone do it, but it sounds like a good idea. Noiselessly drift around a bend, spot a small flock, and away we go. Easy to collect the downed birds, too.

Would require river-running clothing in case of a spill (waterproof top over waders & boots), but a spill is not likely because the river is low and well known.

Probably want some kind of leash to keep the shotgun connected to the canoe in case of spill, too...

So has anyone ever done this before? Other issues I may be missing?
 
Here...

We used to float around a small marsh in our canoe. Here are the rules. One person shoots at a time. The other person, counter balances with one ore in the water. The shooter always sits in front, because he is the first to see around a bend, and the guy in the back has better countrol over the boat with his position. DO NOT WEAR WADERS!!!!! NEVER wear waders in a boat if you value your life. They fill up with water and you cannot swim. My brother nearly drowned this way. If you want to stay dry, wear rain ponchos.
Alot of ducks will come flying right over. We quite shooting these after a while because they nearly always resulted in lost birds. They get in thos reeds and you'll never find them. If you don't kill them with the first shot, they'll dive and latch on to the bottom to die.

Canoes are very good for duch hunting, especially since they're easy to disguise, and can make a great blind with just a little work. Have fun, and hunt safe:)
 
Dave - I've done this lots of times, but always with a partner. The stern paddler doesn't fire, only steers and turns the canoe strategically for the bow gunner. The shooter never stands up either. You swap out places every so often to spread the fun around.:D I've never had a mishap using this method, and I don't bother tethering the gun. I've fallen in before (off a beaver damn crossing - don't ask) and discovered I had no desire to let go of my gun to improve my swimming :eek:. A canoe works well on rivers and marshes where you can put the sneak on through vegetation. I've also done it in flooded timber - what a blast! :D:D
 
I have done this a couple of times with some sucess. A friend of mine has a Black Lab that rides in his canoe with him and I have even seen this dog jump out and get in a canoe in the middle of the river.
 
OK.

...so this is a little off-topic, but it's funny. We have a terrier/poodle mut that is about a foot tall, and maybe 18" long. She's my moms dog, and usually stayed home. Well my mom was out of town and we were going fishing in the canoe. We were going to be gone all day so decided to take "oreo" with us. We went to one of our "yellow perch holes" where we usually would slay them and bring home 40 a day (that's as many as we ever wanted to clean at a time). We were fishing with bobbers, and it didn't take long until our dog was barking evertime the bobber started moving arund. It was a blast. Then when the fishing started to slow down, she started barking at us to catch fish. It was funny, it was like she was getting mad, because we weren't catching any. She got soo antsy she jumped in and tried to swim to our bobber, decided it was too far, and swam back to the boat, but she couldn't get in so she just kept circling it. It was a hoot. We lifted her back in and she didn't jump out anymore, but she always loves to go fishing in the boat now:)
 
Bad Medicine, yes, I was planning on two, like you described. Shooter in front, paddler in back. The deal I was planning with waders is, the river jacket on the top forms a watertight seal (neck, wrists and waist) so no water can get in the waders.

BTW, a wading belt will keep water out of the waders, too. They're getting to be a real common safety feature here.

Thanks for the tips about avoiding "flybys"

BadMed, I still have not tried your tip about the cliffs at CJ Strike. Do ya think it'll work late-season?
 
I don't know how it is everywhere else, but here its illegal to shoot out of a boat. You can travel all over the place in a boat when duck hunting but just can't shoot from the boat. The idea is not bad but would be too damned noisy to get in and out of the boat everytime you wanted to shoot a bird.
 
hmmm

Yes I think CJ strike is the whole season long, but I don't remember too good. In the states I've been in, and IDAHO is one of them, it's legal to hunt in a boat. It's not legal to hunt from a MOVING MOTOR BOAT. If the boat has a motor, it must be turned off, and all forward motion has to have stopped before you can shoot.

Dave, the marsh we used to go to is awesome with a canoe, it's right down the hil by CJ strike, and is right across the road from the recreational area. Alot of people unted there, but I never saw anyone in a boat other than us, they were all around the edge shooting the flybys. Good luck, Bad.
 
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