Rookie question about ducks/teal

[negoose]

When is the best time to hunt teal? Can you only hunt them in the morning? If you set up in a good place in the morning and you see a lot of ducks and even get a couple of shots but don"™t limit out, would it be wise to sit in that same place all day or should you relocate? I went out Sat/Sun in eastern Nebraska. I didn"™t get any but I know a lot of other hunters did. What surprised me was that every body left and the shooting was done by about 9:00 Am it was like that every place I checked. I should clarify this post by saying this is the first time I have ever hunted for ducks so please excuse the stupid questions. Thanks for the help.

Dave

[coolbrze0]

The reason most packed up and left by 9 is b/c ducks mainly fly in the wee hours of the morning. This is not to say that you won' t see any after 9, but you will more than likely see less as the morning progresses.

I do exactly the same thing when I duck hunt. I am usually out of the area by 9 or 10 at the latest. The first hour of light is by far the best where I' m from. Just my observations from VA.

[Drake Hunter]

Teal are early flyers. My buddy and I started shooting 5-10 minutes after legal light Saturday morning. Had a fresh group in about every 30 minutes and were packing up at 8:17 AM with a 2 man limit. It was overcast and still pretty dark at legal shooting, but 20-30 birds buzzed us, looped around and landed in the dekes. We jumped ' em and got 3. I missed 2X at one duck...apparently I shot when he was too close. My buddy dropped 2 in 1 shot out of that group...he shot too close too but hit his...yuck!

It was the first real hunt for my lab Shaddeaux, he retrieved all 8 and was picking up marking off the gun when we limited out. Next weekend should be better.

[txbowjunkie]

Like coolbrze said, teal usually move around early. As the morning progresses you might think about hunting creeks off the lake or doing some pond jumping. I hunt about a 1/3 to 1/2 mile (as a crow flies) from the lake. There is a creek that runs back to some feeder ponds that I hunt. I' ve had a lot of luck during mid-day doing this.

Another thing, teal are pretty predictable. They don' t vary their pattens much unless they get a lot of pressure. So once you' ve found them you can always go back and get em!

Oh and I almost forgot. Welcome to the addiction called waterfowling! Glad to have another member.

[chessie man]

I would agree with what the others have said but I would also add that If your going out there and not getting any birds then change things. either change your spot or your spread or something. If everyone around you is getting them then figure out why. Also When I' m hunting I don' t go to the same spot everytime and do the same thing. They will pick up on that and change, you have to be one step ahead. Find the pockets that no one else hunts, Try more/less decoys, different terain. Good luck and welcome to the club..... ohh remember most places last day of season is better than the first, so don' t give up!!!