RE: New to Waterfowl
This is my 4th season waterfowling. I pretty much have all the gear I need to get by. (no boat yet, though)
I hunt from the bank most of the time on both private and public land, Rivers, Lakes, Wetlands and Farm Ponds. 75% of the time, I hunt by myself. I've got a few buddies into waterfowling also, which helps. Some buddies have dogs and boats, which is nice.
All in all, I have about $500 in my gear. I use my 12 gaugeRemington 870that I use also for Deer and Turkeys. A nice pair of Waders, which is a must. About 5 calls, 4 duck calls and a goose flute. Neoprene gloves, another must for those cold December and January days. I have about 20 goose decoys and 30 duck decoys, plus 2 decoy carrying bags. I think this is it from the major stuff. If you get these, you'll do just fine as far asgear goes I think. Check your local classifieds, I bought a couple dozendecoys that way cheap.
This site is great, you'll get a bunch of info by reading here.