are beaver dam ponds any good?

New to waterfowl, not sure if i found an ok spot near Barrie. Saw a fair size pond on google maps. Went out. Water was freely flowing between two mounds and the pond was a lot more depleted than the sat photos showed. Is there any chance this kind of area would be worth duck hunting? Does the "beaver" need to plug the dam first? I saw two turkeys on my way back, no signs of deer or grouse. Area was mostly pine and major highway nearby. Making the most of the Corona virus situation.

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In my experience it could be decent or could be a complete dud. It's an endless search trying to find good duck hunting spots, letting the birds lead you to where they want to be is the name of the game. Having a series of spots and checking them regularly leading up to and throughout the season will bring you success. Just add it to your list and keep searching, you'll know if its any good by the time the season comes around.

There is a series of Beaver dams/ponds at our cottage that hold decent numbers of ducks and geese depending on the time of year

Remote beaver ponds are usually quite good as long as they hold food that ducks and geese like to eat. Puddle ducks love them.

Beaver ponds are fun to hunt

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We hunt the same beaver pond for the duck opener every year. Always produces well! Woodies, Teal and Mallards.

-Nick

I've always found beaver ponds to be great first and last hour spots. Worthwhile mid-day action can happen during the migration but is highly unpredictable.

Beaver ponds are great spots but could be a roosting pond. That being said could be a fast morning hunt and good before they go to bed. If it is a roosting spot don't hunt it to much because they will figure you out fast and go else where to sleep

Like they have said. A few quiet evening drives around your ponds will tell you which ones have birds.

As for scaring them off the ponds by hunting the roost. Not shooting them when they are grouped up in the morning or coming to roost at night will help. In the morning they will leave in a large group, but come back in groups of two, three or four. By shooting at the small groups and single birds it takes longer for them to figure it out.

If the weather stays as wet as it is now there will likely be lots of ponds and puddles to hunt.

like snowwalker said, don't shoot at them while on the pond. Wait for evening return or if they come back mid morning take what you can fast and leave. We do this with a goose pond we hunt. Geese come in about 9 to 10 am, so we show up just before that, shoot the singles and pairs so we don't teach the 200 birds.

ive got a spot right near a dam and all these suggestions are good. make sure you dont shoot the roost but set up along the way right between. one of my favorite spots is right by a roost but far enough away that they dont disappear for the season, but close enough that they are on their way to land and not 500 feet up.
dont let them see you on your way in or out, or they will get the hint and take off somewhere else. also try not to hunt it often. once every few weeks and hope that someone else doesn't hunt the spot.

thanks guys! good tips. i was worried there wasn't enough water but i'll go back later this year i'm sure it will be swampy and full of mosquitos... now if only i can make my duck calls sound like actual ducks!

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Originally Posted by supersharpshot

thanks guys! good tips. i was worried there wasn't enough water but i'll go back later this year i'm sure it will be swampy and full of mosquitos... now if only i can make my duck calls sound like actual ducks!

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Take your call to the park and talk to the ducks( and geese). You also need to remember you don't "blow" a call, you "talk" thru it. Start be trying to sound like a duck quacking by saying ACK, or fack, or tack, or rak. You'll find you'll start to get close and then make the same sound thru the call.

Remember, well me saying "bac" thru a call maybe gives me a realistic quack. You may have to say something different.

There's a lot going on around beaver ponds as its its own ecosystem and it takes a lot of factors to keep one healthy. They age unless there is a decent flow of water to keep them from going stagnant. The older the pond becomes the less attractive it is to waterfowl simply because there is little to no new vegetation that serves as a food source. And unless a pond grows in size food sources for beaver become scarce or too far for beaver to travel safely to reach it. A healthy pond can be a great place to hunt and if managed properly will provide years of decent jump shooting.

The back of the property I hunt was flooded for a few years before the city broke it up with an excavator. It was a little oasis and was pretty good for duck/goose

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

Take your call to the park and talk to the ducks( and geese). You also need to remember you don't "blow" a call, you "talk" thru it. Start be trying to sound like a duck quacking by saying ACK, or fack, or tack, or rak. You'll find you'll start to get close and then make the same sound thru the call.

Remember, well me saying "bac" thru a call maybe gives me a realistic quack. You may have to say something different.

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I have a Buck Gardner Double Nasty $30 call. watched a million videos, started going to the park around the corner with about 50-100 ducks most days (People feel them bread). I was able to get the drakes chasing around hens but that's it so far. With COVID19 too many poeple around the parks these days. Thankfully there's about a dozen ducks all day at the cottage before the deer come for dinner.

No matter how hard i try i'm not getting that raspy sound i hear the youtube pros make. I do the "hot" "hut" for quacks and "tikatika duh duh" for feed chuckles. From what i see online i should prob try to grunt it out more like huuuuuuhhhh almost like a grunt. I can get some basic cadence going. i'll get there!

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Originally Posted by supersharpshot

I have a Buck Gardner Double Nasty $30 call. watched a million videos, started going to the park around the corner with about 50-100 ducks most days (People feel them bread). I was able to get the drakes chasing around hens but that's it so far. With COVID19 too many poeple around the parks these days. Thankfully there's about a dozen ducks all day at the cottage before the deer come for dinner.

No matter how hard i try i'm not getting that raspy sound i hear the youtube pros make. I do the "hot" "hut" for quacks and "tikatika duh duh" for feed chuckles. From what i see online i should prob try to grunt it out more like huuuuuuhhhh almost like a grunt. I can get some basic cadence going. i'll get there!

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Don't worry about not sounding it the "PRO's". You are just trying to sound like a couple of ducks, not a master musician.

Looks like I'll be looking for ways to kill time maybe we can get together, or you may find a couple guys willing to help you out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by supersharpshot

I have a Buck Gardner Double Nasty $30 call. watched a million videos, started going to the park around the corner with about 50-100 ducks most days (People feel them bread). I was able to get the drakes chasing around hens but that's it so far. With COVID19 too many poeple around the parks these days. Thankfully there's about a dozen ducks all day at the cottage before the deer come for dinner.

No matter how hard i try i'm not getting that raspy sound i hear the youtube pros make. I do the "hot" "hut" for quacks and "tikatika duh duh" for feed chuckles. From what i see online i should prob try to grunt it out more like huuuuuuhhhh almost like a grunt. I can get some basic cadence going. i'll get there!

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A half dozen decoys and knowing how to sit still count for a lot more then calling.

Always the best place to start, I have used the same ponds for mentoring for last 7 yrs. They always produce for at least 4 weekends. By then the local population is shot out and then the Northern Birds arrive to revive.

I really sucked bad on the calls until I found a couple of "bomb proof" ones that were easy to blow. Once you're doing well on these you can try others. I personally have a hard time trying to get any of Gardners calls to sound good with me on the other end.
The Haydell's DR85 and Primos Original Wench were my salvation calls and both are cheap to buy. I have a few expensive Foils, etc and I still like using these two cheapies.

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Originally Posted by Fenelon

I really sucked bad on the calls until I found a couple of "bomb proof" ones that were easy to blow. Once you're doing well on these you can try others. I personally have a hard time trying to get any of Gardners calls to sound good with me on the other end.
The Haydell's DR85 and Primos Original Wench were my salvation calls and both are cheap to buy. I have a few expensive Foils, etc and I still like using these two cheapies.

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The Haydell DR-85 has probably killed more ducks than any other calls put together. Its my go to, and has been for 30 years. I get asked a lot by other guys that were close enough to hear me calling, what kind of call I'm using, and when I show them the DR, they are like, "really?" lol

They do work.


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