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Great lakes duck gunning has changed considerably over the
last 20 years but one thing remains the same - “The Goldeneye (Whistler)
is still the toughest late season duck that flies!” These ducks, along
with Bufflehead can provide fast and furious action for those gunners
willing to brave the elements in search of their haunts. With
temperatures in the teens, hunting guides Jim Rehley and Jon Roukous
joined me in the eastern basin of Lake Ontario to field test Blackwater
decoy’s Rough Rider diving duck blocks. I anticipated good action, but
the results were overwhelming!
5 a.m. found us launching the Seaway #1 at the town ramp in
Sackets Harbor, NY. Sackets is located on the shores of Black River bay
which can be a hot bed for late season diving duck activity. A brisk
northeast wind was clipping as we nosed the 20 footer towards the north
shore of the bay and calm water. Upon arrival we followed the shoreline
around Pillar point to a famous diving duck point known as “Bull Rock”.
We edged the boat into the boulders and anchored her fast in position.
The flat expanse of shelf rock made it easy to wade and set decoys. The
northeast wind rolled out of Sherwin Bay across our right shoulders and
out to open water.
 We were hoping that divers would pitch the rig from
left to right giving us great decoying action and some cross gunning as
well. We gang set the right front of the rig with 25 Blackwater
Bluebill decoys. We chose these because of the high white patches on
their sides which provide great visibility at long distances. With
these in position we rigged a string of Whistler decoys (Herter’s burlap
wrapped) from deep water into the left side of our pattern. Between the
two decoy sets, we placed 5 more Whistler decoys in what we considered
the kill pocket. Our 5 inside Whistlers were set at just 15 yards and
the bulk of the Bluebills were between 20 and 30 yards. Ten minutes
remained before legal shooting so we passed out steaming cups of hot
tea, waited for the birds and wondered if our rig would do the trick.
Legal shooting time came and went with no visible signs of
white duck traffic. Migrating flocks of Bluebills passed high overhead
as they winged towards some unknown destination. We all wondered
whether we had picked the wrong location for our morning adventure. At
7:10 a.m. a single drake Bufflehead buzzed into the pattern from left to
right and a quick shot dispatched him as he hooked between the Whistler
and Bluebill decoys. “Re-load quick, Here comes another little gang of
three!” Two hens and a drake Buff were spinning us wide when they
glimpsed the trailing white of our Goldeneye string. Like F-16’s they
banked hard and crashed the rig with the reckless abandon that divers
are known for. When paddles finally flared, my hunting partners pumped
actions and short circuited this trio’s migration. The white ducks were
finally beginning to trade! On cold frosty mornings, diving ducks can
trade later than normal and it appeared that this was shaping up to be
that kind of day. Jim hissed “On the left - Here they come!” As eyes
turned, we focused on a small knot of 5 Bufflehead followed closely by a
wad of more than 30 other Buffs. I trilled out the soft Brrrrrr,
Brrrrrrr, Brrrrrrr sound that divers make when trading between groups
and watched as the first 5 committed hard to our string of Whistlers.
The first gang pitched the rig as we hesitated, waiting to see if the
larger group would follow suit. “They’re gonna spin us wide and pass
the rig!” someone said. At 50 yards, crossing left to right, it
appeared that whoever spoke those words - might be right. At the last
moment, an inside drake spotted our pod of Blackwaters and turned in for
a closer inspection. The group followed suit and were soon vying for
position within our Bluebill blocks. Diving duck hunters can appreciate
the mayhem that ensued over the next 20 seconds. All tolled, 7 Buffies
(mostly drakes) lay belly up on the waters surface. The day was shaping
up nicely.
While I was pleased with the white ducks that had flown us,
I was surprised that no Goldeneye had flown our point. In this gunners
mind, Godeneye are the champions of late season divers. They are
perhaps the toughest duck that flies and their ability to dive and elude
hunters after the shot is legendary in duck hunting circles. Goldeneye
will accept only their kind when pitching a rig often shunning all other
types of decoys. The placement of Goldeneye blocks must also be very
specific. Just one decoy out of position and the Whistlers will pitch
short or not work the rig at all. High profile splashes of white are
critical when decoying late season birds and since this color pattern is
mostly found on drakes, the best decoy rigs are weighted heavily with
male birds.
We discussed the apparent lack of Whistlers when the tell
tale intermittent whistle of an approaching duck caught our attention.
There is no mistaking the approach of a Goldeneye and the whistling we
heard was being created by a pair of incoming drakes. The two birds
approached fast. Banking from right to left, they homed in on our string
of faux Goldeneye, never suspecting the ruse until we rose to meet them
at a mere 15 yards. We admired the full winter plumage and the bull
chests that these two drakes sported. It was obvious that these birds
love the cold, impervious to the worst of conditions and most hunters
guns. Watching these two birds work the rig was worth the price of
admission!
Many more small bands of birds worked the rig allowing us to
collect our remaining Bufflehead and an additional immature drake
Whistler. The hunt was over at 8:05 a.m. lasting just 55 minutes.
While this may seem hardly worth the work to some, true watermen relish
the ability to shoot fast, collect ducks and leave without educating
large masses of ducks. They know that this type of management will
provide some excellent gunning again in the days that follow. As we
pulled the rig, our group chatted about how realistic the Blackwater
Bluebills had appeared on the water. It was quite evident, that the
Bufflehead were attracted to the heavy white patches on the sides of
these blocks. We would surely have lost the big gang of Buffs had it
not been for our up-wind knot of Blackwaters.
Just two weeks before, I had the opportunity to hunt with
Bill Humphries of Blackwater decoys. We shared a layout boat together
hunting Bluebills on the western end of Lake Erie. We discussed the
pros and cons of different decoy styles and what makes the Blackwater
blocks different. Blackwaters are made of high density, flexible
urethane. While somewhat weighty, it allows them to ride the waves in
much the same manner as a real duck. Since we were ferrying them on
board the float rig, weight was not a concern. The body styling is the
result of master carvers producing an original from wood which is then
used to form subsequent molds. Waterfowler and carver, Gary Joe Bryan
assists the Blackwater team in the development of these blocks. A
veteran of carving competition, Bryan knows how to make these decoys
look real. I asked about material selection and they simply stated
that, “We wanted to make the toughest decoys on the market”. Humphries
demonstrated the toughness by placing a drake Bluebill at a measured 10
yards from our boat. He then told me to shoot it 5 times with the loads
I was using. I proceeded to shoot the decoy with #2 Fasteel while
Humphries hit it 5 times with 3 inch BB’s. I expected to see decoy
pieces after the barrage but what I saw was a pretty good looking
block! Granted, some of the paint was gone but a duck would surely
still work to this decoy. Humphries also explained that the paint
schemes on all Blackwater decoys are guaranteed for 2 years.
Currently, there are no Bufflehead or Whistler decoys in the
Blackwater lineup. Humphries said that this could change in the near
future - I hope that it does! Veterans of big water would surrender all
other decoys before they would give up their Goldeneye blocks.
Blackwater packages their decoys by the dozen (8 drakes & 4 hens). The
additional white in the diving duck rig gets a thumbs up from our group.
White ducks provide tremendous gunning opportunity
throughout the months of November and December on the great lakes.
Operating in late season conditions can be both mentally and physically
demanding. Duck hunting gear can also take a beating in adverse
conditions. Hunting with a durable decoy like the Blackwater means
there is one less thing to worry about. Gunning the late season is cold
hard work but it’s worth the effort when the white ducks toll!
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