Backwater Birds: The Hardest Hunt of the Season Paid Off in Feathers

Backwater Birds: The Hardest Hunt of the Season Paid Off in Feathers

Some hunts go to plan. This wasn’t one of them. We broke ice with our paddles. Hauled decoys in waist-deep water. Lost a glove. Nearly lost a paddle. But when the first wigeon buzzed the spread just after shooting light, everything changed.

This was the kind of morning that tests your gear, your grit, and your willingness to earn every bird.

🗺️ The Setup: Frozen Entry, Foggy Confidence

It was a public backwater stretch off a river slough—accessible only by canoe and only if you weren’t afraid of cracking through sheet ice to get there.

No blinds. No motor. Just muscle and memory. We’d scouted it two weeks prior and marked a pocket full of acorns and early mallards.

When we arrived that morning, fog hung over the water like smoke, and our breath joined it in heavy clouds.

“You don’t always know if the ducks will show—but you show up anyway.”

🦆 The First Flight: Right Place, Right Grind

The first flight didn’t come until 7:12AM.

• Three wigeon

• Low and quiet

• Two shots, two down

Then came mallards. Singles. Doubles. One random teal that we all missed clean. They flew low, hugging the fog. We worked every bird with soft feed chuckles and a single jerk cord.

By 8:30AM, we had 7 ducks on the strap and frost forming on the barrels.

🧠 What I Learned in the Slough

• Paddle access means solitude – We didn’t hear another shot all morning

• Small water needs small sounds – Loud hails flared everything; whispers sealed the deal

• Mud sucks—but hides better than a-frame blinds

• Backwater birds behave differently – They’re quieter, land tighter, and often come in from behind

• Don’t over-decoy – 9 decoys and motion was all we needed

“When there’s no one else around, the ducks behave like ducks—not survivors.”

🧢 Gear That Took a Beating—and Won

We ended with 9 ducks. Cold hands. Wet everything. One lost decoy. And stories we’ll tell for years.

Because when you earn the birds—when you haul them through cattails, ice, and fog—you remember the hunt longer than the count.

“The backwater doesn’t give up its birds easy. That’s exactly why we go there.”