Ohio Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor

Central Ohio 12-12-2008 06:41
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Off and on warm and cold weather have made for great conditions around central Ohio. Birds are moving in and out with weather patterns and many are staying on the big water which is still open.

Rain and snow mix this week and next week should provide a few days of great shooting. Local farms and fields have to be scouted hard.

Look for flocks in the early morning moving off ponds, lakes and streams and follow them to their favorite field, chances are they will be there the next day as well.

For those who spend 2-3 days scouting for every day shooting the season should prove to be productive.

Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!

Posted By:
nelli2008
Web Member

central ohio 12-10-2008 12:47
– – –
Mostly frozen in central ohio.

Has anyone been hunting Delaware State Park blinds?

I have a chance to hunt Mosquito Lake in the state blinds this weekend. Thoughts, I have never been there? Worth the 3 hr drive? Geese only?

Posted By:
Slough Ape
Web Member

Sw Ohio 12-09-2008 14:27
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Sat opened was great, I had located a huge amount of ducks and geese 3 days before. They did not disappoint. More geese keep comming in but Sunday morning all we had was a small group of mallards try to land 5 min before legal shooting time. They never came back. No ducks Sunday we packed up early when the clouds left.

Relocated a lot of ducks and Canadas nearby as I scouted today in the rain. Looks to be a good few days ahead.

Good luck, be safe.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

North of Ohio 12-09-2008 08:32
– – –
Up til last week, I ave spent the last six weekends of duck hunting on Mitchell’s bay.

There are a ton of birds still north of Ohio

if we can get open water by the second split, or some flooded fields, there will be mallard and black limits for everyone.

as for big water birds…

we piled up the bills, and shot a fair share of cans and redheads… never saw so many bills in my life….why is the limit one?

a good freeze on st. clair could make Erie a serious diver hotspot for the last 9 days…if the ramps are open

Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor

S. Ohio 12-06-2008 20:45
Cloudy, Accumulating Snow – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Buddy and I found some opener water on a property we can hunt so we decided to set up there this morning. The ducks did not let us down. We shot our 3 man limit of mallards in only 20 min. I bet we seen 200+ ducks this morning work our little hole over.

Since we got done so early we decided to hit my goose field. Geese started flying about 1pm. Ended up with 3. Should have had a limit of geese as well, but the guys with me had enough hunting for the day so we packed it in. The small workable flocks started coming out after the dekes were picked up. Oh well, saves more for another day. Suppose to be cold and bluebird sun tomorrow so I am going to rest up for another work week and hit them again hard next Saturday and Sunday. Hopefully we get some more nasty weather.

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

11-28-2008 08:25
– – –
Okay everyone, sorry for not posting up a lot this year. I have been extremely busy with travelling and family blah blah blah. So here is my scoop. It has been one of the best years for my group since opening weekend. In October, local birds were the norm. Plenty of geese,mallards,woodies and some teal. The colder weather came quickly this year in November and with that,brought down what seems to be a nonstop supply of flight birds from the North. First it was mostly mallards and some ruddy’s. As of late, large pods of Mallards,Gadwalls and Black Ducks have been steadily making up our game bags for over 2 weeks now. Knowing how,what and when to call,the proper decoy setup and as always playing the wind to our advantage on certain days has paid of major dividends on a regular basis. Most of the marshes and ponds have froze, therefore if you play the wind and create the proper gunning hole… the birds readily respond and come right in to the dekes. I took a jeweled hen Mallard the other day which was only 3 months old (very large duck as well) and was banded 800 miles due North in Ontario. The birds have been and are here, so do your homework instead of simply going out and tossing a few dekes in the water..it will pay off.

[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2008-11-28 08:26]

[Edited By Anthony-Santoli on 2008-12-02 17:25]

Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor

11-26-2008 19:36
– – –
What happened to all the North Zone field reports? Guys hammering them and just keeping quiet?

I am patiently waiting for Dec 6, South zone opener.

Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor

Central Ohio 10-29-2008 18:46
– – –
Has been slow in Central Ohio. Ponds and big water areas are low and few birds.

Many local geese in the area, cut corn fields starting to appear so field hunting should pick up.

We need water and a cold snap to push birds down to us.

Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Northern Ohio 10-23-10-29 10-29-2008 10:58
– – –
end of last week was a bit slow

but picked up and I added some woodies and mallards in the rain as the weekend approached on a private river spot in

saturday and sunday at Killbuck, birds were not very plentiful but got the first diver of the year as the ringnecks showed up sunday. I also added to my mallard collection for the year.

Saw blacks, teal, mallards, wigeon, ringers and pintails zone next to me got wigeon, pintail, ringers and mallards

Monday, I hunted in the sleet in medina…got 4 mallards, a black and a bwt for the first full bag of the year, shooting was fast and furious

Tuesday, changed up a little, hit stark county, private pond, and we killed a three man limit of geese

taking wednesday off, as I will be out the next 4-5 days….gotta get my gear in order but talked to a guy who took a two man limit on west branch..including ringers and buffies…..birds are moving

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

Northwest to Southeast 10-28-2008 11:59
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Opening weekend was an absolute ball. We started at our marsh and hunted our way to our place in Southeast Ohio. More geese than we have seen in years and a lot of ducks to boot.Bags were made up of Shovelers,a few Greenwings, a Bluewing,Woodies,several Ruddies and some ole’ Mallards. One of the best opening weeks me and my 2 buddies have had a in a couple of years. Birds worked great. Since the opener, new birds have been trickling in little by little and we’ve even gotten into some fat,nicely plumed bright red-legged Greenheads from the North. Pintails and Wigeon have been steadily pushing South since October 17th. Canadian geese have been on a constant push out of Canada as we have gotten into fresh flight birds fairly steady since the opener. It is reported that some flocks of Bluebills have arrived in the Maumee Bay area, noting that our migration into Ohio is kicking into gear as I type this. This ealr blast of Cold,snow,wind and sleet has definetly had an effect on the birds up North as they are filtering into the Ohio region. Also noted have been a few days of nice Northeastern winds which are not the norm for us here in Ohio. Ringnecks are making their way into the areas as well,tend to gather in nice pods and will decoy very readily with the right call. This coming weekend could prove to be as another “opener” for those that go out as fresh birds should surely make their way to our decoy spreads. Goood luck to all, it has been a very good season thus far.

Ohio Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Northern Ohio 10-24-2008 08:56
– – –
Oct 18 -Oct 23

——————————————————————————–

Saturday and sunday, even though I was deer hunting, I got to do some driving, and scouting, and kept an eye on the skies as well.

Monday I hunted a river and pond in Lorain

Tuesday I hunted a lake in Stark

Wednesday I hunted a field in Medina

Thursday, river in Lorain

here’s my take on what we’re seeing, in a report:

unless you are lucky enough to find local mallards, woodies, or geese, you’ll be lucky to fill a limit.

The birds aren’t here in any real numbers yet, and for the most part are still in families.

The geese know what fields to use, and if you have a field that they’re using, great, but don’t set up and look for any migrators, because you’ll be sadly disappointed. We had several flocks come in, but all in family groups for the most part.

Saw mallards flying out to feed at daybreak….groups of 4-6….knew where they wanted to go, and did a straight line a to b…..

maybe a few more days of freezing temps above us, and the north winds along with a lunar changewill bring us some new birds…..

saturday and sunday…..I’ll be trying to add to the handful of woodies (3) and geese (3) I have already harvested, also got a mallard last night, but I don’t expect to have a blockbuster day this week.

pretty sad, 4 duck hunts for 7 birds…but I’ve yet to take a skunk….just a lot of work for little reward
__________________

Posted By:
nelli2008
Web Member

delaware wildlife area 10-23-2008 06:01
– – –
How has DWA been this year.

Posted By:
nelli2008
Web Member

CENTRAL OHIO 10-22-2008 19:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
WORST OPENING EVER. NO SHOTS. I HAVE HUNTED THIS FARM POND FOR 15 YRS, ALWAYS DID WELL.
WATER WAY DOWN. POND IS SURROUNDED BY CUT BEANS, SOME YEARS IT IS CORN.

Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor

S. Ohio 10-19-2008 19:59
– – –
10/18- Opening morning found us in our flooded timber hole/swamp. The hunting was horrible compared to past years. Very few mallards seen and only a couple woodies which buzzed us going mock 3. We ended up with 4 mallards and 2 woodies.

10/19- Hunted a small man made marsh. Went in before daylight and we must have jumped off 200 geese that were roosting on this thing. Set up and at first light we had some decent action of mallards, mostly singles and doubles. Had a pair of GWT buzz us about 8am and we took one out. Then about 9am the farmer decided to start disking the field, so we left. Ended with 5 mallards and 1 GWT.

Overall, not seeing the amount of ducks like we have in the past.

Posted By:
Darron Baker
Field Editor

Not hunting, scouting 10-13-2008 18:44
– – –
Checked a few of our honey holes over the past weekend and they are holding decent # of birds. One place we watched as many as 100 wood ducks come into one of the holes. The corn is starting to come down, so the geese should be showing up in the fields. Phone calls have been made and we are welcomed guests again this year at all of our farms. Bring on Saturday. We’ll be knee deep in muck, mud, water and hopefully ducks.

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

nowhere …… yet 10-06-2008 11:27
– – –
Went out and brushed up the blinds at the marsh on Sunday. More birds than I have seen in a long time. Mallards,some green wings,,,Ruddy’s and a smattering of gadwall,pins and wigeon as well. Surrounding farmers were chopping the corn and tons of geese were pouring into the fields. Opening week should hopefully be fantastic this year. Plenty of birds in the surrounding marshes as well.

Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor

Scouted Central Ohio 09-30-2008 13:57
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Starting to scout small ponds and big water in central Ohio for the opener. Lots of ducks and geese if you look for them. More traffic in the smaller ponds than big water.

Many farmers are getting an early start on clearing corn fields, have been asking for permission early and met with very friendly landowners thus far.

Dry weather not helping much, we need some rain!

Shawn- 2 nice groups of cans were at Big Island last few weeks in the big marsh.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Lake St Clair 09-24-2008 07:28
– – –
went up last week to scout, and buy license…

saw plenty of ducks, mostly big ducks, few teal.

also saw several flocks of geese in cut fields….

lots of fields down already in chatham and kent areas.

opener this weekend, should be quick limits for all.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Wayne and Stark 09-19-2008 12:48
– – –
doves are the only game around. There are no teal, and if there was, the warm weather will keep me from mosquitoe infested marshes and waders……

Al….where you seeing Canvasbacks?

Posted By:
bmyers
Guest

09-17-2008 10:17
– – –
Forgot to mention that Jimmy’s boy got his first goose ever with his 20gauge.

Way to go Hunter!!!

Ohio Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
bmyers
Guest

NW Ohio 09-17-2008 10:15
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
My brother, a buddy and his son hunted cut corn with standing water on Monday.

They took 8 geese.

Not a bad morning. Wish I could have come down to join ’em.

Best of luck everyone!

Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor

Central 09-16-2008 15:05
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 60-65 Degrees
Central areas busy over the weekend and a lot of activity & hunters. Teal flying throughout marshes and Geese still on their summer routes between roosting and feeding areas.

Looks like a fair start to the 2008-2009 season. Seeing lots of other waterfowl to include more canvasbacks than I thought we would see with this year’s restrictions.

The high winds seem to have done little here to push birds out.

Ready for the last weekend, hope for some rain!

Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!

Posted By:
thefork
Guest

Pymatuning area 09-08-2008 21:05
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 60-65 Degrees
Hunted a nice shallow mud flat that holds teal when they are there, but they were’nt! Tryed the same thing Sun. with the hopes that the new weather would move some in, wrong again. Good many geese flying by both mornings, but pass shooting geese, especially when I’m loaded for teal is’nt my thing. Not to mention the bird were pretty high anyway. Just nice to be out again!!

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Killbuck, and Medina co 09-08-2008 14:01
– – –
Friday night…geese moving around Killbuck, got one, should have had two…very short hunt…more of a scouting mission

Saturday a.m. saw very few teal, very few geese. Got one teal, heard of several groups topping out with 1, 2 birds per group…very slow

saturday p.m…killbuck dove fields, nice shooting, but not heavy, got 5 and a pigeon

sunday a.m…..fringe of a bean field….got three geese before the rain came…..didn’t see a whole lot moving though……

Posted By:
Al-Faber
Field Editor

Central Ohio Marshes 09-06-2008 13:14
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 60-65 Degrees
Great opener! Teal everywhere this morning and 3 groups of geese. Took 4 teal but the geese were for others to take… There should be a steady flow of teal over the next week they seem to be everywhere. As far as central Ohio is concerned postponing the teal season opening day until the 6th was a great idea and will allow for some more dependable hunting.

Met the Morrow County Wildlife Officer, great guy, told me there was success on teal throughout the area today, and geese were providing superior hunting opportunities.

Bad note, the Dog blew his knee out and will be laid-up for 6-8 weeks according to the vet. Looks like my group will have to take turns retrieving:)

Tomorrow should be another great morning and some new weather heading in next week will certainly help.

Delaware marsh is real low on water, as is the lake. But teal there also.

Small rivers in the area had ducks too.

Watch out for the woodies, they are out in large numbers and early season plumage; but they will make for a great first season in October!

Be safe, teach a youngster to hunt & respect the great outdoors…and pass on the hens…!

[Edited By Al-Faber on 2008-09-06 13:14]

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

09-05-2008 11:08
– – –
YAAAAAWWWNNNNNNN…..boring as hell these days,,huh???

Well Teal is tomorrow,,,,anyone goin out???? Plenty of birds to be had and more to follow that are staging just above Lake Erie right now. Nice North wind tomorrow at 10-15 should pop a few more little buzzjets down and into the marshes. Well,,,,good luck

Posted By:
jim-waldman
Field Editor

Mosquito Lake 08-21-2008 17:25
– – –
Mosquito Lake is high, water hasn’t been drawn down yet. Many places that in year’s past were dry and hunters with permits were able to build their blinds with ease are full up. A lot of guys who got permits at last weekend’s drawning will have trouble if they don’t have a boat.

Also, it was announced at last weekend’s drawing that the permits on Mosquito Lake will be limited to 75 next year.

Posted By:
thefork
Guest

NE OH 08-14-2008 21:53
– – –
Hey guys I’m new to the OH teal season. What can I expect in NE OH, not on Erie, come Sept. 6? Anything is appreciated either here or drop me message. Thanks much.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

08-08-2008 11:08
– – –
Seeing hay fields, and wheat fields drawing the geese…..it won’t be long now. Some sweet corn coming down, and they’ll find it soon enough…..right around the time the sept season gets here

Posted By:
jim-waldman
Field Editor

08-07-2008 21:43
– – –
DUCKS UNLIMITED WILL BE AT ALL THE STATE RUN BLIND DRAWINGS COMING UP OVERTHE NEXT FEW WEEKS HOLDING DECOY RAFFLES. OVER 1,000 DOZEN DECOYS DIVIDED AMONG I THINK 23 DRAWINGS, IT’S OVER $100,000 IN DECOYS. NO HOT BUYS – IT’S THE GOOD STUFF THE GHG LIFE SIZE AND OVER SIZE DUCKS, FULL BODY DUCKS AND GEESE AND LAYOUT BLINDS. BRING SOME CASH OR AS WITH ANY DU FUNCTION CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED. ASHTABULA & TRUMBULL CO. CHAPTERS WILL BE AT THE MOSQUITO DRAWING.

[Edited By jim-waldman on 2008-08-07 21:44]

Ohio Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

08-04-2008 08:29
– – 60-65 Degrees
Saturday late afternoon with that nice little cold front a pod of 12-15 Teal flew right over my house, heading southbound. Teal pops continue to rise and are actually outnumbering Mallards as the most abundant duck in North America. Every little cool blast we get, the more Teal get moving. It does not take much to push the Bluewings around and by Mid October, millions of them are already in Mexico and South America.

Posted By:
jim-waldman
Field Editor

07-29-2008 19:20
– – –
Blind drawings accross the state to include mini Waterfowl Hunters’ Parties put on by DU. Over 1,000 dozen Greenhead Gear decoys will be given away as prizes in various games and raffles as hunters wait for their name to be drawn for blind permits on state lands. Mosquito is Saturday August 16th.

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

07-24-2008 09:23
– – –
No field report….but interesting read: I was reading my latest issue of Wildfowl and Delta mags: They had a nice article and pictorial on several species of ducks that have exploded over the past decade and continue to climb,,,even when other species level out or decline. Redheads,Shovelers,Gadwalls and Teal have been doing really really well…espcially the teal who’s numbers climb every year by a good margin.

They talked about Cans as well…. even though they haven’t gone way up in the past several years,.,,they are the only species that have been completely stable with their numbers staying pretty much the same no matter what the conditions are like.

On another note,,,I have been hearing some talk on having a 3 Woodrow limit this year, anoyone else???

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

07-18-2008 12:27
– – –
medina county is seeing it’s first ‘post molt’ flights of geese now….

and the state released early regs….

3 geese, sept 1 til 15

4 teal, sept 6 til 22

Posted By:
jim-waldman
Field Editor

CENTRAL OHIO 07-17-2008 18:44
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – Over 70 Degrees
KUDOS TO THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS PAST WEEKEND’S WATERFOWL BOOTCAMP AT CARDINAL CAMPGROUNDS. WHILE I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO SEE MORE VENDORS, THE SEMINARS WERE TOP NOTCH ESPECIALLY THE DECOY PAINTING PUT ON BY DOOM DECOY AND O.W.A. AS WELL AS BUCK GARDNER AND HIS CALLING CLINIC FOR THE KIDS. MY 5 & 6 YR OLD BOYS HAD A BLAST AND REALLY TOOK BUCK’S CALLING INSTRUCTION TO HEART. I WAS SURPRISED THAT NEITHER DU OR DELTA WAS THERE.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

07-01-2008 07:48
– – –
Anthony, Check the Delta site. It’s like last year. Only bag changes will likely include scaup. Other than that should be okay.

as for geese. They are freaking evrywhere in Northern Ohio in huge numbers. Broods of 10-13 all surviving, massive flocks of mixed broods.

Posted By:
Anthony-Santoli
Field Editor

06-24-2008 10:20
– – –
A FRIEND OF MINE WAS UP IN SANDUSKY CHECKING THE SPOTS ETC….ETC… AND WS TALKING TO A COUPLE OF USFW GUYS. THEY SAID THAT DUCK PRODUCTION IS NOT GOOD THIS YEAR AND THEY ARE IN TALKS ABOUT POSSIBLY HAVING A 45 DAYS SEASON,,,,OR EVEN CUTTING THE BAG LIMITS???

ANYONE ELSE HEARD ANYTHING ON THIS? COULD JUST BE RUMORS, BUT I’M THROWIN IT OUT THERE FOR COMMENTS.

I THOUGHT THAT ONTARIO AND SURROUNDINGS HAD VERY GOOD HATCHES THIS YEAR, THEN AGAIN NO ONE IS SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT ANYTHING AT ALL. (WHICH IS A FIRST) I PERSONALLY HAVE NOT HEARD A THING AT ALL ABOUT HATCHES,NUMBERS SPECIES AS OF YET AND USUALLY I AM FULL OF INFORMATION TO HELP EVERYONE OUT.

Posted By:
jim-waldman
Field Editor

Mosquito Lake 06-18-2008 19:32
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Resident Honkers and mallard everywhere at Mosquito. Looks like it was a good hatch. Let’s hope that between now and opening day we get some rain. Water is real low and could push the birds out into deeper water making those who get blind permits in August out of luck.

Posted By:
Shawn-Philbrick
Field Editor

Portage, Stark, Cuyahoga, Medina counties 06-16-2008 09:48
– – –
went around to all my private haunts, and a few public spots as well.

Looks like a bumper crop of honkers, and a ton of mallards.

Saw three broods of Wood ducks, and 1 brood of what looked like maybe wigeon.

just got back from Argentina, 5 days, 1408 ducks between 6 of us. They are having a severe (2 1/2 month) draught that is hurting their efforts. Lucky for us to have the rain we’ve had….not too much, but nothing close to a draught. Potholes and puddles are all full where I visited,

on a side note….channel cats at night at Spencer lake seem to be a big draw.

Posted By:
webmaster
root

06-06-2008 11:14
– – –
Hunters who want to participate in Ohio’s fall controlled deer and waterfowl hunts have until July 31 to submit permit applications for a random drawing. Hunters can submit their applications online at wildohio.com.