New Duck/Goose hunter needs help

[cwheaton2000]

I decided I was going to teach myself how to duck and goose hunt this year. Which also means I will drag my dad, brother and friends into it. But I could use some pointers/advice from someone who knows what they are doing. Any tips would be appreciated. Just please keep it simple. I plan to hunt mostly small lakes, rivers and some marshland if possible. Here is what I have to work with.

2 Dozen mallard decoys-standard size
4 Full bodied floating goose decoys (that was all I could afford this year)
Zink Power Clucker goose call
Zink Power Hen duck call

I am looking for decoy set up strategies, call strategies and any recomended DVD/videos.

Thanks for your help!:)

[Drew Allen]

First and foremost, learn how to scout the birds. If you can find where they are going, when they are going, and how many birds are using where they are going you should be able to consistently kill birds. Scout with glasses from a distance and take notes as to how the birds spread out when they land and then re-create your spread as to how the birds are when they land. As for calling, check out the Zink videos they are great. Fred really does a good job of taking you through each step. Good luck!

[Joe Fladeland]

As Drew said,

SCOUT. SCOUT. SCOUT. Learn their flight paths. Find where they are feeding, where they are roosting, and where they are loafing. Since you will be hunting water, you will want to find where they are loafing. You don't want to hunt their roost because you want the birds to have a safe place. As long as the weather is good, food is available and they have a safe place to roost, the birds will stay in the area. As long as you scout the birds, you should be consistently successful, but there are always those times when something just isn't right. It happens to everyone. Just keep at it. Good Luck.

[Jason Connellee]

The best advice I can give is as follows. Try to spend as much time out there as you can. Learn about the animal. Mimic there behavoir while you are hunting. As mentioned above, SCOUT. Watch the birds. Talk to local hunters.

All the books, DVD's, VHS's, internet "how-to's", TV programs are fine. The best teacher is Mother Nature herself.

As for your equipment you listed, your off to a great start.