Field Hunting

[GP3]

I have 2 pits leased in Eastern Arkansas. I am running into a little discussion between a couple of people involved in the lease. I have one 120 acre field that has about 80 acres that can be flooded. In the past we have flooded almost all 80 of that and the ducks seem to concentrate away from the pit. This year I pulled 2 levee's which floods about 40-50 acres. There is water about 60 yards in front of the pit and about 40 yards behind the pit. The water in front of the pit is about 10 inches deep and the water behind the pit is about 4 to 6 inches deep.

Do you guys think this is enough water or would you cut the levee in front and flood the low end of the field which would flood about another 25 acres or so but, the water would be around 16 to 30 inches deep the further you get away from the pit and also make the water end about 150 yards in front of the pit instead of 60.

Just your thoughts, I have found over the years the ducks tend to land out of range when we flood the whole field, but would like your opinion.

[duckboy1]

this is a flooded rice feild right?

my thoughts are that you want the water shallow so the birds can get in there and eat. to deep and you have a resting pond or have no use for the birds. as for the birds wanting to land out of range is the story of a rice hunters life! my first few thoughts are the pits are in the worng spot, pits are visable, decoys are not setup corect. all of these will make birds land of to the side of the pits. my first thought about trying to fix this is spread your decoys way out! make it look natural give them a ton of room to work the blind.

[OutForBlood87]

I really think that you do need more water, because 4 to 6 inches will freeze fairly fast and then you would just be hunting over ice. As far as wich side to flood more, I would probably do it to the side that is down wind more often considering birds land into the wind.So have one deep end, and one shallow for the birds to eat in. Remember if this becomes a bigger problem and you cant make the water deeper, you can always use layout blinds to get closer to the water too. Hope this helps