Alaska duck hunting

Ronald Bock

Ronald Bock

Active member
Our season opened Monday but we waited until Tuesday morning to head out. It was pouring and nasty. This morning this is what we woke up to. Daughter and I had a great hunt. Great variety. Bluebills, goldeneyes, teal, wigeon, mallards. 15 birds total. It only lasts a couple weeks before they all leave. Sad sigh.
 

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That sure brings back some memories. 44 years ago my wife and I were dropped out in Minto Flats and left there a few days, it was quite an adventure. I built a decoy spread out of sticks and the ducks I shot as the morning went by. I voice called a canada and speck the first day and shot I think something like seven ducks, all wigeon. I mounted the speck and had it back at my dad's place till he passed in 2017. A mink got into my ducks over the first night and ate a few of them. The second days hunt was pretty sparse, I guess the ducks got the message that it was time to move on. A cow moose walked right through my makeshift blind and swam across the lake we were hunting. That's back when a pup tent, two military down bags and a little stove along with some food was enough. Now it's a fifth wheel, two bedrooms, kitchen as well as heat and air. My wife is still with me, so we got something right.
 
Dani said:
Gorgeous scenery. I hope to get back up to Alaska to do some hunting in the future.
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Dani,
Yes, I would love to go on a combo moose/ brown bear hunt. The trouble is guided hunts have gotten so damn expensive. Being retired I can't justify the expense. Fortunately bird hunting largest expense is the price of a good dog and is just as rewarding. What kind of hunting are you looking to do in Alaska? RM
 
Alaska is just so beautiful! Congrats on a good hunt. Like Don, I did the Minto Flats 30 years ago. Hauled a boat and two dogs from central CA, found an island in the marsh and made a camp site. Hunted 6 days and ended with something 100 duck, 25 geese, and 7 ptarmigan. Planning another trip there in two years but going to do the Cold Bay experience this time.
 
Kevin Layne said:
Alaska is just so beautiful! Congrats on a good hunt. Like Don, I did the Minto Flats 30 years ago. Hauled a boat and two dogs from central CA, found an island in the marsh and made a camp site. Hunted 6 days and ended with something 100 duck, 25 geese, and 7 ptarmigan. Planning another trip there in two years but going to do the Cold Bay experience this time.
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I want to do a Cold Bay trip but just way out of my price range. We are doing a Whittier guided hunt the weekend after Thanksgiving. The guide is someone we've made decoys for.
 
Kevin Layne said:
Alaska is just so beautiful! Congrats on a good hunt. Like Don, I did the Minto Flats 30 years ago. Hauled a boat and two dogs from central CA, found an island in the marsh and made a camp site. Hunted 6 days and ended with something 100 duck, 25 geese, and 7 ptarmigan. Planning another trip there in two years but going to do the Cold Bay experience this time.
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Access into Minto is easier due to the Murphy Dome Road being improved. We did it last year. Still a very long ride in the boat to get out there. Unfortunately lots of hunters are doing it. Morning sounds like the Mexican Revolution now.
We experimented and went up to mountain lakes with a large marsh complex. No other hunters. It Paid off.
 
RM Anderson said:
Dani,
Yes, I would love to go on a combo moose/ brown bear hunt. The trouble is guided hunts have gotten so damn expensive. Being retired I can't justify the expense. Fortunately bird hunting largest expense is the price of a good dog and is just as rewarding. What kind of hunting are you looking to do in Alaska? RM
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I would love to go out there to hunt waterfowl and ptarmigan. Someday, I'd like to start the season up in Alaska and work my way south through the various bird hunting seasons. I was out in Alaska in late May, early June 2024 for work and then vacation and got to see some gorgeous country and birds.

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Dani said:
I would love to go out there to hunt waterfowl and ptarmigan. Someday, I'd like to start the season up in Alaska and work my way south through the various bird hunting seasons.
Dani,
If you want MN regulations for small game and waterfowl, send me a PM with your address. I picked up a spare copy for you the other day. If you would rather get this info off their website then disregard. RM
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I don't remember the murphy dome road going all the way out to Minto flats 45 years ago, of course we only had a plymouth colt 2 door that we drove to Alaska from Kansas and it really wasn't much of a hunting machine. We would run out to the murphy dome road on occasion to shoot a few ruffed grouse. We didn't see anyone at Minto or on the Murphy Dome road. I shot some ptarmigan down near paxon, but that was about it. My preacher salary didn't allow for much other than grayling fishing and small game.
 
Ronald Bock said:
Access into Minto is easier due to the Murphy Dome Road being improved. We did it last year. Still a very long ride in the boat to get out there. Unfortunately lots of hunters are doing it. Morning sounds like the Mexican Revolution now.
We experimented and went up to mountain lakes with a large marsh complex. No other hunters. It Paid off.
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I hunted about a mile from the town of Minto on opening day and didn't hear another shot! There were tens of thousands of ducks around but very hard to hunt because they had no need to fly. There were always a few birds moving at dawn then it would die. So then we went looking for them. We would pull into a cove and kick up 2,000 ducks and by the time we got set up they had all landed in other coves. We ended getting a good share of our ducks by pulling into an area at full speed and kicking up thousands of ducks then beaching the boat by a bush or tree and running with guns and a couple decoys maybe 30 yards to another hide and throwing out the decoys and shooting a few before they all landed...then doing it again in a new cove. Having more hunters might be very helpful.
 
Kevin Layne said:
We ended getting a good share of our ducks by pulling into an area at full speed and kicking up thousands of ducks then beaching the boat by a bush or tree and running with guns and a couple decoys maybe 30 yards to another hide and throwing out the decoys and shooting a few before they all landed...then doing it again in a new cove.
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What you describe sounds like the text book definition of "rallying".
  • Rallying. You cannot hunt waterfowl that have been concentrated, driven, rallied, or stirred up with a motorized vehicle or sailboat.
  • The term rallying waterfowl refers to the illegal act of concentrating, driving, or stirring up waterfowl with a motorized vehicle, such as a boat, or a sailboat, in order to hunt them. This practice is banned by federal and state hunting regulations, as it provides an unfair and unethical advantage to hunters.
    Key characteristics of rallying waterfowl include:
    • Use of vehicles: The illegal method relies on a motorized boat or a sailboat to flush birds from a resting or feeding area.
    • Intentional flushing: The purpose is to intentionally disturb a raft or group of birds and force them to take flight.
    • Harassment: This behavior is considered a form of harassment of wildlife, as it prevents migratory birds from resting comfortably.
      • Legal consequences: Hunters caught and convicted of this offense can face significant fines and the suspension of their hunting license.

  • This practice is in contrast to legal hunting techniques, such as using decoys and calls to attract birds that are moving naturally.
 
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