Deploying dekes in the muck question....

Ed L.

Ed L.

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I've been wanting to hunt a pothole that's eluded me for years. Nobody hunts this area for the same reason I don't hunt it. This pothole has no bottom! The water level during hunting season is typically 4" - 6". 30 years ago I tried hunting this area and within 4' to 6' of the water line I had to be pulled out with a rope when I sunk up to my waist. The thing is the ducks love this area. I've pass shot ducks there over the years and retreived them with a fishing pole and a 1" dowel rod with treble hooks on it. You don't dare take a dog in this area.

Like I said there is no way to get a boat to this place. The pothole at the widest spot is 80+yds across and around 300 yards long according to my range finder. It's ringed by grass anywhere from 25' to 40 yards to the edge of the water and is pretty soft. Using an ice fishing sled I've fashioned a layout/pondbox type blind and would love to hunt this area.

Now, I'm up for suggestions as crazy as they may be on how to deploy decoys and retrieve after hunting.
 
Find/use a Stand up paddle board, a long surfboard or a kayak of similar types. We're actually looking for something like that for a dog platform. It would draw little water, a SUP is very stable (as are many longboards) so you could stand or sit on it depending on what you felt comfortable doing. They're not terribly heavy.

I just reread your post and saw that you gotta get to the water first....if you had a board like that and coated the bottom with something extra slick like Frog Spit (they use a product like that on the bottoms of airboats to help them slip across grass easier), or perhaps dawn dishwashing soap coated the bottom....make it super slick.

That's what I would do.

Dani
 
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Ed,

I think Dani is on the right track with the paddle board. I don't know about you but I know I am not agile enough anymore to stay on one. I can just picture getting out in the middle of the pond and losing my balance and going in head first:)

Can you get a boat of any kind into this spot? What I have in mind is a KARA. Draws very little water, is extremely stable and poles well. I have one leaning up against my garage if you want to try it out. Coat the bottom with Frog Spit or 9X2000 by Fasco http://www.fascoepoxies.com/products.html would help alot.
 
Dani,

That's the thing about this area. I've tried a kayak. You up to your shins in mud long before you get to the water and to your knees at the water. Once you in the kayak your body wieght just makes it impossible to move. I've laid over the back of the kayak and "sleded" on the dew to the water but the water isn't deep enough to float anything.

Paddle board? I tried that in Florida for an hour! I couldn't wait for my rental time to be over. Got tired of being laughed at by the youngsters as I tried to look macho.....Hmmm...macho is probably a word you've never heard before.....as I tred to look...manly.

Keep the ideas coming though.
 
Pete,

There's a cut though the islands to get to this pothole and right now with the high water I can motor right in. I have found that there are plenty of trees crossing the cut though which may make it impossible to get through when the water goes down.

I did decide to keep the Bluebill and I'm trying to come up with a way to haul it on my bay boat. I'll try getting in with the bluebill and the wood duck mud motor in a few weeks when the water goes down because that's really where I want to be come teal season.
 
Ed,

Try snow shows.....just to displace your weight in the muck....just an idea.

Dave
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That's an idea I've thought of in the past. I've seen the "muck duck wings" you can buy to put on your waders and always wondered if those things work or if your just REALLY stuck.

Thanks,
 
Ed - An age old Wisconsin remedy to this problem is marsh skis... http://www.etsy.com/.../68665272/marsh-skis Pete probably used them as a kid... :) If interested in an authentic Wisconsin pair, call Bill Haese at 920-379-6080.

I'd also consider longlining your decoys and just leave the anchor on shore to pull them in... Deploying them is the tough part... Pat
 
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Aaah, thanks Pat. :) No I never used them - thought about it but haven't hunted areas like Horicon Marsh enough to warrent the purchase. The one thing about marsh skiis is that it is difficult at best to change direction. Getting stuck in the muck on them might be tough. Now, short marsh skiis that FLOAT - hmmm that might work.
 
Ed - An age old Wisconsin remedy to this problem is marsh skis... http://www.etsy.com/.../68665272/marsh-skis Pete probably used them as a kid... :)

I'd also consider longlining your decoys and just leave the anchor on shore to pull them in... Deploying them is the tough part... Pat
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Pat,

I've heard of marsh skies but have never seen any...wow. They must be as long os my boat.

I hadn't thought about long lines but that may just work. I've actually thought about green garden fence and attaching decoys with swviels. It may sound silly but my thought was to attach braided fishing line to the lead decoy and to a brunt tipped arrow. Shoot it acroos the the pothole. Then walk around the pothole and drag the dekes out. As you mentioned, have a length of line tied to the last decoy on my layout side where I can drag them back. I could stake them to help keep them in place if it's windy.

Thanks,
 
After reading through this thread, I am sure of one thing: there can't be ANY doubt that Ed is a duck hunter right to the very core of his being!!! ;- :)


Sounds like the problem is in getting to a hunt-able spot, but for what it's worth, Ed, I have a pond in the middle of a cornfield that I hunt. Pure muck bottom that drops off quickly, so no wading even in the coldest of temps. I picked up one of those expandable decoy hooks and it has proved to be just the ticket for tossing out decoys a good enough distance from the shoreline and being able to retrieve them later with no hassle. I believe it extends to something like 18.' Collapses to about 4'; very well made as well. Coupled with the pickleweeds set in the ample shoreline cover and a layout blind, I get plenty of birds in range.

Found some pics taken at the spot:
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hahahahahah Ed, you're duck hunting...therefore no matter how goofy you look you could still be "macho"....unless you're wearing pink camo

I was thinking a kayak like this: http://jacksonkayak.com/jk-kayaks/kayak-fishing/superfishal/ it's a flat bottomed kayak and if you were sitting on it you could probably push your way out there with some poles....perhaps....or paddle....and if the bottom was super slicked up it'd be even easier....

one thing i've done before with my canoe in goobery muck is toss my anchor out as far as I can and then pull myself forward...so perhaps something like that could be done with a flat bottomed "something"?

anyway, that was my thoughts....good luck with whatever you decide to try.....hope it works and be sure to take pictures

Dani
 
ed, have something similar to that here. it is actually a spot that is like a volcano crater, the water is way up the hill, then down in. ducks/geese love it, but the water level is VERY iffy...no bottom.

that said, we drag a sport pal canoe into the area, laid down several pallets on the shore until we got to the water's edge. after using this path a bit, the pallets sunk in enough that they were not obtrusive (showing man's foot print so to speak) and the canoe could get into the water/muck and paddle around easy enough. Water level was only ever around 4-6" but you sink into the muck and paddle muck more than water. Given the sports pal style with foam flotation on the sides, we always feel safe, yet have a life jacket on and a rope (100 ft) tied to a tree and the canoe.....just in case. Works more than well for us, sounds like a similar situation. Might work.

Or snow shoes to get you close to waters edge then a skiff...??

I agree with Bob, when you are trying to get into these types of places, you definitely qualify as a duck hunter, not just a duck shooter.
 
How about trying a couple of large truck inner tubes and going from one to the next to work your way to the shore line.
Then to put out decoys try a long line rig and toss out about a one pound weight and keep other end on shore.
Nothing better than trying to figure out how to get to where the ducks are and other people can't get there
 
I picked up one of those expandable decoy hooks and it has proved to be just the ticket for tossing out decoys a good enough distance from the shoreline and being able to retrieve them later with no hassle. I believe it extends to something like 18.' Collapses to about 4'; very well made as well. Coupled with the pickleweeds set in the ample shoreline cover and a layout blind, I get plenty of birds in range.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Bob, I have one of those expanding decoy hooks. Sure comes in handy when the current and wind is blowing you past the decoys faster than you grab them. Unfortunately to short in this situation. Nice looking setup you have there. That's another thing I'm trying to work on. I have a camo hut for the pouch but getting her to stay in it is proving difficult. She sleeps in her crate with no problems at all but I still shut her in at night. If I leave the door open she gets into trouble. She worse that a 2 year old.
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Dani,

That's a cool board. I like Jackson products. I had my eye on a Jackson Daytripper when I lived down there but I was a week late coming up with the funds. That's how I ended up with the Commander I was hunting from when we got together.
 
Eric,

That's part of the fun of this sport. Trying different ways to put the odds in your favor without killing yourself. I like the rope idea...which I never thought of...duh! Also glad to hear others wearing life jackets in these situations. I typically will wear one never knowing when I'm going to hit a beaver slough in the muck. Sometimes those things can get mighty deep even if they are only a foot or so wide.
 
How about trying a couple of large truck inner tubes and going from one to the next to work your way to the shore line.
Then to put out decoys try a long line rig and toss out about a one pound weight and keep other end on shore.
Nothing better than trying to figure out how to get to where the ducks are and other people can't get there
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John,




When I was 25 or so I had a hunting buddy that pulled a blind tag in our local blind draw area. We had to cross a water way that was about 15 yards wide to get to the blind site. We tried pallets but they sank in the mud and wouldn't stay flat. I suggested a bridge but my partner or me for that matter didn't have money for building a bridge. The next weekend we decided to work on getting to the blind site he shows up with (2) 16" x 12" X 36" blocks of dock foam and (2) 6' closets rods. He goes about whittling depressions for his boots in the blocks. He puts the blocks partly in the water and then attempts to climb on. After some effort he's floating while holding himself in place with the closet rods. I wish I had had a camera that day. He was pretty proud of himself but at the moment he pushed himself forward he went in the water with a splash while one dock block went in the air and the other caused him to do the splits. It seems the blocks he was standing on were wedged against the closet rods holding him in place. You know what happened when the rods were know longer in play. I still laugh today when I think about it. He was covered in mud from his head to his boots.
 
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