Merganser help

M

Matt Masters

Active member
I have an unusual request if anyone could point me in the right direction or willing to help. I am wanting to get a pair or Common and Red Breasted mergansers to put in my collection. I am willing to travel. These two species are my "uincorns" of duck hunting. I know very few actually target mergansers but they are by far my favorite bird to watch. Red Breasted tend to show up where I am from but stay in a no hunting zone part of the lake. If anyone is willing to help just PM me with any info. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Matt. Lake Champlain is awash in common mergansers. Early in the season, the young ones will compete to get into your rig, but they are all immature and look like hens. Later in the season, especially the last 2 weeks or so, most of the birds you see are mature looking birds. I assume you are going to mount these birds? If so, late season is what you want. Bring some merganser decoys, the more the better. They will decoy to goldeneyes, but if you are on a quest and don't want to go home empty handed, bring some merg decoys.

Champlain is a big lake. Bring enough boat and mind the wind, both for safetys sake and hunting success.

Good Luck,

John Bourbon
 
They are the real "greenheads". Squaddrons of Jumbo Mergs flying the broad lake....

I am headed to Chatham in two weeks- lots of Jumbos and some red breasted there as well.
 
Excuse me for my ignorance or stupidity but where is Chatham? I live in Alabama and not too familiar with the Northern region.
 
Common, Red-breasted and Hooded Mergansers can all be taken on Lake St. Clair in December. Although I normally don't shoot at mergansers I saw a beautiful drake Common taken a few weeks back. The hens were plentiful as well.

Here is a photo of a few juveniles I saw when moose hunting in September. One lake had at least 50 mergansers on it each time I was there.

IMG_6330-2.jpg

 
Thanks for all the replies. I know this might sound crazy but I would rather collect both Commons and Red Breasted before a King Eider. I know Red Breasted migrate all the way to the Gulf coast but are Commons kinda like Mottle ducks stay within a few certain states?
 
matt, i hunt lake ontario off of fair haven state park. there has been thousands of commons and quite a few reds
there all year. have not been out in three weeks but im sure they are still there.
 
... but are Commons kinda like Mottle ducks stay within a few certain states?
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Commons are more like Goldeneyes. They only go as far south as the absolutely need to. They are the last ducks we see as the lakes freeze up and are the first to show up again in the spring. It is fairly common to see them while we are still icefishing. If parts of the rivers stay open we can even see them in january.

Tim
 
I have only shot mergansers once, by accident many years ago. I thought it was a flock of teal. Two shots later, five mergansers on the water. I look a little closer now.

I have had commons try to land on my head in the last couple years. I could have clubbed them with by gun stock. That is not a legal means of take, however.
 
There is always reds here on the south shore of long island I only take them when I need a training dummy some dogs don't like to even pick them up so I figure its good for force fetching but their is plenty the commons are not so common unless it gets cold for a while. I went out today and seen about 30 reds or more in 4 hours
 
Matt.

Does not sound crazy to me at all. I am planing a trip to Washington state from the uk with the hope that I can get at least 2 of the 3 types. We call commons, gooseander here and I have at least 2 pairs/trios behind my house on the Taff but they are fully protected here in the uk and we only get red breasted in v small numbers again protected.

Perhaps we should start a club lol.

Let us know how you get on..
 
If you are wanting a do it yourself trip a little closer to home then Charleston SC gets a number of them every January. The ACE basin is a fairly easy hunt and setting up at the intersection of any good sized creeks/rivers will reward you with your commons. The red breasted mergs are a little more rare.

If you really want to make a go of it just book a trip with Tim Bouchard out of Valdez Alaska. You could get your common and red breasted merganser as well as barrows golden eye, harlequin, all three scoters, old squaw, etc. They get a bit of everything and you would be able to get a taste of what Alaska is all about!
 
If you are wanting a do it yourself trip a little closer to home then Charleston SC gets a number of them every January. The ACE basin is a fairly easy hunt and setting up at the intersection of any good sized creeks/rivers will reward you with your commons. The red breasted mergs are a little more rare.

If you really want to make a go of it just book a trip with Tim Bouchard out of Valdez Alaska. You could get your common and red breasted merganser as well as barrows golden eye, harlequin, all three scoters, old squaw, etc. They get a bit of everything and you would be able to get a taste of what Alaska is all about!
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I am going to try and hunt with Reilley McCue next season for eiders, black ducks and commons. I plan on making a trip to Alaska but it will be a couple of years unless my salary changes! I might try South Carolina if I can this year. I've always wanted to hunt there anyways. Have you hunted where you are talking about yourself?
 
I grew up hunting the ACE basin. There are plenty of places there to collect your Common merg. They decoy readily and by hunting the intersection of two main rivers you get a constant push of birds. Those points are mainly good for buffies, mergansers, and blue bills. Those same areas have smaller creeks where you can get into teal, mottleds, blacks, and widgeon. Big weather days offer the best hunting. It's not the place to go if you are looking for daily limits of big ducks but you should have no problem getting you merganser. Try looking at the areas around the lower Edisto near the ocean, and the Combahee River. Bennett's Point boat landing will put you on the Combahee right in the heart of the merganser territory.
 
I don;t know anyone that shoots those things!


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Ok I admit it they were decoying really well and we had a blast shooting them. They all went into sausage.

I know of one place where you can shoot both commons and red breasted in the same spot and obviously you would want to get them in full color so late season birds. I will send you a PM on a location you could get birds worth being in your collection.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I am open to any and all oppurtunities. The only inland waterfowl I haven't collected is a Black Duck, Cinnamon Teal, and those two Mergansers. I will go to areas where it will be a guarantee chance on the Mergansers, but if I can harvest other goods birds while there it makes the trip even better.
 
There are thousands of them in Lake Erie in Mid November. Huron and Sandusky Ohio are good places to look. Sandusky Bay is also an option. The mergs feed on shad driven to the surface as the thermocline (warm water goes to the bottom, cold to the top) rolls over in fall. I have seen carpets of them numbering in the thousands. They are none too smart. A little good camo on the boat and you're good. There is a really nice launch ramp in Huron right by the river and several in the Sandusky area.
 
I've shot a few Hooded Mergansers here in Iowa and have heard of a few Red-Breasted Mergansers being shot as well. Sounds like your best chance is gonna be up at the Great Lakes, though!
 
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