Sea duck hunting 101

Farrukh Ashraf

Farrukh Ashraf

Active member
Guys first of all i want to thank all of you who helped me in decision making about the Bankes Freedom, the boat is in production and will be delivered next month, beside the standard equipment i ordered a dog platform, rails all the way up to front , a bigger bilge pump ,CNC jack plate and is wired for two batteries.
I'm powering it with new 70hp Yamaha 4 stroke and is to be coloured to match the boat.
Now i haven't EVER hunted sea ducks and i need help, first of all considering all conditions are normal, how comfortable i should be taking the Freedom in big open water??
How many Sea duck decoys i need ?? and being from NJ what specie should formulate most of my rig?? How far out say pass the inlet i should be able to find the birds?? Is there going to be need of a much heavier anchor than i would use in the bay?? Decoys will be on longlines but is there a different pattern you set them up compared to setting up for divers??
I am getting a good quality handheld marine gps and a VHF handheld radio, is there any other peice of equipment you guys think is necessary??
I know i'm asking a lot of questions but i want to be safe out there and to be able to properly enjoy my sport.
In anticipation i ordered a dozen BIG E Allen Old squaw, they look NICE, painted almost all, i'm attaching some pics
Thanks you all in advance for your help and please throw at me any other info regarding sea duck hunting, i totally appreciate it.
Many thanks
Farrukh

Hen Old Squaw

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Drake , the tail are zip ties

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A golden eye drake from Canada, Ebay

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A pair of BB also Canadian E bay

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An E allen Mallard, i gave a shot painting that, for reference i used one painted by Lou and the pic is on his web site, Thanks Lou

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Thanks
 
Farrukh,

Congratulations on your new boat! You're going to love it, but your going to love that new F70 even better. That is an awesome engine!

Please post pics when it arrives.

Best Regards,

Todd
 
Congrats on your new boat. I'm sure you will love it. As far as rigging for sea ducks goes, a lot of it comes down to preference. The important thing is that the boat anchor holds the boat and the decoy anchor(s) hold the decoys. How you will get to this point will depend a lot on the area you will hunt and how you want to rig your decoys in a way that will work for you.

I think the best thing you could do would be to go out with one day with someone in your area and see how they do it.
 
I don't know much about the boat but I know a lot about the engine. You are going to be very impressed . I owned a 40,50,2 60s and a 115hp in the last 10 years there 4 stroke are awesome. Good luck Joe!
P.S. there 70hp is my next engine for my duckboat on my profile picture.
 
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Farrukh!

So you finally jumped in and decided to buy the boat! Good stuff! Your son will love it! Plenty of room for TJ in there as well! Boy, that thing is gonna be big! It'll look good being towed by the FJ...

The oldsquaws look great (but I already told you that), nice purchases from eBay, . do you plan on repainting those? (did I just commit an antique wood decoy faux pas? - apologies to the group if I did).

Wish I could help with sea duck hunting advice; best I can do is share the one sea duck hunting DVD I have (next time I see you).

Can't wait to see the boat in action!

Anthony
 
Farrukh!

So you finally jumped in and decided to buy the boat! Good stuff! Your son will love it! Plenty of room for TJ in there as well! Boy, that thing is gonna be big! It'll look good being towed by the FJ...

The oldsquaws look great (but I already told you that), nice purchases from eBay, . do you plan on repainting those? (did I just commit an antique wood decoy faux pas? - apologies to the group if I did).

Wish I could help with sea duck hunting advice; best I can do is share the one sea duck hunting DVD I have (next time I see you).

Can't wait to see the boat in action!

Anthony
Click to expand...


Yup, jumped in with both feet, as far as sea ducking goes, you better get ready too as well be in it together,lol. I plan to keep those older decoys as it is, they look kinda neat. Remember we talked about how to go about sea ducks, i tried to look online and for some books but found nothing, hopefully someone is going to walk us through over here.
Farrukh
 
I would hire a local guide to spend a morning (preseason) with you and take you through the paces, anchoring ,placing dekes,tides,winds. You can only get so much from a book. Hands on experience is invaluable, the more time you spend on the water with your gear the better prepared you will be.
Good luck
 

please throw at me any other info regarding sea duck hunting



Make sure you bring a waterproof container with all of your spare parts, tools, filters, filter wrenches, flares, backup vhf,
if you have a console with hydraulic steering, make sure you have spare fluid and a pc of hose.

sooner or later everything breaks, and there is no one in the ocean in december or january to help you if a problem arrises
be safe and watch the weather.

good luck with the new boat, bankes makes a great duckboat.
 
Guys first of all i want to thank all of you who helped me in decision making about the Bankes Freedom, the boat is in production and will be delivered next month, beside the standard equipment i ordered a dog platform, rails all the way up to front , a bigger bilge pump ,CNC jack plate and is wired for two batteries.
I'm powering it with new 70hp Yamaha 4 stroke and is to be coloured to match the boat.
Now i haven't EVER hunted sea ducks and i need help, first of all considering all conditions are normal, how comfortable i should be taking the Freedom in big open water??
How many Sea duck decoys i need ?? and being from NJ what specie should formulate most of my rig?? How far out say pass the inlet i should be able to find the birds?? Is there going to be need of a much heavier anchor than i would use in the bay?? Decoys will be on longlines but is there a different pattern you set them up compared to setting up for divers??
I am getting a good quality handheld marine gps and a VHF handheld radio, is there any other peice of equipment you guys think is necessary??
I know i'm asking a lot of questions but i want to be safe out there and to be able to properly enjoy my sport.
In anticipation i ordered a dozen BIG E Allen Old squaw, they look NICE, painted almost all, i'm attaching some pics
Thanks you all in advance for your help and please throw at me any other info regarding sea duck hunting, i totally appreciate it.
Many thanks
Farrukh
Thanks
Click to expand...

I use between 24-60 decoys for sea ducks depending on where I'm hunting and weather/ice conditions. I can't help on what you should use for your area (NJ) but I do suggest you get out scouting and see what's out there and where the flight paths, feeding area and resting areas are located so you can set up the in the dark when ready to hunt.
I use the same decoy pattern as for divers, nothing fancy needed as the ducks decoy in very easily.
Equipment: Cell phone, 4 orange smokes, 6 flares, Orion flare gun & 6 shells, PLB, floating ditch bag, fire starter, large capacity manual operated bilge pump, space blanked, med kit, 3 boat anchors,
 
please throw at me any other info regarding sea duck hunting



Make sure you bring a waterproof container with all of your spare parts, tools, filters, filter wrenches, flares, backup vhf,
if you have a console with hydraulic steering, make sure you have spare fluid and a pc of hose.

sooner or later everything breaks, and there is no one in the ocean in december or january to help you if a problem arrises
be safe and watch the weather.

good luck with the new boat, bankes makes a great duckboat.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tom, points noted
 
I use between 24-60 decoys for sea ducks depending on where I'm hunting and weather/ice conditions. I can't help on what you should use for your area (NJ) but I do suggest you get out scouting and see what's out there and where the flight paths, feeding area and resting areas are located so you can set up the in the dark when ready to hunt.
I use the same decoy pattern as for divers, nothing fancy needed as the ducks decoy in very easily.
Equipment: Cell phone, 4 orange smokes, 6 flares, Orion flare gun & 6 shells, PLB, floating ditch bag, fire starter, large capacity manual operated bilge pump, space blanked, med kit, 3 boat anchors

Thanks for the input Jeff, answers some of the questions, just one question, why 3 anchors??
 
Thanks for the input Jeff, answers some of the questions, just one question, why 3 anchors??
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I normally use 2 anchors for the boat (20'cc) so it does not swing around in the tide/wind. A spare is on board in case I loose one.
 
Farrukh,

Sounds like you are on the right track. I do a fair bit of sea duck hunting without going "out front". There are plenty of places they come back inside the bays, especially on real snotty days. You can certainly build up to hunting out front in the ocean.

Keep in touch. There is some good sea duck hunting right near where you and I ran into each other last season. I'd be glad to take you/go with you and show you what works for me. I use a simple diver type long line rig and set up in a flight path. I use mostly OS dekes and some scoters but will put out buffies/bluebills/cans when in the bay and looking for multiple species.

Divers and sea ducks are where it's at for me, nothing better!

Gene
 
Farrukh,

Sounds like you are on the right track. I do a fair bit of sea duck hunting without going "out front". There are plenty of places they come back inside the bays, especially on real snotty days. You can certainly build up to hunting out front in the ocean.

Keep in touch. There is some good sea duck hunting right near where you and I ran into each other last season. I'd be glad to take you/go with you and show you what works for me. I use a simple diver type long line rig and set up in a flight path. I use mostly OS dekes and some scoters but will put out buffies/bluebills/cans when in the bay and looking for multiple species.

Divers and sea ducks are where it's at for me, nothing better!

Gene
Click to expand...

Gene, thanks so much, i'll definitely stay in touch,i'll be glad if you could show me the ropes. i would really want to go out front also, but i definitely need more info.
 
I don't have any sea ducking experience to offer, but I do fish out of Barnegat Inlet for about 6 months of the year and have run boats through that inlet for several years. If you want to hunt the ocean, the best thing you could do is take your boat in and out of the inlet you will be hunting out of several times this summer. Tide height, wind, and sea conditions will vary depending on the mix of the three, and you need to experience those things in your specific boat to feel comfortable and confident in navigating an inlet. I think if you do go out in the ocean that finding birds will not be that hard, getting there and back safely is the real challenge. Once you become comfortable with a piece of water you will be fine. I would think that Raritan Bay would hold sea ducks in good numbers and that would mean that you don't have to run an inlet. Either way, your familiarity with your boat and the waters you are on will only come with experiencing it, so I think you should go fishing a bunch where you are planning to hunt. Good luck.
 
I don't have any sea ducking experience to offer, but I do fish out of Barnegat Inlet for about 6 months of the year and have run boats through that inlet for several years. If you want to hunt the ocean, the best thing you could do is take your boat in and out of the inlet you will be hunting out of several times this summer. Tide height, wind, and sea conditions will vary depending on the mix of the three, and you need to experience those things in your specific boat to feel comfortable and confident in navigating an inlet. I think if you do go out in the ocean that finding birds will not be that hard, getting there and back safely is the real challenge. Once you become comfortable with a piece of water you will be fine. I would think that Raritan Bay would hold sea ducks in good numbers and that would mean that you don't have to run an inlet. Either way, your familiarity with your boat and the waters you are on will only come with experiencing it, so I think you should go fishing a bunch where you are planning to hunt. Good luck.
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Thanks Greg, thats a great advice, sometimes next month i'll have my boat and i'll definitely take trips South and get the "feel".
Many thanks
Farrukh
 
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