This past year our group of wood duck slayers put twenty seven of the little beauties on the table. Our group of six hunter’s personnel record is thirty eight in one year. The wood duck to me is the prettiest of all ducks in North America. They fly fast, are extremely maneuverable and stealthy little buggers. And they taste great. Their diet in the fall consists mainly of high protein foods. Nuts and berries are their favorite. I have also shot them feeding in corn and alfalfa fields. The limit on them in Wisconsin is two ducks per day. If you do your homework you should get a limit nearly every time out.

They are very plentiful and are the number two duck harvested in Wisconsin every year only behind the mallard. You have to pursue them early or you’ll miss the bulk of them. I have shot them well into November but the majority of the large flocks are long gone by than. Similar to the blue wing, they leave early. The ones that stay become very educated and know what areas to avoid. They seem to have gotten a bad rap from some hunters as being stupid ducks. I think they are more apt to give you a shot because they think they are so quick you won’t hit them.

Their numbers years ago were decimated and conservationist worried about extinction. Loss of habitat and over harvest was the main reasons. Today sportsman are putting up and maintaining wood duck houses by the thousands and it has helped tremendously. The two bird a day limit is also keeping their population stable.

Scouting, as in all types of hunting is key in locating them. If you find them in the summer, chances are, on opening day they’ll be there. They don’t call them wood ducks for nothing. Good locations to find them are wooded rivers and creeks with many bends. Look for oak trees. Woodies are attracted to acorns like magnets. Also look for areas with little or no boat travel. These areas are usually full of deadfalls. Dead trees lying in the water form the perfect habitat for the ducks. Woodies like quite places. Places they can climb up on a dead log and sleep. Beaver dams are another excellent spot. Another good location is low lands with deadfalls. The thicker and harder to fly around the better. Hawks and Owls have a difficult time preying on them in this type of habitat.

You don’t need a pile of decoys to hunt woodies. One to three is all I ever use. I always put them next to the shore with one or two semi hidden. I put half of them under an overhanging branch or bush. This is very natural looking since shortly after a wood duck hits the water he will scoot under a limb, log or bush to conceal himself. Then they analyze the area before wondering far. If they hear or see anything unusual, there gone. They know this area like you know your living room. Even if you’re camouflaged they seem to pick you out. They will buzz off through the trees without touching a leaf.

Camo must be that of a bow deer hunter or turkey hunter with face hands and feet all camo.

Invest in a cheap wood duck call. A simple twweeeeet, twweeeeet, is all that’s needed for the birds to pinpoint you. You want to call sparingly. A fast twweet, tweet, tweet is a warning call and if you have ever kicked up wood ducks you know what it sounds like. Have a short pause between tweets and you’ll be just fine.

Shooting them is more like grouse hunting then duck hunting. You just point and shoot while keeping the gun moving. You don’t look at the twigs or trees in the way. Just keep the barrel moving and pull the trigger. Two and three quarter inch loads of 1550 fps steel in numbers 4 thru 6 are great loads for these birds. You need a shell that’s fast, and if you’re using a pump as I do its easier and faster to eject the two and three quarter shells than the three inch mags.

A Retriever that knows how to do blind retrieves (a bird the dog doesn’t see go down and must be handled by the hunter) is invaluable. Most shots are obstructed and the dog won’t see most of the birds go down. I shot eight woodies last year and my dog only saw one go down.

Not only does the woody provide exciting and fast shooting but they make a beautiful mount and are very tasty (see side bar for recipe). So instead of duck hunting for ducks and hoping to some day get a nice drake woody, go after them. And maybe build a wood duck box and help them out. It’s a great reward to see those broken egg shells in your box in the summer.

Mix flour, garlic powder and salt together and put in a one gallon zip lock bag. Scramble eggs and put into a separate zip lock bag. Cut duck breasts into 1 to 2 inch squares. Put duck pieces into the zip lock bag with the scrambled eggs. After pieces of duck are covered in egg you may transfer them into the zip lock bag with the flour. Make sure pieces of duck are completely covered in the flour mixture. Next heat large frying pan on medium heat and add a quarter cup oil (or enough oil to cover surface of frying pan) until hot. Add a quarter cup teriyaki sauce to pan. Stir oil and teriyaki sauce up. Layer pan with the pieces of duck and cover. Turn duck pieces after five minutes. Cook an additional five minutes covered. Stir pieces up and cook until pieces are dark brown to black. This only takes a minute or two. "Don’t over cook". You may need to repeat for an additional pan full of duck pieces if your frying pan doesn’t fit all the pieces. Serve with toothpicks as an appetizer or serve over wild rice as a meal.

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