January-February 2021 • Nebraskaland 35
Like Geiser, Bisgard also emphasizes reading the birds, but
typically during the late season, he says, "The less calling I
do, the better success I usually have. Use soft, low-end type
calling, more feed chuckles and maybe soft quacking, because
it's colder and the newer ducks coming in will be hungry. The
ducks that are here already are going to be stale, so they're
used to hearing it by then from other hunters. Sometimes I
don't call at all. I just let the motion of the decoys do the work."
Juelfs tends to call more aggressively later in the season,
hoping to trigger a response from a lonely drake mallard.
"Ducks can be very responsive later in the season as they
begin their pair bonding and courtship rituals," he says.
Breaking Ice
Ice is a challenge during the late season. Keeping water
open and preventing ice from forming on decoys, which can
make them look unnatural, requires a watchful eye.
"Hunting on big reservoirs can be tricky, but if you have
a barge, those boats can break through the ice if it's not too
thick," says Geiser. "Bank hunting can be done near spillways
— if legal to hunt there — and other areas with running
water that keep the water open. We do have an underwater
turbine at our private pond that keeps the water rotating, and
it keeps a large area open. We always have heaters running
that keep our gear from freezing up."
Jake and Keith Jadlowski, originally from Ralston, Nebraska, hunt ducks and geese on the Elkhorn River near Tilden.
PHOTO BY JEFF KURRUS
