After buying a low ground pressure Cat D3 last summer for my business I got into some fun projects at my house. I live in central, OH not far from suburbia. I’m between a heavy agricultural area and a bunch of man made lakes within developments. Last winter I saw some pretty incredible waves of ducks and geese flying over my place to the local no hunting water. As soon as I got the dozer home in June I did some digging in an area that always flooded frequently. Nothing fancy in terms of excavation. I pushed the topsoil to the side into a couple berms and got into clay which I then pushed into a separate berm. I made a couple fingers that I figured would make good landing strips. Once I got the basin shaped how I wanted I dug one deep spot about 4 ft. deep. I caught the heavy rains that came through before the drought late summer. The hole filled in just a couple rains and held water the rest of summer and fall.
On the first big cold snap we had early winter the hole froze over quickly and I wasn’t able to break the ice up. I watched helplessly as the usual massive pushes of birds passed over. Take 2 came in the last week of the season when a big cold front pushed in. I was trying to get some office work done during the nasty weather and couldn’t help but notice out the window that the birds were coming in masses and flying low. With about an hour of shooting light left I ditched the office work, got the waders on and ran outback and was pleasantly surprised to find thin ice that I was able to break up quickly. By the time I got to the house birds were already landing in the hole. I tossed a few decoys in and climbed into a tree top I placed next to the hole. I then got about 30 mins of the most incredible waterfowl experience of my life. I only started hunting wood ducks last year so killing a mallard was a goal this year. I’ve never even called to mallards or geese. In that 30 mins of hunting I got to call to 500-1000 mallards and a couple 100 geese. I got to pull flocks of 30-40 towards the pond although I was quickly humbled by my inexperience. Once I was setup none of the birds would close the distance and all were flarring just out of range. I tucked deeper into the cover and realized I was not adjusting my calling volume down as the birds closed in. I would call pretty loud at passing birds which would turn them instantly and I think I was a little too excited. I made the adjustments and it made a huge difference. With just a few mins of legal light left I got a group to commit all the way in and made a clean killing shot on one. What a rush! That duck went straight into a veggie and rice stir fry and tasted incredible. I’m 100% hooked. The day after I kept the ice off but had to work in the office all day. I got to see birds land and hang out with the decoys. By day 3 of the front the birds were mostly gone.
If you have open space I would totally recommend adding a water habitat feature! If you need help with machinery get ahold of me. I’m looking for ways to keep the ice off these holes. Also any tips on managing the native vegetation by adjusting water levels.
![Plant Sky Natural landscape Cloud Tree]()
![Water Sky Natural landscape Natural environment Plant]()
![Water Sky Cloud Rainbow Plant]()
![Water Sky Plant Nature Tree]()
![Snow Ecoregion Plant Natural landscape Tree]()
![Sky Natural landscape Branch Wood Twig]()
![Bird Beak Water Water bird Waterfowl]()
![Sky Water Plant Tree Natural landscape]()
On the first big cold snap we had early winter the hole froze over quickly and I wasn’t able to break the ice up. I watched helplessly as the usual massive pushes of birds passed over. Take 2 came in the last week of the season when a big cold front pushed in. I was trying to get some office work done during the nasty weather and couldn’t help but notice out the window that the birds were coming in masses and flying low. With about an hour of shooting light left I ditched the office work, got the waders on and ran outback and was pleasantly surprised to find thin ice that I was able to break up quickly. By the time I got to the house birds were already landing in the hole. I tossed a few decoys in and climbed into a tree top I placed next to the hole. I then got about 30 mins of the most incredible waterfowl experience of my life. I only started hunting wood ducks last year so killing a mallard was a goal this year. I’ve never even called to mallards or geese. In that 30 mins of hunting I got to call to 500-1000 mallards and a couple 100 geese. I got to pull flocks of 30-40 towards the pond although I was quickly humbled by my inexperience. Once I was setup none of the birds would close the distance and all were flarring just out of range. I tucked deeper into the cover and realized I was not adjusting my calling volume down as the birds closed in. I would call pretty loud at passing birds which would turn them instantly and I think I was a little too excited. I made the adjustments and it made a huge difference. With just a few mins of legal light left I got a group to commit all the way in and made a clean killing shot on one. What a rush! That duck went straight into a veggie and rice stir fry and tasted incredible. I’m 100% hooked. The day after I kept the ice off but had to work in the office all day. I got to see birds land and hang out with the decoys. By day 3 of the front the birds were mostly gone.
If you have open space I would totally recommend adding a water habitat feature! If you need help with machinery get ahold of me. I’m looking for ways to keep the ice off these holes. Also any tips on managing the native vegetation by adjusting water levels.
