How do you you build a duck flighting pond ?

shbangsteve

Well-Known Member
I've got a bit of wet land upon which I'm thinking of building a duck flighting pond. Anyone know how big and how deep it needs to be to attract duck ? I know the sides need to be gently sloping but what else should I consider ? How far back do I need to cut the trees around it and in which direction ? Long and thin or perfectly round ? Tried googling it but all I come up with is how to make a pond for domestic ducks. Where else can I get the info ?
Thanks
 
Some say that an X shaped island is good as it gives shelter from the wind for any duck that do use it. Certainly if you can an island is a good idea if you want, ever, to put an electric feeder on it. The other factor is to keep in mind the direction of your shots and thus the need for a "fall out" area. This may affect the location of your pond. As will any distant artificial lights and or the position of where the sun sets.
 
Yes, sloping sides, not necessarily all around. Needs to be reasonably shallow (think upended Mallard depth) but deeper in some places isn't a problem. An island isn't strictly necessary but is a good added extra. Cutting back trees/vegetation around depends on the height of the vegetation, think duck flying by and is it visible from a fair distance and enough space should a predator appear that the duck on the bank have a chance of seeing them and taking to the water or flight). But also think that if the pond is in a generally open area, surrounding trees will give good weather protection. As for size, really any size will do the trick, depending on what space is available, obviously the bigger it is, the more it will attract wildfowl.

As for shape, I would go for the natural look, if only for looks with some little bay areas and so forth. Roughly circular or kidney shaped perhaps. Again, bear in mind shotgun effective ranges snap shooting. As duck usually come in into the wind, making the vegetation/trees lower on the side of the prevailing wind helps.

If there's a wee stream running through it, that is good. Keeps the water wet when it's freezing elsewhere and as a result you could get bigger numbers coming in.

However, the BASC leaflet, as Limulus says is good. It goes into much more detail and considers all sorts of flora and fauna's requirements, not only wildfowl. It also gives a bit of advice on whether you need to seek planning approval.
 
I find an arrow head shaped pond works well. I wouldn't make it deep at all, probably 18" at most. Cover wise I would clear all the tall stuff so you can see them last light. Also finding the shot ducks can be a pain if there's thick cover,I so clear as much as I could.
 
The place i used to shoot the farmer created a flight pond as above with shallow area's all around except for the southern end where he had constructed a dam (although he should have he didn't apply for planning permission), he planted willow on the East and Western sides, it was about 15 yards wide and length about 70 yards, but he kept the North and South ends clear of any tree's or foliage.
This last part was a brilliant idea, as it also attracted geese, and they need a long take off!
Great fun, especially waiting for the ducks to flight in at the end of the day.
We also found the ducks like kibbled maize and barley.
Cheers
Richard
 
+1 on pedros we have two or three on our shoot ,natural not too deep ,mainly for teal sometimes 70 or 80 on each plus 20 or 30 mallards two feeders scrub bramble /low laurels for pheasants also sheep fence all round to keep deer / cattle out.cheers doug.
 
On my shoot we dammed a stream, laid a pipe underground and flooded a low section of a grazing meadow which made a nice open and shallow splash . Built an island out of pallets and turf. Attracts snipe, teal, mallard plus pair of swan (just manage to get off) and 'gyppo geese. Had to fence it to keep cattle off. On two other established ponds we put down a hundred mallard or so a but then have to train them to fly. Biggest problem with established ponds is the tree growth checking fight paths. No one wants you to cut it.
 
What is legal in your area? In the USA, it is illegal to bait, but you can plant crops to attract ducks, dove, quail, pheasant and wild turkey. Is there woods or cropland adjacent to your pond site/

On our farm, I built an 8 acre pond in the woods, with a chimney spillway stack in the middle of the dam, feeding a 36 inch corrugated pipe. The front of his chimney is open, with 2 inch u-channel facing each other 24 inches apart. The channel is held together by welded rebar. Into this channel, I can drop stout oak or cypress boards, each with a steel bar backing behind it. There are sllots cut every 3 feet, so I can insert the boards without having tg climb to the top.

The deep end is planted in corn, standing about 9 feet tall,
Halfway back, is planted in milo, standing about 3 feet
The shallow end is planted in millet, which grows the shortest

We can shoot dove in late Summer and early Fall.
We can shoot deer and small game.

Then, about late September, we start flooding it, so the grains are just at the top of the water in some patches. By November, it is usually full of water, and ducks are starting to arrive from Canada.
 
What is legal in your area? In the USA, it is illegal to bait, but you can plant crops to attract ducks, dove, quail, pheasant and wild turkey. Is there woods or cropland adjacent to your pond site/

You can legally feed ponds to attract ducks over here Southern, and grain feeders are commonplace on virtually every pheasant shoot in the country - the pheasants are bred and placed into the shoot areas every year so the feeders are a must to keep them where we want them to be.

What is the legality with shooting ducks in the US? I was shooting in Georgia earlier this year and my host mentioned something about most of the ducks being protected.
 
Steve I have built two flight ponds in the last 6 years my last effort has been a outstanding success the former attracts more geese though, if you need any advice contact me for my number and if I can help you or give any pointers I will. DF
 
Steve I have built two flight ponds in the last 6 years my last effort has been a outstanding success the former attracts more geese though, if you need any advice contact me for my number and if I can help you or give any pointers I will. DF

Thanks double four . I'm going to get it built this summer. It is going to be about 100 yds long by about 30-40 wide in a natural wet spot. It runs east to west with trees on the southern side and I am thinking of planting willow on the northern side leaving both ends open. Not sure whether or not to put an island in, I think it may be a bit small. I get a lot of geese flying over so I want as much open water as possible. I may put an electric fence around the outside to deter charlie instead. A few questions. How deep is yours ? Do you use clipped caller ducks, decoys or feeders ? What do you feed ? Have you planted any reeds etc in it ? If you have any photos please post them. Thanks

Still don't know why the ed thinks this thread belongs in the Wild Boar section. I must be missing something.
 
What is legal in your area? In the USA, it is illegal to bait, but you can plant crops to attract ducks, dove, quail, pheasant and wild turkey. Is there woods or cropland adjacent to your pond site/

On our farm, I built an 8 acre pond in the woods, with a chimney spillway stack in the middle of the dam, feeding a 36 inch corrugated pipe. The front of his chimney is open, with 2 inch u-channel facing each other 24 inches apart. The channel is held together by welded rebar. Into this channel, I can drop stout oak or cypress boards, each with a steel bar backing behind it. There are sllots cut every 3 feet, so I can insert the boards without having tg climb to the top.

The deep end is planted in corn, standing about 9 feet tall,
Halfway back, is planted in milo, standing about 3 feet
The shallow end is planted in millet, which grows the shortest

We can shoot dove in late Summer and early Fall.
We can shoot deer and small game.

Then, about late September, we start flooding it, so the grains are just at the top of the water in some patches. By November, it is usually full of water, and ducks are starting to arrive from Canada.

Sorry Southern missed your post. Your pond sounds ideal. 8 acres is fair size pond compared with what I am planning. Yes you can bait them. Around here the main ducks are mallard with quite a few Green wing Teal and a few Wigeon as well as Canada Geese. The season runs September 1 to Jan 31 with no restriction on numbers shot.
 
Duck hunting ( as we call it) in the USA is complicated by migratory bird treaties with Canada, Mexico and some of South America.

Some ducks are off limits, some one per day of a species, some 2. And it varies by state.
Within states there are Wildlife Refuges, where no hunting is permitted. There is public hunting on rivers and lakes which are withing National Forests and State Forests, but not within Parks. There is public hunting on the hydroelectric reservoirs, which are 30,000 to 100,000 acres. In the swamps of the South there are the brightly colored Wood Ducks, and do not migrate.

Putting out grain for any game birds is forbidden, but you can plant crops on private land and harvest or leave them standing and shoot duck, quail, pheasant ducks and geese in them. Before the greenies got into the act, the old rice plantations of South Carolina and Georgia were filled with ducks and geese, but the enviros sued to stop the manipulation of the water in what was no longer crop land, so millions of ducks had no food - the usual result of ignorant people of questionable intentions.

Now the big rice production is in Southeast Texas, below Houston, in Louisiana, and Arkansas, and there are hordes of ducks and geese there, with spillover into Mississippi and West Tennessee.

You have to be good at identifying and distinguishing between a canvasback and a redhead in the fog as they loop through at 65 mph. Most of the ducks come out of the nesting areas in Canada and the upper Midwest - Dakotas, Minnesota, upper Michigan. As the water starts to freeze there i late September, they push South into the grain crops. Mallards have to literally be frozen off the water, so they are the last to arrive in the South.

You could go to wheat fields of those states above or Saskatchewan where there are zillions of potholes of water. and shoot 10 ducks and 10 geese a day in most regions.... Later in the season, you could do the same in the holding areas of Maryland and Delaware, and on the West Coast rivers of Washington, Oregon and Northern California.

US hunters donate money through Ducks Unlimited to not farm over all the nesting areas up North.

My best duck hunting days, whether in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Mississippi Delta, Maryland or South Carolina, seem to have all been so cold the snow was laying on the water instead of melting, and my breath would freeze on the gun. Love that!
 
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