One of the greatest Midwestern waterfowling traditions is the pursuit of diving ducks. Geese and puddle ducks are a ton of fun, but there is a mystique around diving ducks that is uniquely Midwestern.



    When I think of hunting for divers I picture the classic Les Kouba painting where the sky is gray, the water is churned and the reeds are bent by the wind. Making that image complete is a group of divers coming in, wings cupped, committed to the spread.
    It could be any of the diving duck breeds including: canvasback, redhead, ring-necks, buffleheads, goldeneye or the ever-popular scaup (otherwise known as bluebill). Next to the wood duck and mallard, the bluebill is probably the breed of waterfowl most commonly featured in paintings and photographs.     Reality seldom matches that imagery, but however you go about it, hunting for diving ducks is something every diehard waterfowler should do at least half a dozen times in their life.
    Similar to field hunting and puddle duck hunting, there are some specifics one must consider for a successful hunt.
Diver locations
    Most breeds of divers dine on invertebrates and fish while a few, like canvasbacks and redheads, dine on aquatic vegetation like wild celery. The best place to hunt is on water where food sources such as these are prevalent.
    With a few exceptions, most of the diving ducks you’ll come across in the blind are migrants on their way from summer nesting grounds in Canada to one of the coasts. They migrate high in the air making stops along the way to feed, which is why it pays to find lakes and rivers with plenty of food.
    Once you’ve located a feeding ground, it’s time to do some scouting to find out what part of the lake they are using. Divers like small water like rivers and ponds but they love big water. A lake I hunt on is around 500 acres in size and the largest of its kind in that county qualifying it as “big water.”
    That said, the big lakes of of the north are generally excellent bluebill waters. Lakes like Winnibigoshish in Minnesota, Winnebago in Wisconsin and Devil’s Lake in North Dakota are places where you’ll often find massive collections of these birds, often referred to as “rafts” because they resemble a large floating raft midlake.
    Don’t overlook the Mississippi River, especially when it become a big river south of the Twin Cities. Small ponds with good vegetation and invertebrates adjacent to big water are often excellent locations as well, provided you can access them and gain permission to hunt.
    As always, conduct as much scouting as you can before hunting. What part of the lake are they feeding on? What routes do they use from one body of water to another? Where does their flight pattern intersect an area where you should be set up?
How to hunt
    I balance my hunting style with the location of my hunt. At some locations, I hunt out of a boat blind. Other locations I’ll park the boat a distance away and sit along the shoreline among rocks or deadfalls for concealment. If there are reeds and a solid lake bottom, I love hopping out of the boat and standing in the reeds much like you would field hunting from standing crops.
    Layout boats are another option and something I’m excited to try out this year is the Hobie Pro Angler with a ghillie blind. This large kayak is driven by pedals meaning I’ll be able have my hands free while I head to my location and toss out decoys.
    Speaking of decoys, this is what makes or breaks your diving duck hunting. Divers aren’t as impressed by calling but they respond magnificently to an effective decoy spread.
Decoy spread

If a diver has ever buzzed you, you know that they can sound like supersonic jets cruising overhead. Much like an airplane diving ducks like relatively straight lines.

Whether I’m going light with a dozen decoys, or trying to make the water in front of me resemble a refuge, I always set up some lines of ducks to serve as beacons to incoming divers. The best way to do this is to create a what’s called a “gang-rig” either by doing it yourself or purchasing one already rigged up like one offered by Rig’Rm Right.

My diver spread consists of anywhere from a dozen up to five-dozen decoys of a mixed batch. I like to use canvasbacks on the outside of my lines because their mostly-white bodies stand out and serve as an attention getter.

The rest of my spread is filled with bluebill decoys. If I add a tight grouping of diving ducks in addition to my lines, I’ll do so with other breeds like goldeneyes and buffleheads.

Most hunters run straight lines but I like to run a J-shape or a hook. Divers will follow that long line and then land in the hook where I’m waiting nearby. Don’t sit in the J, rather, set up off to the side. This prevents the likelihood of the ducks looking at the boat so that when I am calling, the ducks don’t look straight at me because they are focused on the decoys.

I put upwards of a dozen decoys on each line and use a three-pound grapnel anchor to secure it. This will hold my decoys in place no matter the wind, waves or weather.

You can use anywhere from one to five or more decoy lines, but keep in mind that early in the season you don’t need that many out. If a late season diver hunt were in your future, then it would be best to put out a lot of decoys because those ducks are a bit more educated.

    Ducks are different, conditions are different and every lake has its own way of things working out. For all those reasons, you have to watch what the ducks are doing and adjust accordingly.
    If those divers aren’t hooking into your hole or working down your lines after the first few flights you need to adjust. Don’t wait because waiting means more of the same. Either pull your decoys closer to the blind, angle the curving line more, or reposition yourself and your boat.
Add motion
    Most of the time, hunting divers means hunting water where the word calm is seldom used to explain the water conditions. On smaller lakes, and mirror calm days on those big lakes, there’s the need to create a commotion on the water. It only takes a handful of ducks on a calm lake to generate ripples in real life and a jerk rig creates that illusion.
    Electronic devices can be helpful, but one of the best tools is also one of the simplest. A simple jerk rig either that you make yourself or purchase from a company like Rig’Em Right allows you the ability to give your decoys movement from your boat at anytime.
    In the end, don’t ever forget that the primary function of gang-rigs, jerk rigs, decoy lines and everything else is to get their attention as they fly by. Catch their attention on their way from here to there and you’ll get to do plenty of shooting.


Buffleheads are diving ducks that nicely round out that six-bird limit