Duck and Goose Hunting on Colorado Public Land

By Paul Young

Public land hunting is not a realm many consider for waterfowl hunting. In most cases, people only associate public land with upland birds and big game hunting. Well, there is plenty of public land access in Colorado for all of the above. The biggest put-off is that it requires a bit more work than buying into a lease for the season. But if you are a frugal hunter like I am, a little extra work is often worth the potential reward and minimal strain on the wallet. 

The hardest part to hunting public land for waterfowl is availability. This particular hunt I had to call two weeks prior to the day I wanted to hunt to reserve my blind. A lot can happen in two weeks, in particular the weather can be very unpredictable two weeks out. If warm dry air moves in, the birds can move out of the area. If cold air moves in, new birds can move in. On top of that, you must carry decoys in on your back or in on sleds. 

For the avid waterfowl hunter that likes to hunt over 200+ full body decoys, well I hope you’re bringing a dozen guys with you to carry all of those decoys, which in many cases of public land hunting is not realistic or perhaps even allowed. Big spreads just can’t happen in these scenarios. You must think creatively to maximize your spread or show up at 3am to get to work. In some cases, public land access has time restrictions and won’t allow access prior to a certain time of day. Most of the time this is to allow birds the opportunity to roost on the water overnight without being disturbed.

In this case I went with a combination of every decoy made. I had full bodies, silhouettes, floaters, and spinners. It gave my decoy spread a different look than what resident ducks and geese were seeing, which also proved to be beneficial to my hunt. With 12 small ponds in the area, all with hunters on them, I kept the calling to a minimum. The weather was not cooperative and being on one of the smaller ponds, we only had a small section not froze over yet. Forcing our decoy spread to that area. Fortunately, the section of the pond not iced over was in a good section of timber that would hopefully entice ducks to come in.

Calling public land ducks is tough. There was enough noise that every duck and goose in the state could here we were there, so no need to add to the cause. I used the goose decoys to boost confidence for ducks flying over my spread. Although goose numbers were low, we did have a shooting opportunity at one small flight. Unfortunately, I forgot to reload my shotgun between flights. Otherwise, a goose or two could have been added to the harvest too.

Even though it took some work, the weather can be a crap shoot, and an abundance of other hunters in proximity, I was successful. One of the biggest reasons why, is because I got out there and tried, but I also got creative with my spread, and only called to finish birds when necessary. We ended up going home with two green winged teal, a canvasback, and two widgeons. Plus our upland dog got her first water retrieve on a real duck.

Next time you’re considering a waterfowl hunt, consider your public lands. There is a lot out there, and there are plenty of diamonds in the rough. 

That’s all for this time, and remember, keep your tip up, shoot straight, and never forget to Salute the Outdoors on your way home!