As the weather has begun to shift, I’ve begun sleeping with my deck window open. The last few days I’ve been awoken by a familiar sound that’s been missing the last few months: The short series of quacks of a mallard down on Cheat Lake. While it’s been incredibly nice to hear that around sunrise again, it doesn’t escape me that if someone put together a list of the top-10 best states for waterfowl hunting, West Virginia wouldn’t make the cut. I doubt it would even make a top-30 list.
Some of our neighbors would, like Maryland, Virginia and maybe even Pennsylvania, but due to our insulated nature, we don’t see an influx of hunters coming here to fill their duck or geese bag limits. But just because there are no hunter migrations to our wonderful state, that doesn’t mean there aren’t great opportunities to get ducks. In fact, I’d argue the small group of us waterfowlers have a prime opportunity to fill our limits and freezers, but we need to know where to go.
I’m sure that those of us who do hunt ducks and geese around the state know our places – I sure do – and are ready for our season to open on Oct. 1, but for the hunter who may be wondering where to start, hopefully, this will be helpful. Maybe I can help some of the more seasoned hunters, too.
Finding waterfowl habitat can be easy if you know what to look for. Obviously, you want to start with water. Many of our rivers provide great access to bird hunting – one of our closest major rivers, the Cheat, is full of mallards and Canada geese – but what if you don’t have the means to get on that water? This is where you need to find marshes and flood plains.
And this is where e-scouting can come in handy. Truthfully, it’s my first stop when looking for a new spot – I know that I can’t pack up my car whenever I want and head to a far-off place to take notes. My method is relatively simple. Each year I find three new spots I want to hit, do some quick research on those different pieces and then open up OnX Hunt on my phone or computer and begin scanning. Because OnX is incredibly detailed, I typically don’t have to work hard to determine if I’m looking at a marsh, public or private land or anything else that might be hard to identify on Google Earth or a good ole topographic map. I highly recommend apps like this – HuntWise is another good one – but if you don’t want to pay for a mapping system, I totally understand. You can still make e-scouting work with Google Earth, but you need to do more background research through the Division of Natural Resources website or government sites if you’re hunting places like Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge.
Speaking of which, let’s use Canaan Valley as our jumping-off point. I love visiting Canaan Valley and have decided this is where I’m going to start this season. In my opinion, if you’re hunting waterfowl Canaan Valley is the best place to go. When you think about it, it’s an alien place when juxtaposed with the rest of our state – 9,500 acres of 23 different wetland types isn’t the first thing folks probably think about when “the Mountain State” pops in their minds. But it’s there, and we’re incredibly blessed to have this asset. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website, mallards, black ducks and wood ducks have staked their claim on the refuge, and by my own boots-on-the-ground scouting this holds. It’s truly amazing to just go sit in your car or take a quick hike and watch these birds in action.
Once you determine your spot, go ground-proof it to make sure it holds up. I talked about this extensively in my last piece about e-scouting Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, and it’s incredibly important. You don’t want to show up at the spot at 5:30 a.m. to find that the spot you imagine being a honey hole is no more than a disappointment. Find a spot with enough natural cover, especially in a place like a wildlife refuge. Make sure, too, that the water in a spot isn’t too deep for you to wade through. If you don’t have a retriever like me, even the best spot isn’t worth swimming out for your birds. Finally, it should go without saying, make sure there are birds in the spot. People will say hunt the food source, which is true, but if you find birds, you’ve likely found the food. And if not, it’s close by.
Finally, every time I choose one location such as Canaan Valley, I pick three or four spots within that area to ground-proof. If I mark a few good holes, I don’t even worry about the other areas of the state at that point.
There’s one more tool I like to use in tandem with my scouting – migration reports. If you’re a member of Ducks Unlimited, you likely already know that the organization hosts one of the best reporting systems. If you aren’t a member, it’s free to view and is user-generated content. If you’re not seeing anything in your area, don’t worry – you can use surrounding states to get a good idea of what the birds are doing.
So get out there, set those decoys and good luck. Don’t forget to use non-toxic shot, and, most importantly, to have fun. For waterfowl hunting dates and regulations, click here.
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