Duck hunting beaver ponds are a great way for duck hunters to enjoy fast action with minimal effort. Beaver ponds are found throughout the United States. There’s a good chance you can find a beaver pond within an hour from where you live. If you cannot afford an expensive duck lease or your cannot afford all the latest and greatest duck hunting gear, you should find a beaver pond to hunt. Duck hunting beaver ponds can be a perfect place to experience the thrill of duck hunting. In most cases, all you need is a few decoys, chest waders, a shotgun and some ammo.
Why Beaver Ponds are GREAT for Ducks
A beaver is a duck’s best friend when it comes to creating habitat. A beaver’s ability to dam up small creeks creates some of the best duck habitat in the world. Often beaver ponds are originally built by a pair or small family group of beavers. Beavers create dams in order to safely access food. With water flooding an area of timber and other types of vegetation, a beaver can easily collect various types of trees/food while having the the safety of water near by. Once a family of beavers are established after a couple of years (sometimes less than a year other times longer than two years), the trees flooded by the pond water have either been cut by the beavers or begin to die dew to their roots being submerged under water for an extended period of time. This creates large open areas perfect for ducks to land and feed or roost. Keep in mind larger beaver ponds can take years to grow depending on the amount of water and the size of the beaver colony. Beaver ponds are often found in and around creeks and small tributaries surrounded by timber. Of course this is not always the case however, in most cases, beaver ponds offer ducks safe refuge from predators as well as food.
How Good can Duck Hunting a Beaver Pond be?
The fact that beaver ponds naturally attract ducks can be huge advantage. I can remember the first time I ever hunted an established beaver pond. My buddy invited me to go hunting with him one morning several years ago. I knew he didn’t really have any duck hunting equipment other than a half dozen old decoys and some hip boots. I was accustomed to hunting out of a floating blind on a public lake. So, I told him the day before the hunt, I would bring some motion decoys and a dozen of my new floating decoys. I will never forget him looking at me and simply asking me “why do you want to bring all that stuff?”. I was confused for a moment, then replied by saying “we are going to need decoys to get the ducks in gun range”. He finally told me to bring all the gear I wanted to but, all you really need is a shotgun with plenty of ammunition. I thought about what he said that night then decided to just bring a duck call and a shotgun with shells. I had to see for myself why he was so confident to hunt with no decoys or a full lanyard of duck calls. To make a long story short, the next morning we were walking back to the truck with a two-man limit after hunting for forty five minutes. I was in total shock at how fast and fun that hunt was! Ducks would constantly fly into the beaver pond. First came the wood ducks next gadwalls and mallards worked into the pond. That morning we worked one group of mallards with our calls however, I believe they were going to land regardless.
For the first time in my duck hunting career, I experienced one of the most special phenomenons a duck hunter can ever be a part of. My buddy and I hunted exactly where the ducks wanted to be at the exact point in time during that day. We hunted in an old beaver pond that ducks were naturally drawn to. I cannot guarantee you will have a hunt like the one I experienced. I have been hunting with my buddy many times on that pond since then with mixed success. However, it seems about three to four times during the season, that old pond produces some exceptional hunts. Again I say, I cannot guarantee every beaver pond will produce great duck hunting opportunities, some beaver ponds are too small to really attract ducks and others only produce wood ducks. However, if you find the right beaver pond, you can have an enjoyable hunt with little equipment.
Not all beaver ponds are created equal
Not every beaver pond will produce great results. There are many factors that will determine how good a beaver pond will produce ducks. There are three main factors, in my opinion, that determine how good a beaver pond can be for duck hunting.
- Age of the Pond
The age of a beaver pond seems to influence how often ducks use a pond. In my experience, new ponds rarely attract large numbers of ducks. It could be because ducks have not found the pond yet. It could take a couple years for ducks to develop a habit of using the ponds. Also, newer beaver ponds, often have smaller amounts of open water because the vegetation hasn’t had time to completely die off. Older ponds seem to routinely attract ducks because the older ponds provide established habitat used by ducks year after year.
- Size of the beaver pond
Of course, the older the pond the larger the pond becomes in most cases. Beavers constantly attempt to build and expand ponds in order to safely access food sources. As beavers cut the surrounding trees and the remaining trees in the pond die due to being flooded, the pond’s open water increases. I have hunted a few different beaver ponds in the past. It always seems like, older bigger ponds equal bigger ducks like mallards. The smaller ponds I have hunted typically result in wood ducks which can still offer a ton of fun to hunt!
- Location Of Beaver Pond In Relation to Major Waterways
The location of a beaver pond in some cases increase the odds of ducks visiting. However, I do not believe this factor has the influence on ducks frequenting a beaver pond, as the previous two factors mentioned. I think location of a pond has some relevance to this amount of ducks visiting a pond. Beaver ponds located miles away from lakes and large creeks seem to attract less birds. Also, ponds located great distances from major waterways seem to attract more wood ducks than big ducks.
Why you should duck hunt beaver ponds
There are two reasons you need to try duck hunting beaver ponds.
- Little equipment needed
In my experience, I have experienced great hunts on beaver ponds with only 6 decoys. There is no expensive duck boats or a huge number of decoys needed in most cases. By simply standing under cypress trees in hip boots, I have experienced some great hunts
- The Hunts can be exceptional
Ducks are naturally attracting to beaver ponds. I believe, ducks associate beaver ponds with safety and refuge. Beaver Ponds often, can offer food for ducks as well. If you can find a beaver pond near larger public waters, you can potentially have epic hunts because ducks seek smaller isolated bodies of water (Beaver ponds) during duck season to avoid hunting pressure. To summarize, you can potentially hunt where ducks naturally want to be!!
Things to keep in mind when hunting duck on Beaver Ponds.
- What to expect when hunting beaver ponds
Please keep in mind duck hunting is a challenge. Duck hunting anywhere can be difficult, beaver pond hunting is no exception. Some ponds might not produce any ducks. Others might be magical. Some ponds will only produce small amounts of wood ducks while others, will produce all species at any given time.
- How to stack the odds in your favor when hunting beaver ponds
Like any type of hunting, you need to scout a pond before you plan to hunt. When scouting I recommend you determine when the ducks arrive at the pond and how many typically land on the pond. Answering the two questions previously mentioned will give you an idea of when to hunt the pond and what to expect when hunting. Also, scouting can help you determine if the pond is worth hunting, there might not be enough ducks visiting the pond to justify a hunt.
Decoys often are great for influencing where ducks land on the water. Using decoys on beaver ponds can be very effective. However, I personally do not like to use over a dozen decoys unless the pond is exceptionally large.
Summary
Beaver ponds can offer great duck hunts. They are found all throughout the US. If you can locate a beaver pond and obtain permission to hunt the pond, you can potentially enjoy some exceptional duck hunting. I hope to encourage you guys to try a duck hunt on a beaver pond. If you have a small budget for duck hunting, or you are just wanting to let you kid get a shot at a wood duck, you should try hunting beaver ponds.
Thank you guys for reading this article. I hope you found encouragement and maybe a cheaper alternative to expenses duck leases. If you are like me you probably can’t afford a $20k duck lease. This is why I am constantly on the lookout for beaver ponds to duck hunt. If you would like some tips for duck hunting go you our duck page at Americanhuntingsafari.com. Americanhuntjngsafari.com is dedicated to hunting, fishing and cooking wild game. We focus on helping average everyday hunters increase their success when hunting while having fun. If you are limited on time to enjoy the great outdoors or have a small budget for hunting, don’t worry, Americanhuntingsafari.com is dedicated to helping you!!
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