# Bait for Ducks



## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

I have access to a reservoir that I won't be able to hunt until next year, and I was wanting to bait it up this year for a roost. I have access to a ton of potatoes that are free, would ducks eat them?? I was just wondering.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

Corn, milo, or rice... but I wouldn't do it!


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

I've heard of stompin sweet potatoes in the mud, but these are regular potatoes.


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## boudreaux (Aug 27, 2004)

I agree your asking for big time trouble. Baiting migratory birds is illegal.


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## Main Frame 8 (Mar 16, 2007)

A loaf of bread.


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

Its only illegal if you are hunting the area that is being baited up. This area will not be hunted till NEXT SEASON.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

lbm8156 said:


> Its only illegal if you are hunting the area that is being baited up.


Are you 100% sure about that? I still wouldn't do it. That's a fine line that I wouldn't be willing to walk.


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## Colonel William Travis (Aug 26, 2009)

I agree, your intentions are to hunt next year which makes this year baiting. At least thats how it was explained to me. Good luck.


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## boudreaux (Aug 27, 2004)

only thing i know of thats not considered baiting is if its planted then harvested or mowed


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

Sweet taters work. Don't know about irish taters. 

You don't have to be hunting OVER the bait to be in violation of baiting laws. Shooting a bird which is going to, or coming from, the baited area is technically illegal, so that's something to watch. 

Also, there's a time limit (15 days?) after all bait is gone before hunting is legal. Taters might last a long time, so I'd watch that. 

Let us know how it works if you try it.


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

I'm not going to be hunting anywhere even close to it, and I'm sure they will be gone in a year.


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## LongTallTexan (May 19, 2009)

You know, Wonder Bread works great when I am at Herman Park. You might want to give that a try.


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## btreybig (Jul 3, 2008)

Id say you are crossing a thin line by baiting even though you are not going to be hunting it until next year. My advise, call a GW or TPWD. Only dumb question is one not asked. I would rather ask a dumb question than get a fat fine and lose my license. just my .02


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## dwhite (Jul 11, 2007)

There is not a problem with doing what you are doing as long as it wont be hunted. There are many people who do the very same thing to attract ducks to their property. I heard rice hulls work good, just hearsay but milo, corn or millet should all work just fine for what your doing. Just check with the landowner to make sure he knows your doing it and that he dont care. Good luck


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## DUKFVR (Aug 19, 2004)

You would be within the law to bait it this year & as long as all of it [bait] is gone B4 next season be ok ,BUT if some of the surrounding hunters killed birds working around or coming to it this season,They could be cited for your actions if a GW decides to press it.


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## MarshJr. (Jul 29, 2005)

someone explain this sweet potato thing...im curious


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

Levelwind said:


> Sweet taters work. Don't know about irish taters.
> 
> You don't have to be hunting OVER the bait to be in violation of baiting laws. Shooting a bird which is going to, or coming from, the baited area is technically illegal, so that's something to watch.
> 
> ...


 bingo bait all you want,, just do NOT hunt over it till the last granular is gone for (I thought ten but) 15 if Steve says so,,, he knows his laws.


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## El Capitan de No Fish (Sep 20, 2007)

He's not hunting it until next year so it's legal. It's the same as as giving the ducks at the local park some cheerios. If he's not firing a weapon at them there's nothing to be worried about.
The taters just need to be gone 10 days before he hunts it.


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## El Capitan de No Fish (Sep 20, 2007)

http://www.fws.gov/le/huntfish/waterfowl_baiting.htm


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

I thought ten and all gone,,, not one drop left,,,, myself even if its corn milo you name it.....


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

The main question I'm concerned with is will they eat the potatoes????


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

lbm8156 said:


> The main question I'm concerned with is will they eat the potatoes????


 They love sweet taters! :brew:


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

word of advise,,, ducks dive bombing a pond is not good,,,,sweet taters and corn show up good from the air.. CYA folks,,, not worth it..... Fine,,, no mas guns or license,,


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## EBHunter (Jul 23, 2004)

Do not bait the pond. You could cause neighboring hunters to get tickets.


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

It is a 40-acre reservoir and nobody hunts it within 2miles. Im not worried about the legalities, because IM NOT HUNTING IT FOR A YEAR. Has anybody ever tried the potatoes


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## webfisher3 (Jul 27, 2007)

Do...not...seek...to...bait...the...quackers


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## 24Buds (Dec 5, 2008)

He isn't baiting them. He is feeding them. I say throw a few out and see what happens before you put out a few hundred lbs of it. Other than that, eat them before they go bad. Baked with a pile of chopped pork! mm mm mm mmmm


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

I'm guessin nobody has tried Irish taters. I bet they would work if the ducks would find them initially. The color of sweet taters show up good and I think thats how the ducks find'em.


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## SV_DuckBuster (Sep 18, 2007)

Ducks do have a very good sense of smell that is used to locate food (or so I've read). Maybe the smell of sweet taters draws them in but not sure how that works underwater though. No idea on the regular taters... never used them or heard of anyone using them. 

They might work. If your not concerned about the legality, I say try em out. If they don't work, you haven't really lost anything if you got them for free.

I tell you what... if you can wait a few days, I'll take a raw tater to Lake Woodlands and feed pieces to the ducks and see if they like it. My son loves feeding those ducks bread and crackers all the time so I'm sure he'd be happy to help with the experiment.


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## FREON (Jun 14, 2005)

Y'all need to listen to what Spout says cuz we all know that he is the master baiter.....When I think about Spout and duck hunting I always seem to remember the title of an old movie....On Golden Pond


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

FREON said:


> Y'all need to listen to what Spout says cuz we all know that he is the master baiter.....When I think about Spout and duck hunting I always seem to remember the title of an old movie....On Golden Pond


With cold brew and hot chicks!:rotfl: when you ready to go grouchpa! AND DO NOT SHOT MY DEER FEEDER IN THE POND THIS TIME.....:slimer:

Sorry Poncho,, If my pond is baited Chuck Leaman did it,,, "potlicker" ,,, keeps sneeking in when I aint there.:headknock


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

FREON said:


> Y'all need to listen to what Spout says cuz we all know that he is the master baiter.....When I think about Spout and duck hunting I always seem to remember the title of an old movie....On Golden Pond


Gotta brush your teeth after you get done huntin one of the spoutster's holes. :slimer:


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## mwaites (Apr 25, 2006)

I do not know anything about potatoes.... but throw whatever you want out there it is not baiting if you are not hunting it and are not shooting birds coming from or going to this area. I know this is not the info you were asking, but too many people were saying it is baiting when it is not. But do consider others that may hunt around you if any at all.


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## redduck (Jul 26, 2006)

While I do not know from experience, I am betting the ducks will eat potatoes if they are in the area. I do not know how effective they will be in drawing ducks to the property. Mix the taters with corn and see what happens.


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## mwaites (Apr 25, 2006)

boudreaux said:


> only thing i know of thats not considered baiting is if its planted then harvested or mowed


If you plant millet and mow it, it IS baiting!!!! Unless it was millet you planted the year before and it grew volluntarily...


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## kirk.ingels (Oct 13, 2009)

feeding ducks is a great thing, but that won't make it a roost pond. that will make it a feeding pond. Roost ponds are where the ducks go at sunset and stay the night. They don't eat while roosting; they raft up in the middle of big water for safety. They typically leave just before legal shooting time from the roost. 

I've feed ducks before. It is amazing how many will dive bomb the pond each morning. Put the corn in water that is only about ONE foot deep so the puddle ducks can get to it. You don't want to feed the divers. If you put the corn too deep the divers are the only ones that can get to it. Also, by putting the corn in the shallow water, you can inspect the pond before you hunt it to make sure there is not one granule left in the area. If the water level goes down any corn left in the mud might germinate and then it is no longer feed/bait.

Corn, aka golden decoys, will sink immediately. Milo takes a while to sink. If you have any wind while feeding milo it will float to the shore. That is a problem. I've never used rice but I bet it will sink pretty quickly as well. However, the corn is very visible to the ducks from the air. Plus, Corn is the least expensive. 

All it talks is ONE granule to be in big trouble with the Federal Game Warden. Those guys don't smile much and they don't give warning tickets. They take their jobs very seriously. Respect the law and law enforcement.


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

Levelwind said:


> Gotta brush your teeth after you get done huntin one of the spoutster's holes. :slimer:


rotl,, I caught that,, and No you don't,,, If that was the case they wouldn't be a spoutster hole! :biggrin:


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

People,,, we jumped off track,, he's not hunting the pond this year.. so Feed anything and everything your heart wants to.... You have the rules 20 plus time about during season... enjoy and good luck next season...


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## Sharkhunter (May 22, 2004)

Please go ahead and feed the dang ducks.. If it was against the law to feed migratory birds every old lady who has a bird feeder that morning doves eat at would get a ticket.. And I don't know what kind of feed you boys use to be worried about it still being there a year later but I bet the farm he want have a drop of corn left 2 weeks later... Please for gods sake feed those poor starving ducks... please...


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## dwhite (Jul 11, 2007)

So whats the deal with the sweet taters?? Never heard of that before...you put them out whole, cut up or what?


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## mark waring (Jul 31, 2006)

The sweet taters give off a smell when rotting that they love. Put em in crawfish sacks and stomp em in the mud close to the edge of the water. There ya go! seriously!!


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## Tiny (Dec 19, 2006)

mark waring said:


> The sweet taters give off a smell when rotting that they love. Put em in crawfish sacks and stomp em in the mud close to the edge of the water. There ya go! seriously!!


Wouldn't that be baiting???? :wink:


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## Whiskey & Me (Oct 23, 2006)

There is several people that will put out several hundred pounds of chicken scratch the day after season is over so that birds will "imprint" on that location and hopefully come back the following year...

There is "NOTHING" wrong with baiting as long as you don't hunt it.

There is also, some "people" that will bait an area and then call the GW so that people won't hunt it...

This typically happens on lakes where there is houses that are on the water and they don't want their "pets" shot during duck season! 

J.J.


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## redfish76 (Aug 15, 2005)

Tiny said:


> Wouldn't that be baiting???? :wink:


Yes.


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## seabo (Jun 29, 2006)

i think the sweetness of the sweet potatoe is what it is , i dont think potatoes in general bring m in , ive heard of a story of soaking bales of burlap with sorgum and placeing these in levee ponds to sweetn the water up, from what i heard it worked and nobody could prove jack. probably just bs though....


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## davidb (May 10, 2006)

Bet it would work for any hogs in the area, mashed taters and pork if the ducks won't eat it.

My guess is if you put corn out with it then they would eventually figure out the potatoes. They naturally eat some large starchy tubers.

They love potato chips but that would be a lot of frying.

Planting Millet and Red Rice might be a longer term draw.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

Need help putting them out? I can call, fetch ducks, make dang good coffee, have decoys, have own shotgun, own shells, pick up empties, and am a horrible shot if you know what that means. Can add to the "bait".


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

Couple of simple questions. 
1. Would the ducks remember from one year to the next that food was there for a short time.
2. Where did you get a ton of potatos?


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## deke (Oct 5, 2004)

They don't call it golden rainbow for nothing, just use corn. But it has gotten a bit pricey. Milo sinks and will take them longer to eat. And right now you could go to a rice dryer and buy some raw unprocessed rice, works great. If fed all season you will get return customers next season, especially the younger birds.


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## Fishin-Inc (May 27, 2004)

*ever wonder*

Ever wonder how much is spent on duck food each year? I bet it's alot.
I got hunt a baited pond one year. It was a old fallow field with lots of grass so the aircrafts could not see the yella. I worked. Shot early and left quickly. Only problem was the corn in the ducks throat. Kinda give away. Oh, I didn't know it was baited until we twisted a little neck.
Then I was let in on the secret. Lotsa ants in flooded fields too.

Never hunted with Spout, but see notes above. I'm sure. J/K


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## lbm8156 (Dec 8, 2008)

I've heard people say that game wardens check hunting spots from the air, but Im a pilot and theres no way I would get a game warden below 200ft in an airplane just to look for grain in the water. Unless your in a helicopter hovering over an area theres no way there going to spot scattered grain from 200ft up, unless theres a bag floating.


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## El PescadoLoco (Jun 27, 2008)

Read the rules on baiting.... It's not hard to understand...
Normal agricutural means- When they load and unload combines/hoppers is normal agricultural process ASLONG AS YOU DON"T DISTURB IT!(kick it, spread it, walk in it)
You can plant, mow, feed, stock do anything you want to do within the law ASLONG AS YOU DONT HUNT AROUND IT!!
and for you that are saying it's not ok......... You are saying that my daughter feeding our ducks at the pond that are mixed "migrate" and our personal is "BAITING"???????? AH, NO... Because we don't hunt the pond!!!!
But like someone stated earlier, contact the GW and ask.. Heck have them come and look at it.. they may no something better or be able to hook you up with a local biologist.... JUST MY $.7


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## waterspout (May 21, 2004)

Fishin-Inc said:


> Ever wonder how much is spent on duck food each year? I bet it's alot.
> I got hunt a baited pond one year. It was a old fallow field with lots of grass so the aircrafts could not see the yella. I worked. Shot early and left quickly. Only problem was the corn in the ducks throat. Kinda give away. Oh, I didn't know it was baited until we twisted a little neck.
> Then I was let in on the secret. Lotsa ants in flooded fields too.
> 
> Never hunted with Spout, but see notes above. I'm sure. J/K


LOL,, you need to bring my dang deer/hog feeder back and put back where it goes in the middle of the pond! :biggrin: :cheers:


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## deke (Oct 5, 2004)

lbm8156 said:


> I've heard people say that game wardens check hunting spots from the air, but Im a pilot and theres no way I would get a game warden below 200ft in an airplane just to look for grain in the water. Unless your in a helicopter hovering over an area theres no way there going to spot scattered grain from 200ft up, unless theres a bag floating.


You can see it. The birds can see it. The golden rainbow, the term comes from the way the corn looks in the water after you take a sack of corn and throw it side to side making a rainbow of corn. Remember the flats aren't deep and the water is usually very clear. I have seen flats that had the rainbow, and they drop in like they are on a rope. A certain big outfitter use to do this in the early 80's. We would watch pintails drop in get shot at and come back. Sometimes multiple times. It works.


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## Levelwind (Apr 15, 2005)

Yep. Shallow pond, clear water you can see it from pattern altitude. Easy. I've done it.


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