While we do not use many decoys and frankly sometimes we don't even bother with decoys, it is a good idea to ensure that when you do use dekes, they are lifelike. Don't use battered decoys with worn paint. Take the time one evening to repaint the ones that need it. Vary your spread. You don't need many to entice the birds down, but be sure to have a hen or two in the mix and have them face various directions, too.

Showing movement in the spread is key to drawing in those wary resident birds. Tying a fishing line to two or three decoys and giving them a pull when the birds are inbound will help. There are products on the market, such as a quivering motor, which will send vibrations through your modified decoy creating ripples in the water around your spread. This makes it much more lifelike.

If you prefer not to carry a bag of decoys, you can simply carry one box with a flapping or motorized decoy and set it up between you and your partner. We almost always use just the flapping decoy on a pole. Wary birds may circle a few times, but they almost always come right on in when they realize something "duck-like" is moving below. The movement has also helped draw in geese as they pass.

Finding a place to improve your waterfowling this season is not that hard to do. It can be as easy as paying attention when you are out small-game hunting or deer hunting. Look into every swamp, beaver pond and marsh you come to. Even small creeks that have openings and pools are fair game for wood ducks. Check them all out when you are hunting other quarry.

Farm ponds hold birds and sometimes when we do get a cold snap it is the farm ponds with a warm spring that remain open enough to attract birds. Farmers may not be keen on a group of guys wanting to sneak around in the woods deer hunting, but they may not mind a few good friends doing a little duck shooting or goose shooting on the pond. Geese are very bad about eating up crops and messing the pond banks up, so they are often not welcome from a landowner's point of view.

Most military installations allow hunting and very few have any pressure on the beaver ponds. This is a very good option for those willing to explore and find a new area to hunt.

If you are unable to secure permission to hunt private lands where there are ponds or beaver swamps, consider using a kayak or canoe to explore the headwaters of our tidal creeks and tributaries. There are hundreds of miles of such waters and they are often only accessible to kayaks and canoes.

Most hunters want to be able to run their duck boat right to a blind and set up. Take the time to explore the backwaters and the headwaters of marshes well beyond where the last licensed duck blind is located. The shooting in such unexplored areas can be good all day long, as other hunters have pushed up and shot at birds on the main waters.

Use a good topo map or go online to www.maptech.com to find the tributary nearest your location. Then locate a spot to put your canoe in.

This season, give your waterfowl hunting a makeover and change up your approach. There are birds still here, even if they are not where we normally would look for them. Use a good retriever to ensure winged ducks or geese don't escape and be sure to take a youth out with you. Hunting backwaters is a perfect place to let that youngster cut his or her teeth on some fine wingshooting. Good shooting!