Duck Plot Options

swat1018

5 year old buck +
I have never planted a duck plot, and need expert advise. I have access to an impoundment in NE Indiana that I can fill and drain. The main constraint is that I can only get most of it 1.5 - 2' deep at most, it's not perfectly level. I don't think it will be deep enough for corn. Do soybeans work for a duck plot? What else could I plant?
 
1.5 to 2 ft deep is plenty. You have plenty of options if you can get water off of it and back on it. Dwarf corn, sorghum/milo, millets, soybeans, etc. Soybeans will attract ducks, but the seeds sprout/rot fairly quickly. Millet can be planted on mudflats. The rest needs drier ground. You could even plant something like corn or sorghum and if it didnt look too great after a month or so, turn around and plant something with a shorter maturity date.
 
Plant corn. Corn is king for ducks. Only thing better is maybe rice and you’re not in the right geography for rice. As Swampcat said 1.5 to 2 ft of water I s fine. You don’t even need that much. 1 ft would be ok. Just plant regular corn. It doesn’t have to be dwarf. The ducks wil get to the ears. I’ve seen them fly up and nibble on ears of corn they were three feet above the water line. The corn will lodge in the water anyway. Nothing beats corn.
 
The area will be dry for the most part, except a ditch running through the center that's only a few feet wide, until I put the boards in. We are in the corn / soybean belt. I don't know squat about millet. I probably won't be able to flood it, until mid August, before teal. It will have to grow survive on our normal rains until then. Not sure if that changes anything.
 
I would plant corn first. If it doest make, you can plant japanese millet - sixty days to maturity - and it will grow with a foot or so of water on it in its later stages
 
NWTF is big on touting chufa for turkey. The problem is that there are so many other options that benefit deer as well as turkey and other wildlife that I find it hard to plant a single species crop like chufa. I'm not a wildfowl hunter so I throw this out for them to critique. I understand ducks like chufa. If you are flooding for ducks and then emptying, you might consider Chufa as part of your mix.

Thanks,

Jack
 
I belonged to a duck hunting club once that flooded canals in hunting season. They grew corn on the perimeter of all of the canals 10 yards wide and had open water of 25 yards wide in the canals. They had buried cement septic tanks on points in the canals. Water only flooded 1-2' deep in the corn but the ducks dropped into feed like crazy. Best ducking hunting experience I ever had.
 
You can plant corn and mix in some Japanese Millet within, around or in the center of the corn. Sorghum milo is another beneficial waterfowl crop.
1.5' to 2' deep water is perfect for dabbling ducks like Mallards, Gadwall, Widgeon, etc.
 
You can plant corn and mix in some Japanese Millet within, around or in the center of the corn. Sorghum milo is another beneficial waterfowl crop.
1.5' to 2' deep water is perfect for dabbling ducks like Mallards, Gadwall, Widgeon, etc.
One time in college I made a fried duck sandwich out of gadwall. 2 day marinade and everything. Took one bite and threw it in trash. Even the dogs wouldn't touch the stanky thing.

Stick to the green/blue wing, woodies and greenies. Most close to u will appreciate it.
 
One time in college I made a fried duck sandwich out of gadwall. 2 day marinade and everything. Took one bite and threw it in trash. Even the dogs wouldn't touch the stanky thing.

Stick to the green/blue wing, woodies and greenies. Most close to u will appreciate it.
I can make any dabbling duck taste good. Now divers....forget about it....
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I can make any dabbling duck taste good. Now divers....forget about it....
da39ef71bfcc131a6b0a50f8a37b96dc.jpg
You could wrap a shit sandwich in bacon and get anyone to try ot once...

Jk, would try the above for sure.
 
One time in college I made a fried duck sandwich out of gadwall. 2 day marinade and everything. Took one bite and threw it in trash. Even the dogs wouldn't touch the stanky thing.

Stick to the green/blue wing, woodies and greenies. Most close to u will appreciate it.

Maybe it was your marinade. :emoji_wink:
 
You could wrap a shit sandwich in bacon and get anyone to try ot once...

Jk, would try the above for sure.
Careful what you say. In the sewer world I'm in, i've had shit sandwiches... Not sure bacon would help much there.
 
Agree flooded standing corn is #1. Water does not have to be deep 1'-2' is fine, combine yourself a nice sized open hole for shooting and only shoot it a couple times a week so they don't start feeding at night on you. I myself wouldn't worry about teal early season let your corn get right and flood it when it counts.
 
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