AOJ's Successful Alaska Waterfowling

How Low Can You Go?
The Art of Concealment for the Successful Alaskan Waterfowler

The Challenge

Alaska's tidal wetlands and marshes present some very challenging hunting conditions for the waterfowler. A great deal of the vegetative cover found in this ecosystem is comprised of salt-tolerant marsh grasses of varying types. But few of these species grow more than a foot or two tall and the closer to tidewater you get, the shorter and sparser the vegetation. Compounding this is the fact that some of the best duck and especially goose hunting will occur in the most barren regions of the flats just inland of the high tide line.
Typical coastal wetlands found in Alaska have very sparse vegetation. Concealment is the hunter's worst nightmare and permanent blinds
stand out like a sore thumb. Look carefully and you'll see my hide.

Undoubtedly every waterfowler would prefer to hunt from a hide that provides some of the basic creature comforts such as a place to sit and protection from the elements. But on Alaska's marshes, building blinds large enough to provide these amenities, especially for two hunters, results in very conspicuous and unnatural objects. Anything more than a foot tall and comprised of building materials not normally found on the flats is a red flag for any duck or goose who has been shot at once from such a structure.

Many blind builders will cut large amounts of willow or alder and haul it out to their blind location. With the soft ground its easy to poke the sticks in the mud and make a blind. However, since willow and alder are not salt-tolerant, you won't find this natural cover on the marshes. So the resulting blind looks as natural as a willow bush in the middle of a football field. And a week later, all the leaves have dropped off the branches and you are left with an unsightly pile of sticks that does little to hide the hunters for the rest of the season.

My most successful hunting relies on being mobile, versatile....and invisible. Scouting the flats prior to going out hunting can provide a wealth of information leading to some great hunts. But quite often I find that my reconnaissance for the flight patterns of birds does not correspond to locations where suitable blinds can be effectively built. And over time I have found that positioning oneself where the birds want to be is much more rewarding than being confined to a specific location for the convenience of having a pond to float your deeks and trying to change a bird's mind.

NEXT PAGE.....Laydown Hunting Equipment

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