Lakes.

The lakes are very different at its size, depth and character of the coast. Waterfowl in relation to these conditions is held on them unequally. In the quiet little backwater with young leaves, on the stretches, closed on the lake with thickets of bushes, reeds or rushes, willingly fly gray ducks, wigeon, and, especially, teal and mallards. Pintail prefer more open stretches. Along the shores of some large lakes, or on large areas of reeds you can find deaf, difficult of access “mirror” of lake. Such stretches are loved by many species of ducks, finding here a complete rest for the day. These will be the best places To gun- fire the blue duck, mallards and gray ducks. Found out from local residents, where there are stretches, the hunter should get to them in the canoe and see where game is mainly for the day. In a strong wind and wave in open water all the game goes to such stretches. And if there are dry humps near – it is a place for making skradok (tent or other shelter where the hunter waits for the appearance of an animal or bird) . If a dry spot will not appear, you can drive into the bush or in the thick reeds, mask the canoe by throughing the stuffed birds and setting down a decoy-duck.

Hunting with decoy ducks in the summer and autumn.

Since the second half of August duck flocks begin to fly “on bread”. In the morning they returned to their favorite nooks in the marshes and reeds. In the places, where ducks spend their day – time you will find deaf, tightly closed creeks which are full of feathers and down from molting ducks. For the hunt to be successful you should trace where the ducks flocks rise in the evening, and build skradok there; it is not difficult to do though there are a lot of green bushes. Before dawn you are to set down two or three decoy ducks and stuffed - ducks, painted in summer plumage of ducks. At such hunting it is good to have a small boat or inflatable rubber boats. Ducks will start appearing in the early morning twilight in August and seeing and hearing the cry of a stuffed decoy they will go to a river. The whole success of this hunt depends on how precisely defined the place of ducks` day- time. At this time you can successfully hunt on a lakes, where there are also duck flocks. You are to set down stuffed ducks and decoy - ducks choosing a shallow place somewhere at the end of the lake. A pair of young brides for this hunt is not worse than the old ducks, they are quack loudly, being tied. If the location is chosen well, be ready to shoot a lot. Skradok with open top is better than a closed hut. .

Later, when the noble ducks they crowd into flocks and become more stringent, they can haunt only with a help of decoy ducks and stuffed - ducks. The lakes thickly overgrown with reeds and cane at this year time. On the surface a lot of water lilies and lilies, to water bodies still dominates the summer landscape, but in the air frost feels especially at dawn. Ducks gather in large flocks during the day on open stretches. But at a dawn they are willing fly to the decoys.

Number of decoys and stuffed-ducks varies from 10 to 15. They should be settled in such a way that stuffed mallards, pintail and wigeon, scattered in disarray on the stretch it was located closer to skradok and stuffed diving birds situated individually, at a deeper and further place. Of course, the distance to the extreme stuffed birds should not exceed 25 - 30 m. This distance will serve for the hunter as a measure for determining the distance of settled decoy-ducks.

On this hunt advantageous to shoot flying ducks, especially in those moments when they make the circle before landing, and raiding over a hidden hunter.

Ducks flocks will be seen more often closer to the fall. At this time begins hunt for tufted duck. Since the diving ducks are kept in deep waters, and a tent should be built at the clean lakes themselves, not in the stretches overgrown with weeds.

As a skradok usually barrel is used dug into the earth, masked as a background area. decoy ducks should not be left at home: they may served well. As you know, mallard ducks sometimes delayed up to the frosts. Drakes at this time are completely molted, and the fat herd of beautiful drakes can fly up to the decoys and be added to hunter`s collection.

There is one more way of hunting with decoy ducks and stuffed birds.
In the field of flights of waterfowl from the places of day-time spending to feed and back (for mallards - grain fields and marshes for diving - some parts of a big lake) you should choose this open stretch of river, with a a good view of the passing fowl. Setting down stuffed birds (in the summer painting) and putting decoy birds on the stretches, you need to hide the canoe in cane. In an hour before sunrise waterfowl go for the places of day-time spending. Over stuffed birds (with a condition of incessant summons of decoy ducks) various species will decline or slow their flight. Shooting of flying game can be done in any direction. If you want to hit the bird which is going left, you need to sit in skradok, built on the right bank of river. If you want to shoot the right bird, you sit in skradok on the opposite shore. Top of skradok should be open.

You can shoot ducks, flying low on a bayonet. In this case, you need to sit down face-to-wildfowl. Bird, flying over stuffed birds, represents a good, fast-moving target. Shooting at a target more interesting, more original, but very hard.