# Divers down big time



## Boatown (Nov 27, 2004)

Lake St. Clair has large rafts of divers near the firecracker to the big water on the canadian side. Good numbers have arrived in the las week or so on the north shore, They fly in just before dark and leave just after sun up, We shot 3 cans 4 bluebills a oldsquall and a redhead this morning near the At Strawberry Island


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## huntingmaniac45 (Nov 22, 2005)

Thanks for the info.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

Yeah tell everyone!:rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:


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## donbtanner (Sep 26, 2007)

Boatown said:


> Lake St. Clair has large rafts of divers near the firecracker to the big water on the canadian side. Good numbers have arrived in the las week or so on the north shore, They fly in just before dark and leave just after sun up, We shot 3 cans 4 bluebills a oldsquall and a redhead this morning near the At Strawberry Island


were you on the anchor bay side or in the marsh on the other side of the sni? I usually hunt in the marsh area between sni and fisher bay. Also, would it be a good setup off the middle channel point right on goose bay?


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

Great report Boatown. Great shooting as well. How are the birds lookin?


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## everlast1 (Nov 9, 2006)

We've had good numbers of divers on Erie for 2 weeks. Mostly rings and reds with more bills showing everytime out


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## Big Daddy Benelli (Dec 13, 2004)

PowerTrip said:


> Yeah tell everyone!:rant::rant::rant::rant::rant:


 
Nice:xzicon_sm:lol::corkysm55


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## DANIEL MARK ZAPOLSKI (Sep 23, 2002)

just got back from hubbard lake, got some reds and buffies plus the mallards and saw alot of divers on the move.


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## WoodchuckSniper (Feb 23, 2002)

In took a bluebill yesterday on Mott Lake in Genesee County. Dont see many of them there but I heard another guy say he got a couple as well.


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## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

Thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone is interested in either taking on a new guy for diver hunting or creating a diver crew. I am interested in hunting areas north of Saginaw and south of Gaylord and can hunt any weekend and usually a day or two during the week. To contribute, I have a dozen buffy, a dozen cans, and 4 dozen bluebills that I am in the process of carving. I also have the plans that I bought from Busick to build his layout boat. 
PM me if you else is interested in forming a crew or has room to take on a rookie? Either way, it will be the motivation I need to get the BB's carved and layout boat built if necessary.

BnD


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## stormwigeon (Oct 11, 2007)

bucknduck said:


> Thought I would throw this out there and see if anyone is interested in either taking on a new guy for diver hunting or creating a diver crew. I am interested in hunting areas north of Saginaw and south of Gaylord and can hunt any weekend and usually a day or two during the week. To contribute, I have a dozen buffy, a dozen cans, and 4 dozen bluebills that I am in the process of carving. I also have the plans that I bought from Busick to build his layout boat.
> PM me if you else is interested in forming a crew or has room to take on a rookie? Either way, it will be the motivation I need to get the BB's carved and layout boat built if necessary.
> 
> BnD


possible. I be hunting LSC near Strawberry Island in the near future
wait, thats south of where your looking


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## Boatown (Nov 27, 2004)

we were layout hunting out in front of strawberry about 1 1/2 miles just south of the B- Bouy we were in 10 fow, all the birds were on mission to go to canada but My number 6 shot dropped them in flight

Remember Layout hunting in not for the weak, you must know what your doing and count on your buddies to get to the layout rig and ready to go without falling into the water or getting caught up in your spread of 25 dozen decoys, in 4 footers and wind 20 -30 Mph, a true layout hunting day.


AS for letting everyone YES THE DIVERS ARE DOWN, for the next 2 weeks all the charters like lock stock and barrel, for example will be following the birds around the lake til they head to erie and ontario


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Boatown said:


> we were layout hunting out in front of strawberry about 1 1/2 miles just south of the B- Bouy we were in 10 fow, all the birds were on mission to go to canada but My number 6 shot dropped them in flight
> 
> Remember Layout hunting in not for the weak, you must know what your doing and count on your buddies to get to the layout rig and ready to go without falling into the water or getting caught up in your spread of 25 dozen decoys, in 4 footers and wind 20 -30 Mph, a true layout hunting day.
> 
> ...


i'm not denying that you had a good shoot bro, but divers aren't here yet. if you really think they are HERE, then your gonna be really surprised come november.


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## Water_Hazard (Aug 16, 2006)

Shot a pintail the last 3 hunts I've been on. Can't see the divers being here too heavy yet. Haven't seen any mergansers.


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## Shlwego (Sep 13, 2006)

The Scaup-tracker shows that they're beginning to move down. There's at least one bird with a radio collar on St. Clair as of Oct. 16th. Most of the birds are still in Canada, though.
http://www.bsc-eoc.org/research/lpww...rfscauptracker


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## ajmorell (Apr 27, 2007)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> i'm not denying that you had a good shoot bro, but divers aren't here yet. if you really think they are HERE, then your gonna be really surprised come november.


x2. What you are shooting now are the resident divers that were in the UP. Right now in the UP we don't have much of resident anything....must mean the migratory birds are on their way.


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

6 shot huh you shootin divers or grouse! Must like chasin!


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## Duck-Hunter (Mar 31, 2005)

hunted Erie yesterday. Saw some divers(locals). It will be a little bit until they move down.


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## donbtanner (Sep 26, 2007)

Water_Hazard said:


> Shot a pintail the last 3 hunts I've been on. Can't see the divers being here too heavy yet. Haven't seen any mergansers.


Killed Hooded ganzer last week, and two redheads @ Fisher Bay. Not saying they are way up north birds, just an FYI. I dont care if the heavy migration is here yet or not, just want to shoot some birds, and large rafts on LSC makes me . Now, being a dumb ******* from La. and new to hunting this area, I appreciate the info and have one question on divers behavior. Will they move to the marsh area of Harsens island periodically during the day, or are they more happy to stay in the big water and should I rig up for big water(probably wont happen this year) but my other option is to hunt goose bay which I could rig for this year but dont know if the divers even frequent this area. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


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## andy capp (Aug 14, 2002)

Most divers will hang out on the big water all day long.

I seen roughly 200 birds heading south the other night. Definatley divers.


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

2 of my buddies went SKI fishing yesterday and one the way home across the lake, they said they put up thousands of birds in open water.


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## everlast1 (Nov 9, 2006)

On Erie the diver migration peaks between Nov 20 and Dec 10. We have more birds down at this time of year than normal. Took 2 buck broadbill out of a group of about 30 a couple days ago. Not the typical lesser local bills that one would expect this time of year.  I look for the marshes to be locked up by thanksgiving this year  But the lake shooting to be awesome.


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## bucknduck (Nov 7, 2003)

wow, no responses yet? I thought there would be people around my area interested in getting into diver hunting that would want to form a crew, or an existing crew that had room for one more person. Did I limit myself to too small of an area? I really am a nice guy who is serious about my duck hunting, really!:evilsmile
Anyone have a successful experience with a do-it-yourself layout hunt? Sounds almost too dangerous, but thought I would ask anyways.

BnD


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## donbtanner (Sep 26, 2007)

andy capp said:


> Most divers will hang out on the big water all day long.
> 
> I seen roughly 200 birds heading south the other night. Definatley divers.


Thanks Andy, I guess i need to rig up for big water, my wife is gonna kill me! I told her "O don't worry I have all I need for duck huntin here." She's gonna want a new kitchen/bathroom/etc... when I give her the #'s to rig for this! Ouch!!!:SHOCKED:


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

There's a limit to how much is "enough" when it comes to duck hunting? :16suspect

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## donbtanner (Sep 26, 2007)

There may be, but I seem to always be "crossing that line"


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## Contender (May 18, 2004)

Do not recommend layout hunting alone.

Always have a crew. Unless you can walk to your layout from shore and back, you are asking for trouble.

Big water, big waves....need hunting pals. Be safe. No ducks worth that risk.


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## BITE_ME_TOO (May 21, 2003)

just heard from a buddy that was out hunting the LSC Gator's. He saw 3 decent rafts of ducks from the mouth of the Clinton River down to the Thames.

He had a rough ride back- and didn't catch anything, but saw some ducks none-the-less.

Jeff- BMT


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

Contender said:


> Do not recommend layout hunting alone.
> 
> Always have a crew. Unless you can walk to your layout from shore and back, you are asking for trouble.
> 
> Big water, big waves....need hunting pals. Be safe. No ducks worth that risk.



was it two years ago that guy died out there? hunting by himself in the channel, was it?


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## Reel Fishn (Feb 2, 2007)

Guy's you have to be very careful during your layout hunts, bigger tender the better and more guys the merrier. Lost a few buds back 10-13 yrs ago, be careful. It can also be the best shooting around, pick your days, know your boat and be willing to pull up at a moments notice. Good Luck to all.

We hunt the lower Saginaw Bay and do very well, the birds are not HERE yet, there are some birds but not the big rafts yet.

Mark


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## Contender (May 18, 2004)

Branta said:


> was it two years ago that guy died out there? hunting by himself in the channel, was it?


It was either last year or the year before on Anchor Bay, near Fair Haven. Very tragic deal, happened 1/4 mile in front of some houses, nothing people on shore could do. By time they realized he was in trouble, it was too late. Winds switched from N, to a hard 25+ from the SW, and the back wash took him down fast.

Hunter was an avid marsh hunter, who was tired of not getting draws, and fighting for points on the lake with other hunters. Told his family he was taking up layout hunting, to avoid the hassles. According to the news paper reports. 

To say he was a newbie layout hunter, would be an understatement. It was his very 1st trip, and he wasnt at all versed on Layout Boats (Kalash, LSB, Blankenburg, etc). Got a bad idea in his head, and used a kayak as a one man....

Very sad deal.


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## happyhooker2 (Nov 11, 2005)

everlast1 said:


> We've had good numbers of divers on Erie for 2 weeks. Mostly rings and reds with more bills showing everytime out


Saw quite a few divers before sunset last night out in Brest Bay. Lots of mallards too. Saw a few redheads hanging out in the creeks near the big lake.


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

Anyone do any good on LSC this past weekend?


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

shot 1 bb and saw very few salt river area


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

PowerTrip said:


> shot 1 bb and saw very few salt river area


I glassed the southern end of Anchor Bay this morning and saw two birds. That was it. Bay was glass. Taking a crew out Saturday. Hope the weather is what it says it's going to be. 15-20 winds, clouds and rain


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## unregistered55 (Mar 12, 2000)

I always do well the 3rd weekend for the last 6 years, we have hammered. Sat great wind just no birds didnt see any clouds way out either, suprisingly there were alot of boats on the lake, pleasure boats!


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

PowerTrip said:


> suprisingly there were alot of boats on the lake, pleasure boats!


That will change this week. Bottom is dropping out with the weather over the next week. Should really help the birds come down.


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## Duck Hunter Too (Feb 19, 2006)

...lots of reds, cans and bbills and ringnecks too...too bad that OldSquaw wasn't 10 yards closer??!! Both divers and puddle ducks just starting to show up around LSC...looks like it could be a hellofa season even though we had to wait til near Nov!


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## MakoWish (Apr 12, 2005)

Duck Hunter Too said:


> ...lots of reds, cans and bbills and ringnecks too...too bad that OldSquaw wasn't 10 yards closer??!! Both divers and puddle ducks just starting to show up around LSC...looks like it could be a hellofa season even though we had to wait til near Nov!


Good to hear!


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## Q2shooter (Feb 11, 2005)

We hunted the upper peninsula for the past 4 days and there are thousands upon thousands of BB rafted by the bridge (more then I have ever seen). We shot quite a few scoters, BB, and GE's over the weekend and even a bonus Oldsquaw. I can tell you this, the "big push" is coming soon!


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