RefugeRat.com

Refugerat.com welcomes Phil Lewer from Idaho.

Though this upcoming season will only be Phil’s fifth hunting season, he was fortunate to get a good taste of waterfowling by a very skilled mentor who also happens to be a world renowned decoy carver; Don Mintz.

And that mentoring has paid off well.

He has hunted refuges since his very first duck hunt on the Deerflat National Wildlife Refuge at Lake Lowell. A true Rat.

Phil shares his opinions and thoughts below about hunting public lands and what has worked for him.

Give a big Rat welcome to Phil.

First Drake Mallard and Hooked

The first waterfowl I ever shot was a mallard drake. He must have been about a half a yard away when I shot him. I jump shot him after almost running into him. I was immediately hooked and I begged to be taken again.

I don't know why I kept hunting though. That first season I kept coming home cold, wet and discouraged, but I felt that if I kept at it, I would get the chance to partake in a quality hunt.

Little did I know what I was getting into…

Refuge Hunting is Rewarding

My favorite part of hunting is being able to fool the ducks so well that they are absolutely convinced your decoys are a safe place to land and they come back-pedaling in. I take pride in finding a good spot through scouting and trying innovative techniques with my calling, decoy use, decoy placement, concealment and anything else that the ducks may have never seen before. It is much more rewarding when everything works out great and the birds begin to pile in after a hard morning's work. I just don't get the same feeling hunting private land where the birds are 100% set on coming in.

Public Refuge Strategies

I use techniques that will mimic live birds in different ways than any other hunters may have not tried. Using different home-made motion systems, decoy species that are not commonly used and just trying new things is all part of taking a risk that can often be rewarding. I stress heavy pre-season scouting as well as in-season scouting. It is important to track seasonal behavior of waterfowl and mimic live birds in set-ups to stay on top of the game.

The style in which I hunt greatly depends on the time of the season.  I try to remain flexible according to weather conditions, observed and predicted bird behavior. I often seek places that large boats cannot access on small rivers and refuges and look in areas that others would never even think of. Puddle ducks are my primary species of choice but I like to hunt divers in the late season when they get thick.

Thanksgiving Day Mallard Bonanza

The famous, Traditional Thanksgiving Day Hunt started like any other Thanksgiving Hunt. The previous Thanksgiving Hunts left us with little to be thankful for. It was a curse. I had scouted the small slough before the season but had not hunted it before.

I was joined by my older brother, Aaron, and two close friends, David and Matt. I was just hoping that I wouldn't disappoint anyone with my new spot. For some reason, I felt like I took a good gamble. It was close to home, where we had to return early for Thanksgiving festivities.

The walk in was miserable. I was blind, leading the blind. By the Grace of God, I just happened upon the spot fifteen minutes before shooting light. The visibility was limited to 20-30 feet. As shooting light approached, we figured we might get a stray drake to drop low enough and take a look at our decoys.

Something magical happened that day that changed my entire view of duck hunting. I learned that normal guys can be highly successful on public land. Mallard after mallard dropped in feet down over the decoys, backpedalling ten to fifteen feet out. It was easily the most memorable hunt of my lifetime. We could not reload fast enough for the next flock to come in. It was always one or two people shooting while the others were reloading.

Of course, as each bird fell, we grew closer and closer to our time limit when we would have to pick up. In a 45 minute hunt, the four of us shot 21 birds. Of the 21 birds, we took nineteen mallards, one teal, and one hen pintail. They would not stop coming in even as we packed up and headed out.

The most important thing I learned that day was that public land can be productive and provides many great hunting opportunities for those who are willing to invest a little time and hard work. That day got me addicted to waterfowl hunting and a new view on hunting public land that I will never forget.

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