Photo essay by Denver Bryan
Waterfowl hunter with black Lab.
Montana’s winter waterfowl season doesn’t truly arrive until the temperature drops well below zero…
…freezing up all the water in the state except for spring creeks and tailwaters. Although not for the faint of heart, if you can find open water this time of the year, chances are you’ll also find some amazing hunting.
Waterfowl hunter with black Lab setting decoys.
Mallard Ducks/Flock
Late season in Montana is mostly a mallard game.
These mallard drakes are big, tough birds that often weigh between three and four pounds. They’re happy to stay “up north” if they have access to food and open water. Toss a few decoys into a spring creek, find a place to hunker down (ideally in a blind with a heater), and try to stay warm while you wait for the birds to arrive. Given the liberal bag limit of seven mallard in the Pacific Flyway, the action often goes a long way toward staving off frostbitten toes.
Bagged ducks and waterfowl hunter calling birds.
Waterfowl hunter taking duck from black Lab.
There’s an intimacy about hunting these small spring creeks. Boots are more important than boats. Birds tend to decoy fairly close.
Black Labrador Retriever
Dogs do more running than swimming to retrieve ducks from the clear, shallow water.
Hunter-killed mallard ducks.
Extreme cold and hoarfrost also make for some interesting adornment on both hunters and dogs—think icicle beards and pearly coats. Throw in a sunrise illuminating snow-blanketed mountains in the distance, and you can’t help but step back and marvel at the beauty of it all.
MORE WATERFOWL FEATURES: