Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl must haves for a duck boat

youre about to shove off. you look around and off you go. there you are in your blind and just then, you remember what you forgot.
no going back, here come the ducks!
what are those must have ooops, i forgot......... that should be in your boat?

License, shotgun, shells, and decoys. Anything else I can go without.

Life jackets

Thermos of coffee, rubber gloves, snacks, call necklace with a couple hundred bands on it to show my prowess.

For the boat a push pole. I use to never wear a life jacket but I’m getting smarter and wear one in the dark now. To many logs and obstructions in a river. The blind bag is different.

can an ore or paddle double for a push pole?

Too short in length

Change of clothes in a waterproof bag. Only used twice in decades but a wonderful, possibly lifesaving "must have".

i did say a john boat didnt i?
not 24' pleasure craft! lol!

Light bag, crushable clothes with the air squeezed out, is quite small. In my 10'6" mod v glass boat, no problem with 24 dekes etc hunting solo.

Wading waist deep in January, I stepped into a beaver/muskrat channel and went in over my head. By the time I'd changed my wool pants were frozen stiff. Picked up the rig and motored out. By the time I reached the truck my teeth were chattering uncontrollably. Don't know what it would have been like without dry clothes.

YMMV.

head lamp so i can see in the dark better

Head lamp, coffee, face mask and gloves, ammo specific to the gun you are carrying ( uh... yeah), a seat to keep you sitting comfortable out of the water/mud, calls, camo neoprene for the dog if it's extremely cold and she's swimming a lot.

I'm not hate'n on ducks too much so put a couple bikini clad babes on there to bring me more bourbon and pleasure me.

I would think of the plug in the drain hole first.
That one will only happen once.

Compass and GPS. Flashlight and headlamp. Marine VHF radio and flares if you are out on big water. Bailer. Seat cushion. Anchor and line. Boat hook. Duck ID guide.

You beat me to it. I just got my first boat about a month ago, and my first time out I made that mistake. Luckily I realized my mistake before leaving the dock, but I did have to pull my boat up on the trailer and sit in the parking lot for 10minutes to drain it out before trying again.

Yeah, I bet if your like me that will only happen once. 😉

your Lab!

your Lab!

I've never left him behind but I have forgot to put the plug in. Luckily it wasn't too far from the launch point.

I find a decoy hook pole about as handy as it gets. I hunt alone most of the time and it makes picking up decoys a snap. I guess you could put a duck bill on the handle end and have a 2in1.