Trying to figure out the best state to go hunt Divers. Canvasbacks, Goldeye, Bufflehead, ETC. I was thinking Wisonsin, Washington or Califonia. Any help with state and/or outfitter would be greatly appeciated.
Thank you
Michigan, Saginaw Bay east side has some diver duck shooting. Redheads early in the season. Google Saginaw Bay duck hunting guides. There used to be some outfits between Sebewaing and Bayport that rented stick blinds with decoys and boats. Large shallow bays amongst islands hold impressive numbers of birds at times. Ontario, east side of Lake St. Clair too. Michigan, upper peninsula St. Martins Bay but this is unsheltered water and you'll need a guide with a larger seaworthy tender boat. Fish Point and Nayaquing Point are Michigan DNR managed waterfowl hunting areas with vast expanses of flooded corn where we frequently see divers as well as puddle ducks and geese.
Probably a good area is Klamath around thanksgiving. Bring a good boat. Plan 10 days or so to learn the area.
Have not seen canvasback in WA in 20+ seasons. Otherwise a very good mix bag of divers/sea ducks.
Shot a good amount of canvasbacks on the Eastern flyway, mainly in VA, MD and NC.
Don't shoot many buffs or goldeneyes in MN these days, season often ends before what few show up migrate through. I shot a fair number of cans in MN but I did more duck hunting in MN than other places.
Divers have moved further west as the food sources have become lower. Often, migrating ducks just stop to rest and are gone in a couple of days. If you time it right you can do well but it is tough.
The best places to hunt divers in MN would probably be up around Lake of the Woods on either the MN or the Ontario sides. I used to know a resort owner in the Northwest Angle and we did very well on divers late in the year. Unfortunately, that was nearly 40 years ago and he is no longer with us.
Winnibigoshish (Big Winnie for those of us who can't spell it) is a significant staging area for what comes through the state. I don't know of any guides in either area but a call to local sports shops might get you a lead.
My best percentages on cans were North Dakota and Manitoba and is where I have placed my bets for the last couple of decades. I'll get to one or the other though mostly its field hunting geese and mallards. A buddy always brings his layout boat so I will do a water hunt with him at least once. Cans and redheads are common in that area but we are too early for most of the others.
As an oddity, two times I've been to Quill Lakes, Saskatchewan that I had the decoys buzzed by canvasbacks and redheads. These were goose decoys in a harvested pea field and not a water set up. We were several miles from any sizable body of water which made the incident stand out. The birds didn't loiter, they just came in like they were on a strafing run and kept going except those we shot. If not for the birds in hand we would have thought it a case of mass misidentification on our part.
Some divers here in MT. Have seen no Buffleheads. Have taken Canvasbacks, redheads, golden eyes. Will not shoot shelldrakes. MTG