There are dozens of rivers in the U.P. that hunters can float for waterfowl. The best hunting along rivers will be during the early fall when wood ducks are abundant. Woodies typically migrate out with the first artic blasts, which in the U.P. typically occur during mid-October.

The U.P. has hundreds of miles of Great Lakes shorelines and bays that offer unique water fowling opportunities. By law, Great Lakes shorelines, to the high water mark, are open to public access. I annually hunt Lake Michigan and Lake Huron shorelines and have experienced phenomenal success when the conditions are right. I sometimes make a simple hide by piling up shoreline debris, but have also had good success using layout binds or a combination of both. Some areas I hunt are strewn with large boulders where I just sit against a big rock. I often use camo netting and native, dead grass for additional concealment. The key is to pick a shoreline where the wind is blowing offshore. Ducks and geese will be drawn to such shorelines in mass during a big blow. I like to set my decoys right along the shoreline so that half are in the water and half are on shore.

The U.P. offers some of the best diver duck hunting in the world. The main technique for hunting divers though is layout hunting on the open water. This involves a specialized, low profile boat paired with a larger tending boat. Large rafts of decoys are deployed from the tender boat, which also tows the layout boot into position. The layout boat is anchored and one or two hunters hunt from them. The tender waits in the distance and when signaled, comes to pick up dead birds and switch out hunters. It is a very cool way to hunt ducks and the method has a small, but strong following in the Great Lakes Region.

Popular U.P. Haunts
Rex Ainslie (906-293-5131) is an Eastern U.P. district biologist and a waterfowl specialist for the Michigan DNR. Ainslie says, "For good reason, the St. Mary's River system is the most popular water fowling destination in the U.P. That system encompasses a vast assortment of shorelines, marshes, bays and open waters that draws water fowlers from all over the country. Munuscong Bay and Potagannissing Bay are two of the most noted areas on the St. Mary's system. These bays are quite large. There are lots of resorts on those bays that cater to waterfowlers.

"Some other good traditional areas for consistent success are the Autrain Basin near Munising, Blind Sucker Creek flooding by Grand Marais and the Dollarville flooding located close to Newberry are all good bets. Big and Little Manistique Lakes have good numbers of waterfowl, but the lakes are quite large. There are dozens of smaller hotspots consisting of floodings, and marshes that are listed on a DeLorme Map Book. One of my favorites is the Cranberry Lake Impoundment. Most smaller spots will get some pressure on the opening weekend, but after that you'll likely have the spots all to yourself. St. Martins Bay and all the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan waters around St. Ignace have fantastic diver duck hunting. There are lots of farms in the Eastern U.P. and gaining permission to hunt fields for geese and ducks is often possible with nothing more than a cordial request. The best field locations will feature freshly harvested oats."

Western U.P. Hotspots
Rob Aho is a Michigan DNR Wildlife Biologist and also a native Yooper who specializes in water fowling in the western U.P. "One of the best areas for water fowl in my district is the Baraga Plains, Aho said. This large area has floodings, fields and food plots managed for waterfowl and other game. The area has a good population of resident giant Canada geese that gets regularly infused by transplants of nuisance geese transported there from southern Michigan. MVF geese also use the Baraga Plains heavily during their migrations. Last year the migration peaked around September 18. Another good spot is the Sturgeon River Sloughs State Wildlife Management Area, which has a mixture of fields, marshes, floodings and sloughs. Portage Lake and the Portage River near Hancock provide good duck and goose hunting. This area gets pounded pretty hard on the opener, but after that it's mostly ignored. It seems like more migrating birds move in later in the season too.

"Huron Bay has some awesome layout shooting for diving ducks and the best part is that very few hunters take advantage of it. It is legal to hunt just about anywhere on the Great Lakes as long as you are at least 450' away from buildings. Lake Gogebic is loaded with ducks, especially on the marshy, south end of the lake."