Shoreline Techniques
By Judy Nugent
Many of us use decoys for turkeys, waterfowl, and even deer. The same logic that makes these decoys work can also work for doves. The key is: learning how to use them to your advantage. An often overlooked opportunity are the many streams and shore edges where doves find water and a safe place to loaf. While most hunters rush to wheat field stubble, you can have the stream banks or shoreline to yourself and with the help of decoys be very successful.
My favorite technique for stream banks is what I call the dove tepee. To make the tepee, find 3 or 4 dead branches that are around 10 feet tall. Brace these branches against on another in the shape of a tepee. Look for where on the branches you want to place your decoys, usually up and down around the tepee. Now that you know how the branches will go together, take the tepee apart. Attach the decoys to the branches being careful to attach them in natural poses. Now that the decoys are secure, reassemble the branches to make the tepee.
The next step is proper placement. Doves like to loaf in natural dead trees along the river’s edges and shorelines. Find a spot near the water where there isn’t existing dead timber. If there are natural trees, the doves won’t buy into your tepee set up. Once you find a good place for the tepee, find a place to sit. You should go 30 yards away from your set up, at a right angle to the expected line of flight. The doves will fly parallel to the river, so if you are a better shot swinging to the left, sit on the right side of your setup.
I recommend wearing camouflage and sitting in the shadow of a tree. This technique is similar to pass shooting ducks and you might want to consider using steel shot because you’ll be hunting over water. In some states the dove season overlaps with the goose season. Bring along a few steel #2 or BB loads for geese and double your hunting experience.
The doves will often come to the water after an afternoon of feeding. Find a good spot and relax. When you see the birds coming, aim for the slower moving birds and you’ll have a better chance of hitting it. But if you miss, don’t worry. More are on their way.
Some of the drawbacks of this approach are that stream edges can be marshy, brushy, or grassy. This might make it difficult to find a good place to set up the tepee. Also, this type of terrain requires a retrieving dog. Finding dead doves in tall grass will be all but impossible without one.
Also, this type of dove hunting is more solitary. In many areas of the country large groups of guys go out for the dove opener. They have loud music, barbecues going, and enjoy the sport as a group. The streamside technique doesn’t lend itself to a large crowd because of the brushy environment. This technique is for the lone wolves among us.
Another shoreline technique takes a page out of the duck hunter’s manual. I call this technique “robo dove.” These are the increasingly popular mechanical decoys. Motorized duck decoys seem to work on doves just as well as the dove models. These can work very well when set up on the edge of lakes and ponds. Quarry ponds work especially well because the gravel edges give the birds a clean place to land and pick up grit. When our Brittany first encountered the “robo dove”, he went on point!
Many of us hunt public lands and we don’t always have wheat stubble fields at our disposal. It is a good idea to experiment with different techniques and environments. Local stream edges are often overlooked by dove hunters, yet they can provide good hunting. The next time you are out, take a second look at your local stream. You might just see a good dove spot.