Nothing beats a day spent duck hunting with your dog

What you need for Waterfowl in Utah

- posted by Rose Marion

Smith & Edwards is lucky to be right next door to Willard Bay, so we get to hear fishing reports from all types of anglers.

Even more than that, we’re just a couple miles from the Harold Crane Waterfowl Management Area, right behind Willard Bay, which is a great spot for ducks: you can bring a boat or even walk right in.

I got to head out an afternoon with Tyler from the Smith & Edwards gun counter, and his dog Roger, who’s a rambunctious ball of energy, still in training.

Duck hunting’s a popular sport among Smith & Edwards employees and friends. I wanted to see what it would take to get started!

Tyler’s Waterfowl Gear Picks

Here’s what Tyler recommends…

Waterfowl camo Smith & Edwards hat

Wear your Smith & Edwards hat for good luck!

Duck hunting camo: Most duck hunters choose Realtree Max-4, Max-5, or MossyOak Shadow Grass Blades patterns. Stay cozy: a good hoodie or jacket is going to keep you good & warm.

Tyler’s rockin’ the Smith & Edwards camo ball cap, too!

A shell belt will keep your ammunition close at hand!

Hunting Waders: The higher the number, the warmer! You can use ankle wraps to keep your jeans from sliding up when you put the waders on.

To take waders off, peel them down your legs!

Duck Calls: Our favorites here at the store are Zink, Primos, and Duck Commander. You can see a selection here, or come into the store and take a peek.

Get some paracord to make yourself a lanyard for your calls!

Shotgun & Shells: Don’t go cheap. You didn’t get all the way out here just to miss! You want a good knock-down Tyler likes the Estate, Hevi-Metal, Fasteel, and Winchester Blind Side shells.

This good-looking gun is a Browning A5 shotgun.

Decoys: Tyler likes the Tanglefree EZ Rig Decoy System, which has also been one of our top sellers this year! It’s such an easy system to use, and like you saw in the video, you can just hook the decoy lines to a carabiner and walk around placing or gathering the decoys.

Roger helping Tyler set up the decoys

The Tanglefree EZ Rig system is easy to manage and set up.

Decoy Gloves: We’ve carried Glacier Glove Decoy Gloves for years and they’re great: the neoprene keeps you warm and dry, they’re super flexible, and have grippy sharkskin-textured fingers & palms. These particular ones are Max-5 camo.

Blind Bag: We like Tanglefree and Wildfowler brands. Keep all your shells and gear together without having to worry.

Dog Supplies: We’ve sold out of the Tanglefree dog vests for the season, but we’ll have more coming for next year! We also carry the DT Dog Training systems here in the store, so if you’re looking to have a bird dog next season, you can start training him now.

Roger loves his duck toy, too!

Duck Hunting gear: shells, bind bag, and dog toy!

We’ve got decoy gloves, a blind bag, plenty of shells, and of course Roger’s squeaky duck toy!

Remember, you’ll need a duck stamp, too. When we were out filming we ran into a DNR agent. Be ready!

Had a good duck season? Send us your pictures to help (at) smithandedwards.com. We want to see ’em and add them to our Braggin’ Board.