PARADIS, La. — When you're hunting a below-average season for the puddle ducks, what do you do? You hunt the divers. Grady Galliano of Hunt the Island in Paradis knows diving and what it takes to bag 'em.
"You got your canvasbacks, you got your redheads, you got your ringed necks, you got your greater and lesser scaups and you got your buffleheads," said Grady Galiano of Hunt the Island.
"You got your Goldeneyes, that's all part of the diving duck family. Once I locate where they are going to, I like to put a big spread for divers. The bigger the spread, they have the tendency to come into a bigger spread and you'll have some decoying shots."
How do you call differently for divers than puddle ducks?
"My grandpa taught me how to do a little... I get choked up about it cause I'm out here and I think about him. But it showed me this little call, its what a Dos Gris does and it's been working the last couple of weeks."
Diving ducks may not be pretty but they are challenging targets.
"Definitely for a diver they are a much faster flying duck. You need to lead them a little further than a puddle duck."
Just remember when you're hunting scaup - or as us Cajuns call 'em, Dos Gris - the limit is three per person per day.