Introduction to Hunting American Coot

Diversify your gamebag with the following pointers for scouting, searching, and consuming a well-known little waterbird, the American coot.

I heard the jokes about water swatting American coots lengthy earlier than I grew to become a licensed hunter. However after I lastly took up waterfowl searching, I found that the humor surrounding coots was truly a well-placed sentry guarding a well-kept secret: American coot is scrumptious. 

Extensively unfold throughout the overwhelming majority of North America, American coots are one species that flies below the radar. Coots are a meaty little chicken which can be a pile of enjoyable to hunt, particularly if leap capturing geese is your factor. Coots maintain tight to aquatic cowl earlier than shortly flushing throughout the waters’ floor. 

The place I hunt, coots are pretty considerable from October by way of the primary week of December. They supply searching alternatives when the wind refuses so as to add movement to my duck decoy spreads. 

In the event you’re in search of one other species to chase when the duck searching is sluggish, listed here are a couple of ideas for focusing on American coot.

Finding Coot Searching Spots

Coots, like most different animals, don’t need to work for his or her meals any more durable than they should. Utilizing this information to your benefit may be so simple as discovering cattails, pencil reeds, or arrowheads close to aquatic vegetation. 

Locations the place protruding aquatic crops and enormous stands of cattails coincide are greatest for coot searching. Scout these areas from 100 yards away. In the event you see a small black chicken with a downward-facing invoice feeding close to the floating mats of vegetation, you’ve discovered coot habitat. 

Because the season progresses from mid-autumn into the late season, coots will proceed to make use of the identical feeding grounds (on condition that meals nonetheless stays). Nevertheless, extra birds will flock up in these locations. Rafts of coots numbering within the thirties or forties aren’t unusual to see because the season leans in the direction of winter.

Searching American Coots Over Decoys

Coots, for higher or for worse, are inclined to benefit from the firm of each other moderately than every other species of waterfowl. This tendency makes them notably prone to a couple coot decoys. (Sure, coot decoys are actual). 

Personally, I’ve by no means used greater than six decoys directly, principally as a result of that’s the most I’m prepared to put money into. Nevertheless, I can say with confidence {that a} minimalistic, six-decoy setup is a practical unfold. I’ve scouted coot spots, gone out within the morning with my meager unfold, and had much more coots present up than I ever anticipated. 

Decoying American coots is, to place it frankly, not troublesome. I’ve by no means discovered that having my little unfold in anybody sample proved extra productive for coots than one other. What has made a distinction, nonetheless, is the place I put them. Observe coots in nature and mimic their pure placements when setting your decoys.

Leap Capturing American Coots

Leap capturing coots is a really distinctive technique of searching. It’ll check your skills as a hunter and wing shooter. Earlier than you go about it, although, perceive that coots usually run throughout the water after they break from cowl. They’ll scramble in the direction of a distant disguise with out ever truly taking off—that’s proper, you’ll seemingly be water swatting birds. Due to this habits, it’s worthwhile to be 100% sure of shot path earlier than pulling the set off on a flushing coot. 

Leap Capturing From A Canoe

Leap capturing in a canoe may be notably efficient. In a canoe, you may maneuver into prime searching places whereas concurrently positioning the hunter seated on the bow into prime capturing angles. Moreover, when in comparison with wading, canoes provide you with higher entry to coot habitat. Many coot loafing and feeding grounds are in water over six ft deep.

With regards to leap capturing coots from a canoe, having a bucket, anchor, and cooler readily available will assist your efforts. Towing a bucket on a size of rope behind your canoe will sluggish your drift, permitting for higher capturing. Anchors assist you to cease at a hard and fast place, which is extraordinarily helpful for glassing. Anchors are additionally nice in the event you resolve to ditch the canoe and leap shoot on foot. Lastly, coots are principally black. This implies they soak up warmth shortly, even in cool temperatures. Having a chilly cooler will preserve hard-earned birds from spoiling within the afternoon solar. 

Leap Capturing On Foot

In my expertise, leap capturing coot on foot is a circumstantial prevalence. To leap shoot in waders, your coot spot should enable for quiet, cautious wading by way of mucky, weedy terrain. The place you hunt coots may be utterly completely different than the place I do, however for essentially the most half, my coot searching is finished from the confines of a canoe for that cause.

Be Conscious Of Coot Limits

When capturing coot, follow management. This can assist stop capturing greater than your restrict. Coots are inclined to scatter in tight teams when flushing, making it simple to by chance kill greater than you supposed. Decide and select when and when to not shoot. 

Cooking And Consuming Coot

Make no mistake, coots are each bit definitely worth the time it takes to place a couple of on the desk. When you’ve acquired American coots, get pleasure from them in one of the best ways doable. 

Coot meat is a darkish, wealthy purple shade that jogs my memory of wagyu beef. I have a tendency to avoid wasting my coot meat till I’ve sufficient to make a hearty gumbo, my private favourite method to eat coot. That stated, I additionally eat coot for breakfast. 

Soak the coot breasts in a purple wine, pat them dry, and calmly coat them with salt and pepper. Then, depart the breasts within the fridge in a single day. The next morning, sear them for 30 seconds in butter or duck fats in a forged iron skillet. Lastly, thinly slice the breasts and serve them with chutney. You’ll discover this breakfast to be delightfully flavorful.

If nothing else, the American coot offers a beautiful alternative for brand spanking new hunters to realize waterfowling expertise. Coot searching can be an opportunity to find a vastly underutilized wetland chicken that has loads extra to supply than backhanded jokes within the duck blind. Don’t cross on placing coots within the freezer; belief me, you’re lacking out on some enjoyable capturing and scrumptious desk fare. 

Learn Extra

Information to Searching Clapper Rails

How you can Hunt Snipe with Decoys

How you can Hunt Waterfowl from a Kayak

A Introduction to Leap Capturing Geese on Upland Hunts