When he sets up a spread, it covers a couple of acres. Most hunters think the ducks will land too far away to shoot, well out of gun range. However, he said it works for him.

"You won't get a shot at all if they don't see the decoys," he said. "Divers like big masses of ducks on the water. They've seen plenty of spreads on the way down from Canada or the West with only a dozen to five dozen decoys, so they aren't interested in them. While they get shot at over the smaller spreads, it's almost like they can't believe it can be unsafe to land where there are 50 dozen ducks floating on the water."

McAuly uses 1-pound weights to hold in the hydrilla beds when there's a big wind. He picks up the downed ducks with the skiff if his retriever can't get to them in the event a duck's been crippled and not killed outright.

"I lost both of my dogs to melamine pet food poisoning last season, along with a litter of pups," he said. "But I should have some replacements by this hunting season."

McAuly said the important things about hunting divers are using a heavy shot charge, calling sparingly, and staying still in the blind.

"I usually stay outside the blind on a rock and call from where I can see the ducks working," he said. "As long as I stay in the shadows and don't move around, divers think I'm part of the rock. But if a hunter starts moving around in the blind, showing his face and making the blind rock, the jig's up. The duck's will flare before getting near enough to shoot."

He advises all of his hunters to keep their faces hidden. If they wear face nets and don't move until ducks are in range, they will have some excellent shooting.

"Diving duck hunting is more dependent on the weather than puddle duck hunting," he said. "It needs to be blowing and it needs to be cold."

Cold fronts move the birds down from northern waters as well as freezing over smaller water bodies. There are oxbows, private ponds and beaver ponds all along the Roanoke River and ducks use these places until they freeze over.

"Some of my best hunting occurs after a freeze," he said. "I've had days after a freeze when everybody had their limit before 8:30 a.m."

Hunters after divers use an assortment of shotguns and ammunition, and shooting distances may be short or long. But either way, diving ducks are generally more difficult to bring down with authority than puddle ducks.

"It can take lots of time and ammunition to kill a crippled diving duck," he said. "It can be especially tough when he's landed out in a big hydrilla bed. You have to have a dog that knows how to get through the thick stuff and you have to have a tight-patterning gun to finish off any cripples. That's why I shoot a 10-gauge semi-automatic shotgun with heavy charges of No. 3 shot."

McAuly goes through several cases of ammunition each season. It saves him money using 10-gauge steel shot instead of a 12-gauge with one of the tungsten-based alloys.

"I certainly advise anyone shooting a 12 gauge to use the best ammunition they can afford," he said. "Some hunters and some 12-gauge shotguns will take divers cleanly. But you need to pattern your gun before going hunting to make sure the gun and load you use is tight enough for divers. You need a dense pattern because except for canvasbacks and greater scaup, they represent a fairly small lethal target area and require good penetration because they have lots of fat and feathers and can dive and swim so well. I wouldn't advise shooting anything smaller than No. 3 steel or a No. 4 or No. 5 tungsten-based shot. If you are shooting a 12 gauge, it pays to go with a 3- or 3 1/2-inch shell."

When selecting hunting areas, hunters should search for obvious signs of ducks. In fact, afternoon or late-morning hunts can be very productive if hunters pay attention.

While running across the lake, hunters can spot concentrations of diving ducks. If they set up their decoys and quickly set up a boat blind in the same spot, they will usually have good shooting. But the "quick" part is important.