I am a very novice duck hunter. I may have the opportunity to have access to some backwater lakes off of the Black Warrior River. I have no idea if it hold ducks or not. It seems like it should though. Looks like some standing timber and fairly shallow. Not 100% on that though. My question is what can I do, if anything, to improve the area or attract ducks to this area? Thanks in advance?

I don't believe that you can. They are gonna either be using it or not. I'd scout it and see if they are and if so hunt it. If not don't bother with it

Corn or have someone fly over drop load soybeans out of crop duster. Knew someone did that years ago. Needless to say they killed bunch of ducks.

Most call that baiting, not preparation.

Maybe I should of worded that different. Illegal for sure. Flooded timber he may have some roosting woodies and mallards if gets cold enough push some down. Hopefully he has found good spot they use. They either use it or not. Guess he could drain it and plant something if has money and depending on size of it.

no question, you can imprint ducks. But you'll need a lot of food, someway to get it there and won't be able to hunt it while 'baited.' In addition to that money required, it will take years (read generations of new hatches). I never say never, but it would likely be a spot you can't hunt hard either. Maybe a few good barrel warmers every season, but not being in a major flyway is gonna mean you can't burn it every day.

I know of a place where this exact thing occurred near the black warrior. They get 3-4 decent hunts a year. More pressure than that and the ducks are never there. Its big $$$$ and a lot of effort but as they always say, you gotta pay to play.

Ticka or someone else may know answer to this. I use to hunt a roost slough that would be covered up in mallards, woodducks every year. It was flooded timber with a bush about waist to head high that dropped little seeds. I have seen this bush several times since in sloughs and they usually hold ducks. Always wondered what name of that bush was ?

Smart weed, wild millet, sedge or a nut grass? Those are all I can think up.

Not those. This is more like big woody schrub

Buttonbush maybe I'm thinking but not sure it has seeds. Must be something else that was growing there they ate.

Go to guntersville one weekend. Load your boat full of grass. Drive to said lake and dump it in. Corn the crap out of it for about 3 years. Never hunt it during that time period. Do all that, and you will probably have some birds for 1-3 hunts a year afterwards.