Bumpers and pigeons are a great start , but a dog can and will act differently to a duck , especially a crippled duck. I train reguarly at Prado dog park. I always have dead ducks , and I try to shoot fliers for the pups ( live Mallards) once a month. If you want to introduce your pup to ducks PM me and we can arrange to meet up one morning.
If you're talking about Martinez Lake in AZ on the Colorado River that's part of the Imperial National Wildlife Area (not to be confused with California's Imperial Wildlife Area at the south end of the Salton Sea, which Wister is a part of). US Fish and Wildlife has an office there on Martinez Lake at 12812 Wildlife Refuge Rd, Yuma, AZ 85364, phone # 928-783-337. They could probably help you with where and if you can hunt there.
Now's the time to do some exploring/scouting...The river changes from year to year...The guys that are religious about hunting it can do quite well...It is not easy compared to Wister or San J.
ps...EASY is a relative term...
https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Imperial/maps.html Unlimited opportunity for someone with a small boat and initiative.
Also think gear you do not own and will not use for anything else because it is very specialized. A 21" boat will not do you much good there. I had the privelidge of a couple of trips with a veteran of the river in the early 90's and then spent a small fortune to get after it. It was fruitful but time consuming and expensive. I lived it every weekend for years which in my opinion is what it takes because you also need to learn the rhythm of the river, water flow and lack of water coupled with weather and timing of the migration.
