Waterfowl decoy spread

[Raghornklr]

I'm doing something similar, pack 2 doz decoys
12 mallard
9 widgeon
3 pintail drakes. It's been pretty versatile on small water and I can always pull a few to shrink it down if need be.

 

[CorbLand]

Appreciate all the information. Keep it coming. We will be prodominately walking or kayaking into locations.

Given this information, I would get half a dozen decoys and learn how to make it work with that. Decoys, plus rigging the weight and bulk adds up quicker than you would think.

Be where the ducks want to be and make sure they cant see you and you will kill ducks.

 

[Macintosh]

Very new duck hunter so take with a grain of salt.
I posted the same question here, maybe some of the responses will be helpful for you.

newbie duck hunter, give me advice on a super basic set of decoys

I am a total newb, been a few times with friends over the years, have gone a few times myself with varying success, but I am very green. I have decent access to public water in northern new england in some of the marshes along a big local lake, as well as some inland areas. Early season there...

rokslide.com

I got a dozen of the last pass mallards. They are on the small side, so a dozen in a bag easily bungees onto the bow of my 10’ sit-on-top kayak. Early, hunting some small potholes in the marsh, I just brought the hens and had teal, wood ducks and black ducks come into it several times. Our wood ducks and most of our teal have left for the season, so we’re hunting mallards and black ducks now on the bigger rivers where they dump into a very large lake. The real mallards Im seeing are in groups of 2-10ish mostly, but multiple groups are landing in one small area so it forms a bigger group on the water. We’ve been hunting with 2 dozen (2 guys each can carry a dozen pretty easy in a kayak) and had some minor success. Seems like a decent starting place, anyway, and its clear to me my weakness is being where the ducks want to be, combined with having a truly impeccable hide. Seems hard to do for a mobile, minimalistic hunter, but working on that mostly now.

 

[isItFallYet]

What motion decoys do you all recommend?

 

[Kurts86]

What motion decoys do you all recommend?

A jerk cord is a great low cost option.

All battery powered motion decoys are a pain at some point just know that going in. Flock a Flickers are pretty good as are the pulsator water pumping decoys. I recently used one of the kicking decoys and it was great on a still day.

At the end of the day they are all cheap electronics exposed to freezing water. They will throw wings, get water inside of electronics and have loose battery connections. They are an absolute love/hate relationship because sometimes they really help.

 

[isItFallYet]

A jerk cord is a great low cost option.

All battery powered motion decoys are a pain at some point just know that going in. Flock a Flickers are pretty good as are the pulsator water pumping decoys. I recently used one of the kicking decoys and it was great on a still day.

At the end of the day they are all cheap electronics exposed to freezing water. They will throw wings, get water inside of electronics and have loose battery connections. They are an absolute love/hate relationship because sometimes they really help.

Thanks. I’ve heard that The Real Decoy brand is good, but want to get a few other reviews before I pull the trigger because they are expensive.

 

[Strider]

@BearGuy

 

[Boar]

Black painted 2 liter bottles.

Are you serious

 

[Hnthrdr]

Are you serious

Yeah it’s old school/ cheapo haha

 

[houghton_hunter]

To sum it up:

- Match the ducks in your area. Type, amount, and how they spread.
- You may need to try two or three motion decoys...if any, to see what works in your water.
- Plastic bottles seem to be a winner.

My add: Scout, scout and scout, where are the ducks, what do they do, how do they talk (get some calls). When I lived in MN the best public waters guys I knew, didn't bother trying to decoy, too many folks, too many options, they just knew where the ducks would have to fly low to avoid an obstacle or would fly when spooked by other hunters, and they would crush em, chalk one up for scouting. Private land of course is a whole different game.

 

[OneGunTex]

Are you serious

I got a little fancy with mine and coated em in roofing tar and did a diver paint scheme. But for $15/doz helps you fill out a big water spread.

 

[Billy Goat]

Are you serious

Yes.


You think detail really maters for a bird overhead that is only seeing from one eye at a time, and the decoy is sitting in a giant reflecting pool?



This coming from someone who has some nice decoys, and way too many of them.


Decoys aren't that important. Give them something to look at, but it doesn't need to be much.

 

[KurtR]

In a field when you have late season honkers spinning and looking for multiple passes is where decoys really matter. On water I agree it really doesn’t as much especially divers they are not that tough

 

[Ron.C]

I think there is a pile of marketing/internet hype behind most hunting equipment, duck decoys are no exception.

For ducks (puddlers/dabblers), concealment and being where the birds want to be are more important than the number/type or lifelike quality of your decoys.

I normally hunt with 12 to 18 decoys (mix of mallard, wigeon, teal or pintail) depending on what birds I am seeing the most of. My decoys are not the latest uber lifelike decoys either. The paint on most have seen better days and the only time they are an issue is late season when water freezes on them and they shine.

 

[Shepardg]

we run anywhere from 10 doz to 30 doz silos for dry field duck and goose hunts. The ducks are always attracted to the big black goose spread mix in 2 lucky ducks you will kill them all day long. Shut them off when geese are working. For water hunts it just depends on how wild we want to get but can kill plenty of ducks over 2 doz decoys long as you have a good hide and are in the right place!

 

[Oregon]

Ducks are smart. They can count to 12 or 18, 24 etc.
Always put out an odd number of decoys. 21 is money.

 

[OneGunTex]

I honestly think durability and value matter as much as anything.

I love beautiful decoys. I put lots of detail into my repaints. I take care of my old corks.

But what a repainted Flambeau, a 50yr old cork, and a black coke bottle have in common is that they cost less than a brand new Avian X and will probably outlast them too

 

[FoggyScope]

I started with 6 mallards and a jerk string, then bought 6 more and 4 goose floaters then bought a spinner and some water pump decoys, then 12 more mallards. Shot mallards, goldeneyes, mergansers, teals, woodys and ring neck over them so far as well as a bunch of geese. When i walk in its a dozen mallards, 2 geese and my motions, and if im with a friend theyll bring the rest. Thats basically the max i can comfortably get in the refuge runner bag i have and walk a mile. Theyre heavier than you might think. Ive been looking at the dakota packable ones and the heyday foam ones to get more space or less weight. Over all as said being where the ducks want to be matters more than the decoys. Id say buy what you can afford as far as numbers, maybe start with a cheap dozen and a jerk string, get good at finding spots and hiding and then add as you can. Species definitely depends on the area and the birds you see. Mallards work many places and for many species. Where i am theres always geese where theres ducks so i added the geese.

Edit to add: Im in montana hunting small ponds then rivers after the freeze.

 

[Banded_spooney]

What motion decoys do you all recommend?

AvianX

 

[Rich M]

Where you hunting and what for.

We’ve set 1 or 2 one trip and 350 the next. Depends on what and where.

Small water us 3-7. Big water 60 is about where results start coming in.

Ripples in a spread are important.

Good luck.