Decoys

[kglacken]

I know there is only a week left but im curious for next year if I should get different species of decoys? I only have mallard decoys and have not been seeing many mallards where I am hunting. Does the species really matter? I would think so 

[duckmen1]

It can make a difference
What kind of ducks are you seeing

[crow killer]

It can make a difference
What kind of ducks are you seeing

by whatever ducks you see alot

[kglacken]

widgeon and a couple red heads and all kinds of other ducks. Honestly, I think I saw mallards fly by one time and they werent interested in the decoys

[crow killer]

widgeon and a couple red heads and all kinds of other ducks. Honestly, I think I saw mallards fly by one time and they werent interested in the decoys

By more wigeon 

[BiggLuke]

You don't need any other species.
That's all crap.
Realistically....  think of this way:
What duck call do you use? hmm... A hen Mallard call?
Then you should have Mallard decoys.
Mallards being the main species in the wild, and being large ducks, all other species of Puddle ducks will decoy to them naturally. Smaller ducks will flock with mallards for protection. Even weirdo ducks like Mergansers will decoy to Mallard Dekes simply because they look like duck shapes from the air.

The only time you would even consider using NON-Mallard decoys would be in a hunt specific location.
I.E. a diver hunt on Puget Sonud like for Golden Eyes you would want Black and white decoys, or if you use a Wigeon Call a lot (like I do) It's nice having a couple (2-6) of those dekes out at the edge of the spread.

But all in all, the decoys don't dictate what flys into range for you.
For instance, if you only use 12 Pintail decoys, you won't just shoot Pintails.
Also take into account the Migration of certain Duck species.
For instance I wouldn't use any Teal decoys this time of year, because it would look unnatural, as they have pretty much all migrated out a long while ago.

Hope this all made sense.

[Ned]

You don't need any other species.
That's all crap.
Realistically....  think of this way:
What duck call do you use? hmm... A hen Mallard call?
Then you should have Mallard decoys.
Mallards being the main species in the wild, and being large ducks, all other species of Puddle ducks will decoy to them naturally. Smaller ducks will flock with mallards for protection. Even weirdo ducks like Mergansers will decoy to Mallard Dekes simply because they look like duck shapes from the air.

The only time you would even consider using NON-Mallard decoys would be in a hunt specific location.
I.E. a diver hunt on Puget Sonud like for Golden Eyes you would want Black and white decoys, or if you use a Wigeon Call a lot (like I do) It's nice having a couple (2-6) of those dekes out at the edge of the spread.

But all in all, the decoys don't dictate what flys into range for you.
For instance, if you only use 12 Pintail decoys, you won't just shoot Pintails.
Also take into account the Migration of certain Duck species.
For instance I wouldn't use any Teal decoys this time of year, because it would look unnatural, as they have pretty much all migrated out a long while ago.

Hope this all made sense.

WOW.
All I can say is wow.

Please dont believe this info and buying other species of decoys will only increase you success in the long run.

TONS of teal left here and they bomb into teal decoys better than into mallard decoys...........FACT.

Wigeon decoy better to wigeon decoys especially in sheet water fields where most ducks there are wigeon.

Small ducks flock with mallards for protection..................WHAT??
How do the mallards protect them, come on.

Pintail decoy better to pintail decoys than to mallards...............Fact


Put a spread of 2-3 doz mallards out with a doz pintail off on thier own, a doz or so teal on there own and some wigeon off on thier own.
Now get back a few hundres yards and watch for a few hrs.
You will learn more about ducks and duck behavior than you will in years of reading some of the info guys post here.

[duckmen1]

I know Ned did not agree with you but wow. Every day birds work differently. I had birds not decoy to mallards on one day and switch to widgeon and diver decoys the next set up in the same spot with the decoys set up,the same. We limited on 12 widgeon and two bluebill drakes that day. The next trip did the same again mallards wigeon and bluebill along with a few bonus shovelers which are my favorite. Everyone spots are different and there are so many variables that can change things that there is no correct answer. Do what works for you. For me it's changing the species of decoys. And I do agree that any duck will decoy to mallards but adding different decoys to match what's in the area will increase success.

[EWUeagles]

You don't need any other species.
That's all crap.
Realistically....  think of this way:
What duck call do you use? hmm... A hen Mallard call?
Then you should have Mallard decoys.
Mallards being the main species in the wild, and being large ducks, all other species of Puddle ducks will decoy to them naturally. Smaller ducks will flock with mallards for protection. Even weirdo ducks like Mergansers will decoy to Mallard Dekes simply because they look like duck shapes from the air.

The only time you would even consider using NON-Mallard decoys would be in a hunt specific location.
I.E. a diver hunt on Puget Sonud like for Golden Eyes you would want Black and white decoys, or if you use a Wigeon Call a lot (like I do) It's nice having a couple (2-6) of those dekes out at the edge of the spread.

But all in all, the decoys don't dictate what flys into range for you.
For instance, if you only use 12 Pintail decoys, you won't just shoot Pintails.
Also take into account the Migration of certain Duck species.
For instance I wouldn't use any Teal decoys this time of year, because it would look unnatural, as they have pretty much all migrated out a long while ago.

Hope this all made sense.

So this oringally started off by kglacken saying he doesn't see mallards but sees a ton of wigeon and redheads. I assume he has shot both these ducks over his mallard only spread. To me his question was would getting some wigeon or redhead decoys help improve his hunting. The answer is simple absolutely. Aren't we trying to put out a spread that looks the most natural? Is throwing out 3 dozen mallards in an area where there are no mallards natural? I hunted this last weekend with 4 dozen divers, 1.5 dozen wigeon. Why? Because going into the day I knew that there were very few mallards in the area. I do agree that if you throw out pintails you won't shoot pintails if there aren't any there, but I do feel you should try to match what you see in your area. If you see wigeon and redheads and that is what you shoot then get some of those decoys and throw them out. just my 

[LeftCoastLoren]

 
When it comes to the decoys it seems painfully obvious that Kglacken's setup could be lacking the right species. EWUeagles was getting at the same point:  If there aren't any mallards around, then it would seem to me that the birds might see an all mallard setup as unnatural. 

[BiggLuke]

We should ban you for giving out rediculous information.
so what.... somebody calls you a name, and you instantly start yelling "Teacher, Teacher! He called me a name!"

whatever.

[cue772]

Yeah... jerk response, however I wouldn't exactly ban him for that.

I have had non mallard species land to my mallard decoys... when there were no mallards all day. You can use mallards 99% of the time, and really... you would have to simply guess at a day they didn't work.

That being said.. I believe variety can be beneficial, and I'm not talking about dozens. 4-6 pintail deeks thrown off to the side of my spread has attracted pintails. I have had similar success with other species as well.. .mix some divers in there away from your spread and you might have found the magic formula for the day.

On smaller water.. late season... I had a huge day pulling in a dozen mallards and left only a couple pintails and a gadwall. No mallards. Bottom line is.. I don't think you need to go out an buy a dozen non mallard decoys to expect huge success. Gradually add some here or there and pay attention to what you are seeing. It can only help you make more educated decisions about your spread.

[gaddy]

HOLLY CRAP FELLAS !!. your talking about deke sets. while i dont know where you guys hunt i have to say that in all my years hunting the river iv'e spent countless days watching all mannor of birds drop into rafts of coots & bypass everything iv'set out. how about setting up for coots? never know what will drop by & i hear coots make good chilli.

[Ned]

HOLLY CRAP FELLAS !!. your talking about deke sets. while i dont know where you guys hunt i have to say that in all my years hunting the river iv'e spent countless days watching all mannor of birds drop into rafts of coots & bypass everything iv'set out. how about setting up for coots? never know what will drop by & i hear coots make good chilli.

Spots I hunt for divers and wigeon I do use coots.
Somedays a rig of 3-4 doz coot decoys with 6-8 wigeon, scaup or cans mixed in will out decoys every other rig within miles.

[Bob33]

BiggLuke: your thread and the quotes of it have been removed.

These apply to everyone:

1. Name calling is not acceptable on this forum.
2. Keep the talk about hunting related topics.