Decoy spread/pattern

[Andrew8235]

Ok, heres the deal...my brother and i hunt a large open water lake near our house. we have hunted both from our boat (blinded in reeds) and from an actual blind on the lake. the issue we are having is not seeing ducks, but getting them in to land in our deeks. we are just frustrated and confused....are we setting them up incorrectly, calling to much or not enough? usually we set up about 30 decoy's in two "blob's" leaving a gap between the two groups hoping to lure them into the nice middle killing spot....so far it doesnt work so well. we can randmonly get some ducks to come in but usually they circle and land out 10-30 yards. SO any help or advice here would be AWESOME. thanks guys

[mallard79]

Match the hatch........look at what the live ducks do..... Are they in large groups or in 2s and 3s.... I have had som of my best days while using less than a dozen deeks somewhat randomly tossed out....and with that few deeks out they are usually nice and close for the shots......

[wraithen]

Large water is a pain for me. I would recommend using smaller groups of 2-3 dekes and kind of put them where you don't want birds to land. If there is an avenue they usually come in from I put a setup right where they will fly over that looks good. I usually try a vague J shape or a U. If you have any string showing from your dekes that can be an issue. I don't call unless the birds look like they're leaving. If you're just calling unresponsive ducks then stop. Sometimes they'll talk back, sometimes they won't. If they typically land outside your dekes then set them up 10-20 yards farther out. That will usually force them into flying right in where you want them. I tend to use decoys to keep birds away from an area rather than bring them to one. Sounds dumb but it works better for me that way.

[akirkland]

J pattern and half the amount of dekes.

[Tealer]

If your hunting a public place stay away from any sort of pattern. They will start to recognize them. Since most people use like 3 or 4 patterns the birds will shy away.

[h2ofowlr]

Place the decoys up wind of you in one group if your in the reeds and try the passing shot.  Maybe you are not as hidden as you think and they are avoiding the large object.  When the birds get that shy, I tend to load the marsh rats and aqua pods in the big boat and drop them off in an area and anchor the boat out aways from our location.

All in all there are many factors that can influence the birds, wind, location, calling, blind concealment, etc.  Some just go to a spot and throw out decoys and expect to shoot them.  Go to where you see the birds sitting and throw the decoys in that location if you have the set up.   

[preacherman]

Random, avoid patterns! Upwind for sure, and if you have an aquapod, really throw them for a loop, and layout on the big water side of your deeks. This works especially well later in the season. BTW NO HAIL CALLS! Most of the duck hunters in the skagit area REALLY OVER USE the hail call, and the ducks start shying away from hails. Content quiet quacks, talk to the ducks(deeks) in your spread, not the ones in the air.

[BiggLuke]

If you're on a "Big" pond or open water, consider all the elements.
Like wind, sun, depth, vegetation.
And rememeber, ducks see the same spot from WAY up in the air, try to imagine what they see.
For instance are your ducks right above a shallow spot next to a deep whole, or are they just feet away from a great shallow spot, or are they too close to something wierd?

It may be that you are in a bad spot on that very same water.
20-100 yards further up or down the beach could mean all the diffenence.
For instance, how is the wind on your spot?
(see example)

Because if you've ever seen a real flock of ducks on the water, then you would understand, how they love to stay out of the wind once they've landed.
So... if your spread is on the side of the lake with the ripples, the ducks will want to land on the other side.

or Move. Sometimes picking up and moving all of you decoys or your spot intirely is the best thing you can do. We've moved or adjusted or decoys several times on the same morning, don't just throw 'em out and expect the best.
Don't just set up in the same place every time either, just beacuse you've had success there before, doesn't mean that you allways will later.
Everyday duck hunting day is different from the last, and each day offers new challenges.

Pm me for more detailed advice. I got all the time in the world....
 

[Andrew8235]

lost of info to soak up!! thanks guys i will take all this into account this weekend wish me luck

[BiggLuke]

Good luck....     

[lokidog]

J pattern and half the amount of dekes.

Most "REALLY OVER USE the hail call" is very true.  Feeding chuckles work well.  I'll do them even when I'm not even seeeing birds because sometimes you just miss them.

they circle and land out 10-30 yards.

Sounds like they are landing where they are supposed to, or are you trying to hit them with sticks?   

I like using just a single QUACK as well as the chuckle.

[wraithen]

I agree the chuckle is very good. Don't do the crazy fast one that wins competitions though. The varying one seems to work better than anything else. Unfortunately my tongue won't work right. I've been practicing for over 6 months and can't even get the ticka part to work right without any voice.

There's a lot of subtle nuances that change between hail, plead, and welcome calls. I just avoid them. Don't call until you've mastered the art in your truck though. I've heard some crazy sounding duck calls lately. Don't get me wrong, my calls don't sound exactly like a duck and sometimes come out crazy, but overall I'm usually better than most of the guys that have hunted within earshot of me. With one exception but I'm sticking with the story that there was a mallard drake in that guys truck