Jerk String Feeder

[Colin]

Anyone using this? Looks pretty cool, thinking about trying to make my own version. Thoughts?

http://ureaduck.com/mallard-decoy-kicking-butt.html

[EWUeagles]

I bought one last year thinking it would be awesome but after a year of use I have mixed reviews. First off if you don't hunt a shallow water area that has a mucky bottom to use their anchor hold that comes with the decoy then don't buy it. It takes at least a 10 lb weight to keep it from pulling in. If you hunt a spot that you can use their anchor system it woks well. Next thing is the bill on mine is already chipping. I throw it in a slotted bag so I do take care of it. Next their customer service sucked. They said it would take a month to get the decoy took four. They also only responded to one out of the ten emails I sent and never picked up the phone. The pros are that it does make an awesome wake. I did feel like it looked great while in use. That being said I wish I would of just another jerk cord I prefer that over this one. If you have any questions feel free to ask or if your around Spokane your more than welcome to try it out.


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[Colin]

Thanks for the input. I tried to make a quick one the last week of the season and just chopped the keel off of an old decoy and attached a few o-bolts. Needless to say it didn't self right without the keel (I did add a 6 oz weight on the bottom, but I think that the flat bottom of the deke messed it up). I think I will just try to make one and keep myself busy for a few weeks. From their website it looks like a 2 month wait on all dekes so I totally believe the customer service is not great.

[L-ofalab]

This is what we use, it works well to add movement and lots of ripples and splashes. The jerk string goes down to an eyelet on the stake. When the stake is pushed into the pond mud so the decoy seems to be floating like a regular decoy it is the right height for the feeding mode.

[Colin]

That's an interesting solution! Does it make some good ripples? Are you just using it to add that little bit of motion from feeding to floating?

[L-ofalab]

Yes it makes ripples very good plus splashes, I often add a spreader group of 4 or 8 and a bungee cord so that each pull moves lots of decoys. I have to warn you about dogs and all the jerk cords, they can get tangled! I train my dog to handle around them.

I have made several decoys before they were well known. I made a goose decoy that flapped real goose wings about 25 years ago. Then I made a radio controlled duck decoy about 25 years ago. I was crushed when batteries became illegal. I had duck 2 swimmers that did circles, added a radio controlled goose, and several duck butts that had wiggle balls in them to add ripples to feeder spreads.

[Colin]

Did you spring load it in the floating position?

[L-ofalab]

No, it is a floating decoy with part of the keel cut away. When you push the stake into the water so the decoy is floating level, that is just right. You pull the string and it becomes the feeding position, when you let loose of the string it pops back up to the floating position by it self. The harder you pull the more splash. Do not pull it real hard when the ducks are close because it doesn't look right, you need to go someplace where there are feeding ducks so you can study and copy their action. When you do it right it looks just like a real duck.

[sakoshooter]

I've been using a jerk cord set-up for years. Not as fancy as the one you listed but it works great especially for educated birds when calling works against you. Mine is a butt p mallard with a drake and hen mallard. A 4lb weight on a long anchor cord and a real long jerk cord wrapped around a notched board. I even use it on calm days in early season. I'll leave a big gap for a landing zone in my spread and put the jerk cord set up right in the middle of the landing zone. I do this when there is no wind and late season.
You could easily make your own like the one in the link by just adding an eye bolt to the bottom of the bill on a reg decoy. The weight would need to be between the decoy and you for it to work correctly.