Duck Decoys

[salish]

Hello,

I'll be buying a dozen duck decoys at some point in the next week or two and I have a quick question. Most places I've looked at (Cabelas, Sportsmans Warehouse, Walmart, etc.) sell 12-packs of dekes but they're always in the same configuration of mallards (usually several drakes and a lesser number of hens) or, a dozen woodies, or dozen teal. I plan to hunt small bodies of water, ponds, etc., and I only want to use 12-14 decoys. I anticipate that most, if not all of my hunting will be in the basin. Given those logistics is it ok to use a dozen mallard decoys only, or should I buy a couple of mallards, a couple of coots, and some other species, just to mix it up? I want to keep it at about a dozen decoys. Or am I overthinking this and should I just go with the dozen mallard decoys that come in the same package?

Thank you,
Cliff

[rainshadow1]

I'm no expert compared to lots of the guys on here, but I've never had trouble shooting a mixed bag over a small spread of mallard decoys. Sometimes I'd just use a regular daypack and carry 3 or 4 when going to a little hole in the thick.

Keep an eye on yard sales and stuff later and you'll end up with a few teal, a few pintails, etc. Then you can mix it up!

[Stein]

Mallards will almost always be less expensive, even same brand and quality.  People shoot all kinds of ducks over mallard decoys.

I like to mix it up with other species if for no other reason than to be using something a bit different than most people.  I have also noticed some species like pintail seem to always land near pintail decoys.  From my experience, teal don't care, mallards don't care, pintail do, bufflehead do and I can't tell on wigeon.  It also depends if you are on the X or not, if it's where they want to be, they will bomb in decoys or not.  The less they want to be there the more important decoys and calling are in my opinion.

That said, the ones that have a preference still will get close enough for good shots, land very close but not in the spread or otherwise present themselves for a good shot.

[vandeman17]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Focus more on scouting, finding where the birds want to be and then hiding yourself. I have shot limits over no decoys or just 2-3. Another bit of advice is adding movement to your spread can be a huge benefit. Some spots I hunt I only pack in 6 decoys and 3 of those are on my jerk cord.

There are also "puddler pack" set ups that have multiple species if memory serves

[goody31]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Focus more on scouting, finding where the birds want to be and then hiding yourself. I have shot limits over no decoys or just 2-3. Another bit of advice is adding movement to your spread can be a huge benefit. Some spots I hunt I only pack in 6 decoys and 3 of those are on my jerk cord.

There are also "puddler pack" set ups that have multiple species if memory serves

What he said!  Find the "X" pr where they want to be and sometimes all you need is 6 decoys and you'll have limits.

As for Wigeon, i can tell you from my experiences, they don't care either, they'll just land a little further out in the Salt here where I hunt, or on top of your decoys, all in shooting range.

[Chesterdog]

 
I'll cast another vote for movement.  Ripples on the water seem to keep the ducks focus on the decoys and not your blind.  Jerk strings help. Wind spinners work in certain areas and certain situations. I hunted over a few winduk decoys last year and liked them. They spin in very little wind and are easy to pack in.  I usually only hunt over mallard decoys and shoot lots of teal, wigeon, and pin tail.  The teal decoys are quite small and might make for a good light pack-in setup.. I wonder if people shoot mallards over spreads of just teal or wigeon?

[vandeman17]

I'll cast another vote for movement.  Ripples on the water seem to keep the ducks focus on the decoys and not your blind.  Jerk strings help. Wind spinners work in certain areas and certain situations. I hunted over a few winduk decoys last year and liked them. They spin in very little wind and are easy to pack in.  I usually only hunt over mallard decoys and shoot lots of teal, wigeon, and pin tail.  The teal decoys are quite small and might make for a good light pack-in setup.. I wonder if people shoot mallards over spreads of just teal or wigeon?

I have thrown out just a half dozen teal decoys and had mallards in my spread. I don't think they care as long as their is safety and what they are looking for

[salish]

Wow, I can't tell you how grateful I am to receive so much advice so quickly. Thank you very much. I will take your advice to heart.

I had about 15-16 dekes that someone gave me 25 years ago, but most have disintegrated and/or been chewed up by various puppies over the years, and these are all that remain that can still float:

[Special T]

If it were me I would paint those old mallards up with some Snow white with Titaniam oxide for the white patches then by a 3-6 pack of widegon and or same with teal. Green head gear seems to make good bang for the buck decoys. I second a duck but or some other way to make your decoy ripple in the water

[CoryTDF]

Small spread you are going to want to find a way to be noticed. Movement is a must. If you can swing it try to get mostly drake decoys as they have more color and can been seen easier. I have hunted birds from Minnesota to the Pacific and I have had some great hunts with small spreads. You do need to make sure they see you though. Also, scouting, if you are in the place the birds want to go you could limit with 2 decoys. We call it being "On the X" and if you get there you almost can't go wrong with anything you try.   

[Special T]

Another thought is a decoy with a bunch of white like a couple of buffle heads or something tossed into the spread

[Stein]

Touch up the white on those decoys, particularly the tail and sides and they will be much more visible.  If it's a decent spot they would work if your on a budget.

[salish]

Ok, thank again guys. Yep, I am on a budget. I'll touch up these dekes and incorporate them into whatever dozen I buy. Appreciate it!

[Bill W]

Wow, I can't tell you how grateful I am to receive so much advice so quickly. Thank you very much. I will take your advice to heart.

I had about 15-16 dekes that someone gave me 25 years ago, but most have disintegrated and/or been chewed up by various puppies over the years, and these are all that remain that can still float:

I have an old batch of Flambeau's just like what's in your picture.  I'm 6 hours into the process of flocking 6 hens and 6 drakes.  I expect to be shooting over them on the opener.  Like Vandeman said there is a puddler pack of decoys.  If it was me I'd get the widgeon and gadwall ones and not buy the puddler pack that has the pintail in it.  I'd also get the bag with individual decoy pockets  to keep from scraping up the decoys.

[salish]

Thanks Bill W.

[wadu1]

Movement helps a lot. I make my own jerk cords and wind ducks no need to buy that stuff. Make; the jerk setup first by using a 12-16 oz fishing weight attaching 3-4’ of heavy elastic stretch cord then to standard decoy line attach large fishing swivels at 2-3’ intervals the first must be above the water depth. Then make a small loupe of line on each decoy for attaching them to the line. On small pounds I’ll run 6-8 decoys in a semicircle with the jerk cord in the middle. I use 3 decoys 2 regular and one duck butt. The wind duck making is another story for later.

[metlhead]

For visibility, toss in a single pinner drake. That will also entice any pintail that may come around. They really do like being with their own kind. With just those few blocks, you've got all you need for most basin ponds. I use only 4 on a tiny cattail pond on the rez. It's literally all that fit in the opening. I also set them about 4 feet away, and kick my legs in the knee deep water. It is where they want to be that matters.

[salish]

WaDU, Methead, thank you for your suggestions.

[vandeman17]

Hey Salish, I have a pile of decoys in my garage that don't get hunted much. If you are in the basin, I can meet up with you sometime and you can use a handful of them for the season if you want. They are all fully rigged up and ready to hunt over

[CoryTDF]

Hey Salish, I have a pile of decoys in my garage that don't get hunted much. If you are in the basin, I can meet up with you sometime and you can use a handful of them for the season if you want. They are all fully rigged up and ready to hunt over

What a cool offer!

[salish]

Vandeman, that's an incredible offer, thank you very much, but I think I'm just going to go ahead and buy a cheap set of a dozen mallards to go with what I already have. This is very generous if you, thank you!

[cjc23]

I've always been a big fan of trying to make my spread look different from everyone elses, for that reason on small water I like to run like a half dozen from a puddler pack like the GHG's or Tanglefrees and then half dozen mallards. that being said I've shot a ton of birds over just a dozen mallards still.

Another vote for motion though for sure! Motion makes a huge difference in your spread and bringing those birds in.

[Stein]

Wait for a big sale, you should be able to get a dozen for $30 or even $25.  If you're really tight on money, rig them onto a longline and use a small bag filled with rocks on each end for weight, something about the size of a tent stake bag or the mesh game bag carrier bag things work great.