Condn

If you're walking in, don't worry about any more than you can stuff into a decoy bag (or two depending on your ambition). Have a little variety in colors/positions/sizes and put them out where the ducks can see the spread. That sounds obvious but I've thrown em out, walked 100yds away, and realized I could only see a couple of the few dozen decoys. Be different than the other guys. Set up to shoot em going into the wind, you don't have to have it right at your back every time.

I think the old timers had it right with the solid flat black dekes. I'm not trading in my ghg's since I like to be able to sit there and say "well the decoys look good" while I watch the refuge ducks. But the black has to show up better than a spread that's half light brown hens. ...maybe a drake and blacks only spread in the future???

bullcan

I was on a guided hunt in Maine once. We were hunting a tidal river called the Passagassawakea...The goldeneyes were decoying like nothing I have ever witnessed. We were set up in a rock pile on a point that jutted out into the river. We had 6 GHG OS buffleheads on the upsteam side of the point and 6 GHG OS Goldeneyes on the downstream side of us. These decoy were equally spaced about 10 feet apart. The guide was meticulous about maintaining an equal distance between them. There was a landing hole about 10 yards wide right in front of the point. The guide placed a very well used carrylite hen goldeneye decoy in that hole. All the birds landed right on top of her. It was the best diver hunt that I have ever been on and we weren't using many dekes.

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Zach

I usually only have 8-10 dekes on the water and it seems to work well if the ducks are in the area. I use all mallards, but may vary my species some next season, to hone in on the small ducks.

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2011 Group Count:

Mallard: 6
BWT: 1
GWT: 0
Woody: 6
Gadwall: 1
Pintail: 0
Spoonbill: 0
Redhead: 2
Bufflehead: 2
Canadian Geese: 2



P.S. - Ron Paul 2012

drakeslayer23

Thanks for the info guys!!!!! I'm thinking some black duck dekes will negetting added to the spread maybe some cans or redheads

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"A duck call, as with a shotgun,
is only as good as the man behind it"

SNOTS

There are way to many variables to answer. What size and shape is the area, Marsh, Woods, field, flyway, water depth, wind direction, bird population, species hunting, am or pm, weather, ect, ect.

I bet I didn't hunt over the same spread maybe twice last year. If your not changing your not successful. We run rigs from 7 decoys to 20 dozen. Sometimes we run all geese while hunting mallards, spiners really depend on the size of the area and the weather. Decoy placement depends on size and shape of the area

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