We literally started duck hunting this past season when my daughter showed interest. To date, we have 2 decoys, lol. Someone gave us 2 unpainted ones. So she painted them. She got drawn for a youth hunt on a WMA. She dusted the feathers on 2. It was a great day, and we learned a LOT that day. 1. We need a few more decoys. 2. We need waders. 3. We need a portable blind. 4. We need a different choke. I can see this getting very addictive....and very costly! lol. Keep up the good videos!
Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to the day I can introduce my daughter to duck hunting. You're right it's very addictive and can be very costly. You can get by with less equipment than you think, as long as you get to where the birds are.
you can do well with just a couple mallard drakes and one hen and a jerk chord rig. it keeps you more mobile too if you set up in the wrong spot and see them landing elsewhere you can pick up easy and move.
For me hunting in Northern California in the Sacramento Valley Flooded rice: 25 dozen ducks Timber: 3 dozen mallards Everyday hunting: 4 dozen ducks Public land: 2 dozen ducks * utilizing lots and lots of motion decoys such as jerk rigs, wave makers, etc...
we mostly hunt wood ducks in the river and creeks here in southeastern NC. we use to put out a dozen decoys but have found we have better luck with just 4-6 decoys and maybe a spinner every once in a while.
I hunt the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Usually hunt with a couple dozen mallard decoys, mallard wind mojo, a few pintail dekes, about ten woodies, and maybe throw out several diver (redhead/goldeneye) floaters into the deeper sections of the floodings/rivers I hunt. Its a decent size spread and when paired with good wind for the mojo and a couple jerk strings, it has a fair bit of motion. Everything fits in my 12ft Jon (Merc 9.9) inside the blind with enough room for two hunters and a dog. Hunting in the U.P. is cold so the buddy heater in the boat blind is crucial. Really liking the channel. Much love.
Great information. Couldn’t agree more with most everything you say after 40+ years of waterfowl hunting. We use to put out huge spreads on water. Usually was counterproductive. I feel good natural movement is the key to water and field hunting on both geese and ducks. I’ve bought all kinds of high end decoys. I now concentrate more on good movement in my decoys. In fact when hunting mallards in the field don’t waste your $ decoys. It’s all about the mojos in my opinion. Put 2-4 mojos and a dozen goose or duck decoys anywhere near where they want be and have a good hide you should be golden. Again you’re giving out some great advice. Wish I had someone like you 40 years ago telling me this stuff would have saved me a lot of headaches.
100% the way to do it. I do the same. We had 8 guys limit one morning on 3 gadwalls and 3 pintails on 2 jerk lines after a few weeks of not being able to draw anything in with a few dozen decoys. I learned that by the time they get down south, they are leery of big spreads, spinning wing decoys and mallard calls.
Here in the U.P. First week or 2: 6 woodie decoys, 6-12 Mallard decoys (4 on a jerk, 2 butt up feeders), 4 Canada goose floaters & a spinner. After the wood ducks leave til freeze up: 18-24 mallards (same jerk & feeders), 6-12 divers (ringnecks & buffleheads), same 4 goose floaters and a spinner. I always set up in family/ flight groups in a rough "U" shape with the geese upwind (or on one corner if facing downwind) and in the most visible area and divers / woodies on the downwind edge (or other corner) grouped up. I use the geese as confidence/ attractors plus we can sometimes pull small groups of geese in. I put the jerk between the hole and geese with the two feeders and 2 more singles to look like a small group of mallards actively feeding. Spinner in the "hole" with a hen mallard decoy in front a few feet to look like a just landing pair. Between the blind and the hole and working downwind(or toward diver/woodie corner) I set up the rest of the mallards in 2's and 3's. I never put a decoy farther than 20-25yds from the blind with the geese being the farthest. This seems to be my best setup and can be tweaked during the hunt easily.
@@SurvivingDuckSeason mostly man made floodings and impoundments which are just rivers backed up enough to flood out its banks into marshy areas year round. You need a shallow running boat or kayak to access most, if not all of the areas. A lot of times you are hunting the edge or in the river channel itself so long 6' Texas rigs are the ticket along with an 8-10' spinner pole. It terms of visibility things are tight like a normal smaller river hunt so things happen quick. You either get the ducks to circle once and commit or they're out of there. Do hit some beaver ponds when they are holding ducks and available.
18 decoys if the location is a short walk. Fewer decoys for a long walk in. So many times, it becomes necessary to move to a spot that the ducks like better, and having a small number of decoys means a hunter is more likely to pick up and move, sometimes just 80 yards makes a huge difference. I agree LOCATION is #1, timing of day also, and crosswinds are best. Keep the great tips coming !
I agree with the wind in the back. Most of our hunting is ponds. Here we have normally a north or south wind we generally try to sit on the east bank if possible to keep the sun at our back. put deeks to the side where the pass in front on the landing.
I have hunted over one dozen to 12 dozen. over the years. we have tried different lay outs. some worked great with a whole in the middle. I like what I have seen on your lay out and will be trying it out this year in the north west. I will let you know how they work.
Excellent! Like you I like to sit cross-wind so the ducks are not looking in my direction when they are landing into the wind and the decoys. I live and hunt in interior Alaska. When I start I put out a smaller spread, ready to move to where the ducks really want to go...by moving to the X (where the ducks want to land), decoying is much easier. Our season opens Sept 1. so "brown ducks". I paint about half my decoys flat black which helps with visibility. I love your tip for ducks that are landing way outside the decoys!
Depends on location. Usually it is 15-18 decoys, 1 or 2 mojo's and jerk cord set up. Shape is almost like a shake figure 8. I try to keep it minimal as possible and always bring at least one coot decoy. Tough local waterfowl hunting in AZ.
Hunting the N California refuges we make our set up different from most everyone else. We use green wing teal for numbers and add in a few widgeon, mallards and pintail. My light set up is 50-60 decoys and our large set up is closer to 300. We really command the ducks when we go big! It pisses those guys off with 2-3 dozen decoys.
Hey bubba, could you do a video of you going out a setting decoys and hunting. Everything while getting decoys ready and getting in the blind to hunt. That would be AWESOME!!!! You the man - Ben
Most of the ducks I've killed in my life have been over 2-3 dozen mallard decoys or less. We hunted a small river most of the time, so it was rare to see more than that sitting in one place naturally. If the river flooded out into the field, we might go up to 4 dozen, but that's about all we owned that were in usable condition. It worked for us!!!
15 dozen I have every species in my fly way but vary my mix decoy bag according to what I see when I scout. I have hunted in finger lakes with a group that used 400 + duck decoys with layout boats in between them .
In my opinion less is often times more. Here in Minnesota we have a high population of duck hunters that go all out. Last year a guy set up 200 yards away and I legitimately counted 8 spinning wing mojo's and close to 5 dozen ducks. He was still waiting when I paddled back to the warm truck with my limit and a dozen mallards 3 of which on a jerk rig.
I usually use 1-2 dozen depending on where im going and how many birds are there. I live in Arkansas too but I hunt the public land so out of luck on mojos but hey duck hunting is duck hunting
We have about 10 dozen between three of us. Very rarely use them all. If we hunt the large open water lake we will pit oit 4 or 5 dozen. If we hunt the coves maybe 2-3 dozen. If we hunt the shallow narrow river we may use 12 to 18 decoys. Its situational just like the species we use. We mimic what we see while scouting
we run anywhere from 3 dozen to 35 dozen. If we hunt a field that is holding a ton later in the season, we set up very few of our best looking dekes. Earlier in the season, or traffic, or cloudy days we'll put everything out.
So I hunt flooded timber by a refuge. Early season more in the hole, late season more decoys in the woods. However, I always like some decoys around where I’m calling, as we stand in water (not blinds).
Hey, do you think I can add my 2 dozen mallards and 6 green wing teal in addition to my 2 dozen buffleheads and diver decoys for big water hunting? I’m talking about Maryland and Delaware coastal bays
when I am hunting a conservation area or lake, I use 12 to 24. When I am hunting the big river, I use 50 doz ducks and 20 doz geese. No mojos. I do have 3 sets of swimmers I scatter to make as many decoys look like they are moving as possible
Where I hunt there is a lot of competition so we usually run 20 to 25 dozen duck decoys 12 dozen speck decoys and 4 to 8 spinning wing decoys. We are confined to one spot so we have to look big to compete against everyone around us and it typically works. We typically shoot more than they 8 other pits that are within a half mile of us.
I have a spread for each season, two dozen teal and a teal flapper, early goose 3 dozen floaters and a lucky duck goose flapper on a 8 foot pole. Pretty split duck 12 mallard shaped ducks 6 pintail and the teal spread, late season 18 mallards 12 herters 6 shaped ducks three flappers one pintail one mallard one teal. Regular goose season I'm still building my spread right now it's 12 sleepers and 18 full bodies and two layout blinds with decoy attachments. All in all you can switch them up if you have two dozen mallards 1 of preening one standard, 6 pintails, two dozen teal and half a dozen flappers for ducks. Geese is a whole nother ball of wax because they really don't make great goose hunting equipment, if they did it would be full body decoys that split in the middle and you could take off the top to use as floaters and flapper decoys with two stands one for water 4 foot deep with 4 foot of clearence so an 8 foot stand and a 4 foot stand for the field. And they would be solid filled with foam so if you drop them you wouldn't break them. And they would be about 100 bucks a dozen for regular ones and 100 for one flapper. Which is what you can pick them up for after season on the discount pages. Waiting for the I'll never get them at this price again thing to be over with so we can all go back to hunting instead of making someone rich.
Some people would say this is madness but I still have ducks in my spread that are 20 years old. That I paid 20 dollars a dozen for. And I try to buy everything on clearance if possible because over 20 years I've probably spent close to 40-80,000 somewhere on hunting clothes, decoys, calls, blinds, boats, chairs, carts, sleds, travel lodging etc.. so paying premium for gear is a smack in the face if you really hunt and are going to go multiple times every year, just fixing up the spread and equipment from the previous year, feet wings on flappers and parts battries, new panels for blinds or camo, gloves, sometimes waders, gun sleves, ammo, a few decoys is several hundred dollars.
I’ve found if I still hunt with the wind to my back but instead stand maybe 20 yards in front of the decoys and a little off to the side I will pass shoot more birds that are otherwise reluctant to land. A late season trick that put me on more birds when no one else could get a shot
I connect to the front. I've heard many different philosophies on rigging from front, or both. I can't really see any difference. I connect at the front because it's easier to get them in and out of the slotted decoy bags with all of them rigged the same way.
Early season I only use maybe 2 dozen. When the ducks really show up I will put out up to 4 dozen. By end of season 5 or 6 decoys. 2 spinners and a jersey rig.. Been several years since I threw more than 2 dozen. Big flocks dont show up anymore.
i have 6 dozen but change set up depending on time of year . 3 1/2 dozen mallards 1/2 dozen wood ducks dozen pintails and dozen teal teal and woodies early season teal season maybe couple mallards and butts later take the woodies out out more pintail and mallards few teal tossed in
It depends. If I am on big water 2 to 13,14 doz. on ponds 1 doz or less especially late-season some times just 2 or 3 decoys, if they are coming anyway. Sometimes none all just depends on how the ducks are working and the size of water.
This will be my first time in north Dakota for the opener for out of state Hunter. I'm trying to figure out if I should bring my Drake greenheads or leave them home because there full colored not like the early season Drake's I see in Wisconsin. Help please
If you're going for total realism, then I'd use just hens. Honestly it probably wont matter either way. There are a few drakes that have some color, but as you know most are still pretty brown. Hope yall have a great hunt!
I do a lot of solo hunts in South Dakota. I never have more than 18 decoys and 3-4 mojos. All I can pack in A lot of days, I do better with fewer decoys out. During heat of migration is the only time we use more
We usually use 70 to 80 duck decoys of various species then 12 to 15 swan decoys. We get to hunt the swans around the Great Salt Lake but even without a swan tag the ducks like to see swans in our spread. You use black ducks, we use swans.
If possible scout and setup like what you're seeing. Example: We scouted Canada geese and kept seeing them spread out in little groups of two or three so guess how we set up the next morning? Same thing goes for all waterfowl. SCOUT and imitate.
averagely 80 1-2 mojo spinners gadwall widgeon coot pintail mallards sometimes teal or just teal and a few mallards thinking about adding flickers but do need redheads thinking about hidgons probably get 18 and 6 blue-bill or lesser scaup
Thanks for watching! How many decoys do you use?
19-24
8-12
We literally started duck hunting this past season when my daughter showed interest. To date, we have 2 decoys, lol. Someone gave us 2 unpainted ones. So she painted them. She got drawn for a youth hunt on a WMA. She dusted the feathers on 2. It was a great day, and we learned a LOT that day. 1. We need a few more decoys. 2. We need waders. 3. We need a portable blind. 4. We need a different choke. I can see this getting very addictive....and very costly! lol. Keep up the good videos!
Thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to the day I can introduce my daughter to duck hunting. You're right it's very addictive and can be very costly. You can get by with less equipment than you think, as long as you get to where the birds are.
you can do well with just a couple mallard drakes and one hen and a jerk chord rig. it keeps you more mobile too if you set up in the wrong spot and see them landing elsewhere you can pick up easy and move.
For your blind look up how to build an A-frame with PVC. You can take it apart and move easily and can be used for field hunts as well.
It’s so expensive I know, but it’s also so fun, at times.
For me hunting in Northern California in the Sacramento Valley
Flooded rice: 25 dozen ducks
Timber: 3 dozen mallards
Everyday hunting: 4 dozen ducks
Public land: 2 dozen ducks
* utilizing lots and lots of motion decoys such as jerk rigs, wave makers, etc...
we mostly hunt wood ducks in the river and creeks here in southeastern NC. we use to put out a dozen decoys but have found we have better luck with just 4-6 decoys and maybe a spinner every once in a while.
Early season 12 teal 6 big ducks and 1 coot..
Later season 6 teal 24 big ducks and 2 coot..
Love the videos man keep it going
Dereck Krause thanks! 👍🏻💪🏻👊🏻
I hunt the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Usually hunt with a couple dozen mallard decoys, mallard wind mojo, a few pintail dekes, about ten woodies, and maybe throw out several diver (redhead/goldeneye) floaters into the deeper sections of the floodings/rivers I hunt. Its a decent size spread and when paired with good wind for the mojo and a couple jerk strings, it has a fair bit of motion. Everything fits in my 12ft Jon (Merc 9.9) inside the blind with enough room for two hunters and a dog. Hunting in the U.P. is cold so the buddy heater in the boat blind is crucial. Really liking the channel. Much love.
Great information. Couldn’t agree more with most everything you say after 40+ years of waterfowl hunting. We use to put out huge spreads on water. Usually was counterproductive. I feel good natural movement is the key to water and field hunting on both geese and ducks. I’ve bought all kinds of high end decoys. I now concentrate more on good movement in my decoys. In fact when hunting mallards in the field don’t waste your $ decoys. It’s all about the mojos in my opinion. Put 2-4 mojos and a dozen goose or duck decoys anywhere near where they want be and have a good hide you should be golden. Again you’re giving out some great advice. Wish I had someone like you 40 years ago telling me this stuff would have saved me a lot of headaches.
5-800 on a area between Illinois &Mississippi rivers. Other blinds have up to 1200! Set out all season or until icing starts!
FatherSon 604 yeah, that’s a crazy lot of decoys!
Shockingly enough I'll run more early season and less late season on public lands. Looking different pays off.
100% the way to do it. I do the same. We had 8 guys limit one morning on 3 gadwalls and 3 pintails on 2 jerk lines after a few weeks of not being able to draw anything in with a few dozen decoys. I learned that by the time they get down south, they are leery of big spreads, spinning wing decoys and mallard calls.
I just started duck hunting this past season, bought 3 dozen off of Facebook market place but only have been using one dozen has worked well so far
I own 5
4 mallards
And 1 homemade butt-up blackduck
This is the first video if watched from your channel. Great content. Subscribed! Now time to binge watch.
Thanks, glad you like it! Welcome aboard!
Usually 4 dozen! Good thoughts on decoys, thanks for the video!
You're welcome! Thanks for the comment!
I liked the video before even watching all the videos so far have been excellent so I know the trend will continue!
Thanks Jacob! We''ll keep 'em coming!
Here in the U.P.
First week or 2: 6 woodie decoys, 6-12 Mallard decoys (4 on a jerk, 2 butt up feeders), 4 Canada goose floaters & a spinner.
After the wood ducks leave til freeze up: 18-24 mallards (same jerk & feeders), 6-12 divers (ringnecks & buffleheads), same 4 goose floaters and a spinner.
I always set up in family/ flight groups in a rough "U" shape with the geese upwind (or on one corner if facing downwind) and in the most visible area and divers / woodies on the downwind edge (or other corner) grouped up. I use the geese as confidence/ attractors plus we can sometimes pull small groups of geese in. I put the jerk between the hole and geese with the two feeders and 2 more singles to look like a small group of mallards actively feeding. Spinner in the "hole" with a hen mallard decoy in front a few feet to look like a just landing pair. Between the blind and the hole and working downwind(or toward diver/woodie corner) I set up the rest of the mallards in 2's and 3's. I never put a decoy farther than 20-25yds from the blind with the geese being the farthest. This seems to be my best setup and can be tweaked during the hunt easily.
Thanks for the info... I'm curious what type of habitat do you hunt in?
@@SurvivingDuckSeason mostly man made floodings and impoundments which are just rivers backed up enough to flood out its banks into marshy areas year round. You need a shallow running boat or kayak to access most, if not all of the areas. A lot of times you are hunting the edge or in the river channel itself so long 6' Texas rigs are the ticket along with an 8-10' spinner pole. It terms of visibility things are tight like a normal smaller river hunt so things happen quick. You either get the ducks to circle once and commit or they're out of there. Do hit some beaver ponds when they are holding ducks and available.
Mudnyereye _ right on!
18 decoys if the location is a short walk. Fewer decoys for a long walk in. So many times, it becomes necessary to move to a spot that the ducks like better, and having a small number of decoys means a hunter is more likely to pick up and move, sometimes just 80 yards makes a huge difference. I agree LOCATION is #1, timing of day also, and crosswinds are best. Keep the great tips coming !
I agree with the wind in the back. Most of our hunting is ponds. Here we have normally a north or south wind we generally try to sit on the east bank if possible to keep the sun at our back. put deeks to the side where the pass in front on the landing.
I have hunted over one dozen to 12 dozen. over the years. we have tried different lay outs. some worked great with a whole in the middle. I like what I have seen on your lay out and will be trying it
out this year in the north west. I will let you know how they work.
Excellent! Like you I like to sit cross-wind so the ducks are not looking in my direction when they are landing into the wind and the decoys.
I live and hunt in interior Alaska. When I start I put out a smaller spread, ready to move to where the ducks really want to go...by moving to the X (where the ducks want to land), decoying is much easier.
Our season opens Sept 1. so "brown ducks". I paint about half my decoys flat black which helps with visibility.
I love your tip for ducks that are landing way outside the decoys!
usually about 50 dozen
😂😂😂
Depends on location. Usually it is 15-18 decoys, 1 or 2 mojo's and jerk cord set up. Shape is almost like a shake figure 8. I try to keep it minimal as possible and always bring at least one coot decoy. Tough local waterfowl hunting in AZ.
EXCELLENT information as always
Thanks Richard!
for teal less than a dozen big ducks 2 or more dozens geese 5 or 6 dozen love your video guys keep it up
KILL'EM ALL TV thanks, appreciate it!
@@SurvivingDuckSeason any time i wish your videos are longer and are you going to do a teal hunt soon
I typically go with anywhere from 9 to 15 and normally a rippeler possibility a spinning wing so at most 17. Sometimes less is more.
Eighteen is a nice manageable number for a guy who walks in or boats into timber.
Hunting the N California refuges we make our set up different from most everyone else. We use green wing teal for numbers and add in a few widgeon, mallards and pintail. My light set up is 50-60 decoys and our large set up is closer to 300. We really command the ducks when we go big! It pisses those guys off with 2-3 dozen decoys.
Got to do what it takes! Being different from the next guy often pays off. Have a great season!
Hey bubba, could you do a video of you going out a setting decoys and hunting. Everything while getting decoys ready and getting in the blind to hunt. That would be AWESOME!!!! You the man - Ben
Great video thanks
In east Arkansas we run 50 dozen early season then mid season about 5 dozen then got to about 15 dozen late season
First time i watch your video and I already subscribed
Awesome! Welcome aboard!
3 dozen, 18 mallards, 6 gawdwalls, 6 pintail, 6 greenwing and then sometimes half a dz honkers
Great info. Thanks!
Your welcome!
Most of the ducks I've killed in my life have been over 2-3 dozen mallard decoys or less. We hunted a small river most of the time, so it was rare to see more than that sitting in one place naturally. If the river flooded out into the field, we might go up to 4 dozen, but that's about all we owned that were in usable condition. It worked for us!!!
RIght on! Thanks for sharing, Tim.
15 dozen I have every species in my fly way but vary my mix decoy bag according to what I see when I scout. I have hunted in finger lakes with a group that used 400 + duck decoys with layout boats in between them .
In my opinion less is often times more. Here in Minnesota we have a high population of duck hunters that go all out. Last year a guy set up 200 yards away and I legitimately counted 8 spinning wing mojo's and close to 5 dozen ducks. He was still waiting when I paddled back to the warm truck with my limit and a dozen mallards 3 of which on a jerk rig.
Never been duck hunting. But I plan to one day
Go for it!
2 dozen mallards 1 dozen green/blue wing teal 3 mojos and a couple of woodies
I usually use 1-2 dozen depending on where im going and how many birds are there. I live in Arkansas too but I hunt the public land so out of luck on mojos but hey duck hunting is duck hunting
About 2 dozen plus 4 motion decoys and it's not fun carrying it a mile for the walk-ins
A farm wagon from tractor supply or harbor freight is an absolute game changer
4 dozen on public blind or 4 dozen on a conservation area, 1-2 mojo's, and a pulsator
We have about 10 dozen between three of us. Very rarely use them all. If we hunt the large open water lake we will pit oit 4 or 5 dozen. If we hunt the coves maybe 2-3 dozen. If we hunt the shallow narrow river we may use 12 to 18 decoys. Its situational just like the species we use. We mimic what we see while scouting
I hunt the big public marshes with a refuge close. 4 to 5 dozen is usually what we run.
You must be pretty close too me. I'm a mile off the bottoms
Usually, on a solo public land hunt, I'll run a dozen with some kind of motion and either a Rippler or wing motion mojo
we run anywhere from 3 dozen to 35 dozen. If we hunt a field that is holding a ton later in the season, we set up very few of our best looking dekes. Earlier in the season, or traffic, or cloudy days we'll put everything out.
On a normal day 3 dozen mixed bag, and usually 2 mojos. Late season we go as big as 10 dozen sets
So I hunt flooded timber by a refuge. Early season more in the hole, late season more decoys in the woods. However, I always like some decoys around where I’m calling, as we stand in water (not blinds).
About 2 1/2 dozen; 1 1/2 dozen mixed puddle ducks and about 11 geese. Along with 2 mojos.
2 dozen. 12 mallards, 6 green wing teal, 6 wigeon.
Hey, do you think I can add my 2 dozen mallards and 6 green wing teal in addition to my 2 dozen buffleheads and diver decoys for big water hunting? I’m talking about Maryland and Delaware coastal bays
when I am hunting a conservation area or lake, I use 12 to 24. When I am hunting the big river, I use 50 doz ducks and 20 doz geese. No mojos. I do have 3 sets of swimmers I scatter to make as many decoys look like they are moving as possible
Ha! Too much is never enough! Good job, Bro!
2 dozen assorted mallards with several on a jerk rig/spreader, 2 mojo’s, and a ripler
I love cross wind ever since you told us about it. I will never go back to wind at my back. Even when I goose hunt
Where I hunt there is a lot of competition so we usually run 20 to 25 dozen duck decoys 12 dozen speck decoys and 4 to 8 spinning wing decoys. We are confined to one spot so we have to look big to compete against everyone around us and it typically works. We typically shoot more than they 8 other pits that are within a half mile of us.
Cole Wood thanks for the comment. What state are you hunting in?
Missouri boot heel. Lots of ducks but lots of competition.
Cole Wood right on!
Early season season I switch out the mallards out with wood ducks, But I use 6 goose, 2 dozen mallards, 6 teal
thanks for the tips buddy!
Cruze's Louisiana Outdoors your welcome!
In north Iowa I normally use around 60 between ducks and geese
3 dozen depending on the time of year the pond size and what birds I have in the area
I have a spread for each season, two dozen teal and a teal flapper, early goose 3 dozen floaters and a lucky duck goose flapper on a 8 foot pole. Pretty split duck 12 mallard shaped ducks 6 pintail and the teal spread, late season 18 mallards 12 herters 6 shaped ducks three flappers one pintail one mallard one teal. Regular goose season I'm still building my spread right now it's 12 sleepers and 18 full bodies and two layout blinds with decoy attachments. All in all you can switch them up if you have two dozen mallards 1 of preening one standard, 6 pintails, two dozen teal and half a dozen flappers for ducks. Geese is a whole nother ball of wax because they really don't make great goose hunting equipment, if they did it would be full body decoys that split in the middle and you could take off the top to use as floaters and flapper decoys with two stands one for water 4 foot deep with 4 foot of clearence so an 8 foot stand and a 4 foot stand for the field. And they would be solid filled with foam so if you drop them you wouldn't break them. And they would be about 100 bucks a dozen for regular ones and 100 for one flapper. Which is what you can pick them up for after season on the discount pages. Waiting for the I'll never get them at this price again thing to be over with so we can all go back to hunting instead of making someone rich.
Some people would say this is madness but I still have ducks in my spread that are 20 years old. That I paid 20 dollars a dozen for. And I try to buy everything on clearance if possible because over 20 years I've probably spent close to 40-80,000 somewhere on hunting clothes, decoys, calls, blinds, boats, chairs, carts, sleds, travel lodging etc.. so paying premium for gear is a smack in the face if you really hunt and are going to go multiple times every year, just fixing up the spread and equipment from the previous year, feet wings on flappers and parts battries, new panels for blinds or camo, gloves, sometimes waders, gun sleves, ammo, a few decoys is several hundred dollars.
I have a dozen mallard and 17 teal. But really only use one at a time
There are times when i only use one dozen drop on the water Dura-duk decoys for small bodies of water i have to hike a distance to.
I’ve found if I still hunt with the wind to my back but instead stand maybe 20 yards in front of the decoys and a little off to the side I will pass shoot more birds that are otherwise reluctant to land. A late season trick that put me on more birds when no one else could get a shot
On the Chesapeake it varies. Some days a dozen or two. Other days 200-500 decoys
I have a dozen decoys. 2 hen pin tail 2 drake pin tail 3 drake mallards and 3 hen mallards and one drake mallard spinner. And a jerk rig.
Do you hook your decoys in the front, back or mix it up. I hook all mine in the front and use about two dozen and hunt small ponds or slews.
I connect to the front. I've heard many different philosophies on rigging from front, or both. I can't really see any difference. I connect at the front because it's easier to get them in and out of the slotted decoy bags with all of them rigged the same way.
They have brains the size of a pea...
Early season I only use maybe 2 dozen. When the ducks really show up I will put out up to 4 dozen. By end of season 5 or 6 decoys. 2 spinners and a jersey rig.. Been several years since I threw more than 2 dozen. Big flocks dont show up anymore.
I normally use 2 doz to 4 doz depending on the time of the year and where I hunt. For divers on big water the more the better!
We put out 12 dozen every time we hunt open water public land
I have 9 dozen floaters but usually only take about 3 dozen on my hunts
i have 6 dozen but change set up depending on time of year . 3 1/2 dozen mallards 1/2 dozen wood ducks dozen pintails and dozen teal teal and woodies early season teal season maybe couple mallards and butts later take the woodies out out more pintail and mallards few teal tossed in
2 dozen a mixture of mallards woodies and black ducks
thanks for this
Get Stuff Done Landscape Maintenance W/ Mike jr you’re welcome!
Normal 50-80 out of a 16’ Lowe boat blind.
A Friend of mine before he passed put out 3 pickup trucks full
Lol I just bought a 12 pack of teal decoys for 20$ there actually pretty nice
It depends. If I am on big water 2 to 13,14 doz. on ponds 1 doz or less especially late-season some times just 2 or 3 decoys, if they are coming anyway. Sometimes none all just depends on how the ducks are working and the size of water.
Usually don’t go more than 3 dozen. Hunting divers and puddlers On central Florida lakes
3 Mallards, 3 Mallard hens, 2 but ups, 4 teal, 1 MoJo Spinner. I hunt in the middle of two small ponds.
I just built 2 new wetlands in Central Illinois total of 8 acres. we use 3 or up to 12
10 and a half dozen , mostly mallards , some green wing and blue wing and 6 wood ducks
This will be my first time in north Dakota for the opener for out of state Hunter. I'm trying to figure out if I should bring my Drake greenheads or leave them home because there full colored not like the early season Drake's I see in Wisconsin. Help please
If you're going for total realism, then I'd use just hens. Honestly it probably wont matter either way. There are a few drakes that have some color, but as you know most are still pretty brown. Hope yall have a great hunt!
For mallard hunting on a river probably about 7-8 dozen avian x, and feild hunting probably 10-11 dozen and 6-7 mojos
5 dozen available depends 3 1/2 dozen mallards dozen pintails and 6 wood ducks need some teal for early season
I do a lot of solo hunts in South Dakota. I never have more than 18 decoys and 3-4 mojos. All I can pack in
A lot of days, I do better with fewer decoys out. During heat of migration is the only time we use more
Two dozen, sometimes three
We usually use 70 to 80 duck decoys of various species then 12 to 15 swan decoys. We get to hunt the swans around the Great Salt Lake but even without a swan tag the ducks like to see swans in our spread. You use black ducks, we use swans.
About 2 1/2 dozen including spinning wing and jerk cord decoys.
4 dozen on big public waters
Some of my best hunts have been over 5 or less decoys
If possible scout and setup like what you're seeing. Example: We scouted Canada geese and kept seeing them spread out in little groups of two or three so guess how we set up the next morning?
Same thing goes for all waterfowl. SCOUT and imitate.
I use 8 decoys, I hunt smaller plots and limit out almost every weekend
3 or 4 dozen but can very depending on my ability to access where I am hunting
Anywhere from 3 to 5 dozen...but that depends on where I am hunting and what time of the year it is.
Yep... depends.
5 woodies 12 malards 4 canada floaters 2 spinners
2-4 dozen. But sometimes you gotta throw the kitchen sink
3-5 dozen mallard wigeon wood duck and teal
4 to 6 doz depending on if i have someone to hunt with?
About 10 Dozen a Jerk-Rig, 2 mojos and flock a flickers Bc we hunt next to a refuge and we pull a lot of birds from one there
averagely 80
1-2 mojo spinners gadwall widgeon coot pintail mallards sometimes teal or just teal and a few mallards
thinking about adding flickers but do need redheads thinking about hidgons probably get 18 and 6 blue-bill or lesser scaup
For flooded fields anywhere from 50-100
Timber- 14-21
Marsh- 20 or so
Half dozen to 3 dozen and up to 4 spinners 2 ripplers and a couple old flock a flickers
I use 18 dozen but I have divers and stuff to and it makes it like 22 dozen