A friend from church got me interested in waterfowl hunting 2-3 years ago when I moved to Alberta. He showed me how to jump shoot the irrigation canals and small pothole pounds littered around here But it wasn't until last fall I went out by myself on a mucky rainy awful cold morning in late September and I totally got the duck hunting bug! It was the greatest hunting experience I've had in my life so far. This year I bought a few duck calls (which I'm practicing a lot with) and I'm hoping to pick up 1/2 dozen decoys (Mallards) to start learning how to use them and calling to increase the number of birds I take home. Hopefully more than 2 or 3.
Thank you, instead of the 4 ounce weights you used I used the zinc weights that you can bend to dig in the mud good, thank you for the video, works perfectly for easily taking them out when hunting public land and carrying them out! Also thank you for tip on the front and back rigging, first year duck hunting and was trying to figure out why there's the two seperate spots!
Very Informative and helpful. The #6 had to be replaced with similar 20 pack on vid which came out to be less expensive. After all said and done A dozen DIY Rig (at current time) came out to $19.42 (w/ caribeaner and gear tie). Can’t find anything worth quality at that price. Going to make 2-3 of these sets for sure
Texas rigs are the way to go! As for projects, I am getting rid of my hard side boat blind and doing a soft side, as well as beefing up my decoy spread and converting a generic kayak into a waterfowl rig! only 4 months from teal season!
I think soft side is definitely the right call. Seems like a more versatile setup. I'm keeping my eye out for a kayak. Probably won't hunt out of it unless I'm solo, but I'd like to have one for retrieving birds on deeper ponds that we can't put the boat in.
I like the softside. I have hunted out of both. The hard side obviously can't be put down and make driving difficult. So difficult, we didn't even risk hunting along the river last year as we would have liked. Kayaks are fun to have. I just got mine in February but have not hunted with one yet. I got a Lifetime Tamarack/Muskie Angler. Inexpensive, stable and comes in a base tan.
I hunt big water in illinois then head to Arkansas where I hunt public in the timber. I could not imagine trying to drive a hard sided blind in the woods. It'd get hung up all over the place and you have to be very careful because if you barely bump a tree half of it can just break off.
@@mikeries8549 Hard side blinds suck lol. My first experience with boat blinds was hard sided. Can't see to drive them and they're a sail going down the highway.
Hey Drake! I am a fairly young hunter at only 15 but, I am absolutely addicted to this sport and everything it has to offer. This next season that is coming up will mark my 3rd year as a waterfowler. I have been following your channel for a long time and I LOVE your content!! The projects I am working on this year is turning my jon boat into a full on portable duck blind. But, Not sure if I will get it finished for this upcoming season. I would love to see a video of a cheap and easy way to turn your jon boat into a portable duck blind! KEEP IT UP!!!
Nice tutorial for building your own Texas rigs. I prefer to use a no-roll egg sinker, but whatever weight is used in personal preference. I will say I use 3 oz. no-roll egg sinkers that I pour myself and use on my Avian-X duck decoys and never have an issue with them floating/blowing off. The no-rolls lay flat on the bottom and "catch" on any flooded vegetation in the water. The only project I have for this off-season is to re-grass my layout boat, oh, and learn a new state for chasing ducks. I will be moving to KS in the next month, so, I will have some time this summer to start scouting and learning new areas.
The main reason I don't like the egg weights because you typically have to run the line though the weight, and then back around the outside of the weight to get back into the crimp. If you are doing the Texas rigs where the weight slides, egg weights are 100% the better option.
I found by running the mono through the weight, and then heating the end of the mono with a lighter and pressing it against something hard, it mushrooms the mono so the weight won't slide off and thus eliminates the need for the crimp at the weight.Thanks for the welcome. I'm already familiar with a few public areas to duck hunt as I typically start my duck season every year in central KS and end it in the late zone after the MO has closed where I like to hunt.
MO - Outdoorsman doing it that way, wouldn't that allow the weight to slide along the line? I always felt that having both decoy and weight sliding, it might affect the whole operation. We have some really great areas to hunt, but they are also hunted very hard.
If you heat a couple of inches of the bottom of the mono, you can get it to mushroom inside the bottom of the weight as it cools and hardens. The weights don't slide that way.
Project, it's more of a goal. To get rid of hunting stuff I don't use and probably won't use in the next few years. I have 3 or 4 lay out blinds, 2 boats, a room just for decoys in my shop, 3 pair of waders, progressing in age back many years. Decoys will probably stay, as all of them have a purpose, and will get used.
Keep up these videos. By far one of the best instructional videos out there. And thank you so much for putting all the items in the video in the description. Totally ordered those cheap awesome carabiners.
Nice video man. Definitely worth the time to save the money. One of the only things I like about hardcore decoys is they usually come with the Texas rigs. My only major project this off season is training my dog and that seems to be going pretty good in my opinion. Looks like he'll be ready to go out come real season and finally be able to figure out what all this stuff he's learning is leading up too.
Sorry about that, it used to link directly to the size. My Amazon order doesn't even show the exact size I ordered... weird. Anyways, I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches.
Fucking fantastic DIY tutorial! You where spot on as to what and why to use _______ and kept your speed up to not stall, but kept it slow enough to follow. Im gonna dock 5% though, at 10:40 your next step was to go into the garage and grab your line, crimps and swivels. You made no mention of the weights until you showed them latter when you where currently in the crimping step. 95% Great job!!
Dude...I think I was your 1000th subscriber. Please keep making videos. Your confidence is improving and you provide great information. Thanks! Keep up the SitkaGear reviews too!
You very well could have been! I know it happened today. Thank you for subbing and for watching. I've been slacking on my review videos because of other things going on, but I definitely want to keep doing them. Hoping to start the hunting videos back up here in the next few weeks.
Awesome man. I stumbled on this video today and it's perfect timing because I'm wanting to do Texas rigging on my decoys. Can I ask what size swivels you used? I don't think you mentioned it...Thanks for the reply. We all get busy lol!
I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches. The Amazon link used to go directly to the size, but for some reason its not doing that anymore.
Depends on the walk distance and if I’m walking on dry ground, or through a marsh. Either a decoy sled, or I just hold the carabiner and sling them over my shoulder.
Why not just let the decoy slide between the crimped loop end and the weighted crimped end of the line? It would eliminate the need for a swivel. Threading the line through the hole on the keel of the decoy would allow it to slide between the looped end and the weighted end. Does it eventually damage the keel of the decoy?- Just curious
You can certainly set it up that way if that is your preference. It works and saves the cost of the swivel. As I mentioned in the video, I had done it like that the year prior, the reason I switched is because the line does not always slide through the decoy smoothly, especially with decoys that are a softer, more rubber like plastic. We'd throw out decoys, and the weight wouldn't drop because the line would stick trying to slide through the decoy and the decoy would end up floating away. So the line slides through the metal swivel way better, and then you have the added bonus that you can move your rigs to other decoys without needing to cut and re-crimp the lines.
I'm curious about texas rigs. What is the longest practical amount of line that can be used? I hunt in Maryland on tidal rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Water depths run from one foot to over 10 feet with running currents. Is a rig like this practical where you need as much as 12 feet of line? I like long lines for diving ducks but like to mix in some singles to break up the appearance of the lines. On tidal rivers, where I am looking for puddle ducks and geese I use standard rigging, but I don't like the plastic rigging line (Tanglefree, etc.) because it often breaks. Open to suggestions.
I've never hunted places that deep. My buddy rigged some Canada goose floaters with 6 foot lines and they were kind of a pain to haul around. 4 foot is really about the longest I think I'd want to go. The shorter lines are easier it haul around and keep organized. Even if you ran 10 foot lines, it would be a pain throwing a spread with 10 foot lines if you were only in 1-2 feet of water. I don't really know which rigs would be best for your situation since I don't have that environment where I am. I'd think some kind of gang rig with some longer lines branching off might help with the appearance of lines.
#6 is the size I use. Be careful, some of the different brands are sized differently, even when the numbers are the same. #6 size in the link provided in the description is what I use.
Last season I was finding that when I threw my decoys in the river, the swivel was opening up leading to my decoy floating away and this was frustrating me alot. Does this ever happen to anyone else?
What kind of swivels are you using? I’ve never had that problem. These swivels are usually a pain in the butt to even get to unclasp. We have had issues with the weight getting wrapped up in the keel and not allowing it to hit the bottom, so then the decoy would float away. Hasn’t been as much of an issue since adding the swivels, but it has happened.
I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches. The Amazon link used to go directly to the size, but for some reason its not doing that anymore.
Thanks for a great video and the Amazon links saved me a bunch of hassle. I ordered the #8 swivels just guessing. The best part is, my stuff will be here in three days, to rig up a dozen new Mallard and a half dozen Central Flyway decoys I just bought my oldest son for Christmas.
+RushFanatic87 glad it helped you out! Sounds like you’ll have a happy boy come Christmas time! Only thing I would say, the #8’s may be too small (I think the higher the number the smaller the size if I remember right). I believe I used #6’s.
Actually... they were too big. The crimp slid right through the ring. They are hardened steel, but we used vise grips and "egged" the ring. Problem solved!! We gave the decoys to him this past Thursday and rigged them up. No need to wait for Christmas, as duck season is ending to give them to him... and besides, we have a cold front coming this weekend and the quackers should be running ahead of it!! Thanks again!!!
This is not how to save money Texas rigging a decoy. First you tie the cord to the decoy. Slide weight on and then tie , yes tie, a loop on the bottom end. You can use ten feet of cord and adjust the depth by using a loop in the cord. Where I hunt the water goes up n down where 3 foot strings work one day, it rains, and now I need 9 footers. Water falls out...repeat.
Different method fit different needs. I have no use for 10 foot decoy lines because I never hunt anything that would be over my waders. I also do not like style of having the weight slide on the line with the loop at the bottom of the line because it is not nearly as easy to pickup the decoys. You have to pick the line all the way out of the water to get to your loop to clip it onto your carabiner. I've toyed with a few different ways of rigging decoys, and all have their advantages and disadvantages. This way of rigging is by far the best fit for our style of hunting.
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors dude...arkansas public timber the water yo-yos like crazy. It rains six inches and holy hell its water everywhere. 4 days later it falls out and is gone. I deal with it. Most of the time its 4 feet deep or less. Caribeener? Swivels? Slotted bags bro. I hunt with a guy who uses stuff exactly like yours. He is fucked if it rains. His strings are only 42 inches. I use a boat blind. At first the locals all laughed at me. Then they all got boat blinds
A friend from church got me interested in waterfowl hunting 2-3 years ago when I moved to Alberta. He showed me how to jump shoot the irrigation canals and small pothole pounds littered around here But it wasn't until last fall I went out by myself on a mucky rainy awful cold morning in late September and I totally got the duck hunting bug! It was the greatest hunting experience I've had in my life so far. This year I bought a few duck calls (which I'm practicing a lot with) and I'm hoping to pick up 1/2 dozen decoys (Mallards) to start learning how to use them and calling to increase the number of birds I take home. Hopefully more than 2 or 3.
wow buddy
Perfect video for a newbie like myself, thanks!
Dude thanks a lot for making this video! Very helpful
Got my first set this year, as well as a floating mojo and a tug rig. 14 Texas rigs and the tug rig that holds four decoys
Thank you, instead of the 4 ounce weights you used I used the zinc weights that you can bend to dig in the mud good, thank you for the video, works perfectly for easily taking them out when hunting public land and carrying them out! Also thank you for tip on the front and back rigging, first year duck hunting and was trying to figure out why there's the two seperate spots!
How did you like the stick weights instead of egg sinkers or the other ones?
@@Matt-P1 they're awesome, still holding strong, makes storming them and carrying them a hell of a lot easier!
Changing my gear this year from under armor to sitka!
Excellent video and Craftsmanship!
Very Informative and helpful.
The #6 had to be replaced with similar 20 pack on vid which came out to be less expensive.
After all said and done
A dozen DIY Rig (at current time) came out to $19.42 (w/ caribeaner and gear tie). Can’t find anything worth quality at that price. Going to make 2-3 of these sets for sure
What swivels did you get? Are #6 the best size?
Texas rigs are the way to go! As for projects, I am getting rid of my hard side boat blind and doing a soft side, as well as beefing up my decoy spread and converting a generic kayak into a waterfowl rig! only 4 months from teal season!
I think soft side is definitely the right call. Seems like a more versatile setup.
I'm keeping my eye out for a kayak. Probably won't hunt out of it unless I'm solo, but I'd like to have one for retrieving birds on deeper ponds that we can't put the boat in.
I like the softside. I have hunted out of both. The hard side obviously can't be put down and make driving difficult. So difficult, we didn't even risk hunting along the river last year as we would have liked.
Kayaks are fun to have. I just got mine in February but have not hunted with one yet. I got a Lifetime Tamarack/Muskie Angler. Inexpensive, stable and comes in a base tan.
I hunt big water in illinois then head to Arkansas where I hunt public in the timber. I could not imagine trying to drive a hard sided blind in the woods. It'd get hung up all over the place and you have to be very careful because if you barely bump a tree half of it can just break off.
@@mikeries8549 Hard side blinds suck lol. My first experience with boat blinds was hard sided. Can't see to drive them and they're a sail going down the highway.
Hey Drake! I am a fairly young hunter at only 15 but, I am absolutely addicted to this sport and everything it has to offer. This next season that is coming up will mark my 3rd year as a waterfowler. I have been following your channel for a long time and I LOVE your content!! The projects I am working on this year is turning my jon boat into a full on portable duck blind. But, Not sure if I will get it finished for this upcoming season. I would love to see a video of a cheap and easy way to turn your jon boat into a portable duck blind! KEEP IT UP!!!
Nice tutorial for building your own Texas rigs. I prefer to use a no-roll egg sinker, but whatever weight is used in personal preference. I will say I use 3 oz. no-roll egg sinkers that I pour myself and use on my Avian-X duck decoys and never have an issue with them floating/blowing off. The no-rolls lay flat on the bottom and "catch" on any flooded vegetation in the water. The only project I have for this off-season is to re-grass my layout boat, oh, and learn a new state for chasing ducks. I will be moving to KS in the next month, so, I will have some time this summer to start scouting and learning new areas.
The main reason I don't like the egg weights because you typically have to run the line though the weight, and then back around the outside of the weight to get back into the crimp. If you are doing the Texas rigs where the weight slides, egg weights are 100% the better option.
I found by running the mono through the weight, and then heating the end of the mono with a lighter and pressing it against something hard, it mushrooms the mono so the weight won't slide off and thus eliminates the need for the crimp at the weight.Thanks for the welcome. I'm already familiar with a few public areas to duck hunt as I typically start my duck season every year in central KS and end it in the late zone after the MO has closed where I like to hunt.
MO - Outdoorsman doing it that way, wouldn't that allow the weight to slide along the line? I always felt that having both decoy and weight sliding, it might affect the whole operation.
We have some really great areas to hunt, but they are also hunted very hard.
If you heat a couple of inches of the bottom of the mono, you can get it to mushroom inside the bottom of the weight as it cools and hardens. The weights don't slide that way.
400lbs mono seems overkill, did you just go with it because of the thickness?
Hey, great video!! Explained very well and great quality video. Thanks!
Project, it's more of a goal. To get rid of hunting stuff I don't use and probably won't use in the next few years. I have 3 or 4 lay out blinds, 2 boats, a room just for decoys in my shop, 3 pair of waders, progressing in age back many years. Decoys will probably stay, as all of them have a purpose, and will get used.
That's a good goal. As a group, we have some stuff we need to get rid of/replace as well.
redroofretriever it only gives pound for size, what pound are the swivels? I don’t see a “number 6”
Keep up these videos. By far one of the best instructional videos out there. And thank you so much for putting all the items in the video in the description. Totally ordered those cheap awesome carabiners.
Nice video man. Definitely worth the time to save the money. One of the only things I like about hardcore decoys is they usually come with the Texas rigs. My only major project this off season is training my dog and that seems to be going pretty good in my opinion. Looks like he'll be ready to go out come real season and finally be able to figure out what all this stuff he's learning is leading up too.
What size swivels did you go with? There are multiple sizes with the link you provided. Good video btw!
Sorry about that, it used to link directly to the size. My Amazon order doesn't even show the exact size I ordered... weird. Anyways, I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches.
#5
Fucking fantastic DIY tutorial! You where spot on as to what and why to use _______ and kept your speed up to not stall, but kept it slow enough to follow. Im gonna dock 5% though, at 10:40 your next step was to go into the garage and grab your line, crimps and swivels. You made no mention of the weights until you showed them latter when you where currently in the crimping step.
95% Great job!!
Excellent instructional video
I’m working on re rigging decoys
Dude...I think I was your 1000th subscriber. Please keep making videos. Your confidence is improving and you provide great information. Thanks! Keep up the SitkaGear reviews too!
You very well could have been! I know it happened today. Thank you for subbing and for watching. I've been slacking on my review videos because of other things going on, but I definitely want to keep doing them. Hoping to start the hunting videos back up here in the next few weeks.
Awesome man. I stumbled on this video today and it's perfect timing because I'm wanting to do Texas rigging on my decoys. Can I ask what size swivels you used? I don't think you mentioned it...Thanks for the reply. We all get busy lol!
I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches. The Amazon link used to go directly to the size, but for some reason its not doing that anymore.
Sweet I'll give this a try. Should be easy after watching this vid. Thanks man!
What is the size of the double barrel copper crimps? Thanks
They are 2.2mm x 15mm
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors Thank you...
I'm digging a pit this year on the creek behind my house
So is that an invite?! lol
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors hit me up were are you at lol 😂
Thanks for vid. How do you carry these if you are walking in?
Depends on the walk distance and if I’m walking on dry ground, or through a marsh. Either a decoy sled, or I just hold the carabiner and sling them over my shoulder.
Why not just let the decoy slide between the crimped loop end and the weighted crimped end of the line? It would eliminate the need for a swivel. Threading the line through the hole on the keel of the decoy would allow it to slide between the looped end and the weighted end. Does it eventually damage the keel of the decoy?- Just curious
You can certainly set it up that way if that is your preference. It works and saves the cost of the swivel. As I mentioned in the video, I had done it like that the year prior, the reason I switched is because the line does not always slide through the decoy smoothly, especially with decoys that are a softer, more rubber like plastic. We'd throw out decoys, and the weight wouldn't drop because the line would stick trying to slide through the decoy and the decoy would end up floating away. So the line slides through the metal swivel way better, and then you have the added bonus that you can move your rigs to other decoys without needing to cut and re-crimp the lines.
I figured there would be a good logical answer. Thanks for answering my question, I appreciate it.
I'm curious about texas rigs. What is the longest practical amount of line that can be used? I hunt in Maryland on tidal rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. Water depths run from one foot to over 10 feet with running currents. Is a rig like this practical where you need as much as 12 feet of line?
I like long lines for diving ducks but like to mix in some singles to break up the appearance of the lines. On tidal rivers, where I am looking for puddle ducks and geese I use standard rigging, but I don't like the plastic rigging line (Tanglefree, etc.) because it often breaks. Open to suggestions.
I've never hunted places that deep. My buddy rigged some Canada goose floaters with 6 foot lines and they were kind of a pain to haul around. 4 foot is really about the longest I think I'd want to go. The shorter lines are easier it haul around and keep organized. Even if you ran 10 foot lines, it would be a pain throwing a spread with 10 foot lines if you were only in 1-2 feet of water. I don't really know which rigs would be best for your situation since I don't have that environment where I am. I'd think some kind of gang rig with some longer lines branching off might help with the appearance of lines.
When are u posting duck hunting vid.
What size are the swivels you used in your setup?
#6 is the size I use. Be careful, some of the different brands are sized differently, even when the numbers are the same. #6 size in the link provided in the description is what I use.
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors Awesome, I will definitely be making these real soon, thanks for the vid.
How long are they
Last season I was finding that when I threw my decoys in the river, the swivel was opening up leading to my decoy floating away and this was frustrating me alot. Does this ever happen to anyone else?
What kind of swivels are you using? I’ve never had that problem. These swivels are usually a pain in the butt to even get to unclasp. We have had issues with the weight getting wrapped up in the keel and not allowing it to hit the bottom, so then the decoy would float away. Hasn’t been as much of an issue since adding the swivels, but it has happened.
What size swivels are you using
I believe they are the #6 size. They are just a bit longer than 2.5 inches. The Amazon link used to go directly to the size, but for some reason its not doing that anymore.
I am in the process of ordering these items to redo my decoys. I need the exact swivel size and name brand
Thanks for a great video and the Amazon links saved me a bunch of hassle. I ordered the #8 swivels just guessing. The best part is, my stuff will be here in three days, to rig up a dozen new Mallard and a half dozen Central Flyway decoys I just bought my oldest son for Christmas.
+RushFanatic87 glad it helped you out! Sounds like you’ll have a happy boy come Christmas time! Only thing I would say, the #8’s may be too small (I think the higher the number the smaller the size if I remember right). I believe I used #6’s.
Actually... they were too big. The crimp slid right through the ring. They are hardened steel, but we used vise grips and "egged" the ring. Problem solved!! We gave the decoys to him this past Thursday and rigged them up. No need to wait for Christmas, as duck season is ending to give them to him... and besides, we have a cold front coming this weekend and the quackers should be running ahead of it!! Thanks again!!!
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors I'm new on TH-cam, where's the links? Lmfao
So where do we get all this? Link it or naws?
If you expand the description area under the video, there are Amazon links for all the pieces in the video.
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors done and ordered what I needed, thanks.
hey bro love your videos
I can get 72’’. With 6oz weights already made and shipped to me for $20
That's a great price
I'm getting new decoys and new blinds
Where is the link for amazon
Amazon links are in the description for the video. Click "Show More" under the video to see all the links.
New carpet in boat
Thought u weren't guna ramble on my God!
Building blinds
Are you building some permanent blinds/pit blinds, or putting together some portable blinds?
academy 19.99 for a dozen you can't build them that cheap
Yeah, that's a good option if they are made well. I generally haven't been too impressed with Game Winner quality though.
Rogers has the rig em right 300' kit that makes 3 dozen for $30. Swivels, crimps, and weights included
This is not how to save money Texas rigging a decoy. First you tie the cord to the decoy. Slide weight on and then tie , yes tie, a loop on the bottom end. You can use ten feet of cord and adjust the depth by using a loop in the cord. Where I hunt the water goes up n down where 3 foot strings work one day, it rains, and now I need 9 footers. Water falls out...repeat.
Different method fit different needs. I have no use for 10 foot decoy lines because I never hunt anything that would be over my waders.
I also do not like style of having the weight slide on the line with the loop at the bottom of the line because it is not nearly as easy to pickup the decoys. You have to pick the line all the way out of the water to get to your loop to clip it onto your carabiner.
I've toyed with a few different ways of rigging decoys, and all have their advantages and disadvantages. This way of rigging is by far the best fit for our style of hunting.
@@DrakeValleyOutdoors dude...arkansas public timber the water yo-yos like crazy. It rains six inches and holy hell its water everywhere. 4 days later it falls out and is gone. I deal with it. Most of the time its 4 feet deep or less. Caribeener? Swivels? Slotted bags bro.
I hunt with a guy who uses stuff exactly like yours. He is fucked if it rains. His strings are only 42 inches. I use a boat blind. At first the locals all laughed at me. Then they all got boat blinds
I pour weights for these. Just message me and ill hook you up
What size swivel did you use?
I believe they were the #6s.