Minimum Decoy Spread For Ducks?

[Colberjs]

I'm trying to get into waterfowl hunting a little bit. I have a kayak and bought some waders and am contemplating upgrading my shotgun to a 28" semi-auto. I'm wondering how many decoys I really need. I see guys with literally dozens of decoys with multiple breeds of ducks.

Can I get by with a mixed dozen mallard hens and drakes for a solo hunter?

 

[Gellar]

You will be able to kill waterfowl with a dozen decoys to start. Get a mojo if your state allows and learn from the birds. Being able to find places that ducks naturally want to be will help with few decoys.

 

[7mm08mo]

Depending on the sitiuation is how many decoys I deploy. Most of the time two dozen is my average and two mojos. I have all mallards and 6 pintails that I use. I have used as little as 6 and as many as 4 or 5 dozen. Like gellar said finding where they want to be is the best thing to do. You can have all the decoys that you can carry and if they don't want to be there it won't help, had it happen to me before. With a kayak you should be able to get to hard to reach areas that do not get pressured as hard as easier to access areas and that would help. I would think 12- 24 dekes it a good starter number. Bass Pro and Cabelas both sell puddle duck kits with about 18 decoys with weights and cord for a reasonable price and are decent enough decoys. As far as guns any gun that you can shoot well will work. If you invest alot of money or a little I would reccomend a floating gun case to haul it in works wonders if you drop it in the water and helps keep mud and debris off of it when going to and from hunting blind. I have used both pump and a semi auto and have a sbe2 right now and love it. Practice your calling it really helps. Have fun good luck.

 

[smorgado]

Where will you be hunting and are the more numerous type of ducks in your area.

 

[smorgado]

Two dozen would be a good start a mix of mallard pintail teal gads and cotton tops would be the best bet. So depending on where you hunt you can set up accordingly some spots you can get away with the just two to four déks and sometimes you can use all two dozen. If your hunting bigger water more open water like rice fields and big checks pintail gad and teal are the best combo. In potholes or small creeks and on rivers green heads and widgeon work great. A spinning wing decoy is nice I like the Lucky Duck Brand. I jerk string is another nice thing to have. I made mine at home it works great

 

[skimerhorn]

This all depends on the area your hunting as stated by everyone above. I will second the Jerk string they are very deadly. Also don't get just any decoys, most ducks will decoy to mallard decoys. Find what ducks are most common in your area and get them. To start off I wouldn't get more then a doz until you see if you like it or not.

 

[HighDesertSage]

When I lived in CA I would hunt the public land areas in the Sacramento Valley. I found that 2 Mallard Drakes and 1 hen was a deadly combination on the ducks. Everyone else out there had a dozen plus spreads and the ducks were used to seeing that and became some what decoy shy. I would also sometimes use a wind duck or mojo when possible/legal. I filled alot of limits with this 3 combo.

 

[RUT JUNKEY]

I agree with the guys above. It really just depends, tons of factors to consider. I would go with the dozen mallards to start. ...movement in the dekes will help too, your concealment is the most important thing above all else in my opinion. Good luck and post up some pics!

 

[choc dogs]

I normally carry 18, 12 mallards and 6 widgeon. I've set out as many as 12 dozen on large open lakes and sometimes just throw a single out in a warm water slough. Don't be afraid to change if its not working. Make your life easy, google texas rigging for decoy cords i did this 10+ years ago and won't go back.

 

[duckhunt]

Early season when im hunting local ducks I use six mallards and one mojo. After it gets cold and the big flocks of northern ducks are migrating through I step it up to about 3 dozen and 3 mojos.

 

[Colberjs]

Thanks for the tips. I was wondering if the mechanized decoys were worth it. Sounds like they are.

 

[skimerhorn]

Thanks for the tips. I was wondering if the mechanized decoys were worth it. Sounds like they are.

In the early season they will work but later in the year they flare more IMO. I'd take a Jerk string and quiver magnet over a mojob any day.

 

[kansasdad]

Thanks for the tips. I was wondering if the mechanized decoys were worth it. Sounds like they are.

The decoys moving (wind, jerk string, spinning wing), and you doing the opposite are generally very helpful for success.

 

[TheJason]

I'd take six good quality decoys with flocked heads, and a jerk string setup ANY day of the week over a spread of four dozen crap decoys with no jerk string.

Disclaimer: If you are hunting faster rivers/streams then a jerk string isn't nearly as important.

 

[MikeMaland]

A dozens fine, I started with six black duck decoys and worked up to a bigger spread. I use a mojo too but shut it off when the geese start flying.

 

[Big Slick]

We hunt the South Platte River and use 8-16 decoys in slack water spots. We also use 3-5 mojos for a different look for the birds that have seen a dozen decoys with one mojo on their migration route. I also prefer to have a friend that can call to take with me hunting, two callers can work well. One mojo and one caller is something that pressured ducks have seen and heard on the majority of their journey, just my opinion. Good luck to you, sir.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

It depends on what you see out at the marsh. My Experience comes from hunting the marshes around the Great Salt Lake which is a high pressure area.

Early season when the ducks are typically singles or doubles. I've killed a bunch of ducks with a visible drake pintail/canvasback decoy at 45 yards and two drake shovelers on a jerk cord 10 yards from the blind.

Mid Season when the divers arrive I've killed a bunch of ducks with a spread of 5 dozen badly painted diver decoys.

In the late season. I've killed a bunch of ducks with an all goose spread. I've had sneaky Green Wing Teal Land in the goose decoys on the ice rather than the duck decoys in the water.

A couple places the ideal spread would be 5-10 dozen coot spread with 2 widgeons and 2 Gadwalls mixed in.

It is a good idea to take a pair of binoculars out and watch where and how the ducks are using the body of water, then tailor your spread to what the ducks are actually doing. Some days a 2 dozen mallard spread will be the ticket and other days a 2 decoy mallard spread will be the ticket.

I don't use wing spinners, because they flair off geese. If I got one it would have to have a remote to turn it off when the geese start to fly. Also, would probably clear coat the wings in a flat matte paint - because I have seen a lot of really flashy wing spinners.

 

[mtmiller]

It is a good idea to take a pair of binoculars out and watch where and how the ducks are using the body of water, then tailor your spread to what the ducks are actually doing. Some days a 2 dozen mallard spread will be the ticket and other days a 2 decoy mallard spread will be the ticket.

I agree. Find out where the birds want to be. Several times I have been hunting over a couple dozen dekes and seen birds working other areas. Grab a handful of decoys, jump in the marsh boat, paddle over and kill a limit.

Decoys, fancy calls and spinners are pretty cool, but knowing where the birds want to be works best for me.

 

[Big Slick]

I agree. Find out where the birds want to be. Several times I have been hunting over a couple dozen dekes and seen birds working other areas. Grab a handful of decoys, jump in the marsh boat, paddle over and kill a limit.

Decoys, fancy calls and spinners are pretty cool, but knowing where the birds want to be works best for me.

This is great advice from a guy with pics to prove it!

 

[Poke 'Em]

You're in Oklahoma. Go drive around, find farm ponds that have birds on them, get permission, throw out a dozen decoys, get fairly hidden, and you'll limit out in under 30 minutes more often than not. Don't make it harder than it has to be.

When I used to duck hunt 25+ days/year in Oklahoma, I averaged between 5 and 5.5 birds/hunt.