decoy question

[crowe1187]

i am lookin into buyin some duck decoys and dont know what i need.i have a small wet weather pond that has a little bit of timber in it and a small beaver pond off of a creek. i hunted one evenin and one mornin on the beaver pond and saw about 30 ducks both times. most every duck was a woody. i also will be huntin other locations any chance i can get. my question is when buyin decoys should i get mallards or woodies or what. i have heard that woodies dont decoy very well which many times when huntin a roost pond they either come or they dont. what are yall's thoughts on decoys, how many, or what kind. thanks crowe

 

[wet feet]

If they are coming to the pond on there own decoys proably wont help and may even hurt you. There are guys on here that know a lot more than me so I might be wrong just see what the other guys have to say and good luck on your hunting.

 

[jedisme]

generally, wood ducks won't decoy.

 

[Beehaw]

I have head wood ducks in my decoys more times than I can count, and I only have mallard decoys. As a rule of thumb, most puddle ducks will decoys to mallard decoys, if they are going to decoy. I would recommend buying about 1 dozen mallard decoys (whatever you can get a good deal on) and maybe four woodies.

If I buy single decoys, I buy twice as many drakes as hens because they are so much easier to see from the air.

 

[AAADawg]

Resident Woodies wont decoy unless you happen to be set up where they are roosting anyway....they wont even swing over a spread...migrant woodies will but they become residents in just a few days, they are very adoptive and will learn the area serioulsy in just a few days if they are not returning in which case they are already like residents. Your best bet is standard Mallard water keel decoys....they are the most versatile and everything will decoy to them including Geese. They will work equally well on small bodies of water as well as large lakes and there is no place that a Mallard is out of place...a wood duck spread on a large lake would be out of place or a spread of bluebills on a small beaver pond. There are some manufacturers now like G&H who package more drakes in a dozen that hens...that is more natural although these dekes are much more expensive than the plain old standby Flambeau's that come 6 & 6 to a dozen. I like a lot of Decoys...thats why I say buy the standards because they are cheaper and they allow you to put out more dekes.....in my opinion Decoying Ducks is a numbers game...you are most likely going to pull birds that are relatively new to the area because ducks that have been around a few days will follow the same patterns and are hard to pull. Thats why I say it is a numbers game....to me a fresh migrant will not know that those 40 or so birds off that point are out of place...they will look like a refuge to a bird that has been flying all night. On top of this most of t he places we hunt in Georgia either have a lot of ducks (public areas built to attract them) or no ducks and it is not uncommon on WMA's and refuges for lots of birds to be "rafted' up together. A lot of dekes might hurt you in a situation like stock tanks in Texas where fewer birds in one location is the norm but with our limited amount of bird holding areas they tend to gang up. Good Luck.

 

[MudDucker]

A couple of woody decoys with a quiver magnet or two should be all you need. Woodys usually are scared by a big spread.

I've never seen a woody come to a mallard spread, but I've heard of stranger things. I have seen virtually every other duck come to a mallard spread.

My experience says bigger is only better early in the season. Later on, it spooks everything but dumb diver ducks.

Good luck!

 

[jedisme]

early in the season i'll use anywhere from a dozen decoys to 2 dozen decoys...as the season progresses i go down in the number of decoys...generally 3-12 decoys.
i'd say if your going to use wood duck decoys i'd place them close to the bank.

 

[WOODIE13]

Just depends on what you see, but regardless, I always have goose decoys out with the ducks, helps with visibility and you never know when a honker or two will fly over.

 

[phinizyhunt]

Plenty of woodies decoy in my mallard spread! Had two land practically in my lap opening day!

 

[Beehaw]

Crowe, It seems we have covered it all:

1. Woodies decoy well, but woodies won't decoy at all.
2. Large spreads work better early in the year, but large spreads work better later in the year.
3. Mallard decoys are all you need, but woodie decoys are all you need.


There is a lot to be said from all of these responses. My take is that you shouldn't be afraid to try anything a few times, it might work. I have always wondered how many years some guy hunted with the first homemade Mojo-Mallard while his buddies gave him a hard time.

There is no better teacher than live ducks. Always pay attention to what happens with everything you do, and you will be better prepared next time.

 

[phinizyhunt]

Crowe, It seems we have covered it all:

1. Woodies decoy well, but woodies won't decoy at all.
2. Large spreads work better early in the year, but large spreads work better later in the year.
3. Mallard decoys are all you need, but woodie decoys are all you need.


There is a lot to be said from all of these responses. My take is that you shouldn't be afraid to try anything a few times, it might work. I have always wondered how many years some guy hunted with the first homemade Mojo-Mallard while his buddies gave him a hard time.

There is no better teacher than live ducks. Always pay attention to what happens with everything you do, and you will be better prepared next time. [/QUOTEP
PREACH IT BEEHAW!!!!!!!

 

[JDAWG]

In Alabama woodys will fall in a goose spread quick. We had gooses decoys out in a cove and about 40 woodys came sliding in with them. Happened twice in two years.

 

[phinizyhunt]

I have always thought woodies were dumb

 

[Booner Killa]

Woodies will come to dekes. If they are resident ducks and are coming to that pond, don't change a thing. Just camo up and get in there with em. They will practically land on you. The place I hunt, dekes don't do you much good on woodies because they are flying a creek very low. They are coming, we don't need to call or decoy them. If you are hunting them and they go somewhere else, I love jump shooting them. Especially if it's windy. They can't here you coming. If you have a couple of people, leave them there and go to the birds, circle behind them and push them to your buddies. It is a blast, I can't wait til Sat now. You've got me pumped. Good luck and don't be afraid to try something unorthodox. That is what makes hunting fun.

 

[Beehaw]

I have always thought woodies were dumb

Or very naive. How many times have you been drinking coffee and had them announce their impending arrival with a nice scream two turns upriver?

 

[crowe1187]

wel i recon yall about covered everything possible. i appriciate all the advice and we will just have to see whos pattern pays off first. haha. thanks guys

 

[phinizyhunt]

That sounds like the right idea!

 

[AAADawg]

Just depends on what you see, but regardless, I always have goose decoys out with the ducks, helps with visibility and you never know when a honker or two will fly over.

I agree 100%....Goose decoys are great and if you are in an area where there are numbers of pintails a few BIG pintail drake dekes are also great...they have LOTS of white on them that shines like new money especially if it is overcast....the white "chevron" on a Canada Goose's behind is like a neon sign early in the morning...you can see it for miles!!!! Mallards also like Snow Goose decoys but I have never tried any in Georgia because with the exception of the occasional loner at Rhetts I have never seen any Snow geese in georgia.....

 

[AAADawg]

That sounds like the right idea!

Do you hunt Phinizy Swamp? is it as difficult to hunt as it looks? Your Avatar looks like it might be Phinizy, is it???

 

[WOODIE13]

Too bad there are no Tundra Swans around, talk about an attention getter in the spread