notbedidea2: How To Use Duck Decoys In Your Decoy Spread

By: TONY

So, what is the best decoy spread you ask? I believe the key to a good decoy spread is one that looks natural and realistic. The best way to accomplish setting up a decoy spread that looks natural and realistic is trial and error. You must be willing to change things up when ducks are not committing to your decoy spread. This is probably the one thing that most hunters fail to do. If the ducks are just flying past your spread, something doesnt look right to the them. Even if it is just adding or removing a few decoys, changing the direction the decoys are facing, or even spreading or bunching up the decoys. Just a little change can be the difference between a successful hunt or heading home empty handed.
Lets break down a duck decoy spread. There are many different duck decoys on the market, ranging from size, species, and body position. I usually just concern myself with species and a few different body positions when purchasing decoys. The main thing is to scout your hunting area before hand to determine what duck you have in your area. To keep your decoy spread looking as natural as possible, you want to make sure you use duck decoys that match species in your area. Dont limit yourself to one particular species of decoy you want to hunt. Mix it up with a few other species that are in the area. Its not natural looking for just one type of duck to be on the water. Just remember to keep like decoys grouped together. As for the number of decoys to use, there is no magic formula, so trial and error will be your determining factor. I like to start with of my decoys as the predominant species I am going for and non-predominant. Remember to be willing to make changes if the ducks are just passing by.
Adding motion to your decoy spread is another thing to consider. Since it is not realistic for a duck to sit there on the water motionless, it only makes sense to add some movement to your spread, especially on those calm days. There are several ways to add motions to you decoys. One way is to use motorized decoys. There are 2 basic types of motorized decoys. Spinning wing decoys and motorized floating decoys. The spinning wing decoys add motion by simulating a landing duck. These decoys sit on a pole a couple of feet above the waters surface and add visual motion to the decoys spread. The motorized floating decoys come in several styles such as vibrating feeders, bobbing decoys, and floating spinning wing decoys just to name a few. These motorized floating decoys add ripples to the waters surface to give overhead ducks the image of movement. Another way to add motion is to manually create motion by using a jerk cord. A jerk cord is a line that is connected to a few decoys on one end and the other end is run to you blind. When you tug on the line it causes the decoys to jerk and make ripples. Whichever way you decide to add motion to your decoys is up to you and will help add realism to your spread. Again, be willing to change it up if the ducks are not committing to your decoys.
Now lets talk about the shape of your decoy spread and creating a landing zone. There are 3 basic shapes to a decoy spread. The J, C, and U shape. With any shape you use, you need to create an effective landing zone for the ducks to land. Ducks will always land with their face to the wind. So keep this in mind when setting up your decoy shape. You want to make the opening of whichever shape you use to go with the wind. Meaning if the wind is coming out of the north you would want to face the opening of your decoy spread to the south. Think of it as a runway for the ducks to land. You want to try to keep it clear for landing. Again, there is no magic formula. Trial and error and willingness to change it up will help determine what works best.
Here is a quick rundown of how I setup my decoys. If you are interested in the duck decoys I use, Click here. Once I get to my blind I set out a wind driven spinning wing decoy. I set this up first in a location that I want the ducks to land and within shotgun range. This helps me determine wind direction and gives me a starting point for laying out my decoy spread shape. Next I begin setting out my decoys around the wind driven decoy in a shape that fits the water and terrain layout. Once I have laid out all the floating decoys, I place a remote controlled motorized spinning wing decoy within the landing zone and throw out a few motorized floating feeder decoys on either end of the spread. Then settle in to hunt and make changes as needed.

About the Author:
Growing up in south Louisiana and duck hunting nearly all his life has given Tony year of experience. With those years of experience he has learned a lot of do's and don'ts when it comes to duck hunting. He has also created a website to share some of the tools of the trade. Click Here to visit his website.

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com

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