"When you're hunting in a place where you have to bump loafing birds off a resting area, it's crucial to set up quickly because it usually doesn't take long for those ducks to start trickling back in," he says. Vandemore prefers to use a downsized decoy spread when hunting in many other habitats as well. "This seems to confuse the birds a bit and keeps them looking around for a place to land, instead of fading back downwind and landing in the trees out of range." "Once the ducks clear the treetops and drop into the hole, they tend to float back and forth between the two groups of decoys," he explains. He places the majority of his spread on the upwind side of the hole and deploys only six decoys on the far downwind side. "Add a jerk string and some calling and you're set." "In the small timber holes that I hunt, you don't have to use a lot of decoysmaybe three dozen at most," says Vandemore, who is co-owner of Habitat Flats, an intensively managed commercial hunting property near Sumner. Every waterfowl hunter should experience hunting in flooded timber at least once, he says, and you don't need a big spread of decoys to do it. Tony Vandemore has learned from experience that when heavy autumn rains flood the river bottoms of north-central Missouri, mallards and wood ducks will appear immediately on the heels of the rising water. "I always position the decoy at an angle where the sun will illuminate the spinning wings." 2. "I set the motion decoy 10 to 15 yards away from us, so it won't draw attention to our blind," he says. To increase the visibility of his spread, Bard uses a spinning-wing decoy equipped with a remote control, which allows him to turn the decoy on and off while ducks are working. I also include a small group of wigeon, pintails, or other early-migrating species if I see any of these birds in the area while I'm scouting." "Wood ducks, on the other hand, always seem to be doing their own thing," Bard explains, "and I keep the black duck decoys separated from the other species as well. It's not uncommon to see bunches of mallards and teal feeding together, he says, so he will often group those species together. "A small decoy spread works well during the first few weeks of the season because the ducks are not concentrated in big numbers," says Bard, who is an owner and guide at a hunt club near New York's Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.īard's early-season dabbler spread consists of two to three dozen decoys, which he divides by species into small groups and places along the edges of wetland vegetation surrounding the landing hole. To get to these secluded spots, he either walks in or uses a small canoe, so he leaves the big bags of decoys at home. ![]() Here are five downsized decoy spreads that just might help you put more birds in the bag this season with a lot less work.ĭuring the early season, Mike Bard typically hunts on small marshes, creeks, and backwaters where local wood ducks, green-winged teal, mallards, and black ducks feed and rest. ![]() Sure, there are going to be hunts when you'll probably want to go with a bigger spread, but there will also be times when it pays to go small. The following spreads offered by veteran waterfowlers consist of no more than three dozen decoys. And in some situations a smaller, simpler rig will actually decoy more birds. The fact is, if you set up in a spot where the birds want to be, you can often be just as successful with a small spread as with a large one. There is no question that a massive decoy spread will command the attention of passing flocks of waterfowl, but the time, effort, and expense required to maintain a huge rig can be a challenge, especially for newcomers to the sport.
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