ilhnter Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 I just started duck hunting this past season and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking into getting my own decoys for next season. When you put out a spread, does it matter what species of decoys you put out? Will all ducks come into a spread of just mallard decoys? I'm just wondering if just buying a putting out mallard decoys would be o.k. or do you need a mixed bag of decoys? I've also heard that it is good to throw a few goose decoys into your spread because they are bigger and catch the birds eye easier, any truth to that? Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sharpshooter Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Re: Decoy Spreads It really depends on where you are hunting (swamps,rivers,reserviors, sloughs... etc) and wht you are hunting for. If you are hunting swamps (wood ducks and mallards) mallard decoys will work fine as the greenheads give woodies more confidence to land in your "hole". It also brings in birds that may pass over your hole that are planning on going somewhere else. If your hunting a big lake i wouldnt reccommend any mallard decoys (as we rarely see mallards). I personally hunt divers and throw out ringnecks,buffleheads,goldeneye,bluebills, and dont forget the coots! its hard to spend money on coot decoys till you see how they work! Where i hunt, coots are the ticket to success. Also if you hunt gadwalls i reccommend coots and maybe two HEN mallards. Gadwall decoys work great early in the season. when the birds get pounded i throw out 0-5 decoys when hunting gadwall. As far as geese go... i dont hardly use them if there are not any geese in the area. i have heard that a single goose decoy in a spred adds extra confidence in pressured birds, but have never tried it. If i am in a spot where i regularly kill geese (but hunting ducks) i throw out 2-3 geese decoys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pintail711 Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Re: Decoy Spreads we just use mallards and they work just fine, but when we hunt something big like a lake we throw in our pintails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huntinguide Posted February 28, 2007 Report Share Posted February 28, 2007 Re: Decoy Spreads id say for the most part mallards will kill just about any puddle duck. But if you are big water hunting like lakes i always put out a couple dozen white dekes like a canvas back or redhead, bufflehead, scaup anything with white so the ducks can see you from afar, you will also run into these species on big water opossed to ponds and small water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdoc Posted March 1, 2007 Report Share Posted March 1, 2007 Re: Decoy Spreads 90% of my decoys are mallards. I've had lots of different species decoy to the mallards. I also throw out a few gads and 1/2 dozen teal near the shore in a little family group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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