JimHewitt
07-25-2001, 06:14 PM
Dug out my decoys today. Over the years (been hunting ducks since around 1967) I've bought, found, and lost quite a few decoys. Lately I've been getting a cork decoy or two on eBay when the price is right and also have a couple kits to make my own (which I've got to get around to pretty soon.
Last summer was the summer to repaint all the mallard dekes, and I also repainted the 4 or 5 pintail hens I had as mallard hens. Actually, I think they look more like mallard hens than most of the mallard decoys -- the thinner body and head seems to be very, very close to most of the young of the year mallards we see up north before they have a chance to get all fat and sassy on your southern peanut, corn, rice, and soybean fields.
I think I'm going to sell about a dozen of them on eBay. In plastics, I've got a couple Plano decoys (ugly things, but they're the body for those Wonderduck abortions and they do give a little different look to the spread), about a dozen Carry-Lites, a dozen G-H's, and about 20 Flambeaus of varying sizes.
Many of these decoys have been repainted two or three times, and I've found that the Carry-Lites are the worst in holding both their original paint and then also the Parker paints I use for repainting. I think it's because the Carry-Lites flex in the bag and also are more apt to shrink and expand up here in the cold weather.
I like the G&H's look, but they are a bear to use a lead strap on because their heads are just too low. A dozen of them make a more relaxed looking set, but I think that if I ever get any more plastic decoys I'm going to stick with the oversize Flambeaus from now on. I also find that the G&H's don't hold their paint as well as the Flambeaus, although I know a lot of people swear by G&H's and are willing to pay a premium for them.
I've also got a half dozen or so bull sprigs in my normal set, even though we don't see many of them around here, just because those white necks really make the set stick out. When we do get a small flight of pintails, though, I find that I'm the only one in the area who ever gets any -- no one else up here puts out any pintails. One of these days I would love to get a fully-feathered bull sprig, but they just don't get that far into their breeding plumage up here in Minnesota, and they don't stick around long enough to have the long tail feathers grow.
To round out my puddle duck set, I also include about 15 floater geese. I find they probably attract mallards and, surprisingly woodies, better than the mallard decoys, but I can't put them too close to the ducks or I'll never see a wigeon, gadwall, or teal. Usually woodies will land as close to the geese as they can get, the mallards will land between the geese and the rest of the ducks, and all the other ducks will land in the duck portion of the spread.
Later on in the season, I'll reduce the number of hen mallards and replace them with 3-4 dozen divers (mixed bluebills, redheads, cans, and goldeneyes).
Also, later in the season, I hunt one pothole that gets hit pretty hard in the early season but doesn't get any pressure late. Here I can go the whole mile and put out about 4 dozen silhouettes and shell goose decoys on shore, divers in the deeper water, and mallards off the side.
What's your normal set?
[For what it's worth, I hunt with one of my sons usually, and we take the decoys in by canoe into an area that doesn't allow motors on boats -- this old man doesn't carry decoys anymore!, and it's very easy to paddle a canoe the 400 yards into the marsh while the guys with jonboats or semi-vees don't want to row their boats that far.]
Last summer was the summer to repaint all the mallard dekes, and I also repainted the 4 or 5 pintail hens I had as mallard hens. Actually, I think they look more like mallard hens than most of the mallard decoys -- the thinner body and head seems to be very, very close to most of the young of the year mallards we see up north before they have a chance to get all fat and sassy on your southern peanut, corn, rice, and soybean fields.
I think I'm going to sell about a dozen of them on eBay. In plastics, I've got a couple Plano decoys (ugly things, but they're the body for those Wonderduck abortions and they do give a little different look to the spread), about a dozen Carry-Lites, a dozen G-H's, and about 20 Flambeaus of varying sizes.
Many of these decoys have been repainted two or three times, and I've found that the Carry-Lites are the worst in holding both their original paint and then also the Parker paints I use for repainting. I think it's because the Carry-Lites flex in the bag and also are more apt to shrink and expand up here in the cold weather.
I like the G&H's look, but they are a bear to use a lead strap on because their heads are just too low. A dozen of them make a more relaxed looking set, but I think that if I ever get any more plastic decoys I'm going to stick with the oversize Flambeaus from now on. I also find that the G&H's don't hold their paint as well as the Flambeaus, although I know a lot of people swear by G&H's and are willing to pay a premium for them.
I've also got a half dozen or so bull sprigs in my normal set, even though we don't see many of them around here, just because those white necks really make the set stick out. When we do get a small flight of pintails, though, I find that I'm the only one in the area who ever gets any -- no one else up here puts out any pintails. One of these days I would love to get a fully-feathered bull sprig, but they just don't get that far into their breeding plumage up here in Minnesota, and they don't stick around long enough to have the long tail feathers grow.
To round out my puddle duck set, I also include about 15 floater geese. I find they probably attract mallards and, surprisingly woodies, better than the mallard decoys, but I can't put them too close to the ducks or I'll never see a wigeon, gadwall, or teal. Usually woodies will land as close to the geese as they can get, the mallards will land between the geese and the rest of the ducks, and all the other ducks will land in the duck portion of the spread.
Later on in the season, I'll reduce the number of hen mallards and replace them with 3-4 dozen divers (mixed bluebills, redheads, cans, and goldeneyes).
Also, later in the season, I hunt one pothole that gets hit pretty hard in the early season but doesn't get any pressure late. Here I can go the whole mile and put out about 4 dozen silhouettes and shell goose decoys on shore, divers in the deeper water, and mallards off the side.
What's your normal set?
[For what it's worth, I hunt with one of my sons usually, and we take the decoys in by canoe into an area that doesn't allow motors on boats -- this old man doesn't carry decoys anymore!, and it's very easy to paddle a canoe the 400 yards into the marsh while the guys with jonboats or semi-vees don't want to row their boats that far.]