PDA

View Full Version : Flambeau decoys



orcabait
11-27-2012, 12:39 PM
Hi guys
I have been hunting over a dozen or so of the cheap flambeau decoys from 'crappy tire' for a month now and doing okay. I understand you get what you pay for but any suggestions from the vets out there to improve there look or perhaps any words of wisdom. They seem to be working but the larger flocks of ducks circle a few times but don't seem to want to commit. Lots of singles and doubles coming in. Could it be glare from the paint? Any thoughts?

Dano
11-27-2012, 01:38 PM
It could be glare but with the rainy fall we've had I bet it something else!
Could be you aren't leaving an area for the birds to land, maybe your decoys are too close together (nervous birds crowd together tighter), it could be that with more eyes in the flock, the birds are more liable to see something they don't like.
Are you hunting a large amount of water or a field? How many decoys, how do you set them out? Do you use a robo and where do you put it if you do?
A picture of your set up would help. Send a pm to me if you don't want to post it here for some reason.
Dan

swamper
11-27-2012, 02:28 PM
Putting a Mojo in with your spread works wonders. I use those same decoys and combined with the Mojo they work just fine.

lorneparker1
11-27-2012, 02:29 PM
Yup add a robo duck or 2.

Lorne

pnbrock
11-27-2012, 03:03 PM
2- robos your gonna kill them. Make sure your landing area is into the wind.

cavebear
11-27-2012, 03:05 PM
If you have them circling it might actually be you or your gear they are spotting, and not your spread turning them away.

Cheers and happy hunting

Chessieguy
11-27-2012, 04:26 PM
x2 the seeing you... If the singles and doubles are coming in then I expect the decoys will look fine, but when there is a flock there are a lot more eyes looking down, and the excitement will often make you move around a little more, and that shows up like you wouldn't believe.

Also a robo or 2 will certainly help the cause

BiG Boar
11-27-2012, 06:07 PM
Probably your cover isn't good enough in broad daylight. Might be fine early morn or evening, but when they can see everything expect 1-2 circles before they land a group. If they see anything they don't like, they're gonzo. Buy the double pack of baby mojos for $90 and improve your overhead cover. They will only get more wary as the season moves on. Also, learn the comeback call for when they circle away.

WestCoastTodd
11-27-2012, 07:49 PM
I've got the same decoys. The budget isn't there (yet) for the mojos, so we rigged up a jerk line. Seemed to make a big difference, and cost about $5. Check youtube for the details...

warnniklz
11-27-2012, 08:34 PM
I'm with them seeing you or the spread isn't quite right. If you have them coming in but not committing... play with your spread a little.

My g-pa still has a wack of old decoys from the 50's (he's since fallen in love with final approach) that were just pieces of wood cut out in a goose sillhouettes. Has pictures of him and his brothers out in the field with stacks of birds.

Just because they're cheap doesn't mean they won't work... you'll just have less of an edge over the birds.

f350ps
11-27-2012, 09:14 PM
If you saw the 50 duck decoys I gave away this fall that have seen many birds die over them you would think yours were hand painted mantle pieces. They were about 35 years old with very little paint left on them but they still worked fine, I just caught up in the new fandangled ones, Can't say they work any better than the old ones, concealment is the key. Keep your face down or wear a face mask. K

Sako 75
11-27-2012, 09:15 PM
The big flock of ducks more eyes looking down the surrounding areas especially now when the ducks are being shot at a lot. Conceal your self little better, no movement, try calling softer, spread you decoys farther apart from the next decoy. Bunching up decoys makes ducks more wary.

Heck I got decoys are 40 years old and paint are faded and it still works.

f350ps
11-27-2012, 09:28 PM
Just another thought, if yer not good on a call put it away! When I shoot the marsh I see more birds jump off shitty calling than anything else. K

Ian F.
11-28-2012, 07:37 AM
Cover up more, stop moving, birds land into the wind and need a space to land, stop moving, cover up more and stop moving...bigger the flock = more eyes to catch you out...

longshot
11-29-2012, 12:14 AM
I made a jerk rig a few years ago for the small potholes. I took an aluminum 3/4" thick square bar, pointed the bottom end, and drilled a hole in the top. Painted it green. Then I took a dark bungee and fastened one end to the stake. On the other end of the bungee I had a spool of line that ran to the blind. Simply plug stake into the ground on the other side of the pond. On the line that ran to the blind, the decoys were hooked up.... Simply pull the spool of line and let go, do that as the birds come in.... worked wonders before we looked at mojo's, which only work in certain conditions! Best part is it was free for me to make. I found the bar as scrap, and bungees are everywhere in our garage. Spool of line was just decoy rigging line.

~longshot jr.

Tanya
11-29-2012, 06:56 AM
Lots of good advice/ideas here. Decoys do not have to be fancy, and concealment especially for the shiney face is key. Take a look from across a field at someone, the shiney face is the first thing you'll see. If you wear glasses make sure your hat shades to shine from them too, that is super noticeable.

warnniklz
11-29-2012, 12:16 PM
To further my point... I started out with goose lawn ornaments that I picked up from the garden centre at walmart. Had great shoots with them. And I still use them in my spread. Durable and I'm not afraid to sacrifice them if there's a goose sitting in my decoys.

orcabait
12-03-2012, 12:41 PM
Wow. Thanks guys, that is a good bunch of info that I did not expect.
I think I have been making the error of putting the decoys perhaps too close together in small water ponds in the field. I will try to space them out a bit and make a better landing area. We have been concealing ourselves in the drainage ditches near the ponds and sometimes we are a bit too far from where they are landing beyond the decoys. I have 2 robo ducks on order and I would imagine they will take some of the attention from me. I have a few really green hunters with me and I think they don't quite get it when I tell them to be still and don't show them the whites of your eyes.
Thanks again guys.

orcabait
12-03-2012, 12:47 PM
Not to mention all my mistakes as well. Not just the rookies I am with. I am one too.
A little humble pie. Thanks for the tips gentlemen. I will follow up with any good or bad changes.

MRBucks
12-03-2012, 01:16 PM
I usually lay the decoys out in a V shape, with the area in the middle for them to land in. Use the wind as your direction in which to lay them. Seems to work pretty good. Lay your last few decoys at the furthest range of your shots, where you can still get a decent shot pattern. This can help prevent you from trying to over-shoot.

A little face paint will go along way in preventing your birds from flaring off. It's really hard to always keep your face down long enough to get them within range, (especially with rookies), and a white face looking out of the blind is a sure way to get them to do that..lol

Some of my older decoys are made of a foam type material, they never shine even when wet.

warnniklz
12-03-2012, 01:43 PM
with geese... resters/sleepers and feeders should make up the majority of the inner flock. Sentries should be few out around the edges.

All birds should be for the most part facing the wind. Also when I'm setting up. I pace out 40 yards and that's where my furthest decoy goes. If the wind is blowing east to west say... I have my decoys a little east of my blind. That way when they come in to land they're landing right in front of you.

lorneparker1
12-03-2012, 01:57 PM
Why would you put all or even most of your decoys facing the wind? And why only sentries around the edges? Not saying its wrong or right just curious.

nano
12-03-2012, 04:19 PM
Wow. Thanks guys, that is a good bunch of info that I did not expect.
I think I have been making the error of putting the decoys perhaps too close together in small water ponds in the field. I will try to space them out a bit and make a better landing area. We have been concealing ourselves in the drainage ditches near the ponds and sometimes we are a bit too far from where they are landing beyond the decoys. I have 2 robo ducks on order and I would imagine they will take some of the attention from me. I have a few really green hunters with me and I think they don't quite get it when I tell them to be still and don't show them the whites of your eyes.
Thanks again guys.

The robo will help you that's for sure. I started the season with just 12 stormfront decoys and I was have 4-5 duck days. Once I got the robo it was great, added movement to my spred helped to pull ducks in. Just make sure you got a properly set spred.

warnniklz
12-03-2012, 06:27 PM
Why would you put all or even most of your decoys facing the wind? And why only sentries around the edges? Not saying its wrong or right just curious.

Birds land into the wind... so if most(not all) are facing into the wind, when the birds come in they see the backs and the head giving off more of a duck/goose shaped profile instead of a blob profile. And from what I've found most birds feed into the wind. Just my theory that seems to work for me.

And yeah I guess I did kind of word it a little weird about the sentries. I do have them scattered in the main flock as well. This is mainly with geese. Ducks I'm not as picky about.