Flambeau decoys

[f350ps]

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]

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]

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.]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.