Deeks... How many is too many??

[Fella]

So I'm getting ready for the waterfowl opener (couldn't sleep last night!) and this year will be the first time I've used decoys, so I'm trying to gather as much info as possible in order to make a decent spread. I was given advice on placing the decoys in such a way that the ducks have to land right in front of the blind (this makes sense) however another question I had is there such thing as too many decoys? One of the places we hunt is a small feeder pond that's maybe 3/4 of an acre in size. It hosts a pretty decent flock of ducks already. We have 50 decoys, should we use all of them?

[field marshal]

No problem with 50 blocks!! Use a jerk cord for motion on the water!! A mojo decoy is useful!! Most important hide yourselves
very,very, very well!!! Good luck on the opener!---Cheers---Field Marshal.

[Fella]

Thanks Field Marshal! Hiding won't be a problem, the grass and reeds are thick and around 4 feet tall. Blend right in when we sit!

[Ian F.]

Work ExTREMELY hard to not knock down the existing cover, happens very quick and easy. Define a blind area with. Few sticks rammed in the mud and a cross-bar stick, couple zip ties and your good. Use only one route to,the water and have it out to one side almost like a. L to keep the focus off the hide

[mattchu_19]

Your decoy spread should have a natural look to it. When your scouting look at where and how many ducks there are and adjust your spread to that.

[longshot]

When you can't afford ammo from buying too many deeks... what's when

But ya just try to make the spread the way the birds actually sit in that spot... so when the birds that were sitting in there the day before come in, it looks like any other day to them.

Longshot jr.

[Nickchee]

It's great to own as many dekes as you can because sometimes you want MASSIVE spreads and sometimes when the birds have been educated then you want little to no dekes to make them feel safe. If you're in a major flight path you might be competing with flocks of 10's of thousands and they won't bat an eye at 100 dekes. It's all situational and experience comes in time with alot of poorly set spreads to learn from.

All good advise from the guys above.
and x2 on movement with both a mojo and a jerk cord. I really like Mojo's baby teal because it has fast spinning wings that flash alot of white(and they're cheap!!)


I'm the same as you and jumping out of my skin waiting for the opener! If you ever want a buddy to hunt the Fraser give me a shout.
Nick

[Fella]

Hey Nick, so variety is the key I guess eh? Our pond usually has around 50 or so ducks feeding on or around it, would more be better in this case? Kind of a "oh, there's a lot of other ducks here, must be safe/plentiful food" type thing? (I could be way off, I'm still pretty new to waterfowling).

I don't live in the Valley anymore, relocated to the island but I'm going to visit family this weekend so figured I'd meet up with my buddy to get some ducks. Don't have a place to hunt yet here on the island so this might be my only chance to get out this year!

[Foxton Gundogs]

Your decoy spread should have a natural look to it. When your scouting look at where and how many ducks there are and adjust your spread to that.

Yep what Matt said remember if you throw everything you have at the "dumb" birds at the beginning of the season theres no where to go as they get educated.