Decoy Shy Ducks

[20GaugeFrenzy]

Latley down here in Louisiana, the ducks have been super decoy shy. It is bad when you try to call in five or six flocks and they turn when they see the decoys. Are there any tips for these kind of situations?

[johnch]

First , I would bet some of your problem isn't decoy shy birds .

Take a hard look at your set up , Not trying to put you down .
But I see this every year at the public marsh I hunt

Is there trash , including hulls laying around
Clean up EVERY thing
Every hull , scrap of paper , candy wrapers ect

Then look at the blind
What worked the first few weeks with dumb birds .
Will scare away the survivors
Make sure it is well brushed / grassed
No black hole , shooting ports .
We use fall away burlaped "Windows"

On the public land we use a overhead burlap screen

No white faces .
Use face paint or face masks

How close are you parked ?
I konw guys that park 50 yds from their blind .
They don't shoot hardly any birds .
When I had that blind , we killed birds all season .
But we parked 3-400 yds away , and walked in .

Is the sun in your face ?
It can make a blue gun or shiny calls look like a mirror

I camo my guns , I know you want it to look pretty .
I sand the calls , then a coat of OD green , on the brass band .
Yea it cost $100 , but I want to kill ducks , not impress them



OK now look at your decoys

Can you move your blind or decoys ?
Try it

Are you using a spinning wing decoy ?
If so pull it and see if that helps

Have they been setting out for weeks , with out being moved ?
Faded or covered with slime , just looking crummy ?

Are you running a few dozen in a small area or several hundred in a huge rice feild ?

I woud haul them all out .
Spend a few hours and power wash them
Armorall them

Before you put them back out , think about how many the "hole " or feild should have .

If you had 3 - 4 dozen in a smaller area
Try putting out 12 decoys, 8 hens and 4 drakes
Put out 4 pairs , 2 to each side of the blind 20 - 30 yds out
the 4 hens out front 20 -25 out . no closer than 10 ' apart
In a slightly larger area up the total slightly


If you are running a big spread in a big feild or marsh .
Move it around
Open holes


LOL I hunt a 200 acer flooded feild some times .
We will only put out 18 - 24 decoys



Lastly , how is your partys skill on the call
I have a freind that is the greatest guy .
But he can scare away every duck he trys to call
We have band him from calling

Also are the birds call shy , not decoy shy ?
Try a Drake Mallard call insted of a ringing hen call
Or a Gadwall call

Johnch

[20GaugeFrenzy]

Thanks man. Let me answer a few of these. Also, Im very sorry. Decoy shy might have been the wrong word. Very sorry

The decoys are slightly dirty, and I plan to wash them soon.

I hunt a small less 100 yard wide pond or open water on a lake.

I have a spinning wing decoy, but I have yet to really use it.

I myself have trained with calls. Ive gone to sleep listening to a tape on how to blow a hen mallard call. The caller yesterday wasn't to to profiecent. He used a hail call when he should have used a comeback. I haven't a male mallard call.

The blind is made of rosos while the area is mostly just regular marsh grass. Sadly, we had no face paint.

Our pattern was seperate species of duck seperated. We had mallard, pintail, and teal. No paticular pattern sadly. That seems to be all that the guy I was hunting has ever done.

Thanks for the help man. I plan to take all these tips to heart.

[Allseasonhunter7]

jonch gave away my biggest secret...the mallard dranke grunt

and i use 1dzn and a 1/2 max and the mojo... doesn get any airtime anymore

[canis_lupus]

if ya hit em with a hail call that may be ya prob .... once birds are commited tone ya callin down and only call to em enuff to get their feet down and in the dekes ..... learnin to read the birds is a big part of callin em in close ..... the late season birds here ....as well as down south can be fickle