Last year (my first year)I did mostly pond jumping but I did go out on a few hunts with a partner that had decoys and a dog. I watched him and helped him put out decoys. I know what he does andwhy he does it.
I'm getting some decoys in and I've learned the basics of calling. Now I'm ready to go out and see how many ducks I can get to flare from my set-up.
Seriously now, I want to know what you think is the most important thing to do to your decoys to get the birds to commit.
Can gadwall, wigeon, mallard, pintail, and teal all be in the same spread?
Do divers have to be seperate from puddle ducks?
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Take a friend hunting/fishing; someone needs to be able to take your pictures.
You can put all those ducks in the same spread just try to group them together by species with a little space in between them a little motion could never hurt and just remember to leave a space for the birds your calling to land.
Those are actually the exact species"™ of deeks in my spread. I just set them in spread out family groups with a big open pocket in the middle for the ducks to attempt a landing. I have a few quiver pucks that I throw in amongst the deeks for motion, and I have done quite well. Just learn how to identify the birds on the wing and use the call for that species if you need to call at all, and you will do just fine. check out this link to the DU site, I use five doz deeks and set them out in a very similar pattern.
I think the real key is trying to be realistic. This depends entirely on where you hunt and how you hunt.
Where I hunt in VA, you'll see fairly big rafts of teal, but the big ducks will tend to be in groups of 4-10. So I like to keep my spreads of big ducks just like so. I mix in mallards and blacks with an odd spring in for color. Sometimes I'll have a few teal off to the side, or some wood ducks on the far reaches, almost hidden. As the season gets later, I'll use small bunches, such as two drake mallards and a hen... as birds are starting to pair off into mating couples, and competition can get fierce for hens.
Most importantly, you have to play the wind. Make it easy and conveinent for the birds to land. They need plenty of space. Its some sort of duck taboo to fly over other ducks when coming in to land.... so leave the hole just off to the side so that everyone can have a shot, and the incoming birds will not be staring directly at you. Also keep in mind (if you hunt creeks like me) that ducks would rather fly over water to land then ground... so if they can fly up or down the creek to light... they will do it.
One other thing... don't group them so close together... because often ducks only bunch up when they are nervous or scared.
__________________ You get what you put in, and people get what they deserve. - Kid Rock
Other question:
Do I set up for puddle ducks OR divers, not both?
Can I have divers in my spread of puddle ducks?
Should I keep the spread just puddle ducks?
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Take a friend hunting/fishing; someone needs to be able to take your pictures.
I'm not sure because I've only ever set out for puddle ducks. I do have 2 different sets, I put out a Mallard/Wooduck mix, and then I put out a Pintail/Widgeon spread. It works good, but last year was my first year doing it in mixed spreads,so this year I have to tweak it a little bit.
Other question:
Do I set up for puddle ducks OR divers, not both?
Can I have divers in my spread of puddle ducks?
Should I keep the spread just puddle ducks?
I have had a few decent spreads that mixed puddle and diver ducks. But for the most part, where puddle ducks congregate, you will often not see divers (save a few exceptions like Hollywoods and Jacks). At least thats how my waterfowling has been.
The places I have successfully used both have usually been the mouths of creeks, where they enter a larger river. Divers out in the open more, with the dippers back behind in a pocket slough or something similar. Wind has to be perfect, and more often than not, I have just had success with one kind or the other. Personal opinion, I'd pick what I wanted to go after, and save yourself some work and worry. The more decoys I put out, the more I have to tend to them. The dog goes through them with reckless abandon, the tide moves them, ice sticks to them, and sticks and other floatsom threaten to carry them off.
Just me saving me from myself.
__________________ You get what you put in, and people get what they deserve. - Kid Rock
I don't have any diver deeks, however one of my hunting partners does and we often set up for puddlers, and divers at the same time. The water here in NM will often have deep water right on the edge of flooded grasses, so we will sit in the water with our puddle duck spread in the shallow grassy areas, and a J hook of divers into the deeper water. It has been working great. Last year I was able to take my first Canvasback (that the taxidermist destroyed, see the taxidermy forum on this site for pics) in this exact type of set up. We also get a lot of buffelhead, ringnecks, redhead, and a few bluebills.
Decoy set-up
