Advice Needed
01-11-2007, 06:31 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 24
Advice Needed
I've been hunting ducks and geese for years here in Long Island Sound. I hunt ponds, and ocean mainly for mallards and blacks. We jump shoot widgeon, canadian geese, snow geese, buffleheads, blah blah blah. What i'm getting at is what would be an ideal decoy spread when targeting mallards and blacks (they always fly together round here) in small bodies of water. they use the water for feeding, and to get away from the weather. I know how to set them up, and where, but i was looking for some other hunters input. Also, what would be the best call to use, i've noticed the hen mallard call i can yank in mallards, but the blacks sound more like a drake mallard. Im a pretty good caller but i'm having difficulty finding a drake mallard call, which i could attract mallards AND blacks. Thanks for any help.
Mase
Mase
01-11-2007, 08:18 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location:
Posts: 52
RE: Advice Needed
Mase, im in the same situation. Except, I dont hunt the ocean, I hunt a lake, and we dont have tons of blacks. The mallards love these little ponds that ur talking about, i have a few myself. I use a mojo in the pond, and the mallards dont even hesitate. they come right in. calling wise, i stay more to the quiet side. if they see ur spread and there heading ur way, give a few feeders and maybe a quack. try it, works for me. when they want nothing to do with you, talk to them. good luck,
tyler
tyler
01-15-2007, 07:03 AM
#6
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: OKC Ok. USA
Posts: 501
RE: Advice Needed
Use a dozen blacks and 1/2 dozen mallards throw in some buff's.
Mallard will regulary decoy to blacks (so will alot of other birds)but not always the other way around. Don't worry about call. Learn when and how. Black's are not anywhere near as "talkative" as mallards and a much warier bird. I used to hunt the Meadowlands and Barnegat and up in Maine and after years of experience found building a spread around Blacks over mallards was the way to go.
I do have a question though did they raise the limit on Blacks. Back in the day of points they were a 100 pt bird and even after the point system was done away with you were only allowed one in the daily bag.
Mallard will regulary decoy to blacks (so will alot of other birds)but not always the other way around. Don't worry about call. Learn when and how. Black's are not anywhere near as "talkative" as mallards and a much warier bird. I used to hunt the Meadowlands and Barnegat and up in Maine and after years of experience found building a spread around Blacks over mallards was the way to go.
I do have a question though did they raise the limit on Blacks. Back in the day of points they were a 100 pt bird and even after the point system was done away with you were only allowed one in the daily bag.
01-15-2007, 01:58 PM
#7
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Where the ducks don't come no more
Posts: 4,420
RE: Advice Needed
Blacks are far more wary than mallards are....one of the most difficult birds to decoy, if not the most. I'll give you my opinions one at a time.
Black duck call: The hens sound just like mallards do. The drakes sound just like drake mallards do as well. In order to make that grunt sound you hear, you need either a 6-in-1 whistle, like the teal/widgeon/sprig/quail/woody etc etc whistle, or a Duck Commander Mallard Drake call. With that whistle, just grunt like you normally would into you single reed and say "drake", short or long, loud or quiet. Just sort of buzz your teeth a little. I have also heard people say "zzzzztttt", and that works well...drake just makes more sense to me
.
Decoys: Blacks will land with mallards, most anything will. But, they prefer to hang with other blacks. What I do, is mix my spread with mallards and blacks. I will usually put the blacks a bit off to one side, and mix one or two blacks in with my standard 8 mallards. Occasionally, I will throw in a sprig or a widgeon just to add some white. If I am near open water, I'll use a bluebill or two. The key is location. Its been my experience that black ducks will only decoy in certain areas...typically, tidal creeks in marsh, but preferably along a tree line. Some of these creeks can be pretty dad gum small (not much wider than your john boat), but thats where they like to be. I have had a devil of a time trying to get them to land along the side of a river, even though mallards will land there all day long.
Species: Everything will land with mallards, it is true. But, if you want to kill widgeon, then you are going need a few baldplate deeks. I have killed some over mallards, but noticed that I started seeing a heck of a lot more when I threw out a few off to the side. Wood ducks are no different (only they don't reliably decoy to anything, even just wood duck decoys....they do the flyby). Pintails are right up there with blacks as some of the hardest to decoy. Most of the sprigs I have killed have been extracted from groups of mallards. For the most part, if you want a group of sprigs to come in...you need a spread with predominently pintails. There again...just been my experience.
Calling in general: I hear a heck of a lot of commotion in the marsh from other hunters...and it isn't gunfire. My general attitude with calling is that more is less. If the birds want to come in, let the decoys do it. Calling for me serves one of two purposes....one) an attention getter....ie, the ducks don't see the decoys, so the call makes them curious...works very well on low birds. Two) a deal sealer...when the birds have worked once or twice, a few quacks or a greeting call when the swing around down-wind will usually hook them right in. I don't call to every bird that comes by...because thats not what ducks do. I don't live in Arkansas....where you don't even need decoys to kill birds in the flooded timber (lots of chatter and lots of water movement will do it). This is just what I do...and I have acctually killed more blacks this year than mallards (of course, the ducks are all still up north for the most part...but the front is coming down tmw AM! I'll be there!
Black duck call: The hens sound just like mallards do. The drakes sound just like drake mallards do as well. In order to make that grunt sound you hear, you need either a 6-in-1 whistle, like the teal/widgeon/sprig/quail/woody etc etc whistle, or a Duck Commander Mallard Drake call. With that whistle, just grunt like you normally would into you single reed and say "drake", short or long, loud or quiet. Just sort of buzz your teeth a little. I have also heard people say "zzzzztttt", and that works well...drake just makes more sense to me
.Decoys: Blacks will land with mallards, most anything will. But, they prefer to hang with other blacks. What I do, is mix my spread with mallards and blacks. I will usually put the blacks a bit off to one side, and mix one or two blacks in with my standard 8 mallards. Occasionally, I will throw in a sprig or a widgeon just to add some white. If I am near open water, I'll use a bluebill or two. The key is location. Its been my experience that black ducks will only decoy in certain areas...typically, tidal creeks in marsh, but preferably along a tree line. Some of these creeks can be pretty dad gum small (not much wider than your john boat), but thats where they like to be. I have had a devil of a time trying to get them to land along the side of a river, even though mallards will land there all day long.
Species: Everything will land with mallards, it is true. But, if you want to kill widgeon, then you are going need a few baldplate deeks. I have killed some over mallards, but noticed that I started seeing a heck of a lot more when I threw out a few off to the side. Wood ducks are no different (only they don't reliably decoy to anything, even just wood duck decoys....they do the flyby). Pintails are right up there with blacks as some of the hardest to decoy. Most of the sprigs I have killed have been extracted from groups of mallards. For the most part, if you want a group of sprigs to come in...you need a spread with predominently pintails. There again...just been my experience.
Calling in general: I hear a heck of a lot of commotion in the marsh from other hunters...and it isn't gunfire. My general attitude with calling is that more is less. If the birds want to come in, let the decoys do it. Calling for me serves one of two purposes....one) an attention getter....ie, the ducks don't see the decoys, so the call makes them curious...works very well on low birds. Two) a deal sealer...when the birds have worked once or twice, a few quacks or a greeting call when the swing around down-wind will usually hook them right in. I don't call to every bird that comes by...because thats not what ducks do. I don't live in Arkansas....where you don't even need decoys to kill birds in the flooded timber (lots of chatter and lots of water movement will do it). This is just what I do...and I have acctually killed more blacks this year than mallards (of course, the ducks are all still up north for the most part...but the front is coming down tmw AM! I'll be there!
