So in just a couple of weeks, duck season will be starting up here in WI. This will be my 3rd year duck hunting, with only a handful of hunts under my belt. What I'm looking to do now is add a little variety to my decoy spread without emptying my wallet. Right now I've got about 12-15 mallard decoys (about 50/50 drake/hen), 4 green wing teal, and a motorized feeding mallard butt. I was wondering if any of you have ever modified a decoy and had any success doing so. I'm thinking of making some sleeping decoys out of some of my mallards and maybe making a couple more feeding butts. What are your thoughts? Good idea or not? Are there any other modifications you have done or seen that looked good and were DIY? I'll post some pictures as soon as I get my modifications done.

While I have yet to purchase a motorized decoy will share my opinion.

Keep your decoys clean and painted. I find decoying ducks has more to do with your decoy layout more than sleepers and the rest. Motion is important and I do make a few jerk decoys at times.

But adjusting my overall spread from a few decoys to maybe a few dozen and then using the wind to make those wary flights feel more comfortable with my spread.

I know a guy across the lake that has a wide variety of different species. He uses quite a variety.
I do just as well with just using my Mallards, then adding a few divers to later in the season less Mallards to more divers.

That is what I seriously watch.

JW

Add a jerk cord to get movement into your blocks.

Buy the butt decoys, I know money is tight but they are 4.99 or something, and the most you would need is 3 or 4.

Keep them clean and take well care of them.

Match whatever you scout. If your seeing large variety of birds, set out a varied spread, mostly small flocks of puddlers, stick with the small groups of Mallards.

more movement the better

The first step in making a duck decoy out of foam is to purchase an aluminum, duck-shaped mold from your local sporting good store. If you can't find it there, then perform a search on the Internet in order to find some suppliers. Most molds are made so that the head and the body of the decoy are formed separately, then assembled later. The best molds can be used with a tool that is purchased separately. This tool, called a "mold extractor" allows you to turn it into the mold so that the formed pieces are pushed out. You will also need some two-part urethane foam, as this material makes the best decoys. This urethane foam is much safer to use, and, it comes in different colors.

The second step is to wipe out the inside of the molds. Then, lightly coat the inside of the molds with a good quality liquid car wax. This will help the decoy come out of the mold easier. Make sure that you get the wax inside all of the cracks and the crevices. A cotton swab might be helpful in this step as long as you don't leave blobs of wax in the mold. Then, allow the liquid car wax to dry for a few minutes.

The third step is to put on protective eyewear as well as some waterproof gloves. Then, follow the manufacturer's directions on the urethane foam container in order to achieve the best results. Basically, though, you will measure out equal portions of both parts of the foam. Use an old plastic container for this purpose. Then, mix the two parts together thoroughly. Immediately pour the foam into the molds and place the top halves on. Use several "C" clamps to hold the halves of the molds together. Mix up more of the urethane foam, if needed, to fill all of the molds.

The fourth step is to wait the required amount of time (according to the manufacturer's directions), then remove the clamp from the molds. Use the mold extractor or a large - bladed screw driver to remove the parts of the decoy from the molds.
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Karl Fisher Titration