benellibirdman

I have been an avid upland bird hunter for years, but I am currently starting to do some duck hunting. I have never gone before but can' t wait for my first experience. I do have one question to ask all the experienced waterfowlers out there.
I did purchase some standard mallard plastic decoys. They may not be the best but I am still a beginner so hopefully they will be fine. Also, I have seen, at sporting good stores, decoy weights. Are decoy weights something that I need to purchase? And if so, could you point me in the right direction, or give me some advise to learn how to use them.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sincerely,
Benellibirdman
T

plainsman

Unless you want to be chasing your decoys all day you should deffinatly add the weights, keeps ' em anchored to one spot

Native70

You are definitely going to need some weights on those decoys. I would recommend strap style weights unless you are hunting on a large lake or river, in which case you are going to need something that digs into the bottom like a scoop style weight. The strap style weights wrap around the keel or head of the decoy when they are stored, which makes for less tangled lines. As for the decoy line I use Quick Fix decoy cord and crimps. If you check Wal-Mart or Cabelas they both offer the weights, cord, and crimps, along with directions for rigging them in a rigging kit that has all you need for 1 dozen decoys. Hope this helps and welcome to the fun.[Cut em.][&o]

benellibirdman

Thanks for the help, I had gotten some decoy cord, but later I saw the weights and didn' t know if they were needed or not. I have seen the " Quick Fix" packets and will get them next time I' m at Wal-Mart.
Thanks again!

psandhu

i have had less than pleasureable experiences with nylon decoy cord when i first started hunting. it tangles easily. if that' s the kind you have, return it. get the " tanglefree" line or something similar, it' s like a thick rubberized cable.

if you are hunting shallow marshes, ponds, and other bodies of water where there is little wave action and flooded vegetation; you could probably get by with 4 oz weights. 6 oz would be more than enough. i' m not sure about rivers or deep water, since i' ve never hunted them.

drgildy

My experience with Tanglefree decoy cord is not good. It gets so stiff and brittle in cold weather it is a headache as it will break. My advice would be to get some heavy (atleast 3/16 tarred nylon line. I agree with the post that said nylon line is no good if it is very fine. It tends to tie itself into knots and is a booger to get out of the decoy bag without having them all tangled and tied together. The strap lead weights are the way to go if you are hunting relatively quiet water.

MallardSlayer

Another good tip for stringing decoys is, the type of water you hunt determines the length of cord you put on your decoys. If you hunt ponds, marshes, or other shallow water, you only want about 5 feet of string on each decoy. If you hunt bigger lakes, rivers, etc, then you may want to add more length. Also, when you string your decoys, burn the ends of the nylon cord so it doesnt come un done, and frazzle everywhere. That makes for a fine mess, and your knot might come out. Thats my .02 cents.

Be safe, and good hunting

plainsman

I use 40# fireline, same as on my fishing reel, no problems, no mess.

ARMallardSlayer

The tangle free does get britle and break...........I rigged some this year with electical wire........like you' d use to make a cord for a lamp or something small.

18/2 or something like that............How every many feet you buy, split em and you have twice as much.............

Buck_Buster

I prefer the Ace Decoy anchors because they lock onto the keel and don't mess up the paint on the decoys like the other types that have to be wrapped around the neck of the decoys.