First decoy rig?

[Tomo-1]

Hi all. I'm sorry if this has been done to death, but I will ask anyway.....

Having spent a lot of last season watching ducks in the distance I think the time has come to put out a few decoys.

Some of the marsh I shoot is not far from the car park, although the best areas are a fair walk, so weight is a consideration.

The ducks are mainly Mallard, Widgeon and the odd Teal. I was thinking two sets of three decoys on a mother line each anchored independently,

so that I can change the spacing for the look of birds feeding on the edges. What decoys i.e.duck type and type would do the job? I don't mind spending a few quid if they

are going to last. Can you recommend any setups/places to buy?

Thanks in advance.

[fenboy]

How to rig them would depend on what you are shooting , I would use a mother line if shooting fast flowing creeks or the tide .

If you are shooting splashes then I would rig the decoys individually.

 

If I know I have a long walk I normally just take about 4 teal decoys , if not so far I will also take a few widgeon ones .

[Richie10]

Hi all. I'm sorry if this has been done to death, but I will ask anyway.....

Having spent a lot of last season watching ducks in the distance I think the time has come to put out a few decoys.

Some of the marsh I shoot is not far from the car park, although the best areas are a fair walk, so weight is a consideration.

The ducks are mainly Mallard, Widgeon and the odd Teal. I was thinking two sets of three decoys on a mother line each anchored independently,

so that I can change the spacing for the look of birds feeding on the edges. What decoys i.e.duck type and type would do the job? I don't mind spending a few quid if they

are going to last. Can you recommend any setups/places to buy?

Thanks in advance.

 

If you are shooting In that area I would imagine it's Teal, widgeon and the odd mallard.

 

Get some of the Avery pro series Teal, 6 birds and set them up as pairs on individual lines.

 

Are you shooting the salt marsh? If so getting the motherline out and decoys clipped on and can be a problem if you aren't used to walking in the mud.

It can be a problem if you are used to walking in mud aswell....

Edited May 4, 2016 by Richie10

[nic]

if walking a distance, i tend to use 7/8 teal as smaller, lighter, teal are on most marshes

if on ponds/splashes then in pairs and a couple of singles.

if tidal then a mother line, often fixed to a stick as per Chris greens first wildfowl video (allows you to retrieve easier.)

if mud too dodgy then in pairs on a running line. i.e. weight at end on a breakaway weaker line then swivel and decoys on line but not fixed so they can lift/drop with tide

 

i usually try to set the furthest decoy as a distance guide as well...ie 35yards out

Edited May 4, 2016 by nic

[anser2]

I decoy a lot these days and they often produce very good shooting , but before you set up decoying needs a little thought.

 

Set the decoys in an area the ducks are already using. If the duck keep well wide of your usual hide and keep flighting into the distance you will be probably wasting your time. Look for spots where they like to spend part of the day or come into feed at night. Your marsh may have some sheltered pool or creek that the duck drop into in windy weather , but shun at other times . Perhaps you will have a creek they like to use at high tide. having found such a spot the aim should be to use the decoys to fine tuneing for duck that want to use the area, but the decoys bring them into shotgun range.

 

If you are decoying in daylight good lifelike decoys will draw better than battered decoys with little paint left. H owever the quality of the decoys or what decoy species you use makes little difference in the dim light of dawn or dusk other than big decoys are more easily seen in the half light by ducks.

 

How many decoys depends on where you use them. A pair will often work on a flash at dusk , but you may need dozens on a big sheet of open water. After ask your self why should a big pack of duck that have already flown over hundreds of other ducks drop into a couple of decoys.

 

When shooting in daylight I like to match the decoy species to what I am expecting to shoot but in poor light it does not matter.

 

As for the rig , If you can wade out and pick up the decoys and the tide is not strong use individualy weighted decoys, If the tides are strong or the water too deep to wade use a mother line.

 

If you can go for quality decoys, they will pull better and last longer. Cheap pound land garden pond decoys are useful for adding numbers to your pattern when mixed with quality decoys , but they rarely last lone if used frequently in cold weather. I bought a twenty 5 years ago , but only half a dozen are still usable today. The seams tend to split and in very cold weather the eyes where you attach the line tend to become brittle and snap off.

 

Against the pale grey of the water grey decoys ( drakes ) do not show up very well while the dark females stand out so do not be lured into buying mainly drake decoys. I will never forget the day when I had a mixed stand of pintail and wigeon decoys one overcast day. From close up the drakes looked great, But I winged a wigeon that the dog had problems finding so I walked 200 yards down the creek to help. Looking back the dark female decoys stood out well against the grey waters surface , but the drakes were almost invisble. Not for nothing do punt gunners paint their punts grey!

 

Always be aware of the expected height of the tide ( allowing for the effect of wind). If the tide is off shore you may find you do not have enough water to float the decoys, but with a backing wind you may get flooded well back beyond the range of your decoys and there is nothing worse than to see duck coming for you only to drop in to your decoys that your have been pushed 50 yards away from by the rising tide.

 

 

My final advice is see what works on your marsh. On one marsh the teal only come into teal decoys and like wise he wigeon , but on other marshes it dose not matter what species you use the any species of duck will come into them while on a third marsh I soot teal and wigeon decoy well bt in 40 years only a handfull of mallard have ever come into them. Every marsh can be different.