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Diver Decoys in Puddle Duck Spreads
Q: My question is that since you primarily see diver ducks such as Bluebills and Redheads on big lakes, why did I shoot one in a small 25 acre that i usually only see Mallards, Gadwalls, Wigeon, Teal, And Canadian geese. Also, should I use diver duck decoys in my puddle duck spread? - Ross Keller
A: While most divers frequent larger waters, on occasion they will wander over smaller waters, especially when there is an abundance of food. I have had many fantastic diver shoots on water that most dire hard diver hunters wouldn’t look twice at, and in each and every case the sloughs or ponds were chock full of food (in the case of most of these ponds, they were a virtual slurry of invertebrates).
If you see divers working your smaller water, go ahead and supplement your puddle duck spread with a few scaup, can or redhead blocks. Nothing is better than getting a rare trophy on your small water hunts.
Best wishes and good luck!
Q: I have a question about decoys, I hunt public land in saltwater marshes of south Louisiana. I've noticed most hunters spread consist of either many different species of duck or at least 2 or 3. When scouting this year I found that most of the time I would come up to a flock on the water if I saw 10 different flocks, maybe 1 or 2 of those had more than one species of bird on the water at a time. Usually it was a flock of just gadwall or teal but not both. Yet, most people will still put out large spreads with a couple of different species.
Is is common to see many different breeds together at one time? Should I throw out all of the same type species of decoy or keep mixing the species together? Thanks for your time! - Jeff
A: Thanks for your question! What species decoys to use is largely a reflection on what you are seeing on or near the locales that you hunt. If in your marshes the birds are segregated by habitat type, I would suggest doing the same. In many of my favorite areas the birds are kind of jumbled together (especially the puddle ducks) and as such I try to replicate this with my decoy spreads. My day to day puddle duck contains mostly mallards with a few teal and pintail sprinkled in to resemble what I see in the marshes I hunt.
The key is to be a keen observer of the places you hunt and do your best to replicate it with your decoys spread size and diversity. Good luck!
Q: When setting a decoy spread using mixed species decoys, like mallards and gadwalls or mallards and pintails, Should the decoys be intermingled or kept in separate groups? What is the ideal way to set up this spread? -Michael Frank
A: I commonly use a variety of species of mixed duck decoys determined by the location where I am hunting and the species composition of the area. For most circumstances, I will mix species within the spread. I believe it enhances the natural "feel" of a spread especially having for example teal mixed in with mallards or also enhancing the visibility of a puddle duck spread by salting in a few pintail decoys if they frequent the area.
I do though always segregate my divers and puddler decoys as they have different feeding strategies. But again I will use bluebill, canvasback, redhead and goldeneye decoys all in the same stool.
If you have the opportunity to scout the area prior to your hunt day, note the species and how they use the area and detail which species are mixing. This will help you to emulate the exact situation as occurs in that spot.
Thanks for the question, I hope this works for you this Fall!
Q: I am new to duck hunting, and I have a question about decoys. I have been told that any duck will come into a mallard decoy spread. I have also been told that Northern ducks (bluebill, canvasbacks, redhead, etc) will only come into a northern duck spread, and if I want to use Mallards I should put them off to the side in their separate flock. Which way is correct? Do I need to different sets of decoys? - Pete Schnettler
A: Pete, you are correct that most ducks will decoy readily to mallard blocks as long as they are the most prevalent puddle duck. But the with the great big water in your area, and the tradition of large diving duck flights, I would add some divers to your spread.
On a typical point set up, I would set a couple of dozen mallard decoys in the calmer water near the point and extend 3-4 dozen diver decoys (I would suggest bluebills and canvasbacks in your area) and set them in a J-Hook with the tail of the hook running downwind toward the open water and a cluster near the blind.
Most hunters segregate their diver and puddle duck spreads and I would suggest this as well.
Best of luck and I hope this helps!
Q: When hunting on a smaller inland lake, is it bad to use too many different duck species in your decoy spread like mallard, pintail, bluebill, goldeneye and black duck or should you just use like 2 or 3 different species? Does it hurt to put out goose decoys? - Kyle Feucht
A: Great question. I usually use a spread of decoys that closely resembles the species that frequent the area. If on a scouting venture you find mallards, scaup and a few goldeneyes, I would try to replicate that with my decoy spread. If that is not possible I would use mallards and bluebill decoys as blocks that will work for both puddlers and divers. On the issue of goose decoys, I would use them if they are present in the areas you are hunting. As ducks and geese do mingle in some locales, the ducks will be used to seeing some geese in the area and the presence of geese will more accurately portray a natural flock of content birds. And a big plus is when you can add a honker or two to the strap during a duck hunt!
Best wishes and good hunting!
John Devney