Live Decoys Making A Comeback?

[Eric Patterson]

If this decoy goes into production aren't they? Read the abstract. The decoys swim a gps guided navigation pattern. No anchors, no pull strings, just a robotic decoy swimming around free to go where it pleases and back. I'm not the least bit surprised. Reminds me of the quote from Jurassic Park, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

 

[greg setter]

I have always felt that mechanical/electric decoys should be outlawed. I don't like wing spinners and decoys that spout water or jiggle or anything else that takes a battery. It gets beyond hunting to just filling a game bag. If you need this stuff then you are missing the point. It is why we can't use electronic callers(yeah, I know they are ok for the snow goose spring hunting). Every time you add an advantage like this you are lessening the value of the bird and our sport. I am sure there will be some push back on this, and that's OK. It's how I feel and how I think we need to move forward for our best interests in the future of waterfowling.

 

[Lawrence Kotchek]

Greg, I agree, I wont use them and I wont hunt with someone who does....

 

[Kevin Layne]

I think it will be a flop. It's going to cost too much money and it WON'T be more effective than current swimmers. Things happen so fast that I don't think ducks have the time or the ability to determine if a given decoy is swimming in a circle or meandering 10' this way then 5' that way, etc.

I've hunted over life decoys and this will in no way replicate that. Live decoys are amazing. They swim and spin and quack and rise up to flap and quack some more and jostle for position and many other things. They are amazing and one swimming decoy won't even come close to them.

Maybe if you put out 10 of them and have them all doing different things and added a couple spinners and added some ripplers and squirters! But the number of people willing to do that won't make a difference.

 

[William Mills]

Just saw an ad on instagram the other day. It’s a battery operated “ripple decoy” that has some sort of a device inside that replicates the feeding chuckle of a mallard. Apparently legal because it is not a recording. I’m all for innovation but it’s starting to get a little out of hand

 

[William Mills]

This is the decoy I’m referring to

 

[Eric Patterson]

William

I've been looking at patents related to duck hunting. Trust me it's not "starting" to get out of hand. It's been going on for over a century. Most of these ideas are impractical, like Kevin says, but I have to question the "why" are we doing it? Human nature I guess.

 

[Eric Patterson]

William

I'd have to go digging but that idea was done decades ago. A tube ran from the blind to the decoy and air was pushed into a call located in the decoy.

 

[Carl]

"A fool and his money are quickly parted" comes to mind.

 

[JasonM]

Man I don't even like spinners.... for that matter it would suit me just fine to never hunt over anything that isn't hand made again.

 

[Steve Sanford]

If this decoy goes into production aren't they? Read the abstract. The decoys swim a gps guided navigation pattern. No anchors, no pull strings, just a robotic decoy swimming around free to go where it pleases and back. I'm not the least bit surprised. Reminds me of the quote from Jurassic Park, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

Eric et al~

Don't tell anyone, but.....

Although most of my gunning partners would place me squarely in the dyed-in-the-wool-tradition-bound-curmudgeon who fanatically eschews much of modern life (Did I mention that my "everyday" Model 12 turns 100 next year?)...there are times when I have envisioned a high-tech "solution" to The Problem of Decoys. You know, when the half-gale is flipping them over, ice is congealing upon and sinking others, and masses of cabbage and eelgrass are dragging anchors and lines out to the inlet.... All of the scrupulously planned decoy "patterns" (with the sex ratios appropriate to the geography and day length - and requisite odd numbers - or is it prime numbers?) bear no resemblance to the rig before you - and it's just too much work to undertake corrective "interventions".....and at some point you need to pick up the rig anyhow. And lug them down into the cellar to thaw them out for the next day's hunt.

The solution - TOP SECRET secret at this point - employs the many capabilities of the hologram. Simply punch in the desired pattern, sex ratios, postures, et cetera ad nauseum - and then hit PLAY. I imagine an almost subsonic hum (I'm wondering what the dogs might perceive) as the massive lithium battery fires up the laser just an instant before the life-like-in-every-way "waterfowl festival" appears just a half-gunshot leeward of your vessel. The Perfect Hunt surely ensues shortly thereafter. When the hunt is over I further imagine that you might need to hit the POWER button twice.

NOTE 1: Be sure to SAVE the most effective patterns you type into the....phone? You may want to use the same approach on future hunts. I can even imagine an "app" where you could download proven patterns - say, Eric Patterson Pin Oak Swamp, et cetera.

NOTE 2: I believe holographic "decoys" are not harmed by stray pellets.

Again - please do not share this with anyone - at least not until it "drops" (as the kids say nowadays)!

SJS

 

[greg setter]

and requisite odd numbers - or is it prime numbers?

Yes, I do remember the discussion about the correct number of black duck decoys to use in a correct black duck stool. There was quite a bit of highly intellectual conversation on that topic, of which I was certainly a participant. But the true brilliance was whomever it was that let out the true secret that black duck stool should be a prime number. And that is why duckboats.net is the ONLY place to go for advice and ideas, at least as far as duck hunting related topics.

 

[Kevin Layne]

Eric et al~

Don't tell anyone, but.....

Although most of my gunning partners would place me squarely in the dyed-in-the-wool-tradition-bound-curmudgeon who fanatically eschews much of modern life (Did I mention that my "everyday" Model 12 turns 100 next year?)...there are times when I have envisioned a high-tech "solution" to The Problem of Decoys. You know, when the half-gale is flipping them over, ice is congealing upon and sinking others, and masses of cabbage and eelgrass are dragging anchors and lines out to the inlet.... All of the scrupulously planned decoy "patterns" (with the sex ratios appropriate to the geography and day length - and requisite odd numbers - or is it prime numbers?) bear no resemblance to the rig before you - and it's just too much work to undertake corrective "interventions".....and at some point you need to pick up the rig anyhow. And lug them down into the cellar to thaw them out for the next day's hunt.

The solution - TOP SECRET secret at this point - employs the many capabilities of the hologram. Simply punch in the desired pattern, sex ratios, postures, et cetera ad nauseum - and then hit PLAY. I imagine an almost subsonic hum (I'm wondering what the dogs might perceive) as the massive lithium battery fires up the laser just an instant before the life-like-in-every-way "waterfowl festival" appears just a half-gunshot leeward of your vessel. The Perfect Hunt surely ensues shortly thereafter. When the hunt is over I further imagine that you might need to hit the POWER button twice.

NOTE 1: Be sure to SAVE the most effective patterns you type into the....phone? You may want to use the same approach on future hunts. I can even imagine an "app" where you could download proven patterns - say, Eric Patterson Pin Oak Swamp, et cetera.

NOTE 2: I believe holographic "decoys" are not harmed by stray pellets.

Again - please do not share this with anyone - at least not until it "drops" (as the kids say nowadays)!

SJS

You only missed one part of it. Downloading an app and saving patterns is too much work. Just let AI take care of it based on all the conditions of the day. Then create a scope for your gun that only allows the gun to fire when you have the proper lead so you don't cripple or miss any ducks.

 

[Eric Patterson]

Kevin

Great idea. Have you got a patent attorney for it yet?

 

[Carl]

Yes, I do remember the discussion about the correct number of black duck decoys to use in a correct black duck stool. There was quite a bit of highly intellectual conversation on that topic, of which I was certainly a participant. But the true brilliance was whomever it was that let out the true secret that black duck stool should be a prime number. And that is why duckboats.net is the ONLY place to go for advice and ideas, at least as far as duck hunting related topics.

And that to truly decoys GEs you need also need an odd number of decoys. 3, 5, or 7.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

All one needs to toll King Divers is ONE very good oversize decoy on the outside of the spread about 30yrds...

 

[Don Mintz]

When I saw the first spinner I didn't like the way it seemed to level the playing field for novice hunters. I introduced two families to duck hunting on opening day over 20 years ago. Neither had ever duck hunted before and had no idea what they were doing other than what I had told them. Both showed up with brand new spinners, I didn't have one, had no use for something like that. We were hunting a small river and I put my son and myself between the two families on a 300 yard stretch of river and watched those two groups shoot continually at the fresh birds on opening day, we never fired a shot. I was in shock to say the least. Every duck seems to be hypnotized by those spinning wings.

20 years later spinners don't seem to make any difference other than in a corn field.

I don't see a lot of folks that use spinners here anymore, when I've tagged along with someone who does, it seems to make no difference. I usually have less than a dozen decoys out, never hunt on the "x", just depending on calling and just a handful of decoys. I used to hunt over 200 decoys, accuracy by volume, the older I get, the less decoys I take. At this point I usually take what fits in the back of my fly fishing vest with a fly rod in my hand and a shotgun over my shoulder.

I have been known to put out some over sized goldeneye decoys myself, usually 1 to 3. The two wigeons are a little oversized which gives you an idea about how big that goldeneye decoy is. There are ways to be more effective decoying ducks without putting a battery in something.

 

[Richard Lathrop]

Eric et al~

Don't tell anyone, but.....

Although most of my gunning partners would place me squarely in the dyed-in-the-wool-tradition-bound-curmudgeon who fanatically eschews much of modern life (Did I mention that my "everyday" Model 12 turns 100 next year?)...there are times when I have envisioned a high-tech "solution" to The Problem of Decoys. You know, when the half-gale is flipping them over, ice is congealing upon and sinking others, and masses of cabbage and eelgrass are dragging anchors and lines out to the inlet.... All of the scrupulously planned decoy "patterns" (with the sex ratios appropriate to the geography and day length - and requisite odd numbers - or is it prime numbers?) bear no resemblance to the rig before you - and it's just too much work to undertake corrective "interventions".....and at some point you need to pick up the rig anyhow. And lug them down into the cellar to thaw them out for the next day's hunt.

The solution - TOP SECRET secret at this point - employs the many capabilities of the hologram. Simply punch in the desired pattern, sex ratios, postures, et cetera ad nauseum - and then hit PLAY. I imagine an almost subsonic hum (I'm wondering what the dogs might perceive) as the massive lithium battery fires up the laser just an instant before the life-like-in-every-way "waterfowl festival" appears just a half-gunshot leeward of your vessel. The Perfect Hunt surely ensues shortly thereafter. When the hunt is over I further imagine that you might need to hit the POWER button twice.

NOTE 1: Be sure to SAVE the most effective patterns you type into the....phone? You may want to use the same approach on future hunts. I can even imagine an "app" where you could download proven patterns - say, Eric Patterson Pin Oak Swamp, et cetera.

NOTE 2: I believe holographic "decoys" are not harmed by stray pellets.

Again - please do not share this with anyone - at least not until it "drops" (as the kids say nowadays)!

SJS

Feature request would be to add GPS and internal navigation to guide the boat to the same spot. Weather patterns and tides would be nice as well.

 

[William Reinicke]

The why.... So they can sell to consumers that fall for this stuff. Colors of lures catch fisherman not fish.... You can keep about 4 colors in a boat and do just as well as someone who has 20 different color lures. Remember, jerk strings have been around FOREVER and still are used. I rarely use a spinner anymore, but when they first came out, I remember watching mallard fall out of the skies like a plane just through out a bunch of basketballs. Now they hurt more than help a lot of times. The lucky duck agitator is my favorite decoy for creating ripples on the water. I will run 2-3 of them, especially in an area with lots of feed. End of the day, location location location is the best way to have success. I like to go one step further and try my hardest to stay in front of the crowd. If everyone is running big spreads, I go back to small spreads. If everyone is running spinners, I try motion on the water. If everyone is running plastic decoys, I run fully flocked foam. If everyone is running RM calls, I am running brad samples, duckstein and eason calls. Just being a little different has really been a successful approach in the 20 years I have been playing this game. Does it make any difference at all???? Probably not and the most success comes down to the time and money I put in fuel than in the decoys I set.

Coming full circle.... any decoy that makes noise should be outlawed. If we cannot use electronic game calls, then a decoy should not be allowed to make noises that help bring birds into the spread. There is a reason we learn to read birds and call them. 9/10 times you call at birds when they are directly over the top of a hunter, they are gone. You put the sound coming from the middle of the spread, you just took one more advantage away from the birds.

 

[Steve Sanford]

When I saw the first spinner I didn't like the way it seemed to level the playing field for novice hunters. I introduced two families to duck hunting on opening day over 20 years ago. Neither had ever duck hunted before and had no idea what they were doing other than what I had told them. Both showed up with brand new spinners, I didn't have one, had no use for something like that. We were hunting a small river and I put my son and myself between the two families on a 300 yard stretch of river and watched those two groups shoot continually at the fresh birds on opening day, we never fired a shot. I was in shock to say the least. Every duck seems to be hypnotized by those spinning wings.

20 years later spinners don't seem to make any difference other than in a corn field.

I don't see a lot of folks that use spinners here anymore, when I've tagged along with someone who does, it seems to make no difference. I usually have less than a dozen decoys out, never hunt on the "x", just depending on calling and just a handful of decoys. I used to hunt over 200 decoys, accuracy by volume, the older I get, the less decoys I take. At this point I usually take what fits in the back of my fly fishing vest with a fly rod in my hand and a shotgun over my shoulder.

I have been known to put out some over sized goldeneye decoys myself, usually 1 to 3. The two wigeons are a little oversized which gives you an idea about how big that goldeneye decoy is. There are ways to be more effective decoying ducks without putting a battery in something.


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Don~

That Whistler is just sublime! Worlds of attitude - great job!

All the best,

SJS