Brant decoys

I have heard many times that they will decoy to "anything". To consistently kill brant in my opinion, good brant decoys are needed and they need to be where the birds want.

Here is a not-so-great shot my my rig on a day with Scott Farris this season...

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What great birds to work... Scott doing his best rock impression... Brant in a snow squall in the distance...

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Beginning of a nice bag...

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Ohh baby...

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Brant are all over the south shore of Long Island. You would have to try hard not to get your limit (3) every day. I have been out dropping 2 and sometimes 3 birds on each shot. I try to take the last bird in the flock after they have passed me so I don't damage any brest meat and I still manage to drop double headers even with a full choke.

View attachment Copy of John and Mocha with birds low res 12-27-08.jpg
View attachment Mocha with duck 1.jpg
View attachment Copy of John and Mocha with birds low res 12-27-08.jpg
View attachment Mocha with duck 1.jpg
 
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Tod,
You took the words right out of my mouth....

That picture with the pintail..... Oh baby!!!

I don't usually see them around on our coast, but they seem to be around this year.

-Jack
 
In my opinion there is nothing like watching a flock of 50 or so birds come right to the dekes , we have had a few hunts where they come in and stay just out of range , so like Andrew said we moved the boat to where the birds wanted to be about 2 yards out from our stand of rocks , i later found out the birds really cannot see the dkes when they amungst a rock field , shot my 1st banded brant and actually ate one for the 1st time as well , guys say they are not really good eating but i will disagree with that totally had some the other night over wild grain rice wow was it good . enjoy the rest of the season guys .




Dave M
 
Dave,
Try Brant Francaise. You make it just like chicken francaise and it taste great. My kids came up with another, stir fry brant teriyaki tacos. Only a kid could come up with that one.
 
Sorry didn't see the subject line on your last post. I meant to say yes I am a diver, but we don't get to do most of the welding, let topside welders do it then send it down.
 
Are you hunting Brant on Padilla Bay or Samish Bay? I will be up on Padilla Saturday and Sunday. We have always hunted Padilla, just curious if you have had better luck at one bay or the other. Hope you guys do well this weekend!

Sean
 
Samish is the tougher to hunt due to the long run, or the one late opening ramp....plus it blows out faster than Padilla...

Padilla is sadly so overgunned these days that I almost hate hunting there anymore....if the tides good the first weekend birds will be killed on the way into the reserve.....but there will be som uch sky busting, and volley shooting, and straggled down birds that I walways end up being pissed....pressure will drop after that but the birds will be spooky and high...which means....tahhhhhh daaaahhhh that the sky busting will get even worse.....

Of all the birds Brant are the ones that I hate the worse to watch multiple guns loose off a full box of shells at and then as one single birds scales towards the horizon...."great shot".....

Padilla is a refuge bay, at least in the South end....if you can get into Samish, and by now means will the pressure be light there if the winds are low, the birds will decoy better.....

I'll miss the first weekend due to a business trip but I will be out the last weekend...

Good Luck...

Steve
 
John ,


Could you post up the recipes on how you make the Francaise? I have no idea what it is never had it but i will try anything . Thanks for the tip !!! How has your brant season been there in NY ? Here in RI it has been great , seen alot of birds around unfortunately i have not been out as much as i would like to but still nice to see them flying .



Dave M
 
My Season has been great. I have been getting about 15 birds a week ( we can only take 3/day in NY)
Here is the recipe for the Brant Francaise.
This recipe is not as hard as it looks. I'm sure you will like it. It tastes great and I have had people eat it and had no idea of what they were eating and loved it. The key is to get the sauce right, taste it as you go. If you have family members that don't like a game try this on on them they may think it is some kind of funky veal dish. Also when you get your birds lay them down on their backs so the blood will run out of the brests and when your brest them out try not to let them get soaked in blood, it will have a different taste if you let them get blood soaked.
Good luck


45 min | 15 min prep
SERVES 4 Dredging Brant Francaise
  1. Mix a decent amount of salt and pepper with the flour to make a dredging mixture. You don't need any more than a cup of flour; you're just giving them a light dusting.
  2. If you want to tenderize meat pound with a meat hammer (optional)
  3. Dredge the breasts through the flour. When you pull them out, give them a few good slaps so that the extra flour falls off. You want a very light coating, this isn't supposed to be like batter.
  4. Crack the two eggs into a flat bowl, pierce the yolks with a fork, and scramble them slightly. Combine with about a quarter cup of water to make a light egg wash. It should be pale yellow in color.
  5. Run the brant through the egg wash. Keep in mind this is a wash, not a bath. You don't want it soaking in egg, just enough to keep it wet and absorb the flour coating.
  6. Heat the quarter cup of olive oil in a large fry pan on medium-high heat, and when it is smoking hot, place the brant into the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. You will know when it is ready to flip when the brant has a nice, slightly browned color and a crisp texture. Remove the brant from the pan.
  7. Cut your lemon in half. Using one half, make several paper thin slices of lemon. Save the other half.
  8. Turn the stove up to high heat, and drop the lemon slices into the stove. Wait for them to caramellize and take on a slightly gummy texture.
  9. Pour in the 1/2 cup of white wine. I recommend Yellowtail Pinto Grigio because it's not too expensive, you can drink it with the meal, and the sweetness of it counteracts the sour of the lemon. Let the sauce reduce for 30 seconds to one minute.
  10. Sprinkle in salt to taste, and then add in the cup of chicken broth. Allow it to reduce again.
  11. Take your butter, and dredge it in the flour. Break it up into chunks and drop it into the sauce, swirling it around and allowing the sauce to thicken.
  12. Once the sauce has thickened sufficiently, put the brant breasts back into the pan. Coat them thoroughly with the sauce, and let them cook for about another minute or two to warm them back up.
  13. Transfer to a serving platter, putting a few slices of lemon on top of each brant breast, and then drizzle the sauce over the whole concoction.
  14. Garnish with flat-leaf parsley, or whatever greenery you think would go good with the meal.
Sit back and enjoy
 
Awesome pictures guys.....I don't use brant decoys(coastal zone, New Jersey)...if you're in the right spot at low tide(read food source here) they will land on top of you...we use only bluebill, bufflehead, some black duck decoys and a black flag.....the black flag brings them in like they are tied to it...High tide is a different story they are one a one way path to where they are going and will not respond to anything. Dave
 
I agree with Dave. We hunt them during low or falling tide and they come in droves. I generally set up for blacks and buffs and take brandt when I feel like it. Brandt are one of my least favorite birds to hunt but one of my favorite decoys to look at. They are thick here in the Jersey salt marshes and bays right now...............brandt brandt everywhere a brandt brandt.................Have fun gunning for them guys..............Kevin
 
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