Hi Scott,
I grew up hunting around Lake St.Clair, and some of my dad's friends and some of the real old timers were really into sneaking. I think their boats were actually made by Chris Craft. I never did it myself, but I do remember them often talking about their decoy spreads and how different birds held. Generally, they liked to set their spreads with the bluebills in the front and the cans in the back, as the bluebills were most skittish and would "push" through the decoys as they drifted in, and keeping their kind at the front seemed to make them hold the longest, as they would then swim slower through the rest of the spread as the boat approached. Redheads were a wildcard, as I recall they were thought of as generally not as bright as the others and held well, and that redhead decoys weren't absolutely essential to get them.
Another old fellow I've met up here used to hunt in a similar fashion in the same area, and he was very big on wood vs. plastic dekes as he was convinced they rode rough water more naturally. He also said that sneaking on bluebills was effective, but once they had some experience with local hunting pressure he had a harder time with them. Cans were always the local favorite. My dad has an excellent painting of a sneakboat approaching a couple of cans resting in the decoys, the image is stamped in my mind.
Ryan, great article - can't believe I've not seen it. I actually went to school with Will Henderson...neat to read about him in that article, and glad to hear he's still hunting. Some of the foamer mallard decoys I hunt over now were urethane-molded blanks my dad bought and painted from his grandfather who used to have a small business molding them, I think from originals he carved. They are very effective on open water and ride very nicely in a good chop. Come to think of it, they're going to need a repaint after this season...
