Rigging decoys on a net

Ed,

Great idea except I can't imagine how that would be deployed without it being FUBAR. I have thought about something like that for a whole bunch of coot decoys but, again, I never got past the logistics. In my area floating mats of celery, etc. would really gum up the whole thing even if it was deployed without incident.

I suppose if you were in a spot that allowed you to keep decoys out the whole season it might work but not for any of my applications.
 
wow, never seen anything that big but we use diver "mats". take a 4'x8' metal concrete reinforcing mesh cut in half or a full sheet. wire the decoys to the mat(front and back of decoy) with galv. wire. keep the decoys tight. we rig coot and redheads like this. they really show up. best, mark
 
I just hunted with a guy in NC with his decoys rigged this way. It was the first time I'd seen it, but apparently it's fairly common down there. It worked pretty well for his hunting conditions, and he likes the way the net will smooth out the surface of the water on rough days. We had about 80 red heads on two nets and we were only in a foot or so of water with a nice sandy bottom, so we could put them out on foot and it was easy to deal with any tangles, and there would be no problem for a dog. Putting them out from a boat in deeper water with current would be a little trickier.

Your pic looks like it was taken from stake blind, might be close to the same area I hunted.
 
I've never seen it done that way before. I have seen a net used under decoys but not to hold the decoys. In this instance it was a means to keep corn suspended a few feet below the surface and off the vegetation choked bottom. Not legal but an interesting technique.
 
I have seen pictures of these from a "Carolina Curtain" set up....basically a pit blind in the water. I need to try it sometime sounds like a unique hunt.

Dave
 
I've never seen it done that way before. I have seen a net used under decoys but not to hold the decoys. In this instance it was a means to keep corn suspended a few feet below the surface and off the vegetation choked bottom. Not legal but an interesting technique.
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Eric,

Just for the record, did you observe this from a blind just ten yards from the net?????????????????????????? hehe
 
Dave

Like the above I saw it in pictures, not in person. I had one experience with running across a baited blind in the past but the net set-up wasn't seen in person.
 
Eric,

Just yanking your chain and I'm sure you knew that. It does remind me of a day bowhunting for deer many years ago.

I had walked into a public area much before dawn. Climbed a tree and strapped in my stand. As it started to get light enought to see well, I thought I could see a discarded plastic milk jug on the ground about 30 yards away. Told myself to remember to pick it up when I left the area.

Well I hunted the morning with out success and climbed down around noon. Picked up my gear and as I was leaving, walked over to pick up the "milk jug". Turned out to be a salt block someone had placed there. Baiting for deer is a no no here and it would have been hard explaining, had I been checked that morning.
 
Hey Scott,

The pic was taken in NC, but not by me. I snagged it from another forum. I think the guy said he hunted near Portsmouth which is just south of Ocracoke.


Ed
 
Dave

Salt blocks are legal in Alabama but I seem to recall mineral blocks are not. As our deer population continues to grow and the laws loosen (e.g. crossbows are now legal) some form of legalized baiting in the future wouldn't surprise me.
 
Hey Scott,

The pic was taken in NC, but not by me. I snagged it from another forum. I think the guy said he hunted near Portsmouth which is just south of Ocracoke.


Ed
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We ran out of Atlantic, not too far from there.
 
Eric, you are correct, salt is legal but mineral blocks are not. Baiting is legal in Texas, Georgia and other places and has been proven to not adversely affect deer populations. Baiting has been shot down in Alabama several times recently but may get approved one day. One concern is cost, with hunting clubs assuming that they will be forced to "out bait" their neighbors or lose all the deer to someone elses land.
 
This looks good but I can imagine that it could quickly become a major cluster. Outside of that and the dog issue, another potential problem would be any birds that become entangled in the net and were drowned. You would be liable for over bagging and possibly taking non-game species.
 
Ed forgot to mention that the net was allegedly painted yellow... There are supposedly a number of guides in the area where this picture came from that use this sort of rig. This one was supposedly on a large cast net for a base. I have heard of using gillnet with/without droppers. The ones who use it without droppers say they just roll it up and unroll it to deploy it. I thought about doing it with coots, but to make it look realistic it would take a roll of something like 10 dozen coots (if you put them as tight as they huddle.) That would be a lot of decoys without considering the bluebills, redhead, cans, pintails, widgeon, mallards, gadwal, teal and other decoys you may want to put out depending on exactly what part of coastal NC you are putting out your decoys in.
 
You been hunting Ocracoke Island ?

Never seen such a rig before though it kinda sorta makes sense in shallow water like the bars and reefs behind Ocracoke. Who was the guide ?

Best,
Harry
 
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