Jeff Reardon
Well-known member
Jay K said:
I see you are also ignoring my "odd number" advice. Nothing is more important. LOL
The quest continues
- Thread starter Jay K
- Start date
I see you are also ignoring my "odd number" advice. Nothing is more important. LOL
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
You beat me to it, Tod!
SJS
SJS
Jeff Reardon
Well-known member
tod osier said:
3, 5, 7--yes. 11 is OK. 13 is trouble--worse than a banana on a boat.
]
Jon Yenulonis
Well-known member
So, THAT'S always been my problem. I always count after putting them out, mainly to make sure I get them all back in, but NEVER paid attention to how many toy ducks I deploy. Must be, whenever I have an unsuccessful hunt, I used the wrong number of decoys. Sheesh, after all these years... LOL!
Jon
Jon
Jay K
Active member
So we will call today a semi-success. Took everyone's advice. Pushed the spread out. Put the black ducks downwind. Grouped the mallards together. Had the sun almost at my back with the wind (what little there was) at a cross to me. The idea was blacks would decoy in downwind and not have to fly over the mallards. The mallards and blacks had a nice hole between them as well for them to land.
So the good news: Birds are decoying now. Had 3-4 come in before legal. That made me feel semi-good. Hoping they would hang till shooting time but they did not. At legal I had a gadwall swim in. Went for the gun and he got the jump on me before I could draw. Then around 8am I had the perfect opportunity. Exactly what I was looking for. A mallard came across the flats and hooked right into my decoys. 100% committed and finishing. Too bad for me I screwed the shot up. I could only feel half stupid after because at least everything else looked good.
The bad news: I need to calm down and set my shots up better.
Sounds like I am on the right track though.
So the good news: Birds are decoying now. Had 3-4 come in before legal. That made me feel semi-good. Hoping they would hang till shooting time but they did not. At legal I had a gadwall swim in. Went for the gun and he got the jump on me before I could draw. Then around 8am I had the perfect opportunity. Exactly what I was looking for. A mallard came across the flats and hooked right into my decoys. 100% committed and finishing. Too bad for me I screwed the shot up. I could only feel half stupid after because at least everything else looked good.
The bad news: I need to calm down and set my shots up better.
Sounds like I am on the right track though.
MLBob Furia
Well-known member
Jay,
You're over-thinking all this. Just put down your gun, hold a freshly opened sandwich in one hand and a coffee in the other and be done with it! (...may also help to have a mouthful of sandwich).
Or merely get out to take a leak and be standing there with your waders at half-mast and the gun just out of reach....problem solved.
You're over-thinking all this. Just put down your gun, hold a freshly opened sandwich in one hand and a coffee in the other and be done with it! (...may also help to have a mouthful of sandwich).
Or merely get out to take a leak and be standing there with your waders at half-mast and the gun just out of reach....problem solved.
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Jeff, your following point rings quite true based on my Rhode Island experiences:
Also, other than the dawn flurry, by far our most effective technique is to note where ducks get up when disturbed, and quickly set up on EXACTLY that spot. I don't know if it's the same ducks coming back, or just that birds are up and moving and favor the same spots, but it's amazing how often blacks are back in the decoys within 15-20 minutes. This is much more true of small groups of birds than of big flocks. When I am seeing big flocks bunched together, the hunting is always tough. I much prefer scattered small groups here and there and on the move.
On a local saltpond here there are 2 adjacent coves (Call them Cove A and Cove B) I really enjoy hunting. Yesterday, we chose Cove A, and no ducks visited us. At some point I got restless and took a walk over to check Cove B, and kicked up at least 14 black ducks. None ever came into Cove A the rest of the time we hunted it yesterday. When we arrived at Cove A yesterday it didn't hold a single duck.
About 10 days ago, on the other hand, when I first entered Cove A, I put up about 20 black ducks. Not too long after that 2 black ducks and a pintail came into that same cove. I was happy to take the pintail home.
Also, other than the dawn flurry, by far our most effective technique is to note where ducks get up when disturbed, and quickly set up on EXACTLY that spot. I don't know if it's the same ducks coming back, or just that birds are up and moving and favor the same spots, but it's amazing how often blacks are back in the decoys within 15-20 minutes. This is much more true of small groups of birds than of big flocks. When I am seeing big flocks bunched together, the hunting is always tough. I much prefer scattered small groups here and there and on the move.
On a local saltpond here there are 2 adjacent coves (Call them Cove A and Cove B) I really enjoy hunting. Yesterday, we chose Cove A, and no ducks visited us. At some point I got restless and took a walk over to check Cove B, and kicked up at least 14 black ducks. None ever came into Cove A the rest of the time we hunted it yesterday. When we arrived at Cove A yesterday it didn't hold a single duck.
About 10 days ago, on the other hand, when I first entered Cove A, I put up about 20 black ducks. Not too long after that 2 black ducks and a pintail came into that same cove. I was happy to take the pintail home.
Phil Nowack
Well-known member
MLBob Furia said:
EXACTLY!!!! Or look at your phone!
I agree completely with the jerk string or some movement in the decoys. The overcast sky is another interesting factor. We have found ducks decoy much better in the marsh when sunny than cloudy. We believe the glare off the water makes it harder for ducks to identify frauds. The whole UV light and duck vision is something I've tried to investigate based on a past post, but my research has been slow. However, I wonder if the UV light conditions on a cloudy day make it easier for the ducks to make out fakes? The past season we have used a single water motion decoy and it does appear it helps to fool more birds. At least our success on windless days has exceeded that of the other blinds. Coincidence, maybe, but I don't believe so. Finally, the point about offsetting the spread so that your blind is not part of the focus for incoming birds is an excellent one.
Good luck, I'm sure it will happen soon.
Good luck, I'm sure it will happen soon.
roy brewington
Well-known member
Sound like its starting to come together for you. You do know getting in to water fowling leads to a life of frustration with brief moments of accomplishment! I,m betting already you spend the summer months next year shooting from a similar position as you do gunning! Its a sickness that only gets worse . Good luck!