what do think about a mojo

If you feel it worked as a teal, why wouldn't it work as a Bufflehead? I receantly bought 3 Ure-Ducks, wind driven Mojos, 2 Scoters and an Eider. I mounted a Scoter directly to the boat and I made 2 floating platforms to float them in the rig of Scoter and Eider. I don't think it either helped me or hindered me. The birds didn't flaire from the fliers, but I don't think they attracted anymore birds that would have come in anyway. It seemed to me that I still had to wave my flag to get the attention of birds that were far out, which is what I thought the fliers were supposed to do for me. If you think it helps. Go for it.
 
OK I'll tell you what I think about the mojo teal being turned into a buffy.
I think it is a waste of money. Buffies will decoy to almost any decoys if they want to decoy. If you want to wave a white and black flag a time or two to get their attention I think that is enough. Buffies decoy to blue bill decoys like pigeons to a little old lady on a park bench. I don't see why you would want the extra hassle. Put the money into a few goldeneye decoys and your spread will even look better to buffies.

I'm sure our forum expert on mojos will be here soon to tell you just what he thinks too....Tod you there?

Could you please just ask half a dozen questions in one post.

Tim
 
One time on Lake St Clair in mid-November a push of about 100,000 buffies showed up on the lake...that's what the USFWS said anyway. There were also a good number of redheads and bluebills so my buddy Chris and I decided to take my big Lund out and anchor WNW of the Old Channel Light just outside the mouth of Big Muscamoot Bay and throw out a diver spread.

We figured with the light and a couple other "bumps" sticking up in the area they wouldn't mind coming to my OD green custom blind we made out of a deuce and a half canopy another friend had borrowed from the 24th mechanized when they were leaving them laying in the desert of New Mexico. I couldn't believe he lugged that thing all the way back to the UP...it weighed over 400lbs. Not to mention the smell of creosote was so strong that it would make you nauseous.

The water was about 7ft deep at the time. On the way out I was flat out through a massive raft of Ruddy's that simply sank under the surface to get out of the way and then popped up in my wake. Them are are some fine sportin' birds I tell ye. We pulled up and bumped thousands...tens of thousands of birds, mostly buffies.

So anyway we put our decoys out and then I was setting anchors as Chris was putting the blind up and he says,"Hey, check this out".

I look up to see about 30 buffies coming in to our decoys...some even overshot and landed about 10 feet from the moving boat complete with revving engine, Chris and I are both over 6 foot tall and we stood there clearly visible as he had abandoned putting the blind up. We yelled at those buffies but they wouldn't leave. And then more came in...like thousands. We were yelling at them and shooting the water but they wouldn't leave. One hen actually swam up to my motor and I was worried I'd suck it into the prop...I reached for it and it finally dove half-assed and swam about ten feet and popped up out of reach.

It wasn't even funny. It was pathetic. At the time lots of girls were sporting those giant key chains that had all kinds of stuff hanging off of them like rabbits feet and feathers and in a moment of inspiration Chris says, "God those things are stupid...they're like keychains".

So that's why we call buffies : Keychains. That was 1994 and I think I've shot like 2 or 3 of them since.
 
I have 3 of the floating spinners, 1 scoter and 2 old squaws rigs.
When setting up for buffies I use the full body spinner and place it in the area where I want the buffs to land. After using the spinner this way for the last couple seasons I can say that approx 75% of the birds do indeed head for that landing zone.

In the same hunt when I remove the spinner the birds land all over the spread, IMHO the spinner does not attract more birds but funnels them into my desired shooting lane close to the boat.
12-14-05decoysonwater.jpg

 
I think Jeff is on to something.
I have a wind driven mallard on a float that I was experimenting with last year.
I only ever deployed it on the right of the layout.
Definitely had the majority of the buffys swing down the right side.
I think I will try it on the left since I can't find a skeet station that comes straight at you 3' high and goes over your right shoulder
 
Or you could just stand up, wave frantically and yell "HEY! GET THE #$@% OUT OF HERE!"

I promise you they'll come right in!
 
Well, you asked for opinions, so I will give it:

Dont waste the money on a "mojo", just buy/make some more buffy decoys and be set up in the right spot.
Why waste batteries and then have to look at those damn spinning wings all morning???
 
It's not the looking at them that bothers me, but the sound . . . .

I don't have opinions as strong as some here, and have hunted over friend's mojos. Some of them swear by them, and on occasion I think they've helped attract the birds. Just as often I think they flare birds that might otherwise have decoyed.

They do give you something to talk about on slow days in the blind. You can consume at least an hour arguing about whether or not to put the mojo out, then, once it's out there and the birds still aren't decoying well, you can discuss whether it's helping or hurting . . .

"Man, those birds were coming right to us until the moho flared them."

"No way. They never even would have turned and looked at us without the mojo."

Or, if you decided not to put the mojo up:

"Man, those birds would have come right in if we had the mojo up."

"No way. The mojo would have just flared them."


This can go on for hours.
 
I wouldn't have one in my spread; whether they work or not... I hunt over cork and shoot a double. I do have a fleece hat...
 
It's not the looking at them that bothers me, but the sound . . . .

I don't have opinions as strong as some here, and have hunted over friend's mojos. Some of them swear by them, and on occasion I think they've helped attract the birds. Just as often I think they flare birds that might otherwise have decoyed.

They do give you something to talk about on slow days in the blind. You can consume at least an hour arguing about whether or not to put the mojo out, then, once it's out there and the birds still aren't decoying well, you can discuss whether it's helping or hurting . . .

"Man, those birds were coming right to us until the moho flared them."

"No way. They never even would have turned and looked at us without the mojo."

Or, if you decided not to put the mojo up:

"Man, those birds would have come right in if we had the mojo up."

"No way. The mojo would have just flared them."


This can go on for hours.
Click to expand...


Now that is what duck hunting is about, good natured arguments in the blind!
 
I think if you don't have one and the guy across the lake does you better make friends with him real fast or find another lake!
 
I've set up in the middle of 5 groups with Mojos and shot more ducks than any other group. I don't own one and will never own one. They are a pox on the tradition of waterfowling and should be banned across the board. I have hunted with them when I'm the guest and have not seen ANY improvement to my success.

Not all my decoys are hand carved but a bunch of the 150 or so are AND, like John Kirk, I shoot a SxS, wear wool and a fur hat when it's cold and hunt out of homemade boats most of the time. Not saying everyone should but that's what makes me feel connected to the traditions of waterfowling.
 
It's not the looking at them that bothers me, but the sound . . . .

I don't have opinions as strong as some here, and have hunted over friend's mojos. Some of them swear by them, and on occasion I think they've helped attract the birds. Just as often I think they flare birds that might otherwise have decoyed.

They do give you something to talk about on slow days in the blind. You can consume at least an hour arguing about whether or not to put the mojo out, then, once it's out there and the birds still aren't decoying well, you can discuss whether it's helping or hurting . . .

"Man, those birds were coming right to us until the moho flared them."

"No way. They never even would have turned and looked at us without the mojo."

Or, if you decided not to put the mojo up:

"Man, those birds would have come right in if we had the mojo up."

"No way. The mojo would have just flared them."


This can go on for hours.
Click to expand...
Truer words have never been spoken!
 
I have 2... but never use them.. a total pain in the ass IMHO... batteries etc.. but more to your question... the birds do not care what species they are painted too... ASSUMING they work.. any bird that is drawn to it is drawn by the motion... not the color....
 
I've never used a Mojo for ducks. I have used a flapping crow for hunting crows (which happen to be a major predator of duck nests). The flapping crow draws their sharp eyes away from me, and they swarm after it. Sometimes the crow is harder to decoy than the wily black duck, and the bonus with crows is that the limit is more than one.
 
I don't own one and it's not because I have made a conclusion that they don't work, I just haven't paid them a whole lot of attention. I have hunted with friends that have them and have been both skunked and successful when they were in use. Did we shoot birds because we were where they wanted to be and would have committed to the decoys regardless? Maybe. When we were skunked, was it because the spinner flared them? Maybe. I'm just not sold one way or the other. I will say that a few weeks ago I sat and consistently watched flocks of ducks that were leaving the refuge give me a look and hook right into a cove where guys were using spinners. Would they have done the same if they were not using them? Who knows.

It's not on my list to buy but that's not to say that some day I will not own one. I consider myself more of a traditional hunter too Pete, but there are a number of tools that are used today which one could say are not "traditional".

Ryan
 
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You're right Ryan. "Traditional" will mean something different to me than to other guys. I know what makes me feel that I'm hunting in a "traditional" manner. I'm not into that argument. I just feel that the way hunting is carried out today is a far cry from what it was 50 years ago and I don't like the changes - I'll leave it at that.
 
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