Wigeon decoy color

Andy Grant

Andy Grant

Well-known member
I have seen two types of wigeon color patterns. One is darker and to my eye more realistic. The other is much lighter and sort of pinkish.

My question is does one work in luring wigeon better than the other? I am all for maximizing drawing power at the expense of absolute realism.

I have a wigeon to finish and I may repaint some decoys a couple years old that are just too brown.
 
Andy, since no one else is jumping on this I'll throw in my two cents. I've never read about or heard of people intentionally painting widgeon anything but a realistic color. The lack of responses on here lead me to believe I'm not missing anything.

That said, I've seen widgeon decoys that were practically pink. I would paint them to look like widgeon, not flamingos. However, maybe you should paint a few in a brighter color, put them on one side of the spread, and see if the birds focus on them. Be sure to report back with your results.

Mike
 
They are not exactly pick, but a lighter shade of the wigeon color. I have only made less than a dozen wigeon so far. Maybe I will take your advice as I build up the spread. I am making these to decoy birds so the most effective paint scheme will win out.
 
I would think the "pinker" color would show up better than the "browner" color from a distance and draw birds in from a distance to take a closer look. Problem is that when they get a closer look and find flamingos they will probably go elsewhere. I think it depends somewhat on the size of the body of water you are hunting. If you are hunting a small pothole and the birds are already close then you don't need the pink. I think for my purposes I would find a middle ground and go more for the peachy brown color. Just my .02
 
The 'pink' ones are no were near flamingo color, just much lighter than a normal wigeon. They finish birds otherwise guys would not use them. My question is do they work better?
 
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I lived in Nor Cal for about 8 years and had the opportunity to hunt and shoot quite a few wigeon. Frankly we never used that many wigeon decoys so I cannot say for certainty that it would really matter. We always opted to use quite a few pintail decoys to add some "color" to the spread. I would go for looks right and pleasing to your eye, and rely on scouting and being on the "X" for where they want to be. Just my 2 cents... Post up some pics of them.

Brian
 
I would chalk the pink color up to people not having a dead one in hand when painting. Painting from pics is not how you do it. Its one of my biggest pet peeves with redheads and their back color on so many decoys. To many people paint a light grey, because in some many pics thats how it comes out. But I have shot them from ND to NC and they are anything but light grey, at a distance they are almost black. The same with widgeon, thats a tough color and in a lot of pics it almost looks pink, but if you have a dead duck in heand its not.
 
Most of the ones I have seen here are a darker color and that's how I paint mine. The darker decoys stand out more here as well.
 
I'm always torn between the two, I love the looks of the pinker colouring but a more natural colour is somewhere in the middle but darker, it does have that reddish pinkish touch but still more brown. Atleast that's what the 5-6 of them on my wall have.
 
I think you boys may be over-thinkin' this one. Try any of these combinations on drakes:

1- Napth. red lt. + Cobalt blue + white + raw sienna

2- Aqua violet + burnt umber + Gesso + black

3- Yellow oxide + burgandy + black + white

4- Diox purple (or mix a purple from ultra blue, napth. red, t.white & black)+ Raw umber + raw sienna

...... I'd venture the real answer is to have fun making them and then be where there are widgeon with a fairly decent representation of widgeon anatomy (ie: essence of widgeon ;-) )

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Andy - I suspect the color of a wigeon drake depends where he is at in the migration. I used to paint my drakes more of a burnt umber but recently inspired by the color of a George Root wigeon drake, I tried the more pink color. Not sure the difference however, by the time the wigeons coming into my blocks figures it's too light or dark, hopefully, I'm shooting... I look at it this way, painting them more on the pink side, now I can tell my wife I am getting in touch with my feminine side... :)

Here are my most recent rig additions...
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Thanks for the replies guys. I just got back from a busy weekend. When the coffee has time to reach my brain later, I'll get back with a more detailed response.
 
Andy

Here is one of my favorite comparison shots of 3 American Wigeon by 3 carvers from this page (Ron Smith, Bob Furia and Ira McCauley). I'll bet you any of them would kill ducks, and any would be a welcome sight in my rig any day.

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I'll get you a better pic when I get home tonight, but the Wigeon here is by PG Ross, and it has more of a maroon shade to it, stronger than most of the "pinks" shown in this thread. PG is an Eastern Shore carver and learned from Grayson Chesser and Pete Peterson.

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Gary, I've always loved the look of your wigeon...not sure if it is the shade of pink or how neatly you have them stacked in the stern, but pleasing to the eye none the less.

Best
Chuck
 
Andy

Here is one of my favorite comparison shots of 3 American Wigeon by 3 carvers from this page

That cork Euro next to the frond is one of mine as well. No doubt Gary March has "boated" more widgeon than most of us will see in a lifetime, so I'd venture he knows what works for sure.
Click to expand...
 
Andy

Here is one of my favorite comparison shots of 3 American Wigeon by 3 carvers from this page
Click to expand...
That cork Euro next to the frond is one of mine as well. No doubt Gary March has "boated" more widgeon than most of us will see in a lifetime, so I'd venture he knows what works for sure.
Click to expand...

Sorry Bob, I knew that, but thought we were talking about American Wigeon, not those freak vagrants....BWAHAHAHAHA

Good point on Gary too!
 
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