Make your duck decoy spread STAND OUT

Every backwater and pothole along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers has the standard 24-48 mallard decoys huddled in a "J" hook with a spinning wing decoy in the hole.    This season take a step back, think outside the box to add something different to your spread that can make you stand out. The best thing you can do is to look at real ducks, watch how they loaf and feed in the situations you are hunting and try to mimic that setting with your decoys.   Watch ducks, listen to ducks, read ducks as they approach and land into other ducks.  This really is the best advice someone told me years ago when I was first starting out.

Rig'em Right Jerk Rig $29.99

Every situation is different but for smaller back waters I could take or leave a spinner decoy but I always have a Rig-Em-Right Jerk Rig   in my pack.    For me,  movement, realism and concealment is the most important things for a small water setting.  I like to mix some pintails in with my most realistic mallard decoys and will even bring some coots for confidence decoys placed near me on the edge.  

GHG Oversized Canvasbacks  $54.99 per 6 pack

On the river or bigger water I like to add GHG Oversized Canvasback Decoys on the tips of the decoy spread.  The white really adds to the visibility and pulling power from a great distance.  I also like to use a few spinning wing decoys in the landing hole.   I like to set the majority of my decoys behind me upwind (if possible)  and set my best decoys on the front line of the spread.

GHG Pro-Grade Full Body Snows $129.00 per 6 pack

For field hunting ducks I like to have as many full body duck decoys as possible right next to my blind.  That being said,  the most important decoy for a duck field hunt is a motion wing decoy.  I have had great success harvesting ducks in the field over only spinners and I say the more the merrier.   Usually when targeting ducks I will use snow goose decoys off to the side for better visibility.    This is not a numbers games on how many you you can put out like late season or spring snow goose season.  I like a few dozen high quality snow goose decoys like the GHG - Full Body Snow Goose.

Good luck this year and I hope next time you are setting decoys you can benefit from these tactics.  If anything watch the ducks, listen and learn.