Preparing for Hunting Season – 3 Tips You Can Use to Enhance Your Hunting Experience
Now that hunting season has started again, it is time to take the duck decoys out of storage. Waterfowl decoys have long helped hunters lure ducks and geese within shotgun range. Though the mallard duck decoy is the most popular, it is advisable to have different bird species luresto attract a variety of birds and waterfowl.
Variety Is the Key – Collecting a significant numbers of bird decoys will improve your hunting opportunities. Typically, it will be difficult to capture geese, using duck decoys, and vice versa. Various bird species decoys are available for purchase at the local sporting goods store, or online. Many manufacturers will deliver or ship your purchase anywhere.
Using Correct Placement – Placing your waterfowl lures in the right place, in relationship to where you situate your hunting blind, will improve your chances. If hunting in a large wetland area, station a small numbers of decoys, of like kind, in separate locations.
When to Mix It up – Flocking birds tend to travel in pairs or large groups. In smaller lakes and streams, it is not uncommon to spot various species of birds congregating together, in small numbers. Traveling birds typically look for peaceful and contented situations, of gathered birds, before settling in the water. You might have better luck situating a few various types of decoys together as a way to attract single birds, or pairs of ducks or geese traveling by.
Hunting requires patience and observation. Understanding the behaviors of different species of birds, will provide you the education needed to effectively use your decoys, and improve your bird hunting experience.
It would be nice if you could just throw some decoys out on a body of water and that be the end of it, but when hunting with duck and goose decoys there is more to it then just throwing them out. For one, retrieval would not be a pleasant task and another you would lose the ability to position them in a natural pattern. So in order to properly position duck and goose decoys there are necessary supplies you will need other then just the decoys such as cord or line and anchors for stabilizing the decoys.
Using the proper decoy cord for placing your duck and goose decoys on water are more important then one might think. The perception of any old string will do is not the case. You want your decoy cord to be tangle free. Try carrying 50 duck or goose decoys, getting to your site to set up only to have to spend hours untangling the decoys before you can even set them in position. This does not make for a happy hunter. Secondly, you want a decoy cord is strong and will not freeze and break in the winter months. Some plastic decoy cords, although tangle free, are not as strong as say-tarred cords, and will break easily when frozen. Tarred cord is great in spring and autumn months due to its black coloring but is not tangle free. Winter month, on snow-covered ground is time consuming to disguise. Look for cord or line that will not freeze, float, rot, or arouse the ducks fears and resists tangles.
Floating duck and goose decoys are held in place by an anchor. An anchors rigging setup consist of cord/line that attaches to the decoy and a weight that acts as heavy stabilizer securely fastened to the end of the rope opposite the decoy. This setup works well for anchoring decoys in water. In shallow moving water and stable waters such as in ponds 6 ft of cord should be fine depending on the depth of the water. Too short of cords will make your duck and goose decoys look like they are plowing through the water. You want them to appear natural. The anchors can be home designed from heavy washers to old railroad ties or store bought specifically for duck and goose decoys. The important part is making sure the weights are ample enough to do the job while at the same time allowing the decoy to float naturally in the water. Depending on the current of the water where decoys are dispersed will determine which holes in the keel of the duck or goose decoys you will attach the cord and anchor. The holes in the keel used will determine the direction the duck or goose decoy will swim back and forth in running water. If the cord comes out the right side, the decoy will swim to the left and visa versa. Best bet is to put the cord through alternating sides in the decoys to give it a more realist look on the water unless you intentionally want them to appear to be all headed in the same direction .
Other supplies you may want to have handy are:
There is an ample amount of different decoy anchors and cord/lines available on the market today as well as home methods that have been proven efficient for some duck hunters. It is up to the individual hunter on what works best for them in their outfitting for rigging of their duck and goose decoys. However, remember to make sure to have ample length in your cord and proper weight to allow your decoy to float and move as natural as possible no matter what type of rigging system you utilize.
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