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Using Canada Goose decoys wih spread

9K views 43 replies 20 participants last post by  BBK 
#1 ·
Need your comments > inputs. Have read where using a spread of 24 dekes or so, put out 6 full bodied honks will help pull in weary birds, especially late season with call shy birds. Has anyone used similar setup and if so, how did it work?
Whistlerville
 
#2 ·
I run a couple dozen geese depending on the situation for my duck hunting. Most days any more it's the end all be all or magic but it works well depending on the situation. Plus you can pull the occasional goose.
 
#6 ·
Every area is different, But in my area I have pretty much stopped using duck decoys, except on small water where geese aren't normally. When I have ran a dual spread of mallards and Canada's, the ducks almost always decoys to the geese. The goose decoys are larger and much more visable from a long distance, a goose spread and a goose flag is pretty deadly for mallards and in pintails, here in washington we can't use electronics so that's why we use the flags. Of course every area is different and certain things may not work in your area.
 
#7 ·
We only put out goose decoys when there is a fairly good chance of decoying geese.

I've seen, when we've put out a mixed (duck and goose) spread, the ducks pull to the side with the goose floaters. But, a high percentage of the ducks will land with the duck decoys on the same hunts. Our conclusion: goose decoys mixed with the ducks decoys won't hurt the duck hunting.

The last hunt of this season, when only geese were legal, had us put out close to 200 goose floaters only. There were probably 2,000 ducks that acted like they were interested during the day (ducks everywhere, constantly), but only TWO actually landed in the spread....the rest just picked up and faded away. (we got geese) That tells me that a goose-only spread is not the hot ticket for hunting ducks.
Of course, YRMV.
 
#8 ·
This is good input from everyone as I progress on a learning curve less the hard knocks!

Question, what about the use of silhouette dekes along with floaters in flooded field shooting or use of silhouettes on sand bars, in shallow water, etc. along with floaters? I normally hunt alone and am thinking along lines of 12 magnum mallards, 6 Canada floaters plus 12 Canada silhouette. I can haul these across a field or along a dike but that is the max on bulk and weight!
Whistlerville
 
#9 ·
Silos and/or FB's on sandbars add to the authenticity of a spread.

One more thing on the idea of using only goose floaters for ducks:
I can carry 40 duck decoys in my boat in the same space I can carry 10 goose floaters.

Which would look more inviting (and be more visible) to ducks; twenty geese or 80 ducks?
 
#10 ·
We have good luck using goose dekes just outside the fringe of our kill hole, with the ducks closer inside our spread. It serves us threefold, confidence on wary birds, greater visibility, as well as giving us the possibility of a mixed bag when the honkers come in. During my field hunts for canadas, I've flagged in ducks before without ever placing a mallard decoy out.In my opinion it works on more open marsh/water situations than the smaller pockets. I think you just need room to set the goose floaters away from the hole.
 
#11 ·
The best duck decoys are goose decoys. Ducks don't think twice about a mixed duck/goose spread and the big decoys gives your spread good visibility from long distances. I prefer to run a mixed spread as I usually hunt areas that hold both ducks and geese.
 
#12 ·
The best duck decoys I own for mallards are my goose decoys. I run small spreads, often 3-11 goose decoys and maybe 2-3 duck decoys. The duck decoys are not even neccessary. The mallards almost always land in the goose decoys or land just upstream and swim right into the geese. When I used to use a spread of duck decoys, the mallards would not swim into the duck decoys. They would usually get nervous, hang up outside the decoys, and swim away or fly away. The mallards don't get nervous of the goose floaters and we shoot lots of geese also.
 
#15 ·
jjseman said:
We have good luck using goose dekes ....It serves us threefold, confidence on wary birds....
I hear this all the time, and it makes me smile. People who say this are giving anthropomorphic characteristics to the ducks, characteristics they do not possess.
Ducks do not have the power of reasoning/logic. They cannot see a floating/standing goose and say "Oh, I would be safe landing beside that goose because geese are much more wary than I am and therefore this must be safer landing with him/them than in a place that stupid little old me would like to land."
Doesn't work that way. The confidence that goose decoys give is only (misplaced) confidence on the hunter's part.
But that's fine! If it gives YOU more confidence, then that's what counts.

I get MY confidence from putting out realistic duck decoys when I'm after ducks..... But, if goose season is open, there are geese in the area, and I feel like there's a reasonable opportunity to pull in a stray goose or two, then I'll throw out 3-4 goose floaters. Just not because I think they'll pull in ducks that would not be otherwise interested in my spread.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
occasionally wrong, but never in doubt
 
#17 ·
I agree with Mudpack..........if Ducks will not finish in your dekes I would would question your spread.........is your spread in need of improvement..........like better paint job or flocking..........or do your keels make your dekes ride the water like real birds ......remember if they look fake to you then they surely look fake to the ducks...........I would much rather have 6-12 really good dekes than dozens of poorly made ones............be honest with yourself, your spread should be good enough to put them on the X ...........if you make this effort you will see birds in your spread if you stay still, cover up, and learn when not to call

This is my opinion of ducks on open water, not dry field hunts where geese dekes only or geese with duck dekes work very well
 
#18 ·
I mainly hunt big open water for geese/mallards in my area when not in a field of course. The ducks are extremely smart especially the local birds. Plenty of areas of refuge and they know where those areas are. When the migrators come through they follow the local birds. Ive tried just about every trick in the book from one mallard to monster spread of mallards to running all my goose floaters with mallards. Spinners no spinners. Jerk rigs, etc etc etc etc. There is no magical potion that works better than others. If you believe it in your heart that there is then thats what you run with. My magical potion is being there, Ive never killed a single duck laying on my couch watching fat guys running around with half deflated balls :no: ...Some days you pickle the ducks and some days your pickle gets ducked :huh:
 
#19 ·
I'm with Rick on this one. If they don't have the ability to reason then how do they learn from their mistakes. Why are they smarter in late season than they are early season...because they are. I guess everybody has an opinion but I tend to think they are a lot smarter than some give them credit for. jmo.
 
#20 ·
kcwellington said:
I'm with Rick on this one. If they don't have the ability to reason then how do they learn from their mistakes. Why are they smarter in late season than they are early season..
Same way amoebas learn by getting a repeated electric shock; it's called conditioning. It's not a process of logical deduction.

Ducks aren't all that smart. How many times have you seen a flock of ducks get shot at over a spread 3/4 of a mile away, then gradually work their way over to your spread and drop in? More than once, I'll bet. I see it all the time, they are slow learners.
How many times have you been out in your spread, picking up, and had a duck land not 20 feet from you? Are ducks smart?
No, they have an instinctual aversion to the human face and form (usually), and movement will trigger alarms in their tiny brains, but they have no logical thought process. If they get shot at enough, they WILL shy away from decoys spreads set out near thick cover; there's that conditioning. In those cases, it doesn't matter if the decoys are duck decoys or goose decoys, there is no magic formula for decoying ducks 100% of the time; you do the best you can, in the best place you can find, and hope for some birds to succumb.

Rick, who's to say the ducks get shot at less when they decoy to geese than to ducks? Live birds of either species don't shoot at them, and both goose and duck decoys make loud noises and cause pain. :biggrin:

If using goose decoys makes you feel like you have a better chance at pulling in ducks, then by all means use them. But that doesn't mean live ducks are actually attracted to live geese more than they're attracted to other live ducks. :wink:
 
#21 ·
mudpack said:
Rick, who's to say the ducks get shot at less when they decoy to geese than to ducks?
That's a legitimate question - if duck hunting over goose rigs without a substantial show of duck decoys is common where one hunts. Could well be wrong, but I doubt it's a common water spread anywhere. Certainly not remotely as common as the typical Joe Duckhunter ploy of adding a few Canadas to a duck spread.

In any event, I'm convinced I've made a lot of bank over the years by not hunting like Joe Duckhunter and certainly don't mind finding myself in disagreement with you. Preach on, brother, preach on.
 
#22 ·
I find myself browsing California boards to spy on their specklebelly methods and just ran across this from a commercial guide on one:

I used all speck decoys on my duck blind last year. No duck decoys at all. I did it because I believe specks have an aversion to duck decoys. Killed a lot of specks over the spread for sure. And the most ducks in the blinds history!! I will not use duck decoys on my rice blind ever again. I'll have this method all to myself for a long time. Nobody else is going to try it.
I'm thinking he's got it pegged.
 
#23 ·
Yeah, because theres a magical lure that will catch every bass, theres a magical putrid smelling scent that will draw in every buck in the county, and theres a magical tone turkey call that draws every tom turkey within 4 miles radius. Lets face facts here. If there was a magical set up wed all be walking around with cool patches on our shirt that says "pro" on it. I already question the ones that already do I dont think we need more. :lol3:
 
#24 ·
jeffro9023 said:
Yeah, because theres a magical lure that will catch every bass, theres a magical putrid smelling scent that will draw in every buck in the county, and theres a magical tone turkey call that draws every tom turkey within 4 miles radius. Lets face facts here. If there was a magical set up wed all be walking around with cool patches on our shirt that says "pro" on it. I already question the ones that already do I dont think we need more. :lol3:
I have all those :yes:
 
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