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Diver Decoy Tips/Suggestions???

3K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  woodduck31 
#1 ·
Hey everybody, I'm new to the sight and just wanted to get some opinions. We hunt mostly puddle ducks on the river in central, Il. We definitely see our fair share of divers especially Golden Eyes. Next year I wanna incorporate some divers into our spread by running a couple lines, just not sure on what type and brand of decoys I want to go with. For sure will have Golden Eyes and Foam Filled is a must. As for species do divers like landing with same species or does it not really matter? Any helpful tips or suggestions would be great. Thanks
 
#3 ·
Yeah I've found some good sales on them just wasn't completely sold from mixed reviews. I like that they're foam filled and cheap, I just don't want to get them and have them look ****ty or have paint chippin after a few hunts. I have hunted over a line before and noticed that they can take a hell of a beating so I mean I know I could potentially be replacing it in a couple years anyways suppose. What about species? I've heard Golden Eyes tend to like landing with Golden Eyes but if I put out a line of different species for more color contrast and so it pops is it still beneficial for other species? Thanks
 
#5 ·
IMO plastic is disposable so if they last me a few seasons great. The Tanglefrees seem to be as good if not better than any plastic I have used and being Foam filled is a huge bonus becasue if they sink after getting shot they are useless no matter how good they look.

for our trip we run Bills, Cans, Buffies and GEs we mix the Can and Bills and usually keep the buffies and the GE to one side by themselves. when they want to be where you are IMO it just doesnt matter. whats more important is wind direction and the position of the sun for decoying birds. And dont forget to leave a pocket for the birds to dump into

Hope that helps
 
#6 ·
based on your OP...just buy a package of the tanglefree golden eyes...you get 4 drakes and 2 hens...they look good and are foam filled.... you don't want, not need more than 6...heck you could get away with 4, since you are just adding them to a puddler spread

keep the GE decoys out the furthest and down wind......don't make or try to force the GE to fly over or close to your other duck decoys!

its a tough call for GE...they don't like to be near stuff..like shore or rocks or other birds...so you need to set them out far...but they are tough to kill, so you don't want to set them any farther than needed.... it may take a little experimenting

25 yards is the mininmum distance I have found for late winter GE's.... but 40 yards shots are not going to give you the best percentage of clean kills

the tool
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it. I've hunted with a buddy who puts out a dozen divers of different species and yeah we kept them well away from the puddlers and had em bout 30-35 yards out and it's just awesome watchin them come in and dip that line! They seem to just pin point the hell out of it especially when there was a floating bluebill mojo right in front of the lead duck. the spread looked real good and killed quite a few birds. mainly was just lookin to get some more ideas on different species and what not, thanks for all the help!
 
#8 ·
divers definitely don't like landing close to the bank most of the time and wind direction can compound the problem if it forces their approach too close to land. They don't like crossing over other species, but are attracted to goose decoys as are geese attracted to goldeneye decoys. We've shot several canadas over nothing but goldeneye decoys, I'm guessing it's the black that attracts them. You can get goldeneye close to the bank if you are doing everything right, nearly all of our shots are within 15-18 yards, our farthest decoy is set at 15 and most times the ducks will land right on the edge of them, occasionally between us and the bank if we have our feather flyers closer to the bank. We are really trying to coax the birds to a place they really don't want to go most of the time. Also, don't neglect the hens, several companies only make drake divers, but I've found that having a good number of hens makes a dramatic difference, especially with buffleheads. Lots of our hunts are over a half dozen decoys, our last one pulled a mixed limit of mallards and goldeneye over 4 goldeneye decoys and one redhead decoy.
 
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