Leaving decoys in the water

[Woodduckdawg]

Leaving decoys in the water until the next hunt.

1. good idea since it might bring in a few curious birds
2. good idea to keep from throwing them back out each time
3. bad idea, ages the decoys faster

just laziness?

Anything ideas good or bad for leaving the decoys at the duck hole until the next trip?

[ducman77]

We have some timber holes that we leave decoys in.... The fields we pick them up...

[mdc153]

I would think leaving them out makes them fade much quicker. However, I've hunted over some that people left out all season and still killed ducks.

[4dawgma]

good question. went hunting Sat. morning with some friends that drove down for tupelo that morning for a hunt. one had a draw at trim cane but i convinced them i had a better spot. this is a private pond about 5 acres in size. hasn't been hunted since opening day 2007. be scouting and waiting for the right time to pounce. past several weeks ducks have been thick on the pond with anywhere from 30-75 any given day/ any given time. geese probably average 25+. on the north end of this pond is the property line with about .25 acres of shallow water (on their side) that the woodies love. probably 20 in there any given day. so anyway we get set up and just as LSH is upon us the woodies start in but they're not goin to the timber they're landing outside the dekes to far to shoot. i notice several groups go in than back out of the shallow end. i'm thinkin maybe we can get a few woodies for the strap as a unexpected plus. so i ease along the bank towards the property line (maybe 60yards) until i find some tall grass to hide in while the other two in the party stay with the spread to drop the hammer on the first flights of big ducks. as the sun rises i notice something in the morning mist. a lone red speck bobbing up and down near the barbed wire seperating the two properties. upon closer inspection i find it to be a spent round from a 12 gauge. how could this be, this is private property and no one has ever hunted that spot. as the sun's ray reveled more into the timber hole a saw some thing resembling ducks, mallards no doubt! how did they get in there without drawing attention to them selves. i started by whistling, trying to get them to rise and perhaps come my way, but to no avail. I tried kicking the water and doing my best impression of the swamp thing but still they sat there. well i guess it could be stumps or something it is alittle dark in there. the woodie flight subsides so i decided to work my way back to the main spread and concentrate on some mallards. we had a few pass but didn't look interested. another five minutes pass nothing, ten, what the hel. this place was loaded wed. where could they go. then it hit me. the spent hull bobbing in the water. someone beat us here. as the discussion begins i put down my trusty benelli and pour a cup of coffee and ease out from my hiding spot were we can tall. just then a pair of ducks apear from the east cupped and heading straight for the landing zone. all i can do is put my head down and stand there with my coffee knee deep in the middle of the spread well needless to say know one got a shot off as the two double banded black ducks back peddled out of the spread and bee lined to some unknown destination. We waited a while but nothing. loaded up the dekes with some mubblings of "I bet the ducks were so thick at Trim Cane you couldn't see the sky." on our way out we went by the fence and sure enough there's a dozen brand new flambeau's over there in the timber. probably still got the stickers on'em. I don't know for sure but i think it was those decoys in there that was runnin those woodies out. i did learn on thing though, when dem birds is der, shoot'em world don't wait on no man.

[GUNNERX2]

I don't leave decoys out from one hunt to another anymore. Yes, they do fade faster, but it's also a good chance that decoy theives will snatch them. We stopped leaving them out because we felt that the ducks wouldn't decoy as good if they kept seeing dummys where they wanted to go (dummy ducks not dummy hunters). In some places though, picking up and putting out several hundred decoys just isn't feasable.

[tbost]

i did learn on thing though, when dem birds is der, shoot'em world don't wait on no man.[/quote

Cousin Eddie, I would've thought the one thing you learned is what those straps on the 4 wheeler ramps are for.

[tcash]

new ducks will hit decoys that have been left out but ducks that have been around for a few days will start shying away. sometime when you are ltd. out stay and watch a few ducks land in your decoys. They (mallards) will land and figure out something is wrong pretty quick.

[4dawgma]

[mharville]

i went scouting on public land yesterday and found a nice spot.. looked 75 yards to the left and somebody had decoys out in the water.. now that just don't seem too smart to me.

[southernvaughan]

Hey don't steal my decoys. They're crappy anyway.

[BeastMaster]

left some at torch's hole, thought i was doing him a favor.. came back and they were gone.. guess he didn't like my deeks..

[butla25]

what do yall think about people leaving decoys out in public holes? I am not talking about people that have blind permits leaving dekes in front of their blinds but people leaving dekes out in areas just so they dont have to wake up at 3 am and beat everyone else to the hole that they have already "claimed" with their decoys.

[MSDawg870]

[rustypjr]

Less I got to put out. ha ha ha

[DeltaCotton12]

i had about 3 dozen in one of my favorite spots. I was jump shooting and cam across damn near 3 dozen dumb mallards.. thank God i had taken my plug out of my gun because when i came around that corner and saw all that green, my heart got to racing. i started firing as fast as the ole 870 would shoot as the boat was moving ful speed. LIke a drive by in one of them ganster movies. poppin caps in that ass. i felt like Biggy smalls killa. I hit 2 with the first shot and nail 2-3 more with each of the following shots. Instead of floating, the ones i hit started to sink!!! i couldn't figure it out. Then i realized they was decoys. oh well, out of 3 dozen, i sank 14 in 5 shots!! jump shooting is fun!!! 14 ducks in 5 shots. Thats damn near umm, ahh wel lets see, round the number, carry the one, square the root cubed................ 2.8 ducks per shot!!! but you know whats funny, i dont remember seeing .8 worth of ducks.. they was all whole!!! who knows????