Jerk strings

[peewee]

I know this topic has been around but maybe I just didn't listen. I need some of you ole timers (or more experienced I might say) to tell me just how is the best and least confusing way to make a jerk string. I think I got a pretty good idea but any help will be appreciated. Fixin to start experimenting on some things, gettin kinda of boring in the off season.

[gator]

hey peewee, i've been bored as hades and this seems like a good idea...so please, anyone w/ some good ideas post-up...thanks, justin

[vicksburg]

pewee
i use some green parachute cord (large diameter line doesn't tangle as bad) about sixty feet long with a big fat rubber band on the end. Cut the rubber band so it's one long strip and tie one end to the cord and the other to a weighted keel deke. (Weighted keel seems to put off more wave action) Then from the other end of the keel of the deke tie a piece of cord so that it can be tied to a tree or stump or a weight for open field hunting. tie two loops about twelve feet apart down the main cord and put dog leash clips on it. The drill hole in the keels of two other water keeled dekes (weighted keel dekes in the middle keep the farthest from dancing very good) big enough for the dog clip to fit .
All of the cord can be wound around the end deke when your not using it. Just keep two dekes without weights in your sack to clip on in the middle. This set up work good for me and it's simple to put out and take up once you've done it a few times.

[peewee]

vicksburg you talking about using a regular rubberband or something like a theraband like therapist use.

[Jeff]

okay here are a few ways I have done a jerk string and seen them done over the years. I wish I could say all of them were my ideas, but most I have picked up over the years. The best one I have seen done before was given to me by Benny. For this though two things have to happen, you really need a permanant hole to set it up in and you have to teach your dog it's there. Anyway it starts by driving one steak in the ground as your end of the line stake. Then get a piece of innertubing or good strtchable bungee cord and attatch it to the end stake. Then attach your string to the tube/bungee cord. Then you want to place another three or four stakes in the ground in a zig zag or star pattern. Then on the top of each stake put a stainless steel pulley on each. Then run the string attatched to the first pole through each pulley. Then run the string to the blind. now you have a jerk string with no dekes attatched. This is the real clever part. Now take trot line clips and take different length strings and attatch to the clips, then attatch the clips to your decoys. Put the shortest string attatched to the end with the innertube and you can increase the length of the strings as you get closer to the blind. Now if you haven't figured it out yet the coolest part of this is that if you run your jerk string from the poles where you make a star and not just come straight in to the blind when you jerk the string with four or five ducks on it, they all go in diffent directions [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img] . That is the big time cool part. The reason for the differnt lenght strings going to each decoy is the further from the blind you go, the less "action" you will get on the decoys tied to main jerk line. The closer you are to the blind, the more action you will get from your decoy. The down side to this rig is it aint portable, and it takes some tinkering to get right, but it is real neat when you get all the bugs ironed out. Also the area where the steaks are needs to be obivous to your dog as you can't bury that part in the ground and they can reak havoc on your jerk cord in this area. Another easier portable set up is to take a long stick with an inner tube or bungee attatched, then run the sting through a stainelss steel eye screwd into a steak, sink the steak all the way to the bottom to keep the string out of the way of your dog and self, then run string to blind. Once again use trot line clips and attatch jerk dekes and you are set. Some good dekes to tie to the string are a normal one and also the feeding "but up" dekes. How's that to get you all started.

[dilly]

We just use an old 10-speed bike intertube. It gives us plenty of spring action and they're easy to find. The rest of the setup is easy enough to figure out.

[Bent Barrell]

Learned from old Cajun in Venice, La., Take a sharpened broom stick, an old bike inner tube, cut the tube down to a long strip and tie it the front of the decoy and to the lower part of the broom stick (not the bottom just lower),push the broom stick down into the mud at an angle away from the blind. Take your regular decoy line and run it to your blind. Jerk on it like ya want. Place this decoy last and closer to the blind, if you gotta dog make sure it is out of the main path. Nuthin fancy but it works, still use one every hunt, simple and easy to carry. Make a demo and work with it.

[DR.DUCK2000]

The little rubber peep site aliners work real well. And the salt wate snaps hooked to some tangle free decoy cord worls well too.

[Meeka]

Wow, I'd like to try some of that! But, if you are upwardly mobile, and already have to tote a lot of stuff, then you need simple and light. My setup consists of a plastic handheld contraption I got at a home building supply store. It is black and weighs a couple ounces. Of course, I took the orange string off it. It keeps your string neat and allows you to walk and let out string with just one hand holding onto the handle. I keep it in the pocket of my duck vest.

Fill her up with decoy string and tie something elastic, with a loop, at the end. Last year I used some exercise band stuff, but it was not quite elastic enough to suit me.

setup in the morning is easy. Use the loop to attach to a stab, cypress knee or whatever and walk back towards the blind. You can attach dekes with swivel clips as suggested above or simply loop the line around the keel of the deek. Get back to the blind and put the handle somewhere it wont fall into the water and is handy to your free hand. Or better yet, give it to Munro or whatever jerk string bitch you have handy.

And BAM! You got water movement and moving ducks. Very important but hard to do is to get someone to jerk on it ALL THE TIME, except when ducks are overhead. Ducks can see water movement from miles away, I believe.


If you don't have anything elastic handy, you can use a deke with an elastic anchor system, like the ACE anchor. I wish they would make the elastic a little longer especially for this purpose. You can loop the jerk string around the keel of the deek then loop the weight around the stab or stick or whatever. In other words, use the decoy anchor as the elastic.

[vicksburg]

pewee
a big ole hoss- daddy rubber band. Not sure where they come from but i've got a bunch of 'em.

[crow]

The "latest" in jerk strings is the spring loaded type. To make your own, use the fishing yo-yo's affixed to a permanent end away from the blind. Your string is tied into this with several decoys attached and leads back to the blind or tree where you are hidden. You can pull the cord and the decoys swim toward you. Holding the line there, you can jiggle the dekes to create movement in your spread. When the ducks circle back over you, slowly release the line and the decoys "swim" away from you. Rig it as creatively as you wish to make the dekes go different directions. Macks sells the complete rig (sans decoys) for about $30. The benefit is that, once the line is pulled out, you don't have to move at all, just let the line slide out of your hand to create the movement.

[mallardhunter]

Whew! Simple things can sure get complicated!

Try this. First, you need an anchor to tie the far end to. The anchor can be a tree, stump, cinder block, boat anchor, or stake driven into the ground. Tie a piece of #2 pencil thin surgical tubing to the stake, tie green parachute cord to tubing and run cord back to blind or hiding spot. Now, the basic jerk string is attached and strung. All we need do is attach a few decoys - weighted or water keel. Tie loops into the basic jerk cord, then attach decoys to loops using existing holes (no drilling required). I prefer saltwater snaps for this. They're cheap, dark and lightweight. Freshwater snaps are too small for me to work with cold hands. No line lengths need to be adjusted or even used. Clip decoys directly to loops in jerk cord. Tie at least two, but three or more are better. All we're trying to do is make ripples, not orchestrate a chorus line with dancers moving in different directions. No pulleys needed. Permanent or temporary setup.

For a simple, temporary setup, especially useful for walk-in hunting, try a canoe anchor that is light enough to carry in your pocket, attach tubing, line and snaps and roll into small ball. Throw decoys out where you want 'em, walk past far edge of decoys , mash anchor into mud (a tree or stump can certainly be tied to instead of an anchor), walk (or boat, as necessary) back through decoys towards your hunting spot, attaching decoys (at either end, it doesn't matter) as needed. Leave the anchors tied on the decoys. You've got enough slack in those anchor lines to make ripples with the jerk string. No need to have two or three, special decoys without weights (that someone will toss it for you in the dark, guaranteed).

The advanced version of this setup is extremely useful for permanent arrangements, where you might want ripples in two or more piles of decoys, like left and right of the blind. Do everything as above for one group of decoys. Then, tie a loop into jerk cord about 10-20 feet in front of hide (or where needed). Tie another length of cord to the loop and run in another direction, out to where this line will be anchored. Tie decoys to this line. This way, you can pull one line and move decoys in varying spots in your spread with one line going into the blind. If this plan is hard to visualize, visualize a "Y" with the cord, the hunters at the base (bottom) of the "Y" and the decoy spreads at each top, with the jerk decoys along the lines of the "Y".

I frequently make a loop and put it around my ankle so I can activate the jerk string with my leg, holding the call in my right hand and my gun in my left.

You can easily pull the line very taught and loop it over a nail, branch, etc. When ducks are seen or heard close, simply release the line and the tubing will pull the decoys, creating the ripple you need. Or, with the line pulled taut, you can just thump it to get a small ripple if the ducks are right on top of you.

A long, thin strip of inner tube, or a piece of bungee cord, or a screen door spring, or a big rubber band may be used in place of the surgical tubing, but the small diameter tubing has just the right amount of springiness to it, and is easy to pull, plus it last for years without rusting, rotting, etc. and is strong enough to pull an anchor out of the mud - even Mississippi mud!

[HARLEY]

One idea that I found on this website a while ago that works is the coffee can method. Take one of the smaller metal coffee cans and fill it 3/4 full with quikrete. Before it sets up place a 6 or 8" eye bolt down in the cement obviously with the eye sticking out of the can. After this sets up your done with the exception of tying a string to the eye, and about six foot from that hooking on to the front of a decoy of your choice. Then just have enough string going from the decoy to where ever it is you are sitting. Once it is in place multiple quick jerks on the string will make an amazing amount of motion. This is not the most technilogically (what a word!) advanced method, but it is very portable as well as effectivce. Works real good in the timber also!

[Wingman]

Take a coffeweed, break it off, poke it thru your big scoop anchor. Take your decoy line that's on the spool(which you always keep with you) and tie it up and pull like all get out. Saves money on bike tires, concrete, brooms and coffee [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Wingman
ISAIAH 40:31

[peewee]

Thanks for all the ideas.