Setting A Spread For Waterfowl Hunting

What sets apart the waterfowl hunters who enjoy the most shooting from the guys not doing so well in the next blind down the marsh? According to waterfowl experts Larry Zuidema, Dan Loyd and Brian Post, the answer lies in setting a proper spread of decoys, and hunting the right locations.
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Location is the most important consideration when hunting ducks or geese. The best spread will not work if the birds are not using your location. Scout before and during the season for those locations overlooked by other hunters.

​Locating a small pond or pothole overlooked by the majority pays big dividends in the later portion of the season.

Find A Good Food Source
Birds need to eat so locating a hot food source is very important. Geese are often spotted when glassing from a road or a two track. The geese heavily use winter wheat and picked corn.

Visibility increases your action. That means placing your decoys where flying birds can spot them. Setting up on a point or peninsula allows birds to spot your spread from a long distance. A ditch line that extends into a field is another favorite setup of mine. Try to avoid placing your decoys tight to any brush or shoreline where they will be hard to see.

Don’t set your decoys in a nice, neat line or all facing the same direction. Instead place a few decoys as if they are in a resting mode. Set another flock tight together to give the appearance of feeding birds. Use decoys with different poses for more realism.

Setting your decoys in a “U” shape where you leave an opening for the birds to land is a time-honored trick from seasoned waterfowl hunters. Use the wind as your friend when setting the spread. Birds like to land into the wind when possible. Keep the decoys fairly close to you. Some hunters place decoys at their maximum shooting range, and then watch the birds land on the outside of the decoys — out of range.

Keep Decoys Within Range
Tie off some of your decoys from the front and a few from the back when on the water. Having your decoys facing in the same direction often gives an appearance that something might be amiss. Ducks often land on the outside of your spread so keep the decoys well within your shooting range. A distance between 20- and 30 yards often works well.

Set your decoys near you, because the ducks/geese often land outside of them.
Use different types of decoys in your spread. An example would be a few resting decoys, a few feeding, and also mix the size up a bit. Throw in a magnum or a different species from the rest of the decoys.

“Decoys with motion often draw weary birds,” said Larry Zuidema. Check your local hunting regulations regarding using decoys with motion. But regardless if you use the motorized decoys or the wind-aided motion decoys, one or two that have motion will draw the attention of any birds flying over.

The number of decoys to use depends on where you are hunting ,and the amount of nearby hunting pressure. Hunting ponds, potholes, and small lakes, you can easily get by with one- or two-dozen decoys. Large open waters, or heavily pounded areas — especially crop fields — hunters might be best using three- to six-dozen decoys.

Try Two Callers
Two callers are often better than one caller. Geese are often drawn in when they spot a flock and hear two callers simulating a flock of birds. Learn a call and become good with it. As the season wears on, the good caller brings in more birds than the guy with a call in his mouth for the first time in a year.

When hunting crop fields, set your decoys out real early in the morning. One guy that I hunt with sets his decoys out at least one-hour before daybreak. He also said that under no circumstances should you ever leave your decoys out all day. Birds coming in after you leave are fast students and will avoid the area quickly.
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These young hunters show the rewards of decoying in geese.
Another tip is to match your camouflage with the terrain and the season. A white sheet is easy and inexpensive for those few winter hunts. With a ton of patterns, find netting that best matches the area that you will hunt.

Remember these tips and your rate of success should increase.
For a fine selection of Waterfowl gear, click here.

Published in the Sportsman's Guide 1/08/2015.

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