DIY Decoy Retreiver?

Mazeofmystery

Mazeofmystery

Regular
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Location
Fraser Valley, BC
So, since this is my first hunting season, and I don't have waders while aiming to hunt waterfowl, I've been looking into decoy retreival poles.

The general consensus is that most of them are poorly made, or are expensive. Or both. So, I did some reading and discovered that you could simply get a paint roller or extension pole, that will probably be made better, and cheaper (for a mid range pole, anyways.).

So my question is: What would be a good attachement for an extension pole to grab decoys? I've done some googling, and generally I have found lots but only from the US, or ones that are super expensive. Could I modify some sort of pre-existing head to suit my needs?
 
A long cord with a grapple hook on the end can be chucked out to snag the decoy lines. It is easier to pack along and can reach out 30 or more feet further that the longest pole.
 
'Boo said:
A long cord with a grapple hook on the end can be chucked out to snag the decoy lines. It is easier to pack along and can reach out 30 or more feet further that the longest pole.
Click to expand...

The reason i wanted a telescopic pole (which can collapse to 4-6ft) is so i can not only pull in decoys, but so i can push them away as well for adjusting my spread in any direction i choose.

I was already looking into getting a big hook/rake head tied on to a fishing rod hahaha.
 
I've been down this road years ago. Buy yourself a good set of waders and a pole both in case you have to reach out to a little deeper water. You won't be disappointed you bought waders but you may get frustrated with decoy spreads always within a few feet of shore unless the birds you are seeing and hunting are sitting tight to cover and used to seeing birds that way. You also have to consider you need to be able to retrieve the ducks and a decoy pole is not much help if the birds fall beyond your reach or you have cripples to chase down.....and that means you need waders unless you are hunting ankle deep water? I can tell you this in my 43rd season of waterfowling, there is no cheap or inexpensive way to hunt waterfowl successfully. Either gear up or switch gears and ground swat grouse. LOL
 
Another alternative is to get yourself a light kayak and use that to set and retrieve decoys and birds.

The first geese I ever shot were over a smallish pond at a horse farm. Farmer warned me that the bottom of the pond was soft muck that would have me sink down at least 3-4 feet so waders were out of the question. Thought I was being clever by bringing along a fishing pole with a big treble hook on the end. I shot several birds within minutes and then spent over an hour trying to cast and retrieve those birds - it was not as easy as you might think. That was the first and last time I tried that!
 
the spank said:
I've been down this road years ago. Buy yourself a good set of waders and a pole both in case you have to reach out to a little deeper water. You won't be disappointed you bought waders but you may get frustrated with decoy spreads always within a few feet of shore unless the birds you are seeing and hunting are sitting tight to cover and used to seeing birds that way. You also have to consider you need to be able to retrieve the ducks and a decoy pole is not much help if the birds fall beyond your reach or you have cripples to chase down.....and that means you need waders unless you are hunting ankle deep water? I can tell you this in my 43rd season of waterfowling, there is no cheap or inexpensive way to hunt waterfowl successfully. Either gear up or switch gears and ground swat grouse. LOL
Click to expand...

Any suggestion on some waders?

Runningfool said:
Another alternative is to get yourself a light kayak and use that to set and retrieve decoys and birds.

The first geese I ever shot were over a smallish pond at a horse farm. Farmer warned me that the bottom of the pond was soft muck that would have me sink down at least 3-4 feet so waders were out of the question. Thought I was being clever by bringing along a fishing pole with a big treble hook on the end. I shot several birds within minutes and then spent over an hour trying to cast and retrieve those birds - it was not as easy as you might think. That was the first and last time I tried that!
Click to expand...

I've thought about it to be honest haha. I should probably get some swimming lessons too... I'm more fisherman than hunter at this point, and i've been wanting a jon boat for fishing. I wonder if i could double one as a duck boat?
for now though, any suggestions on a kayak? And maybe a life vest?
 
For a life vest get an inflatable. They are less bulky and alot nicer to wear. A jon boat will work great. Had a couple over the years. They are lightweight and extremely easy to drag over weeds etc and have extremely shallow draft to get into skinny water. As for waders Bass Pro and Cabelas offers good value in their home brands. Last pair I had were Itasca brand. Tough as nails. If your area does not get too cold during season 3.5mm neoprenes are plenty. My Itasca were 5mm neoprene with 1200 gram insulated boots. They were stiff to move in with the reinforced knees and seat but they were toasty warm. You'll hear lots of opinions on wearing them in a boat both for and against. Some say wear a wader belt so water doesn't fill them should you capsize with them on but others say if you do they trap air and you end up upside down head in the water feet floating. I can't say that is so as I never tried it to see but I knew two guys over the years who capsized canoes with waders on, neither had a wader belt and neither lived to hunt again. Both went under and never came back up. Personally I never wore waders in any watercraft I travelled or hunted in. I put them on to jump out when I needed to drag the boat through heavy reeds and took them off once inside even if I was only in a few inches of water. I'm not a big fan of hunting with waders. I prefer a good stable duck boat!
 
Mazeofmystery said:
I've thought about it to be honest haha. I should probably get some swimming lessons too... I'm more fisherman than hunter at this point, and i've been wanting a jon boat for fishing. I wonder if i could double one as a duck boat?
for now though, any suggestions on a kayak? And maybe a life vest?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of great fishing sit-on-top kayaks out there and seeing as you are a fisherman as well, that would be what I would recommend provided that type of craft is safe for the kind of water you plan to hunt and fish on. I have a Pelican Catch 12’ that works really well for me - very stable, camo colour, not too expensive, and light enough it is easy for me to unload and load by myself. And for sure you want a pfd, inflatables are nice as spank mentions.
 
Push pole. Cabelas sells them. You can get different ends on it. I use the paddle end which has a decoy retriever cut in it. Honestly a painters pole with the roller end on it worked the best.
 
Buy some chest waders!!! You have no business hunting waterfowl on water without them. How are you going to retrieve your birds? Waders are more important than decoys.
 
Longwalker said:
Buy some chest waders!!! You have no business hunting waterfowl on water without them. How are you going to retrieve your birds? Waders are more important than decoys.
Click to expand...

Going for my first hunt ever with a friend, who said i wont need them. First time hunter. Thanks.

S1de8urnz said:
Push pole. Cabelas sells them. You can get different ends on it. I use the paddle end which has a decoy retriever cut in it. Honestly a painters pole with the roller end on it worked the best.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i was just gonna make one from an extension pole and a 4" frameless roller haha. I'll take a look though!
 
Our neighbour's dog fetches his decoys when he is done hunting. It that a Multipurpose retriever?
I try to have my son wear the waders. Between that and my buddy has one of the extendable poles, we manage.
Our springer fetches the ducks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom