Minimum spread for waterfowl?

Suther

Suther

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Looking to get some decoys but I don't really know where to start. What's a good minimum number to get? Duck season is over but goose season is still going, will geese land in duck decoys? Will ducks land in goose decoys? What types of decoys do you like? (flags, sillouettes, ones with movement ect?) Any other tips and tricks for a newbie? I'll be hunting on the side of a river or in a marsh to start...

Thanks!
 
Suther said:
Looking to get some decoys but I don't really know where to start. What's a good minimum number to get? Duck season is over but goose season is still going, will geese land in duck decoys? Will ducks land in goose decoys? What types of decoys do you like? (flags, sillouettes, ones with movement ect?) Any other tips and tricks for a newbie? I'll be hunting on the side of a river or in a marsh to start...

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I was in your shoes a couple of seasons ago. I started with an outfitters pack of AvianX lessor Canadas - great value for a dozen full body decoys with flocked heads, very realistic paint which has proven pretty durable, comes with a decoy bag, and the stakes make them easy to set up and gives them nice movement with a bit of a breeze. Last year I kept an eye on kijiji and ended up picking up a half dozen big foots and another half dozen full size avianX as well as a dozen shells. That gives me 36 decoys which fit in my 4 door wrangler, don’t take up an ungodly amount of room in my garage, and are manageable to set up and tear down by myself on those mornings I find myself solo hunting.

I guess there really is no minimum or maximum number. I took the approach of going out with what I had and trying to learn to call. It is fun as hell though so don’t be surprised if you get bitten by the waterfowl bug!
 
Ducks will land with or near goose decoys, geese rarely pay any attention to duck decoys in my experience. Location is key above all else, I have had days where a single 2 litre pop bottle painted flat black drew flocks of 60+ birds and other times where a spread of 1000's wouldn't convince birds to deviate from where they were headed a hundred yards. Hunting waterfowl can get costly for those of us who like to have the latest and greatest,but the facts are you can still kill birds with the old tricks of homemade silhouettes and decoys. The best advice I have for calling is until you know how don't. take your calls to the local pond in the summer and try and learn to sound like the birds there.
Scouting is crucial particularly for successfully hunting geese over water. Have a plan to retrieve your birds.
 
Like many things, it depends... if you have access to a lot of land and you can set up where the geese are, chances are you can get away with less. If you’re limited on where you can set up and relying on your spread to draw them in from elsewhere, more and better may be necessary.

In either case, how you set up is likely just as important or more important than what exactly you set up - so pick something affordable, get out and start to see what works for you!
 
Good comments above. One thing I thought of when I read the OPs question. There is a guy who hunts near me who has what looks like a 1992 ford tempo, a single shot cooey, a flute goose call, and three full body goose decoys on the backseat. That guy drives around drinking an XL Tim Hortons and peering at geese through his binoculars. When he sees some he finds the landowner, gets permission, and goes in there with his three dekes and pushes the birds out. He crouches in the ditch or hedge and bangs away with his simple gear when those or other geese come back for a feed. Honestly, he really impresses me. There are some other guys who tow around enclosed trailers with huge spreads, fine dogs, perfect camo and nice guns, but that what that guy lacks in style and gear he makes up for in consistent, low-effort killing! I don’t know that he kills many limits, but hardly a hunt goes by that I don’t see him cleaning 1-3 birds and throwing them into his beat up old Coleman cooler. To me, he’s got it figured out - he puts his efforts into scouting and knowing who owns what in the area. He can call and he can shoot. His camo is a black hoody and a leather jacket! Because his daily investment in gear and time is so minimal that he doesn’t need to kill a limit to make it worthwhile - a bird or three is plenty. He shows up 2-3 hours before dark at the earliest.
So to me, he sets the bar at one end of the scale - it can be done with very little if you’re where the birds want to be and when they want to be there, and if you can arrange to be there to greet them. On the other end, there are teams if guys stacking five man limits on the tailgate that they shot over five dozen stuffers on a field that they leased and waited all season for it to be cut. And everything inbetween! But as others said - what the successful all share across this spectrum is knowledge of where birds will want to be and the wherewithal and drive to be there too. Get a few a dekes, find the birds, and be there. Good luck!

Cheers,
Dave
 
I started with two dozen Canada Goose shells, and the friends that I hunt with each have one to three dozen. We typically hunt with four to nine dozen decoys, and I believe more is better, but choosing the correct field, and setting up properly, is far more important than the number of decoys. We don't own any duck decoys, but the ducks do decoy to the goose decoys.
 
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i set out my goose decoys then i have some black tar paper that i have cut unto 16x16 pcs ,throw the paper out around in the goose spread ,it can be a pain in the ass some times if the wind blows to hard ,slight breeze and some roll around giving your spread some movement ,when the ducks want to feed there is not much you can do wrong to scare them off lol
 
dreamwaters said:
Good comments above. One thing I thought of when I read the OPs question. There is a guy who hunts near me who has what looks like a 1992 ford tempo, a single shot cooey, a flute goose call, and three full body goose decoys on the backseat. That guy drives around drinking an XL Tim Hortons and peering at geese through his binoculars. When he sees some he finds the landowner, gets permission, and goes in there with his three dekes and pushes the birds out. He crouches in the ditch or hedge and bangs away with his simple gear when those or other geese come back for a feed. Honestly, he really impresses me. There are some other guys who tow around enclosed trailers with huge spreads, fine dogs, perfect camo and nice guns, but that what that guy lacks in style and gear he makes up for in consistent, low-effort killing! I don’t know that he kills many limits, but hardly a hunt goes by that I don’t see him cleaning 1-3 birds and throwing them into his beat up old Coleman cooler. To me, he’s got it figured out - he puts his efforts into scouting and knowing who owns what in the area. He can call and he can shoot. His camo is a black hoody and a leather jacket! Because his daily investment in gear and time is so minimal that he doesn’t need to kill a limit to make it worthwhile - a bird or three is plenty. He shows up 2-3 hours before dark at the earliest.
So to me, he sets the bar at one end of the scale - it can be done with very little if you’re where the birds want to be and when they want to be there, and if you can arrange to be there to greet them. On the other end, there are teams if guys stacking five man limits on the tailgate that they shot over five dozen stuffers on a field that they leased and waited all season for it to be cut. And everything inbetween! But as others said - what the successful all share across this spectrum is knowledge of where birds will want to be and the wherewithal and drive to be there too. Get a few a dekes, find the birds, and be there. Good luck!

Cheers,
Dave
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Agree 100% . I have hunted in PEI for many years over some very large very expensive spreads and yes taken geese. Then there is my bud. Goes out every year with a beat up old 1187 a goose call and three old geese decoys and has a freezer full of birds taken this and every year
You don't really need much to be successful
Cheers
 
Min spreads can be effective. This year i duck hunted mainly out of my kayak. I used either a dozen mallards or dozen bluebill dekes. Some times i only put out half dozen. I was hunting the lake and did well on divers big and small with a couple mallards
 
If you're where the ducks or geese want to be, you don't need anything at all. You gotta find the X, and figure out when they want to be there. Hunting is all about information--find where the animal wants to be, and when it wants to be there. If legal, you can attempt to change either the first or second, and decoys are about changing the first "where it wants to be." It's sometimes much easier to just go where the birds are, instead of bringing them to you. My friends and I have pass shot eiders for years without a single decoy, just because we know where they cross the ledge at low tide.

I had an excellent book on old-time duck hunting from the local library that was written in the 1930s. The writer hunted waterfowl all over the world, in many areas that had no limits or rules (they used half-naked native kids for retrievers in Mexico!). They shot birds that wouldn't legal now, and hunted in places you can't hunt now. He had a few old-time tricks listed for what to do when you found yourself without decoys, including making quick mock-ups out of mud and sticks, which he claims worked for the Indians, and even shooting a bird, driving a sharpened stake into the chin and the other end into the ground, and using the dead duck as a decoy.

Where I hunt on the NB coast and St. John River, I've used moderately sized decoy spreads and small spreads, and have often found 3 black ducks was all I needed to shoot mid-to-late season birds. It's a little different in the early season.

Geese, I've never hunted consistently over decoys, but the times I have used them, I found them not-so-useful if they weren't on "The X." At least, geese weren't keen to decoy to them, but ducks were.

3macs1 and others on here have lots of experience with big spreads and big water, I don't, but I'd just say that if you don't have the gear, you'd be much better having a minimal setup and instead spending your time learning how to find the birds. Nothing substitutes for time afield! And frankly, learning how to jump shoot ducks in particular is far more fun than freezing in a blind. 'Course, that's not so effective with geese, at least in my experience. But as the story above about the guy in the cheap car with the cheap gun shows, the only equipment you REALLY need is a shotgun, and a vehicle to help you get to where the geese are.
 
dreamwaters said:
Good comments above. One thing I thought of when I read the OPs question. There is a guy who hunts near me who has what looks like a 1992 ford tempo, a single shot cooey, a flute goose call, and three full body goose decoys on the backseat. That guy drives around drinking an XL Tim Hortons and peering at geese through his binoculars. When he sees some he finds the landowner, gets permission, and goes in there with his three dekes and pushes the birds out. He crouches in the ditch or hedge and bangs away with his simple gear when those or other geese come back for a feed. Honestly, he really impresses me. There are some other guys who tow around enclosed trailers with huge spreads, fine dogs, perfect camo and nice guns, but that what that guy lacks in style and gear he makes up for in consistent, low-effort killing! I don’t know that he kills many limits, but hardly a hunt goes by that I don’t see him cleaning 1-3 birds and throwing them into his beat up old Coleman cooler. To me, he’s got it figured out - he puts his efforts into scouting and knowing who owns what in the area. He can call and he can shoot. His camo is a black hoody and a leather jacket! Because his daily investment in gear and time is so minimal that he doesn’t need to kill a limit to make it worthwhile - a bird or three is plenty. He shows up 2-3 hours before dark at the earliest.
So to me, he sets the bar at one end of the scale - it can be done with very little if you’re where the birds want to be and when they want to be there, and if you can arrange to be there to greet them. On the other end, there are teams if guys stacking five man limits on the tailgate that they shot over five dozen stuffers on a field that they leased and waited all season for it to be cut. And everything inbetween! But as others said - what the successful all share across this spectrum is knowledge of where birds will want to be and the wherewithal and drive to be there too. Get a few a dekes, find the birds, and be there. Good luck!

Cheers,
Dave
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This is a great story. I've found binoculars almost as useful as decoys over the years, depending of course on where you live and how you hunt. Pretty handy for telling whether that far-away black lump in the creek is a duck, or a rock.
 
Ok cool. I'll see what I can do about picking up a few goose decoys and go from there. With any luck I'll be able to get my first goose in the freezer!
 
I've had some excellent duck hunts over 1/2 dozen LL Bean cork decoys and some decent results on geese with only a pair of goose decoys.
On the flip side, some great hunts over 75-100 duck decoys and somewhere over 200 goose decoys.
All depends on conditions and weather, how much pressure is put on the birds etc.
 
Couple things goose hunting in Ontario and out west are not exactly the same.We (west) shoot pretty well local geese that never really leave our area while the majority (not all) of Ontario are migrators. These "locals" pick up on spreads and pressure real quick and hence the 3 open seasons.Not to discourage you but it is a different "hunt" out west than the goose rich provinces of our eastern brethoren.
 
beretta boy said:
I've had some excellent duck hunts over 1/2 dozen LL Bean cork decoys and some decent results on geese with only a pair of goose decoys.
On the flip side, some great hunts over 75-100 duck decoys and somewhere over 200 goose decoys.
All depends on conditions and weather, how much pressure is put on the birds etc.[/QUOTE]

There is the key right there
Cheers
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A lot of good commentary here. I hunted for many years the big open waters of southern Georgian Bay, blue bills, whistlers, and buffleheads were the main birds to be had. In my experience scouting where the birds want to be, putting out about 12 decoys in two groups according to the wind of the day. Always but always set the decoys and position yourself according to the wind. I used 60 + decoys in my boat at one time and found it to much BS and trouble. I cut that back to just 6 blue bills and 6 whistlers and paid more attention to where the birds wanted to be and hunting a little later in bad weather when green birds ( birds that haven't been hunted and shot at much, in other wards uneducated) were coming through, and did consistently very well. If the birds are decoying well and want in to where your set they will land in the decoys with a swimming dog and while your standing in the hide. If there are big rafts ( hundreds) of ducks in the area your hunting it is impossible to deal with that and they will draw ducks no matter how many decoys you set. If the birds were playing shy I would set 2 goose decoys off about 30 yds. from the set. and a sea gull decoy off from the decoys as well. Keep well hidden especially your face and when the action is slow either take off your hat and wave it around for a bit or stand up in the hide and take a pee, this depicts movement to far off ducks and they will head your way and see the decoys. I have shot many ducks while my small bladdered partner was taking care of business. As far as calls there not needed for divers. For puddle ducks if your not good at calling shut up as you will do more harm than good. Waterfowl see movement and a bare human face staring up at them out of a hide very well and from great distances. In my experience geese and ducks will not land in each others decoys but may land close enough to shoot near by. All depends on the weather, and how bad they want down where your set.
Some of my experiences over the years for what it's worth.
 
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I hunted from a boat, and occasionally from a sinkbox on Lac St Pierre, Quebec. Pay good attention to your cedar branch cammo. A basic layout that worked for us was about two dozen geese, with a slight gap, between and in the middle of 50 or 60 bluebill ducks down wind of the geese. (more decoys the better in attracting attention) Some of the best hunting ever; my friend and I rented a camp at Louiseville, and we hunted offshore towards the Yamachiche area; depending on wind and wave conditions up around Maskinonge. Duck hunting was our favourite sport back in those days, we had made friends with some families that had camps there for generations, and everyone got along well. Hunting the marshland areas there is very good too. Check the types of duck in your area and use a good spread of decoys, make them look as alive as best you can, and they will attract others in.
 
Suther said:
Looking to get some decoys but I don't really know where to start. What's a good minimum number to get? Duck season is over but goose season is still going, will geese land in duck decoys? Will ducks land in goose decoys? What types of decoys do you like? (flags, sillouettes, ones with movement ect?) Any other tips and tricks for a newbie? I'll be hunting on the side of a river or in a marsh to start...

Thanks!
Click to expand...

you never mentioned whether or not you have ate goose and ducks
before you invest in decoys it maybe a wise thing to find someone who has a waterfowl set up and try them, you may find you don't even like them in yer diet
, as well that way you will know whether or not you want to get , into the waterfowl hunting scene
on a side note , if you have young kids that you would like to get involved in the hunting scene its a great way to get their interests up ( no sense in investing a lot of $$$$ only to find out no one will eat them and you don't enjoy hunting them < getting up at 2 or 3 to set up for early morning hunts isn't for everyone)
as for decoys sometimes you can get away with as few as 6 or 8
other times 150 isn't enough , depends on the time of the season, and where you are set up
( I suggest you get yerself 4 of those 14 pack BIG AL's silhouettes , and learn how to place them properly , they are light and manageable, and don't take a lot of room and surprisingly very realistic to live birds, as well if you get 2 dozen full body decoys it will give you a really nice sized spread at a reasonable price Remember to get greater Canada goose decoys and not the lesser Canada goose decoys it makes a huge difference)
late season birds are weary and decoy and gun shy, but have been feeding on grains in the fields which make them much more flavorful , as apposed to the early season birds that have been feeding on grass all summer
snow geese are another story
in the fall they are easier to decoy, but taste like tundra, in the spring sometimes 1500 decoys and e callers and rotary machines , just wont bring them in close enough, (but they have been feeding all winter on the best of the best crops available and are quite tasty)
that time of year they are on a mission to get to their breeding areas , and just wont stop for anything
but if you ever do get a flock of 1000 or more birds tornado above you , you will be hooked forever,
and then they own you , and yer bank account
and then you will be complaining and saying HELP I SOLD MY SOUL TO THE WATERFOWL SEASON
 
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Suther said:
Looking to get some decoys but I don't really know where to start. What's a good minimum number to get? Duck season is over but goose season is still going, will geese land in duck decoys? Will ducks land in goose decoys? What types of decoys do you like? (flags, sillouettes, ones with movement ect?) Any other tips and tricks for a newbie? I'll be hunting on the side of a river or in a marsh to start...

Thanks!
Click to expand...

You will not require any decoys or very little. If you are hunting in a marsh, get out and scout a few days before the season and find their flyways. I've went pass shooting (without decoys) many times and always limited-out with 8 ducks. For geese, I only have 60 decoys. I look for which field they are using and set-up on their flyway, pending which way the wind is blowing. Key is flyway, scout it out.

2018 I usually limit-out within 1 to 1.5 hours.
https://imgur.com/a/n1AanLo
 
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