what's the largest spread you ever hunted over?

[Barq's]

Just wondering if any of ya'll have hunted over 10+ dozen spreads before and if so, what you have noticed in the way the #'s sway the ducks? I have seen spreads that were put out and left out all season that were that size but personally I have never hunted over about 4 dozen at any given time....

I'm thinking about putting out everything I have this year for the opening weekend...something I haven't ever done
Barq's

[champcaller]

In fields usually start out with around 8 doz or so then dwindle down as the season goes on. By the last week I've usually got my 7 best looking deeks out there.

[pondman]

Cajun squealer and I put out about 10 or 12 dozen one opening morning on a public area. We could not get to the exact "X" and we were hoping a big spread would pull them to us.


It didn't work, but I got plenty of exercise. I will not do it again.

Pond

[SWAG]

I have done around 125-140 decoys on an open Tupelo gum/cypress slough a few times. It is a long skinny dog legging type "lake" that opens up wide on the end. Key is to get some movement within the the big spread and hunt just upwind from it. Ducks will not over shoot the spread because the trees began to fill in at the back of the hole and you get canopy closure. You can work some really big groups with such a large spread. When you put them on the water though it is usually in the open water 50-75 yards before they get to the decoys. The spot is skinnny enough that they are still well within range from the trees you are blinded in on. When you have a fair number of teenagers with you who LOVE to call and need a spot to keep duck eyes off of the youngsters, the set-up works pretty good. I prefer to hunt over 8-12 decoys in a much smaller spot in different brakes, but a few times a year we will throw out this big spread. It is fun, youngsters do most of the work putting them out and picking them up. They can call alot. You can hunt a spot like that well on up in the day so even when there are few ducks in the area you will still work good groups. Seems like you see multiple species more often around the big spread too (gadwall, widgeon, mallards, teal, shovelers, ring necks, woodies, resident Canadas, etc, etc. Alot of times you will have have a big group just show up or you will hear a big group cutting wind from WAY up. Usually do not work those type groups at all in our other tighter spots or set-ups. Something I do not want to do all the time, but fun a couple times a season. Usually have some food and beverages back up on the bank so it is a social event as well as a fun hunt. I can kill ducks more effeciently where we hunt from day to day hunting smaller holes with 1-4 people and way fewer decoys, but when you got 8 or so wanting to hunt and do not want to divide up in 3 groups, it is a neat deal to do the big spread thing.

We also have a pit in a field in front of Mom's where we have 100+ decoys out when we hunt. That pit is much more for the younsters as I go out there maybe once or twice a year. They do good out there in the early and mid season with their set-up of 75% mallard dekes and 25% pintail dekes with a few full bodies scattered around. Like I said, I do not care to hunt in the field unless it is to socialize in the pit really. I much prefer standing under a tree where if a duck comes in it is for sure less than 40 yds away.

[Bercy]

Louisiana marsh hunt - this pictures has about 13 dozen decoys not counting several dozen more behind us. I'm glad I didn't have to put them out or pick up - but they stay out the whole season. And the ducks basically didn't pay them much attention.

[GET-N-RITE]

I have hunted small spreads where ducks have been loafing, and I do not put out many decoys due to the fact that I am not trying to pull ducks. I am just hunting where they have been. I also do not have any competition from other hunters.

Now on the other hand I have hunted massive spreads. These consist of 1000-1500 decoys, and 40-60 robos. These are places where you are trying to pull birds to you. In this case you are trying to pull them from a refuge. This refuge at some point during the season will have anywhere between 30-60 thousand birds holding on it. Our government also likes to mow acres of corn down, and when this happens you have to mimic what is going on around you. That many birds on the ground looks like a circus, and that is what they are seeing. In this case these birds are not traveling birds. They are moving from water to corn, maybe flying 100-1200 yards.

It usually happens in this order. Smaller spread 300-500 decoys (early season birds are coming in new to the refuge) Mid season (same birds with new ones. Spread usually grows to pull birds from the refuge.) Late = big spread (corn is down on the refuge, and birds are locked down.) There are times when you can not even see a bird ,and at lunch they get up off the bait, and it looks like bees they are so thick.) Massive spread to pull birds. PS when the corn is down you have about a week, and then it doesn't matter what you do or don't do, they are not going to leave it.

When you are using spreads this big, I use lanes for the birds and pockets. If I can get them close I feel like I can walk them over the decoys, or if all else fails 40 yard belly shots on the swing. (not my favorite but take what you can get.)

This is a refuge spread. PS this is only 1/4 of it.


before someone says you have corn on the ground. It's a plastic corn cob. When you buy that many decoys a pack of 4 comes in the box.

Now my timber hole is all over the place, and we are always picking up or putting out. Early in the season I only put out 4-5 dozen. This place also touches the refuge, and when the birds get thick so does my spread.
This doesn't always work. You will pull birds, and sometimes they won't finish. I'm talking about pulling high birds, and when they get close they peel out. That is when all of the what do we do now, what about this starts happening, and is usually means work.
This is about mid season spread and dry. Hole is about 35 wide by 60 long. Have had out 500 plus when the river is out. Water will be in the trees, right the below the bottom limbs.


If I have competition from other hunters, and nobody is on the X per say. I try and go bigger than they go. I am hunting traveling birds that are seeing lots of decoy spreads, and there are lots of birds in the area.

I do not know if there is a correct answer. I always try and adjust to what is happening in the area, but if you don't have but 6 to put out then you are in a mess if you feel like you need 100 out. So I start big and pick up, or get bigger if I need to.

PS nothing gets picked up till end of season. These are daily holes and they get hunted 60days. Also you would need a container to haul all this stuff around cause it take 2 of them store it.

Note: When I 1st moved to MS, and was asked how many decoys I hunt over, and I said 600-1200. They looked at me like I was a idiot. That is all I knew. We hunt the same place most everyday. We are not running, gunning, or scouting. When people told me they only used 1-2 dozen I had the same look they gave me.

[Anatidae]

Nice spot. 'Wish we had a place like that to hunt.

I'm not knocking it at all, but this photo illustrates why ducks don't finish on big spreads with no motion.....I'm mean NO 'ripples'. I'm certain everybody is acquainted with the condition - "the more decoys you have out, on a windless day - the more it draws ducks' attention to the fact that they are not real". My wife is a proponent of that theory......and she's absolutely correct.

What I would do with this hole and decoy spread (on a windless day) is:

Put the decoys around the edge and in the woods about 10 yds deep - 20 yds deep on the sunlit side. Even when the wind is not from the sunlit side......ducks use the opening in the canopy to get down over the hole and below the predominant wind where they have more control to manuever to land - they can land in any direction then......and it's most often on the most open, sunlit side. 'No motion' is not as noticeable around the edges especially with all the floating 'trash' (as in this photo....which happens to include acorns.

So, I'd have maybe 8 decoys on 4 different jerk strings out in the open water and load-up the edge and timber.

I know you said you're trying to pull ducks or get'em to break-down from higher up.......the flights. But what's the point if you can't get'em to drop below the tree line? Like you said, you do what you can.

Try putting the majority of the decoys on the edge (on the windless days) and see what happens, here. Get everybody that has 2 legs to stand about 5 yds off the edge (in the woods) and kick like hell.....and if you can't stand in the water.....everybody yank (not run) a jerk string with 2 - 3 decoys on it.......both out in the hole and in the woods. If you're into 'gadgets'........put a few pulsators around the edge and maybe one out in the middle. There've been plenty o times I've seen ducks hit the water then splash around and start preening. Beats hitting the water and everybody looking at each other going......"what to we do now, besdies just sit here and look like decoys?"

[SWAG]

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Nice spot. 'Wish we had a place like that to hunt.

I'm not knocking it at all, but this photo illustrates why ducks don't finish on big spreads with no motion.....like 'ripples'. And I'm certain everybody is acquainted with the condition - "the more decoys you have out, on a windless day - the more it draws ducks' attention to the fact that they are not real". My wife is a proponent of that theory......and she's absolutely correct.

What I would do with this hole and decoy spread is:

Put the decoys around the edge and in the woods about 10 yds deep - 20 yds deep on the sunlit side. Even when the wind is not from the sunlit side......ducks use the opening in the canopy to get down over the hole and below the wind where they have more control to manuever to land - they can land in any direction then......and it's most often on the most open, sunlit side. No motion is not as noticeable around the edges especially with all the floating 'trash'.....which happens to include acorns.

so, I'd have maybe 8 decoys on 4 different jerk strings out in the open water and load-up the edge and timber.

I know you said you're trying to pull ducks or get'em to break-down from higher up.......the flights. But what's the point if you can't get'em to drop below the tree line? Like you said, you do what you can.

Try putting the majority of the decoys on the edge (on the windless days) and see what happens, here. Get everybody that has 2 legs to kick like hell.....and if you can't stand in the water.....everybody yank (not run) a jerk string with 2 - 3 decoys on it.

I was sort of thinking the same thing...I like most of the decoys in the brush or on the edge of the brush in a spot like this with 3, 4, maybe 6 out in the open water like they just landed with a squirter among them.

[Anatidae]

These are daily holes and they get hunted 60days.

I promise I'm NOT picking on you or being critical - but I wonder if you wouldn't have a better chance of getting ducks to finish in a hole like this, if you DID pull the decoys (even if you bag'em and leave'em in the woods) for a few days at a time and see if the ducks would find it on their own......and start to build some numbers in there. You wouldn't need nearly as many (if any) decoys if that happened.

I say that realizing that time is money - and if this is your only spot (or spots), you milk it for whatever you can get, every day you're out there.

[Barq's]

finally....some actual duck talk....thank you Jesus!

[GET-N-RITE]

You (Anatidae) and anyone else can give advice all you want ( I do not consider someone trying to help me being critical). I want to kill ducks, and that is it. I am always open to suggestions, and I can promise you my feelings are not going to get hurt, when someone (especially someone that has a lot more years under their belt than I do) is giving me an idea (advice) that may increase my chances of killing ducks.

You have a wealth of knowledge, and no one knows everything. So whether I like the idea / advice or not I always listen.

I have picked up everything thing before (small spread), and we let it rest. I could not tell much difference in the numbers due to the birds just being stale so to say, and the small concentration of birds in the area. There are numerous clubs around us, and when the water is low this hole just doesn't produce big numbers. When the water is high the birds use the area more and it kicks the birds off of all of the private corn fields. This is the time where this place really shines.

Late in the year we move a lot of the decoys in the woods and behind the blind. We also may have zero robos out, and if there are some out they are away from the blind.

Movement is our problem. We need jerk strings just like you stated (more than the one we have)!!!! I have tried the wake maker (junk, hates dogs, dog hates it, hates trash, motor quit week 2), squirt ducks work great if can keep them running. I am now using 2 mallards machines, and one jerk string. I just need more jerkers and we will be some jerking fools this year.

[Anatidae]

Glad you weren't offended or under the impression I thought you 'needed' help. I certainly don't at all - and glad you took my comments favorably.

I don't hunt timber that much - don't have access to any. So, my knowledge is kinda limited there. And for what it's worth, there are plenty other folks on here that know way more about this, than I.

That second photo looks more natural - I believe you could kill a duck over that.

I loathe 2 decoys bumping each other........so I tend to separate them a bit, careful not to make it appear that I'm trying to maintain the 5-foot rule. When conditions are favorable, I try to put'em in groups - leaving a hole between groups like you do in your field spreads.

Just looking at the 2nd photo - I could imagine a bunch of decoys bunched-up in a line along the grass on the left side - and it would look 'natural'. That's also on the sunlit side and they show-up better for ducks on the swing.

Really nice looking spot you got there. Keep doing what you're doing. The main thing is, you're paying attention to what happens under different conditions and that's the key to being in'em consistently. Happy Hunting.

[H20 Fowl]

Our typical rice field spread is 200 to 250 decoys.
I'm a firm believer in strength in numbers. Small spreads work, I've seen it, but we leave our decoys out in the same position from opening day to closing day so We'd have to pick up 200+ decoys if we wanted a smaller spread.

We're toying with the fact of having a couple of 350 to 400 decoy spreads this year

[tupe]

Did a spread for a pit on a private club i was game keeper for of just over 1,000.

It worked I guess. But it only really made a difference on the days when the wind had normally been wrong for that pit.
There was a big open water tank to the north of us and on some winds the birds would drop off in it before they reached us. With the big spread we drew more birds on those days. But it wasn't worth it when the levee blew out the day before I had to pick them all up...lol

[Anatidae]

Did a spread ............. of just over 1,000.

Again, not picking.....just trying to learn something, myself.

Is that all duck decoys?........or were there mostly snow goose decoys with a few ducks mixed-in?

What was the approximate distance to the farthest (edge) of the decoys from the blind?...........and, about how far apart were the decoys.....average?

I've often wondered how effective a spread is - if it's THAT big, bunched-up tight, and the fringe is outside (or on the edge of) of effective shooting range (which varies from shooter-to-shooter).

I can understand the 'drawing' power......but if there's no chance of really working a duck (or groups), it seems like that just promotes group shooting and trying to scratch-down ducks at long range. Not being antagonistic here......everybody has their own 'game'.

So, what's the average range most shots are taken over a 1000-decoy spread?.......and what kind of loads seem to be most effective? Just curious.