Decoy Spread Strategies

There are all sorts of decoy spread strategies. Many of the standard patterns are named, such as the fish hook or J spread. One thing all spreads share is a spot of open water for the decoyed ducks to land in.

Placing the decoys to produce this opening depends on several factors. Wind direction is crucial because ducks usually land into the wind and many ducks don't like to fly low over other ducks. An open landing lane should be left clear on the downwind side of the landing zone. If the landing zone is too small or incorrectly situated, many birds with land outside the spread and out of range.

Dabbling ducks, such as the mallard, tend to space themselves out while feeding but close ranks if threatened. If you bunch your dabbler decoys too tightly, you may be sending an alarm signal to flying ducks. A string or trailer of decoys extending out from your main spread is a good attention-getter.

Two of the most important aspects of an effective decoy spread are mud and motion. Ducks tend to muddy up their feeding area. In clear water, decoy anchor lines are often visible and the scene doesn't look natural to ducks flying overhead. Occasionally go out and stomp around in your decoys to muddy the water.

On windy days, the decoys swing about on their anchor lines. However, on still days, still decoys spook ducks.

There are many ingenious products to put motion in a spread. Battery operated decoys that swim around and flap their wings are available. Jerk lines are attached to regular decoys and anchored. These use bungee cords to make the decoys swim back and forth or a pulley to make the decoy dive under water and pop back up again. Some hunters extend a pole, rigged like a seesaw, out into the decoys. When ducks are working, they step on their end of the pole to make it slosh up and down among the decoys.