? about the winger duck decoys

Fishalot · 12-03-2001, 02:47 PM

Are there still people out there doing good with the spinning wing decoys? I find that there are different ideas of were to place the contraption in relation to the blind. What is your take on this ? What has worked best for you and your hunting pal's. Do you shut them off when the weather in like it has been recently?

Fishalot - Likes to huntalot also.

bigshark · 12-03-2001, 03:52 PM

We have found two things that we feel pretty confident about the conclusions. 1, the birds desensitize to all robo types after a short time.
2, if the revelutions become slower than a fast flash the birds flair from robo type decoys. I am wondering if anyone else finds this to be the case?

Fishalot · 12-03-2001, 04:06 PM

Yes to fast or to slow seems to make all the difference. We have not been using them much this year, or I should I say most of the guys haven't. Some hunters need everything that can help them.

Fishalot

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Tilla · 12-03-2001, 04:35 PM

So Fishalot, you've been noticing that a bunch of well timed highballs will draw the birds away from the paddlewheels.

:grin:

Get Bit · 12-03-2001, 06:26 PM

Fishalot,
I think out at Sauvie, where everyone has a rotoduck the birds become shy. If you have birds that aren't seeing a blind every 50 yards, there effectiveness is still good. The time the robos work best is in those low light conditions. Put that in combo with a jerk cord,shaker magnets, decoys and some decent calling and you have birds on the water. We have found that putting one out in a very visible area and one back in the corn off to the side works well for us. I think poor hunter concealment,hunter/dog movement and crummy calling scares more birds then any roto. Just my opinion.
Get Bit

Fishalot · 12-03-2001, 09:15 PM

Get Bit the part you wrote about concealment is right on, a hunter can't have people standing up in the blinds or black dogs running around. The part about low light condition, just a little calling and well placed decoys works well in low light conditions.I will take a friend that is good with a call over a robo duck. :smile:

Fishalot

bigshark · 12-03-2001, 10:28 PM

I won't be surprised if you get your druthers next year fishalot. No robo will turn a lot of
places nonproductive as they were three seasons back. I'd like to see the ability to call well become the paramount skill once again. It will be interesting. Kind of like all the guys that thought they were hotstuff in the stockmarket and
didn't realize it was not themselves but the bull market that made them think they were good. :grin: :grin: :grin:
I agree with you 100%. The call is and will be more important than robo. GetBit makes a good point however and our experience in the valley
club backs-up what he says about the robo.

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Meridian · 12-04-2001, 05:18 AM

Well I must say you guys are a pretty smart crowd. Or at least I'm dumb enough to agree with everything you have to say about the duck wackers :grin: .
Last year when hunting over flashers the birds came straight in much of the time and now seems that you have to work them a little more. I imagine next year they will lose even more of there effectivness.
Get Bit we are using the same set up as you with one wacker in the open and one in the corn. The one in the open is in the field with no water and about a dozen field decoys. The wacker in the corn has some water and the and about a dozen decoys. 90% of the time the ducks want to land in the open field. Just 75 yards away is our lake surrounded with corn and about 4 dozen decoys and I have seen very few land over there when the flashers are going.
This last fri and sat were good stormy days and we got 25 fri eve and and 30 sat am. Sunday during the calm all the ducks were on vacation I guess.
I still think there are not that many birds on the island. Does anyone know this to be true or is it just me.

Tilla · 12-04-2001, 09:02 AM

Meridian, my experience and some people I called showed that last Wed to be one of the best days of the year (167 birds/27 guys, or 6+ ave), but that group of birds seemed to have left. You did pretty good on Sat.,it was fair at best for us.

Get Bit · 12-04-2001, 04:09 PM

We still haven't seen the birds at our place in Forest Grove. It's getting to be bummer. The geese have been there on/off but the ducks are not. Last year we couldn't get enough water and now we're flooded out of our blinds. Looks like floaters next year. Have heard that there is a bunch of birds in the Skagit Valley. Pray for cold weather !
Get Bit