Decoys

[Tyee II]

Hi
I would like to hear some opinions on decoy cord length. What do you guys that hunt Sauvies alot tie up for length and weight. Also when purchasing new decoys what brand has the best paint, of the brands that I have, the Carry-Lites have the worst paint in regard to coming off. All help will be appreciated.

Thanks
Mike

[skahorse]

I'm not an expert at this, and have only been duck hunting about 10 times. However, I just tie about 4 - 6 ft. of cord and then use pencil lead for weight. I wrap the lead twice around the neck of the decoy, and loose enough that it will slip off of the dekes head. That way you can wrap the cord around the neck and then place the lead over the head for easy storage. It will keep them tangle free in your decoy bag. There's nothing worse than untangling decoy cords at o'dark thirty, when you are trying your hardest to setup before shoot time.

The only duck decoys that I have had are the cheapy Flambeaus that you can get at any GI Joes, or Bi-Mart. After the 10 or so times that I have been out, I have already had to throw away 3 dekes because the paint has completely come off of them. But, they are only $25 a dozen, so I can't really complain.

On that note, is anyone aware of something I can put over the top of the paint to protect it? I've thought about a rattle-can clear coat, however, that will most likely leave the glossy and allow glare. Any ideas?

--Skahorse

[Erich_870]

I've had my eye on the Greenhead Gear Mallard decoys. They look GREAT!!! Pretty darn cheap too, $29.99 +s/h per dozen. I don't know how robust thier paint is, but IMO they take the cake for realism. I would be in danger of shooting my own spread

[Lured In]

I have hunted with G&H's, Carrylite's, Flambeau's, and now the Green Head Gear dekes. All of them have their good and bad features, but I will stand by the old addage "location, location, location." If you are in the right place and can work a duck call decently (or don't use it at all), you will kill ducks.

If your paint is completely shot, doing a little touchup, especiailly on the white can help. I have heard some folks are using a flat or satin finish of polyurathane to improve paint durability, but have not tried it personally.

As far as anchor cord length, the principle is similar to anchoring a boat. Depending on the weight of the anchor, you may need more or less anchor line. When I was exclusively hunting shallow water, less than 3' deep, I only used about 5 feet of cord. I started out using 2oz lead, but found on the really nasty days they were dragging. Now I won't use anything less than 4-6 oz and use more on my dekes that I use on the rivers.

If you want to have some versatility with your dekes, you can put a duo-snap on the end of your anchor cord and switch weights as you hunt different areas. Similarly, if you rig up with 8' of cord, you can half hitch the cord around the decoy keel to shorten it up and keep the spread looking good. This will also allow you to hunt deeper water without having to re-rig.

Good luck and I hope that helps.

[Swamp Puppy]

for Sauvies you don't need a lot of cord. in fact, i had been using about 5-6 feet on most of my dekes and that was probably about 1-2 feet too much. based on 2 dozen dekes, i had about 16-18 of them on really short cords..about 3-4 feet, and kept the rest on 5-6 feet just in case i hunted the few units out there that actually had a little deeper water out farther from the blind.

as far as what i use..i have 2 dozen Flams with water keels. i pack my dekes in on my back, so weighted keels are out of the question for me when i go to Sauvies.

[Beer Waggin]

I use weighted decoys and have as much as 15-20 feet of line on each decoy. When I’m hunting shallow water, I simply half hitch the line around the front or back of the keel at the desired depth and give it a toss. I generally hunt from the boat, so I always know the depth.
If you’re hunting tidal influenced areas, make sure you get your lines adjusted for the incoming tied. There’s nothing like having to chase decoys in the middle of the morning.

[Perfect Drift]

I have a giganite cart that will carry 6 - 8 dozen dekes. Since I hunt deeper water from the boat as well as swallow water, I have as much as 20 ft. of cord on most of them. I use 8 oz sinkers and strips of old truck inner tube tied at the end near the lead to hold the lead to the keel. You gotta keep up on the half hitches when hunting different depths of water. The inner tube works very well to keep the lead attached, thanks to the fellow that showed me that one.

[ColumbiaKid]

I have hunted the Columbia and Sauvies Island since I was 7 years old. Use approximately 6-7 ft of cord if you are walking in and setting out decoys with waders, this way if you hunt a unit that has tide fluctuation, your decoys won't drift away at high tide. If you are using a boat or hunting McNary or deep drop-off banks (I sometimes do to get away from the guys who try to set-up in your back pocket) use heavy fishing line and put on up to 20-30 ft of line. This way you can throw out your decoys if they are self-righting and your dog can retirieve them or you can get them with the boat when you leave. With the fishing line setup, if you know how deep it is, roll off the amount you want and half-hitch it so the rest won't come un-done. P.S.- try to hunt the week days.
~ColumbiaKid

[steelheadslayer]

As far as dekes go, I just sold 5 doz. flambeaus and bouight greenhead gear. Mallards, pintails, ringneck and wigeons. They are the most realistic decoy I've ever seen. They have a lifetime warranty on their paint. Get the lifesize mallards, I bought two doz of the hot buy mallards and they're OK but not as good looking as the lifesize. Sportsmans warehouse has some but try bass pro shops or cabelas. As for cord, I've used a lot of em but tanglefree brand is the best hands down. I haven't found another extruded pvc cord that equals it. I haven't tried the greenhead cord though. I use HS decoy weights and greenhead gear cord crimps and line adjusters. That way I can set depths differently depending on where I'm hunting. Or as suggested you can just half hitch the cord around the keel.

[steelhead22]

When I'm hunting Sauvie's, I don't have a boat, so there's no sense in making my decoy lines taller than my chest waders. How are ya gonna retrieve dekes in 8 ft. of water when your chest waders only let you get out to about 5 ft. or so? Thus, 5-6 ft is where mine are at. It works at Sauvies and in the coastal bays just fine. I like to use 4 oz. of wieght because it's the lightest I can get away with on a windy day. I too have to carry my dekes to the blind, so the lighter the better. Oh yeah, one suggestion for those of you who are carrying your dekes. I carried mine for year just in the deke bag, that got old real quick. Now I use an old backpack frame and 3 bungees to hold on the dekes and my chair. Makes carrying them out 10 times easier. Flambeau are the dekes I use, just pick up some touch up paint and your good to go.

[Capin' Dan]

GREENHEAD gear WARNING don't buy the ones for 24.99 DZ they are like seconds and you will not get a full season out of them. (paint will chip and peel)

With that said now they make the sweetest decoy on the market for the price and they garantee them. Get the life size or mags they look great. My second choice would be the G & H I have used mine for five years and except for the holes that Mossberg 3.5, Lives to fish and Kingfisher have shot into them they are great. I might mention that I personally have never shot one of my own decoys thats my story and I'm sticking to it.

Now for lines I would put at least 16 to 20 feet on them and use 8 oz strap weights. Why because some day you are going to get feed up with the Sauvie Island crap and start hunting the Columbia. Once you learn it, It is like a drug or a pretty woman you can't leave it alone. It will take at least three or four years to figure it out so I recommend you keep a journal about tide, flood stage, barometer, winds, (Food lines) these are current lines where the feed stacks up. Learn these things and your success will go up a little more each year. Know which birds to call to and when to shut up. Know when to get the he!! out of there before low tide catches you and you spend four hours waiting for the water to come in or longer man that was a cold wait.
Alright off of my soap box now I think I will go out to Sauvies it seems a lot more safer. I only went swimming once out there. This year I'm three times in the water twice in the same day.

Good Luck.

Dan

[ 11-26-2003, 02:20 AM: Message edited by: Capin' Dan ]