Q leaving decoys out all season?
 

Anybody else leave duck decoys out all season (rice field w/ pit in levee NE LA)?
My opinion is it's better to pick em up daily, and adjust #s and kinds based on what the birds are doing. Others in group argue to leave em out all year, which we've been doing, but Ive never seen 300 ducks in a circle close around levee and a dozen standing on levee there, ever. Larger the circle, further out they stop.

Fewer/daily pickup/adjustments?
or
Big numbers/leave out/same all season?

seems like no-brainer to me but would like opinions/experiences

Smaller and pick up or just pick up in general.

too many variables to answer properly... depends on location, if you are in a flyway and dont hold birds on property then put big spread and leave out.. if you hold birds, then use smaller spreads and adjust them frequently.

and dont put decoys in a circle for crying out loud.!!

I think he meant, for crying out loud please leave YOUR decoys in a circle.

hah thanks guys.
Geese wipe out most of the food early, ducks definitely feed elsewhere and roost elsewhere, just seem to come to our fields (ponds) to loaf late morning.

Definitely leave em out if that's the case


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I leave mine out all year long but I only have 3-4 dozen I put out. But I constantly move them every 2-3 hints and pull or add depending what the ducks have been doing.


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Why would you leave the decoys out all year? The season is only 60 days? Is that for them to imprint on the reverse migration?

1st split pick up daily unless your hunting over 100+ decoys; hard to say what to do with second split, either go way big or smaller set up exactly for the wind.

LoLoLoLoLz!!!

We pick up after every hunt. Sometime I think it helps, other times I'm not sure.

I hunt agriculture proptery. We set out about 200-250 deeks. I leave them outcduring the season and sometimes I pick them up between the split. We do move the around some depending on the wind conditiins. As long as you get new bids in your area I see no issue with leaving them out. Even if you do not get new birds and pick them up these local birds still know pretty much where the blinds are so I see no big advantage in picking them up.

Where in Ne La? All the blinds I hunt up there leave them out all year

Between Boeuf and Buckhorn WMAs

Gotcha. I hunt around Jones, La a pretty good bit. My wife's family is from up there

With the decoy setups it's not hard to pick up decoys. We hold birds and have always picked them up. Only hunt Wednesday and weekends. Change decoy setup with wind conditions. Never in a circle and we normally put mojo upwind

^^X2
You need to understand your situation before making that decision. If this is the first year hunting this spot and you know minimum about what the ducks use the area for, or if they do at all, I would suggest picking them up as much as you can. If you're just in a fly way and don't actually hold any birds in your area, then load that rig down with as many as you can and leave em out. I'd still pick them up during the split regardless if possible though.

Overestimating duck intelligence. We leave decoys out all season but put out 200-250 in rice fields. I used to think that picking up after each hunt made a difference and quality of decoys and etc.., than I started hunting with people who would limit every hunt. They just threw decoys out randomly left them all season and almost every one was old as dirt in terrible shape. I have since hunted with many other people who consistently limit and tear them up all year. I have learned one thing about duck hunting that is 100% true, location location! When you are in a good spot you will consistently kill no matter what doesn't matter how you call, shoot, or set up decoys. Most of the public in general are at mercy of the weather because their locations aren't good. Rice fields will do good with fronts and winds, doesn't matter if you hunted it 5 days in a row with decoys out and did bad on a frontal day you will typically have good hunts. I guess I could see if you hunting small potholes in marsh that holds duck pick up decoys and hope that those ducks that have been living there a few days don't realize decoys are fake but overall I don't think it will get you more ducks consistently. Your location is the number 1 factor to it all. Anybody who consistently kills limits hunts a good location. You can't kill limit of ducks if you aren't in the right spot no matter if you leave decoys or not. I think we tend to over analyze and over estimate a ducks intelligence and the outdoor tv industry def adds to that on us. I'm sure their are a few instances that would make a difference but if you are leasing a single blind and that's only place you can hunt I say leave them out! Again tho this is subject to someone leasing a single blind. Not a public land hunter or having a big section of property with multiple choices.

Agreed Widgeon

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