Best spread for $200?

[CajunSteelsetter]

You have $200 to put together a small decoy spread. What's your magic mix?

[Bucoo]

GHG "hot buy" decoys are pretty good for the price.

[Bdub]

I would say depends on how many decoys you are trying to spread, The areas I hunt usually only need a dozen or two.

[meaux fishing]

Where are you hunting?

[Ducktrickster]

2 litre coke bottles painted black. I have a friend that puts out about 150 along with mallard and pintail dekes. Guess where the mallards always try to land.

[Matt G]

I have basically the same question. I have 2 dozen teal and a dozen mallard at home and between 4-6 dozen at the camp. I need to have enough for 3 marsh blinds. Two blinds are on big holes and the 3rd is a smaller puddle.

[AubreyLaHaye458]

A dozen mallards, a dozen pintails, a dozen teal, half a dozen greys.

[meaux fishing]

Originally Posted by Ducktrickster

2 litre coke bottles painted black. I have a friend that puts out about 150 along with mallard and pintail dekes. Guess where the mallards always try to land.

^^^^^
this or coot decoys

Originally Posted by Matt G

I have basically the same question. I have 2 dozen teal and a dozen mallard at home and between 4-6 dozen at the camp. I need to have enough for 3 marsh blinds. Two blinds are on big holes and the 3rd is a smaller puddle.

[Gottogo49]

It's just me but I try to match the hatch.
We have lots of coots and scaup with some greys and teal.
I like variety and I try to make the spread look like what they normally see.
Only 2 greenheads killed last year so I don't put out many of those.
I like to put a couple of mottled ducks as confidence decoys off to one side.
The white breasts of pintail drakes show up well so I put a few of those guys out front.
I found a couple of spoonbill decoys, I like the white breast on the drake even though I shoot spoonies only as a last resort. I like duck butts and headless feeders but I will pick those up if the wind is still and they seem to flare. A jerk string can be a magnet on calm days. That's everything that I know about decoys.

[speck-chaser]

2 wonder duck tornado decoys and whatever still decoys you can buy with the money left over.

[Natural Light Kid]

Originally Posted by Gottogo49

It's just me but I try to match the hatch.
We have lots of coots and scaup with some greys and teal.
I like variety and I try to make the spread look like what they normally see.
Only 2 greenheads killed last year so I don't put out many of those.
I like to put a couple of mottled ducks as confidence decoys off to one side.
The white breasts of pintail drakes show up well so I put a few of those guys out front.
I found a couple of spoonbill decoys, I like the white breast on the drake even though I shoot spoonies only as a last resort. I like duck butts and headless feeders but I will pick those up if the wind is still and they seem to flare. A jerk string can be a magnet on calm days. That's everything that I know about decoys.

Ditto. Match the birds you have in the area, not what you want. If you got a lot of spoonies, put out spoonies. If you don't have any mallards, don't put any, and so on.

[fishaholic82]

check out flightcanceled.com I got some new decoys from them this year and they look pretty good for the price.

[BArmand]

Mix in what you normally kill. We have lots of pintail and very few mallards so I load up on pintail. Picking up your decoys after every hunt will do more for your hunting than anything IMO

[simplepeddler]

I agree that picking up decoys is the key......
If I am hunting a buddies blind that leaves them out........I reset them for wind when I get there.....

After 30 of so years of this......I just thing "big" bird "little" bird.....

I set species together.........
For the brakes we hunt I rarely use over a dozen decoys unless the big flights of greys are in.

For Venice........I use just mallard and teal

[MarshRat89]

I Started picking up every weekend also. No sense in letting them sit there fading in the sun.

[CajunSteelsetter]

Thanks guys, hopefully be hunting around sweetlake and also maybe a little in Sabine. I know teal birds and a few greys and spoonies will definitely have to be in the mix! Do y'all have any preference about quality over quantity when it comes to brands of dekes?

[meaux fishing]

You guys that pick up after every hunt, how many are you putting out? In my rice field we put out 12-15 dozen. That's just too many to pick up every day

[speck-chaser]

Originally Posted by BArmand

Mix in what you normally kill. We have lots of pintail and very few mallards so I load up on pintail. Picking up your decoys after every hunt will do more for your hunting than anything IMO

x2^^^^^

Hunt flooded timber, only use about 2 dozen.

[Bdub]

I usually pick up after the hunt and leave em in the blind, but like I said I don't put out but a couple dozen. I plan on texas rigging this year it just makes everything easier. plus I'm hunting in no deeper than 1.5ft of water. Its usually around a foot deep.

[simplepeddler]

Originally Posted by meaux fishing

You guys that pick up after every hunt, how many are you putting out? In my rice field we put out 12-15 dozen. That's just too many to pick up every day

That is a lot of dekes.....

But I have seen decoys with slime growing on them they are left out so long.

I would be at least moving a couple dozen a day setting for wind