Setting up the J-Hook Decoy Spread 3

You'd think a bird with a brain the size of a tomato seed would find it's way into the decoys no matter how they are arranged, but as we all know that's seldom the case. Ol' "bird brain" isn't as gullible as you'd think. Here's some tips from frequent Outdoor Line guest Robert Strong, owner of Ruckus Outfitters and state duck calling champion, on how to set up your next decoy spread for a successful hunt.  

The "J" spread that's been around for decades is Strong's go-to setup early in the season. "If the wind is blowing right to left I'll pack the right side of the dekes pretty tight and set up my kill zone right in front of the blind at about 25 yards. I'll put a long string of decoys at around 40 yards to form the long leg of my "J" and that tends to funnel them towards the blind. Once they hit the tight group of dekes they'll generally throw down the landing gear and try to settle in front of the blind," he says about his decoy arrangement.

Hen mallards are usually the ones doing the majority of the talking and Strong will place two or three hen mallard decoys right in front of the blind so that his calling seems more natural. He also likes to direct his calling down towards the decoys instead of up towards the sky as much as possible. "When I do this it sounds like the decoys are talking and not the blind," says Strong.

The most important part of tricking ducks into the decoys is to impart some motion. He used to employ the Winduk religiously, but really likes a new decoy called the Knotty Duck that allows hunters to start and stop the flapping wings by pulling on a string. Once the action is stopped the mechanical wings automatically fall back into place with the dark side of the wing blade facing up.

Strong also likes to have a jerk string on at least one decoy in the spread to make things look even more natural. He'll designate the jerk string to the second hunter in the blind and he'll concentrate on calling and manipulating the Knotty Duck to bring'em around and into the landing zone.

As the season carries on and ducks have been hunted over for a few months Strong will usually go with the "less is more" philosophy. "The more dekes you have later in the season the more reason you have for them to find something wrong and flare away. The birds get wary of four to six dozen deke spreads after looking at them all winter and will usually respond better to a really small spread of only four to eight decoys.     

Get some duck calling tips from Robert Strong in this Outdoor Line podcast:

Rob Endsley
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com