Puddle duck spread question

The MALLARD is the most popular duck in my opinion...therefore the most popular and natural decoy I personally would use to hunt any place across the country. Hope that helps! 45 yrs of waterfowling...

 

And every Joe waterfowler from coast to coast runs mallard decoys. Showing them something different kills birds when others with mallard decoys are not. Been there done that and do it every season. Doesn't matter how many years I've been hunting, what works, works.

 

BIG WHITE BUTTS!

 

You like big butts?

 

I start the season with green wing teal, pintail and a few mallard decoys. Middle of the season, equal mallards and paintail and a few green wing teal. End of season, Canada geese, a few mallards and pintail. Come January 1 I pair up every duck and spread them out, since that's what their natural behavior is at that time. Since I started using pintails every hunt I seem to see them and shoot them more often and no question the white on them is more visible. I also started seeing/shooting ring-necked ducks the season I got my first 6 pintails and have shot them regularly ever since. I'm in KS, so many of the same birds AR gets. It's an art, not a science, so just try stuff out.

 

I would also consider decoys with some of these (newer) poses...preening, butt up feeders, scim feeders, etc. Flocked heads, etc. I am not a big fan of motion decoys for the entire season.

 

Pretty much. We do not kill many mallards at all. Our main big duck is gadwall with enough black ducks around usually to make me want a few in the rig. My buddy always wants some mallards in the boat, he says "They are a good confidence decoy". I personally wouldn't use any or maybe a pair or two at the most but it's his boat/rig. If it were mine I'd tie mainly gadwall, and a handful of blacks as my staples. I'd tailor the rest of the rig as to what is or should be around. Teal, pintails, maybe some wigeon. To me those dark gadwall and blacks show up good. This is all marsh hunting of course.

 

Then you wouldn't know if it works or not.
Guys have been killing limits of sprig and green over square foam blocks and tarred bleach jugs and milk jugs for years. Some of the jugs only get dipped halfway into the tar kerosene mixture so there is some white in the spread but 90% of the spread is all black. If you haven't seen it or tried it, it must not work right?

 

I would use about 8 Super Magnum Mallard, 4 Bull Sprig Super Mags, 4 Magnum Drake Wigeon (custom painted), maybe a few standard size decoys painted in to Teal. Rig some up on a jerk line and a feeder pull line. Put everything in a Jet Sled bunged to a decoy cart and find a good place to hide. Be ready to move your hide not the decoys.