Attract more ducks with your decoys.

On this video Joel Strickland shares a SECRET tip used by the old-timers to make their decoy spreads attract more ducks. Using certain species of decoys can be very beneficial- even if that species isn’t common to your area.
Thanks for checking out this video! If you enjoyed it, please give us a like and subscribe to this channel.
Surviving Duck Season is a first of its kind waterfowling web series. Our team is comprised of individuals from across the country who hunt every day of duck season. Our focus is to show you what it takes for us to survive duck season.
We have different types of episodes: During November, December and January we will have weekly updates from the field. Throughout the rest of they year we will offer our feature duck hunting films and hunting tips videos. You will always have great waterfowling content to watch, at any time of the year!
Joel Strickland (@mrproducersir) is a lifelong waterfowler & guide, and producer/director in the film and television industry.
/ jstrickl. .
www.cypresscrossingduckclub.com
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Check out a few favorite videos:
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[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

What species of duck decoys do you use?

[@danielbateman1]

I use mallard, teal, canadas, and a few coot on the outer edge

[@trex9166]

Surviving Duck Season, I’m on a budget so I use teal and mallard decoys. On another note, I’m coming into freshman high school this year and wanted to know some tips for hunting geese on a budget for about 350 max for decoys. Have all the other gear. Just need the decoys.

[@donovanremp79]

T Rex divebomb silos

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

@@trex9166 people are always selling their old stuff- ebay etc.... Don't be afraid of trying that- they may need some paint, but worth it for a good deal.

[@derikledford3969]

@@SurvivingDuckSeason we've got black ducks up here in Ohio like crazy. So those decoys work well. Coot decoys also work fantastically in the marshes around here.

[@MrHunterguy55]

A duck hunter I hunted within January used black tubes instead of black decoys and it still worked great

[@pault3724]

I used 4 to 5 species of decoys in my spreads. I got 15 to 24 Mallards, 3 to 5 American Black duck, 12 Blue-Winged Teal or 12 Green-Winged Teal, 26 Lesser Scaup, and 16 Canada Goose. I hunt in river, salt marches, and coastlines or farmer field. I do used motion duck in my spreads.

[@richardriggs4413]

I use 6 oversized black duck decoys in my spread out here in the bay area and Sacramento Valley and there are ZERO Black Ducks out here. The ducks from what I can tell don't care one bit. In fact the specklebellies are attracted to them as well. I think like you say, they stand out from a distance, but even when birds are working, no fear of them. I may try some Avion X Blue wing teal decoys this next year too and I have only seen one of them in over 50 years of hunting. That was at the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge at California Oregon border. Glad I found your channel.

[@coltencarlson6984]

I hunt in central MN, mainly bogs that are no shallower than 4’. I hunt solo most of the season and I use 20-25 honkers 12 Bluebills 12 Buffies 6 Ringnecks 2-4 mallards 2 floater mojo mallards 3 Bluebill swimmers 1 Honker swimmer 1 honker flutterer I never toss all of the ducks out but I do toss every honker out. Idk why but when ducks see the honkers, they tend to pass up every other spread out there and head straight to me. It’s amazing until the sky blasters start taking shots.

[@BIG_FETUS]

Can you add multiple species together? What about goose decoys as well ?! Thanks

[@Laynemcnatt]

I run a dozen teal and a dozen spooner decoys, also run half dozen mallards we hunt fields around cash

[@mikeumphrey-waytogokennels2526]

I hunt central Missouri, we range from 18 decoys to 15 dozen, using mallard, pintail, gadwall, with a few divers on the outer edges

[@tylerwildharber1908]

I hunt in western KY. We usually run a pretty large spread. But I always mix it up. Teal, pintail, mallards, black ducks etc. We use a lot of pintail and black duck decoys for the same reason. Like you I can count on one hand how many black ducks I know of getting killed per year. But the black decoys really add to the spread. All of my older decoys we painted black for that reason.

[@yancypoorman3737]

Love your videos. Also hunt in AR. Have had great success adding coots. Don't forget the lowly Coot! Visibility and increased commitment from wary birds. Try 'em

[@markthomas4083]

Joel has loads of great advice.

[@michaelcherry1844]

We hunt in south Arkansas. We use the same combination of decoys but instead of black ducks we have used wood duck or shoveler decoys. We have had good luck with that

[@ReefMimic]

I throw some coots into my spread . Ducks know it’s safe when they see coots

[@Momire314]

We run majority mallards and teal here in mid Mo but this 24-25 season we’re running a lot of flocked black ducks and some divers mixed in since we seem to get a lot of ringnecks

[@OutdoorOutlawsNC]

From around Raleigh NC. Use mostly woodies with a couple mallards. And a couple geese. That's just what I have tbh lol. Not a lot of big ducks where i hunt unfortunately. Never killed a mallard in 7 years hunting waterfowl.

[@joecarpenter8808]

In Oregon we don’t have huge flicks but I use about 24 dekes 1/2 are mallards the other half is mostly black and white ducks with a few redheads and widgeon.

[@migratorygame7400]

It depends on the migration some times I'll only put out 3 or 4 ducks. I've got 12 mallards and I'll mix in blue bill, red head, pintail for late season hunting. Early season we use a few mallards and 12 wood ducks with 2 baby mojos and 3 dove mojos if we have room we dont use mojos late season just the ol jerk rig and 2 mojo pulsators unless we're on the river or creek.

[@martinchen3838]

I hunt in western Washington on a local lake. There are quite a few kinds of ducks I see in a season. I use mallards and coots and add widgeon, ringneck and scaup depending on what I am seeing. I always put some bufflehead on the outer edge of the decoys. They are very visible and also we get more of them as the season progresses. I have had a mallard swim in to coot decoys and as I watched, they seemed to be feeding on the same kind of submerged weeds, so two reasons to use coots.

[@jasonvelasquez6673]

IL No. and Central Zone. Mixed up and brands-dakota, hardcore, higdon, avian- mallards, BLK, cans, bluebills and geese.

[@hankandrews9051]

We use mallards and pintails. Pintails mainly for the white. Never thought about the black duck decoys, though.

[@augustuslaws6008]

Hunting Northern California I use majority mallard decoys with the exception of having pintails and wigeon mixed in for color. Hunting thick willow tree timber areas (not compared to Arkansas timber) along with flooded rice fields, seasonal wetlands, and the rivers I try to chase strictly mallards but at times I do go for whistling ducks so with that I run more pintails wigeon teal and gadwall with a half dozen mallards for color. I also like using Specklebelly goose decoys in my spreads if possible they add more realism and if single specks are flying I can get a few to work in the decoys. Early season I run more teal and wood ducks. Anywhere from 2-4 decoys up to 25-35 dozen ducks in the flooded rice

[@Keananbrickhouse]

I put out mallards, pintail,widgeon,gw teal,gadwall,,blackducks, shovelers,and a few swan The pintail,shovelers, and swan really make the decoy spread stand out. Im in NC and we have alot of Swan.

[@Huntingpros]

Hey Joel! You make wicked content buddy. Thanks for all the educational videos. I hunt black ducks here in Nova Scotia and frequently upload my hunts to KZbin. I'm going to try adding more species to my spread. I mostly shoot black ducks and teal over salt water. Keep it up!

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks!!

[@forcemajeur.5138]

Spray painted black 2L soda jugs with the top left white. Gets em every time.

[@brandondavis9668]

In North Texas, I'm using 3 dozen mallard, 1 dozen green-wing teal and 6 pintail. We generally group them together by species and have some mallards on a jerk rig. Should I mix them together or keep separate? Just found your channel and love it, especially tips on scouting. This was my oldest son's first season and he's hooked!

[@ryanwalker2299]

Here in North Dakota I primarily use just mallards, my hunting group picked up some teal decoys last season but then we had a hard freeze soon after so we didn't get a chance to use them, curious on how they will do this year

[@getstuffdonelandscapemaint1858]

coots. love coots

[@rogerdanella]

Great videos I really enjoy your videos it's nice learning great tips from a real professional

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks Roger!

[@rogervandergriff1851]

You are very helpful!!!

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thanks, glad I could be!

[@FirePirate099]

I hunt Inland New Hampshire. I used to use black ducks and mallards as well as 6 teal and 6 widgeon. But after years of only ever seeing black ducks and mallards I switched up to goose decoys only. Geese decoy to them, ducks decoy to them, and they are highly visible. You’re very lucky you can wade out into your marshes. Ours are bottomless bogs that go over your head 10 feet from shore

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

I know some guys in the central flyway that also use goose decoys only too... works well for them. Yes, much of the ground we hunt in Arkansas is a hard bottom- "hard pan". It 's the clay in our soil- we call it 'buckshot mud' (in Louisiana they call it gumbo mud). This is a major reason why rice farming works so well in this part of the country... the farmers can hold water. It's also why it's easier for us to hold water for ducks.

[@FirePirate099]

Surviving Duck Season having and holding onto water is never a problem in New England. lol I like your content, learning about hunting in Arkansas is very cool. My dream hunt is to one day shoot a gadwall in flooded timber

[@garrettcrocker5683]

I've got some really old dec's that Im thinking about spray painting black. Any recommendations on type? I'm thinking matte black obviously something that doesn't have a shiny coating right? I'm glad I found your show it's very educational. Thanks for sharing your passion.

[@codycason6373]

Ring neck are also a good two for one visibility decoy, and are fairly common throughout the country.

[@jacobyrussell1532]

I hunt the Pacific flyway in upstate New York so I'll use mallards wood ducks pintail blue bill redheads and spoons I usually put my divers on the outside of my spread and my woodies almost in the grass it works great

[@TheUltimateMartin]

I just started last year and it quickly became an addiction, I started out with just a dozen mallards but when I started adding in a few teal, coots and bigger mallards I had a lot more success, also I learned how to read the wind, weather and ducks better. I would love to get down south and hunt in the sheet waters and timbers, not too much flooded timber in Wisconsin.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Yes waterfowl hunting is an addiction for many of us. Glad you're finding success early in your duck hunting career. Thanks for watching!

[@dwlindley2110]

mallards, pintails, widgeons, GWT, Gadwalls but defiantly going to incorporate some homemade black ducks out of some old mallard dekes this season

[@grandmiratrapper1569]

Where I hunt is majority Black Duck species , Teals , Widgeon and Gadwall . Plenty Sea Ducks and the odd Storm Blown in Birds . I hunt Salt Tidal Marsh , very few Mallards come in here , I'm in Cape Breton Nova Scotia and generally hunt Coastal Tidal Areas . Even tho out about 14 Large Canada Goose Decoys as we hunt geese as well. My Kill zone is 20-40 yrd range

[@tylergooch100]

I hunt flooded timber in west tn I use 6 coots 6 teal 12 battleships a mojo,jerk rig and a vortex.

[@ivanwagurak942]

I hunt mallards, black ducks, blue and green wing teal as well as wood ducks, my favorite decoys are the blacks every thing seems to land in them. Don’t get me wrong I use mallards and teal to but the real ducks seem to hone in on the blacks more. So if I only take out 6-12 decoys it’s my blacks good luck and thank you for your videos and advice!

[@lildilly0411]

Out of 4 dozen decoys Dozen Mallard greed head Dozen black ducks Six pintails Six gadwalls Six mallard hens The last six are a mix of shoveler and widgeon decoys. I will add that some of those are duck butts. At least 1 to 2 per dozen. Probably doesn't make a difference but it helps me have confidence.

[@davidfedio6285]

We use no more than 12 mallards, like you we use 6 black ducks for visual grouped together outside the mallards in 12" of water. We toss out a handful of divers on the deep water side opposite the puddle duck decoys

[@johnmaloney8324]

Hi, great videos very useful for me. I use l.l.bean cork black ducks & malards , with a couple of butt up malards. Have to get some green winged teal and some kind of confidence decoy. What would you choose? Thanks from maine .

[@mississippioutdoorsman8992]

I run mallard wood ducks and teal decoys in my spread but if I’m hunting timber I’ll only use my mallards and wood duck decoys and I use a Higdon swimmer and king mojo mallard

[@mrbdecoys2216]

We run mostly black ducks and add a few mallards and teal when hunting big ducks. No more then two dozen birds.

[@halfblindbear]

I attempt to match the spread with what I have been seeing flying. And no drake mallards. And I normally put out more hens overall than drakes. But I also have to wonder if that is because of competing with everyone else hunting the same state land

[@Pontiuspilate666]

Mallards, black ducks, gadwall and pintails. 6 pintails, 6 gadwall, 6 black ducks and a dozen and a half mallards.

[@troymitchell1747]

I Use teal mallards and Pintail looks like I might be using some black ducks got some in the shed

[@hph.outdoors1850]

The teal color on the teal ducks is very visible we keep half a dozen teal in our spread

[@Mike-vk6mo]

How do you prevent pintail decoys from poking holes in your bag?

[@ducksinmyhearttaylor3957]

You are a very smart duck hunter

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Takes one to know one! lol thanks... just been doing it a long time.

[@ducksinmyhearttaylor3957]

Keep up the videos, your content is the best I have seen on You Tube. The knowledge you are sharing with these viewers took us years to learn. When I watched your videos for the first time today I was like wow this guy is a true duck hunter. When you talked about black duck and pintail decoys I new that you know what you are talking about and not just another guy on You Tube trying to give knowledge that they truly didn’t learn from years of being in the field. I have even used canvas back decoys even though we don’t kill many to make my spread more visible. And I use my teal the exact same way you do. I also believe in hunting a cross wind when ever possible, you don’t want the birds keyed in on your hunters or your blind. Keep it up man. I all most don’t want you to share the secrets it took us so long to learn. Only if we would of had your You Tube channel when we were in high school dreaming about hunting on the weekends. Lol

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

@@ducksinmyhearttaylor3957 Thanks so much! Yeah, I may not share EVERY secret HAHA! I just got very frustrated with so much mis-information being shared about duck hunting. There are many new duck hunters coming on the scene who don't have mentors. We need to do our best to pass it on to the next generation... so this is me doing my part.

[@blacktailbowhunter0135]

I use 14 mallard floaters and 1 robo. Sometimes when a friend comes he brings 8 avian x field dekes and 1 robo.

[@shawnbrown8792]

I always see G&H super mag duck decoys in your picture for the video but never see you using them on the actual video. Was just wondering if you ever run those super mag decoys?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Good eye! I actually only have a few of those left, years ago we'd use the magnums a lot in the timber. I've used them on a few of my thumbnail pictures because they were the only ones I had near home... the rest are at the duck club!

[@BIG_FETUS]

Can you add multiple species together? What about goose decoys as well ?! Thanks

[@2wheeltommy996]

I'm usually on or near a river. I use 12-18 Mallards, 6 Teal, 6 woodies. On a pond I usually pull the woodies and add some more Mallards. I don't have any pin tail decoys. I rarely see them, should I still use them?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

I don't see black ducks but I use them because they are so visible... same fore the pintails. They do stand out! Should you use pintails? If what you are doing works, then maybe not. However, if you are looking for something new to try or need an edge to help you out, it may be a good option.

[@birdwatcherspotter8211]

Have you ever thought about using shoveler decoys instead of pintails. I think it's a great addition.

[@jonkieronk]

I don't know about Joel but, I run shovelers, woodies, mallards, black ducks, pintails, and Canada geese here in Ohio along Lake Erie.

[@noahnelson3349]

I just picked some decoys up at a pawn shop. It is 1 coot 2 pintails 1 shoveler 4 mallards 1 wigeon an 1 duck I don’t know. You can actually get a mandarin duck decoy at walmart

[@patrickfoegen2300]

Do you buy black duck decoys or paint some black. I have allot of extra decoys I could paint black then paint the Bill's. If painting what type paint do you recommend? Thanks.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Patrick Foegen I have true black duck decoys. I know plenty guys who paint some of their mallard hens into black ducks. Parker paint is a good brand made for decoys. Whatever brand paint you get, make sure it’s flat!

[@whiskeybravo3429]

About 200 lbs of corn works for me.😮

[@jackoff8919]

I run at max 12 mallards but mostly I’m running only 2-6

[@larrybristol575]

Mallards . Teal , Canada Geese .

[@charlescox4812]

18 Coots 12 mallards 5 pintail 4 feeding pintail 2 feeding honkers

[@aaronlombardi1640]

Do you have any opinion of using ALL black duck decoys in a spread?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

I don’t see why not! Especially if you hunt on the Atlantic Flyway. I still use mallards and other species mixed in. I’m not sure you’d have any extra advantage using all black ducks, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try it out.

[@sha6mm]

Hate to tell you University of Michigan proved this years ago like 1960-70s.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

It’s a technique that’s been used at lot longer ago than the 60s.

[@calebgriffith2032]

What’s the story with the ringbill decoy? Does he hold some significance or not really?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

Thats "Jack Black the Black Jack" lol... we used him last duck season as the traveling decoy on our instagram page

[@gunguru7020]

It appears that you have decoys painted black rather than actual "black duck decoys". Can you clarify?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

No, they are actual black duck decoys. Tanglefree.

[@nevadaoutdoorsman8069]

What brand of decoy's do you use?

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

We have a lot of Tanglefree (that's what you saw on that video) and I got some Lifetime decoys this past season that I really like.

[@tylerfortin5202]

sand hill crane

[@mediaistheenemy]

Mixed bag. Always

[@swampghost6612]

Guys, believe it or not in Greece decoys and duck calls are not allowed by the law. What can I say about it.

[@SurvivingDuckSeason]

swamp ghost wow that’s terrible. Do you hunt in Greece?

[@swampghost6612]

@@SurvivingDuckSeason You are absolutely right my friend, is terrible. Yes I hunt a lot in Greece especially ducks and coots. We're I come from, duck and coot hunting is a traditional activity and a part of our local history in the Amvrakikos gulf region. The anti hunters lobby is very strong in Greece, they have great impact on our governments. Duck hunting in Greece is almost illegal...If we want to hunt ducks the right way, we have to face the judges and the authorities. We pray every day for a change in the duck hunting laws in Greece. I love your video's my friend, they're very educational and they have this passion only a true waterfowler has. Sorry for my bad English, I hope I didn't make a lot of mistakes. Keep up the excellent work.

[@junkhondas481]

I’m just getting into it so I only use three dousen mallards. Kills duck so I’m happy

[@losethealtitude7730]

That’s not really a secret more like common sense.