“decoy spread”

It was an oddly warm January day on the Eastern Shore—in fact there were gnats in the air—but after a long, mid-day lull, the geese were back on the move.

Matt Kneisley of Conestoga, Pa., has hunted his spread of 120 Model 72 Herter decoys for forty years. In an absolutely despicable act, thieves stole 110 of the decoys sometime between noon on Thanksgiving Eve and 4 a.m. Thanksgiving morning.

Setting a decoy spread for wary waterfowl requires strategic calculations to pull off a successful ruse. The same is true of decoying whitetail bucks. You can plunk a buck decoy anywhere, but to have it work with precision requires forward thinking. Begin with simple biology.

In waterfowl hunting, there are traditional tactics—like arranging a decoy spread and luring birds with calling—and then there are some, shall we say, rather zany tricks. However, occasionally we hear of an outlandish ploy so crazy that, well, it just might work.

It was around 9 a.m., and a dozen or so birds had decided that they’d make a close enough pass at our decoy spread to elicit a volley. I’d loosed two shells when my concentration was broken by something thumping down into the reeds beside me.

Ditch the massive decoy spread and head upstream to find a small hidey hole that can pay off big.

No hunter relies on good wind quite like the waterfowler. So what do you do when there isn't any?

Contributor Mike Roux gives some tips on how to set decoys in the early season.

Waterfowlers love wind. Because birds typically land into it, wind helps to channel ducks and geese in a definitive direction so you can set your spread and hide accordingly. It also moves the decoys, which makes them look more realistic and therefore more likely to fool your quarry.