Decoy sets crucial to big-water hunting

Whether waterfowlers use a scissors rig or not, setting up decoys to lure ducks in shotgun range is a key component.

Adam Jones has two decoy sets he uses for puddle or sea ducks.

For nearshore hunting, he sets his scissors rig to face the wind, then places a dozen teal decoys and a teal Mojo duck 25 to 30 yards off the port side at 10 o’clock and the same number of decoys the same distance at the 2 o’clock on the right front of his rig. He’ll place three single decoys in a row off the right stern at the same distance.

For scoters and other sea ducks farther offshore, he’ll anchor a line of six surf scoters off the left front of his blind, drop an anchored line of decoys from the back decoy of his front line, then angle that decoy line 90 degrees toward the rig’s stern. Then he’ll drop another anchored line of decoys and anchor the final duck parallel to his first decoys. The three decoy lines form an “S” shape in the water.

On the starboard side, Jones anchors one line of scoters off the boat’s bow at 25 yards, another line of decoys 10 yards farther out and parallel to the first decoy line. Then centered between the back decoys of those two lines, he’ll extend a longer line of scoter decoys parallel to the boat that ends in a final anchored decoy out from the boat’s stern. Between the end of that third line of decoys and the right rear of the scissors rig, Jones drops a dozen or more bluebill decoys.

“Sometimes we get bluebills flying with the scoters, so I like to have a few bluebill decoys in the mix,” he said.

Jones makes his decoys from 10-inch shelving board, crab-pot floats and pieces of 2×6 salt-treated wood (for the heads) that he carves and paints himself.

“All I need is wood, a saw and a grinding tool,” he said.