What does your typical spread look like for your everyday hunt at say your public lake. How many decoys do you put out? how far from decoys do you set up? Do you use mojos? If the wind is calm do you set up the same way? What makes set up the way that you do.

This is a good question.
I use spinners first half of season but late season I'll back off of them on open water,but in the Timber if I were hunting it late season I will continue to use them cause the ducks can't tell much swinging over trees.
As far as the spread,well that can change with the situation like the wind,weather,early season,late season,or how many guys you are hunting with.For example if I have a group of 6 then my favorite way to put a spread out is wind and hopefully sun to our backs good cover on the blind and the decoys will be in the Walthall (W),with that W you give a big group of birds 2 places to light.That helps with that many guys.

We throw a big spread for the 1st half almost every decoy we got there's 5 of us. On wma land and use 2-3 mojos 2ed half more hens then drakes looking for a mate. 1st half food. Hope this helps.

Good stuff^^^^

I don't have any spinners, but do almost always use a jerk string of some sort... nothing worse than blocks that are not moving. Jerk strings work great for little holes that don't get much of a breeze. Those are the spots I like to hunt most b/c the ducks seem to drop right down on you, and usually under a dozen decoys gets the job done just fine.

Boy you cant go wrong with a good ole jerk string.

This is what I do and it works every time. ...
Scout the day before and put our the spread based on what you saw sitting on the water while you were scouting. Late season = no mojo. I use a jerk string .

I hunt a lot of big public water. Early season i will throw out 3-5dozen decoys and a bilge pump decoy and a jerk string. Late season i use 12-18 decoys and a bilge pump decoy and a jerk string. I hate mojos!!!!!!!!! They never work more than two hunts and are very bulky to carry around. Plus they are always seem to spit the wings out at the worst possible time!! Stick with a jerk string they never break down! One thing i do that might be different to some is, i use ringneck decoys out on the edges of my spread. They have a high contrast of color and are easy to see from far away. I use six ringneck drakes and set them on the "points" of my spread and also use them as yardage markers.

ditto

movement is critical on the water. Jerk string, mallard machine, or anything giving off ripples is key. I try to set up with the wind coming off my left to right to get a good angle on the shot. Try making two groups of 10-15 decoys each with a nice hole in between them about 20 yards. I put a mojo in each group close to the open hole unless I see the mojo starting to flare the birds.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate the help from everyone. This is just my second year and the ponds I hunted last year are mostly dry so going to be hunting bigger water this year. Thanks.

nothin' wrong with jerkin' it...

you shoulda seen my wife's face after I told her I was gonna run a jerk string in the morning...

Lakesteak123 thats a good point about ducks with contrast, my partner has a swarm of black duck decoys that we put on the edge, and this year we are going to add a bunch of Dirty Dirty's to the spread for confidence.

i change the size, species, and shape of my spread with the weather, pressure, migration, and water level of the place i'm hunting. a decoy spread is your chance as a hunter to get creative. you can mock natural rafts and flocks of ducks that have been or are in the area, or you can simply make it look like you are a fresh flock of birds that is resting/feeding/watering etc. 95% of the people you will run into will throw out the crappiest 2 dozen mallard decoys they can get their hands on accompanied by a mojo. i personally love when guys do that especially after the split because it makes my spread even more convincing. like fly fisherman will tell you "match the hatch" do the same with decoys. if a lake has a ton of canvasbacks on it, then throw cans in with your dekes. if the lake has a ton of coots, then throw coots out. you'll be surprised how many ducks will land in a raft of coots. as far as the shape of your spread goes, keep the wind at your back as much as possible and leave a 10 yard gap in the middle for a landing zone. there is a lot of good spread diagrams on the net. but try first and foremost to be creative and make the most realistic spread you can everytime. getting lazy with decoys can cost you birds especially with large flocks and after the split.... good luck

Oh yeah and don't be afraid to get out in your spread and walk around every 30-45min and move a few decoys around. It will muddy up the water and give you a chance to get the blood flowing again. But remember to carry you gun with you at all times if hunting alone. I've shot lots of birds while in the process of moving deeks,peeing or pouring coffee!!lol