I am fairly new to posting on THF but am curious as to anyone who has advice on how to set up decoy spreads and blind locations relative to wind direction and what not. This will be my second year hunting and am trying to slowly build my gear so I don't have to bum off of my cousin for doing all the calling and decoy set up. Thanks

Always try and get the wind to your back. Cross winds are ok if they are the only way you can set up.

With the wind at your back you will want to groups of 1-2 dozen with a hole about 20 yards open in the middle which will be your "kill hole".

I am no duck hunting expert by any means, and the gentlmen on here will prolly come behind me and give you advice leaps and bounds better then mine. We hunt over a small amount of decoys maybe 1 1/2 dozen or 2 dozen at the most. Ducks land into the wind, so on open water I build my blinds with that in mind. I mix decoys so I'll set up little groups with gadwalls together, wigeons together, etc. and leave an opening for the flyers to land. Im sure Rob will weigh in, and whatever he says to do to it to the T. He wont lead you wrong

If your building a fixed blind build it on the east side if you can. That way you can hunt a north or south wind and the sun is at your back. If your hunting small water use your decoys defensively. Use them to block spots you don't want them to land and leave a shooting hole infront of your blind with maybe one or two tollers in there for the ducks to que in on. I like to use a mallard hen because that's the call I lean on or a canvasback because of all the white on him. Also if you use any motion decoy like a bilge pump duck or a swimmer, put them in there

Wind are your back if at all possible. Never put the sun in your face.match the hatch on decoys. Leave a landing zone (a lil runway ) for the birds to land. Just research spreads on the internet. Ducks unlimited has some good articles. The rest Is all trial and error.

Also, just my 2 cents, after the split we dont use mojo motion decoys at all. Seemed like last year the birds kinda knew what was up, could be the hunting pressure, could be me imagining things. But the birds seemed to close better after we pulled them.

I'll tell you what I prefer then, why I prefer it.

I prefer the wind coming from behind the blind over my shoulder a bit.

I prefer it because ducks land into the wind. This gives you a better shot at their chest. I like it a little off center because I don't want the ducks looking straight at me as they're coming in.

As far as decoy spreads, most guys prefer a group on the left, a group on the right and a few closer in right in front. I use this or a modification of this 90% of the time. If you use mojos, put them right in front of where you want the ducks to land.

Most of the spots I hunt aren't very big so the ducks dont "always" land into the wind... that said I prefer to set up with the sun at my back so I know that if they're looking for the calling the sun is in their eyes... but I also take into consideration where the best natural cover is on the spot because I want to be as covered up as possible.... If I have to pick between wind, sun, and cover on a small spot I'll almost always pick cover.

Like Jeff mentioned I usually set my decoys up as blockers and put 6-12 everywhere I don't want ducks to land... also if you're doing plenty of scouting, take notes of where the ducks are naturally sitting and put your decoys there.

I typically start a season off with 4-5 dozen decoys (mallards, teal, wigeon, gadwall) and slowly carry less as the season progresses, dropping the teal out first because they migrate out of the area first... I'll usually put out 4 Canada floaters in the open as well because we do get geese in our area and I like having something big to catch the birds attention from a distance... also I put my nicest/cleanest/most realistic decoys in the center/front of my spread because these are the ones they'll be looking at when they come in to land.

All that said, you can set up a great spread, take all the above factors into account, make the right calls at the right time and still flare ducks like crazy, so don't be afraid to get out of the blind and make adjustments if what you're doing ain't workin.

(If you're looking to build your gear up you can occasionally find good deals on craigslist for some lightly used stuff, but I've found if you wait for the right time before and toward the middle of the season Cabelas usually has great discounts on Greenhead Gear... also Academy will drop GHG Hot Buys down to less that $20 a dozen toward the middle/end of the season... I wouldn't build and entire spread around them, but they will certainly help fill out a spread and save money)

I prefer to have the wind quatering off my back. I'm kinda paraniod about movement and birds looking straight at me when landing. Also, IMO its easier for new people to judge the speed of the birds and/or how fast they are dropping when they are coming across or quartering in.

As far as setting out deks. Since I like to have ducks coming in at angles and not looking straight at me, I'll have my "kill hole" a little off to one side or the other depending on which shoulder its blowing from. I don't like useing the "v" as some of the people I have hunted with. I tend to make groups of birds to make my spread. The biggest thing with deks is to match what you put out with what you see while scouting that area.

Thanks to everyone who replied! Great advice and pointers for a beginner like myself. What brand of decoys would be the best to start out buying? Looking for relatively cheap decoys to start out

When hunting a pond or smaller body of water I worry more about cover and backdrop/Sun then wind. Also take note on how ducks come in and exist...

There are some really good holes that because of the lay out the ducks have to go straight down and up...or only have one way out other then up. Knowing those give you an opportunity to follow up quicker on more shots.

As far as dekes, if your not on the "x" and trying to break trading ducks...especially like on the coast or big water.... Flash and white like cans and sprigs are your biggest allies, for caughting their attention

IMO as far as choosing decoys, there is nothing wrong with buying the good deals. I highly recommend buying decoys with weighted keels instead of keels that fill with water. If you only buy top of the line, you will spend alot of money.....at the same time, top of the line looks better. Start out with what you can afford, and hunt good areas!

Decoys all cost the same in the end... You can buy the quality ones once or the cheap ones 2-3 times... Unless you wait for the deals.

Greenhead Gear and G&H make some of the best in my opinion.

Whether you buy good decoys or cheap decoys do yourself a favor and get some good Texas Rig decoy anchors... They'll save you tons of time and you can always swap them out if you upgrade decoys later.