I saw a ton of ducks today but couldn’t get them to come in. There was no wind so decoys didn’t move at all. I had a pretty decent spread in v formation. I’m a very beginner caller. I have killed a lot of ducks on this lake in the past. Any input would be appreciated.

We’ve all had it happen. I would say the most important thing is being where the ducks want to be, you can make a lot of other mistakes if the ducks want in to the spot you’re hunting. Second would be rig a basic jerk string, very easy to make and rig and can make a lot of difference on still days. Third, there’s a big difference in how ducks will react as they fly by based on where they’re going. Is your lake where they roost? If they are flying off roost to go feed, they’re just going to fly by you. If you’re where they want to loaf or water, you have a much better chance at drawing passing birds. Good luck

Were they flaring or just not coming in at all?

Did u scout and see them on top of your location?

Clouds are a Btch. Take sun and wrong wind any day. Being on X key if public or big water. Try calling aggressive vs total silence also. Shrink spread. They have seen a V formation many times- change it up. Got a make adjustments during the hunt

If they’re just highflyers obviously you’re probably wasting your time they don’t want to be there

The way I interpret coming in means you’re in the wrong spot if they’re not finishing that could be cloud cover, they can see you , spread looks bad (no sun) etc.

By the way, it’s also called hunting sometimes birds are just not huntable that day. Don’t skybust- pack it up if they’re not finishing at all and get them next time

Got to have motion when there’s zero wind as well

Be where they want to be.
Hide well. Especially in cloudy weather.
If there is no wind I like a smaller spread. Less ugly for them to look at.

If you're not where they want to be you can have everything perfect and still not get it done. Then again you might not be on the x and shoot their lips off because the guy on x is an idiot.


When you've got no wind cloudy and it's a warming trend the ducks will circle circle circle then go loaf in 20ft of water on the main lake. They just aren't hungry and are tired of getting shot. I've seen birds circle live birds 3 or 4 times and bug out. That's a live flock of birds not looking good enough. Sometimes it just won't happen.

You’ve had a lot of good suggestions thus far. I’ll add that birds get smart. If you don’t have new birds move in, you may be trying to work birds that have been shot at quite a bit on a body of water. Sometimes things get stale and they get decoy shy. You could have all the motion, perfect spread, calling could be on point and it just won’t happen.

I had some high flyers but I had some that tried to come in briefly. They were flying from and to the lake. This is the first time I hunted this spot. My normal spot that was great,hasn’t had any action the last 2 weekends. This is my first season back here in 5 season. Thanks for the input y’all.

#1 be where they want to be
#2 hide really really well
#3 add motion somehow if there is no wind
#4 if there is wind set up with it at your back or cross wind.

If they still flare or just don't give you a look then there's not much else you can do...

You can try moving decoys around but I personally haven't had that ever help with ducks.

Old school stuff:
1 Don’t fight the conditions. Put out a big spread 30-50 yards behind you and setup for the birds to predictably SHORT STOP.
2 Soften your calling way down in calm conditions.
3 Hunt small water where the birds have fewer options.
4 use a couple dozen goose floaters to add motion to your spread. Because of their size they will swim in a very slight breeze.
5 deploy a J set off a corner where the birds only have one direction to slide to. Set up to kill them on the slide.
6 jerk strings

Just my opinion but I have never bought into this "decoys x,y,z formation" stuff.

Go look at groups of wild birds on the water...are they in a J formation? A V formation? No. They are not. Generally on big water they're rafted up in a big group or in smaller clusters at random. Nature is random. Put your decoys in random clusters. Not some unnatural looking letter.

I also agree with this. To me, where the spread is, as a whole, in relation to wind direction is much more important than “formation”. I think some people overthink it.

A skilled waterfowler uses his decoy placement to anticipate and manipulate Where the birds will finish to. It is an art that many do not grasp. It goes without saying that you would set the decoys to look as natural as possible to include small groups or clusters as you describe. It also goes without saying that the overall configuration of your set in combination with the prevailing wind combined with what the birds are approaching absolutely impact, and can be used to get the birds to finish where you want.
It Works in concert with a skilled caller that waits for the birds to line up with where he knows his set will position the birds waning to finish before using the call to turn them, and thus not needing to circle to get in. Thus getting birds to finish on the first pass, in the desired location, rather than circle till they pick you off.
Your comment speaks to what your level of prowess is in the art of decoying waterfowl.

Yep. When it works it's a thing of beauty. The V is used to give them a nice big landing pocket right it front of you. It doesn't have to be a perfect V, but a natural looking spread shaped to put the birds right in front of you as they're landing.

Maybe so, but maybe not. I often kill limits of waterfowl with a 410. Up to and including giant Canada geese. I do that by planning where I finish the birds. (It is a hell of a good time)

Some good advise here, thank guys for sharing.

Cool story. I don’t write the alphabet with decoys and I still manage to shoot birds dropping in and next to the spread ~20 yds. Do what works for you and I’ll continue doing what works for me (hell of a good time).

You are goofy 68A. Nobody writes the alphabet. They put out a set with purpose in various configurations to match up with where they are hunting and the conditions as well as the type of birds they are hunting. They describe it with letters to indicate the general shape of the set when putting out the blocks. That way everyone is on the same page without needing to talk about it.






It’s not new stuff and it’s not rocket science. Not sure what your end game is singling me out but you got the wrong guy.

Scout boat ramps for hunters coming back successful.

Determine their hunting spot.

The next steps can either be performed at the ramp with feigned engine trouble or, for better effect, at their spot about 45 minutes before shooting time.
You will need a son/daughter or someone who can pass as a son/daughter to assist you. Motor to the spot, turn off the engine and have your cohort say, loud enough for them to hear, "Dad, someone's in that spot you and Uncle Harry used to hunt before he passed, well have to run across the marsh to where Jimmy had that accident. We're gonna get you on ducks one last time, don't you worry."

One word of caution, if the target hunters appear grizzled as if they've lived in the marsh all season, this may not have any effect. In that case it's best to substitute an old, crippled lab.

Be sure to not appear to healthy. And, for goodness sakes, make sure the young'un helps pick up the decoys. No sense being a selfish guest.

Recap-you singled me out when you quoted me saying “maybe so, maybe not”, then detailing how you shoot geese with a 410. Now, you’re upset that I don’t necessarily agree with your method. Furthermore, youre the guy posting pictures as if that’s going to drive your point home with me.

Look, I’m happy it works for you, by all means, keep doing you. However, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. I could fill up 20 pages of pictures of hunts and limits, who cares. My method works, and yours works for you. That’s cool.

I’m not upset. I find humor that you are posting that you think somebody actually writes x, y, z with their decoys....
recap-a new waterfowler was having trouble decoying birds in calm conditions. I posted some old school bread and butter tactics that have worked for generations in calm conditions to help him out. You went keyboard warrior and cast dispersions on their effectiveness, by attempting to make fun of advising him to use a simple j set in low wind when the birds are not finishing for the new hunter. My impression is you have not successfully used and do not understand the tactic of a long narrow set down wind, and blocking out one corner with a wider base to entice wary birds that are not finishing in calm conditions, to consistently slide off the dekes and right over your head by anticipating the birds are not going to want inside the decoys, so taking away the routes into the slight wind except the one that puts them on you. So you refer to it as writing x, y, z. That is basic stuff and it is a j, without writing anything in the spread.
And yes when conditions are right I like to use a 410. It is an in your face, heads and necks game with a half ounce of steel and a tight choke. It is a hell of a good time with some guys that can shoot.

Let me go get my ruler and I guess we can measure our dicks since you want to be a condescending [censored]. Unlike you I don't need to posts pictures and speak of my prowess as it pertains to the art of decoying "waterfowl" to make myself feel better.

I never said stand on the shore and just throw your decoys. You still put your decoys out in a way to manipulate and anticipate where you will force the birds to want to land. That is common sense. However, when people tell a new person to put their decoys in a "j" or a "v" - new hunters take that quite literally and I have on dozens of occasions seen people spell out the letter J with their decoys. That is not natural. The fact you feel the need to whip it out and prove to everyone that you're the great white duck slaying hunter tells me all I need to know.

Have fun with your .410 circle jerk!

It's really not as hard as some make it out to be with regard to decoy spreads.

Just use common sense.

You know they land into the wind so set them up in relation to you so that you get good shots...

The only other thing I'll add is I do not like them coming in straight on. I've found a slight cross wind is better so they are staring right at me as they are trying to decoy.

Cochise I think you need to fill out this report, its a new THF rule we are trying to tack all this to better improve the forum. When I do a j hook spread, I like to use a magnum decoy to dot my j.

Apparently neither of us are “skilled waterfowlers”.