How to rig decoys

Sorry for another thread.. I'm going to be asking y'all some stuff here and there as I'm trying to prepare my gear better during the off season....

Right now I have a total of about 42 decoys.. Bunch of mallards, some teal, a few pintail... About to add 30 more on top of that tomorrow, and also going to get a dozen redhead decoys and a dozen gadwall.

I'm trying to find the best and more affordable way to rig up these things.. I want them Texas rig of course.

So here are my questions about rigging these things...

1- Is it more logical/affordable to buy a bunch of weights, all the clips, crimps, and decoy cord, (About 20 or so 6oz egg weights are easily $25 a set... the clips are about $8 a dozen, black decoy cord at Academy is about $6 for 250ft, crimps are cheap... The biggest expensive is all the dang weights!) OR, would y'all to say to just buy the pre rigged setups? (At Academy, a dozen Texas rigs are $20. So if I have 6 dozen decoys I'm looking at $120.)

2- How long do y'all make each decoy line? I hunt the Texas coastal bays, but a few times this season will be heading up to East Texas and Dallas to hunt the lakes)

3- Are 4oz weights okay, or are 6oz a necessity?

4- Is that black decoy cord at Academy I'm talking about worth a damn or is it better to buy the 400lb mono?

Thanks and please bear with me! This first season got me additced so in my off time I'm working on getting all stuff together the right way..

I prefer to buy the pre built ones. When I do make them I make them about 3-4 foot long. I don’t plan on hunt in anything deeper.

4 oz weights is what I use. The lake I hunt hast a pretty silty muddy bottom so they usually get anchored in sort of tithe bottom.

Buy the premade Texas rig at Academy

Tx rig for sure. As far as pre made I got some Avians this past summer and they came pre rigged. GARBAGE as far as I'm concerned. There are better made pre rigged I hope but the ones that came with the last batch of decoys have the dark green line and flat weight. Don't buy this type. I have 4oz weights on all my big dekes and 2oz on my teal. I'll down size when its time to re do my setup. 2oz for my bigger dekes and 1 oz for my teal.

I buy the lifetime, 48" 4oz weight. Lifetime Texas rigs are truly tanglefree and awesome.

I also have the diy kit, but I had to get that for my swimmers, which need a 6oz weight too.

So I went this morning and got the 30 decoys I mentioned, and stopped at Academy on the way.. those pre built ones at Academy are only 18" long....

Around here they only carry the assortment of rigs in the store right before and during season. Might check online. The academy brand work but they tend to tangle a bit when you put more than a dozen or so on one clip. Make sure to leave your dekes hanging, it’ll help take the curl out of the line.

I have to agree with above the Academy ones are OK, but do tend to tangle. I recently took all mine off this past season and switched to a pvc coated cable line( similar to Lifetime rigs) I ordered mine of a Facebook page. If interested I can find it. I run 48” - 4 oz on all of mine. I also like the ones with the weight that slides as well

Husqvarna gray weed eater line
Academy crimps. 5 oz weight because that's the heaviest cavity in my mold
Stainless snap swivels

If you can walk out and pick up decoys wherever you will be hunting then Texas rigs all the way. I built my own so i could run 48" line which is about as deep as i can walk. Plus i want the decoy to slide on the decoy cord and not the weight. Keeps your loop near your decoy and makes for easier pickup.

I like 400 lbs black mono. I got it from amazon.

Went to Bass Pro and they sell pre built 48" 6oz rigs for $20 a dozen.. I think that's the route I'll go because 6oz weights alone for making them myself seem to be about $25 a dozen

Lifetime Decoys Texas Rigs in 30" 3oz if you're only hunting the coast. I know you might be looking for cost effective but I retired all my decoy lines this past season and switched to Lifetime and will never have to worry about replacing lines or weights again. In the long run buying these will save you money because the company stands behind the product with a lifetime guarantee.

https://www.ateefad.com/duck-huntin...vLgJmcxITGrad8ncsmUBf1SnO01vkx6cLmFWDKjc
I need this

Just buy once and cry once.

https://lifetimedecoys.com/rigging-equipment/

Lifetime are the best to replicate. You can get the coated cable from Home depot and the crimps and weights off Amazon depending how many decoys you have to setup.

I'm sure lifetime's are good. But I've never had any problems with my homemade rigs using 400 lbs mono and egg sinkers.

I also enjoy making my own stuff, it's a fun offseasons project that you can knock out several dozen in a few hours.

I'll say straight up that I'm not spending that money for Lifetime. That'd be over $200 to rig 7 dozen decoys with a line and weight.. That's crazy.

TBS12, What is the coated cable you are talking about exactly? I found the clips and crimps on Amazon for a good deal.

But like I said above, for a dozen 6oz weights at $25, and already rigged 48" 6oz dozen rigs at Bass Pro for $20, it kind of makes sense now to just buy them already built like mentioned above.

My only concern with using the 400lb mono is all the memory in the line. I like the PCV cord I got from Academy more

Hang the decoys for a few days and the memory is gone.

The precut 2mm line from SNL Corp (https://www.snlcorp.com/SNL/Other/DuckDecoyKit.aspx) is by far the best I've used. Zero tangling. Guy recommended it on here last year.

This is what we used when switching from mono decoy line. But it was split between me and buddy since we had about 20dz decoys to redo.

homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-16-in-x-250-ft-Galvanized-Vinyl-Coated-Steel-Wire-Rope-806370/203958870

I really like the premade at academy. I like the fixed weights instead of the sliding egg weights.

That said, this past season, I bought a "Hot Pot" and a "Do-It" mold and began making my own. I use the 4 oz bank sinker mold and just crimp it on. I bought my swivel clips from Academy and everything else on Amazon...