Feather Flex Duck Decoys?

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KiOR Maniac
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Feather Flex Duck Decoys?

Post by KiOR Maniac »

Has anyone used the feather flex mallard decoys that are the shell type? i thought they would be nice for a kayak because they say a dozen weighs only a pound or so. any thoughts? thanks
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Coastal
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Post by Coastal »

They are very good on protected water. I have several dozen pintails that are pretty old. If it's real windy they are not good. They give you a lot of motion on light wind days that regular dekes won't even begin to move.

You might also check into the Cherokee Outdoors inflatable decoys. I have heard some good reviews of them as well.

I have also hunted over FUDs from Blackwater Decoys and I think they have some very good possibilities for kayak hunters as well. The FUDs look pretty good IMO, lots of movement with very little wind needed.
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Coastal
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Post by Coastal »

Here are some links...

Blackwater Decoy FUDs- http://www.duckdecoys.com/
Cherokee Outdoors decoy- http://www.autumnwings.com/catalog/cherokeesports2.html

The Cherokee Outdoors mallard dekes are sold at Wally World for $17.99/6.
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KiOR Maniac
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Post by KiOR Maniac »

thanks for the info coastal
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Post by Guest »

I have used featherflex for years and the fud's in the last two. I much prefer the fuds. They are much easier to handle and put out. The feather flex require the heads to be inserted each time (and taken back out to pick up and store) If windy, the body shells WILL escape across the marsh, field, etc. Also the hollow heads can take on some rather funny shapes after awhile. Though not heavy the featherflex make a bulkier bundle in my opinion whereas the fuds, all folded together, seem to go nicely into my front hatch.
MouletteRouge
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Post by MouletteRouge »

Since we are on the subject of decoys...Anyone ever tried hunting with only hens?...I've done it a few times and the birds seem to like it when they have been seeing everything in the book thown at them...I think it works real well around my neck of the woods because the main birds we get in the marsh are gadwall and mottled's...Not that others shy away from drakes, I think there is nothing better than greenheads to bring gadwall in...But like I said, the area I hunt I have never even seen a greenhead...When in the rice fields I always make it a point to use dekes with a lot of white...rags work okay for this...white really brings the sprigs in...I have also had better luck with very small spreads of 8-10 birds...this is very easy to carry in the yak...Any suggestions for setting up a spread in saltwater marshes?...I'm always open to new ideas...As for featherflex, never used them...Those new greenhead gear dekes look pretty good though...They aren't too expensive either...
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Coastal
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Post by Coastal »

If you are where they want to be it won't matter. Scouting is the #1 factor to the sucess of a waterfowl hunter.

I like to use pintail and diver dekes on the bay and in the marsh because they show a lot of white and are visable from a long way off. In general I hunt over anywhere from 2 doz to 20 doz decoys for ducks. Early on I like big spreads then i thin them out as the season progresses. The exception is when I hunt the bayfront, then I want to put out every decoy and show as much white as possible.

As far as pintails in rice, if you don't have water standing in the rice you are wasting your time. If you do have water in the field, even just sheet water, pintails will eat up a rag spread as will other ducks. I killed lots of mottled ducks and mallards out of the ragspread last season when it was wet. Almost too easy.

Greenhead Gear decoys look nice but they had major paint problems with some batches last year. I think I will just hold off and keep buying G&H dekes until I know they have it all worked out.
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