Decoy placement?

[MinnesotaMike]

I hunt a lake that has thin wild rice all along the shoreline, I place my decoys in the open water where my dock use to be after pulling it. It works ok but I want to move down the shoreline to a point, question is do I scatter my decoys within the wild rice or do I put them in the open water beyond the wild rice? This would be about 35 to 45 yards shot. Will ducks land in the wild rice? I have seen them land in the dock opening but not in the rice.

What do you think?

Thx,

Mike

[Ufatz]

Hey Mike! If you were hungry and wanted to eat, where would you sit? 8-feet away from the table or right next to it? Put some dekes right in the rice; that's where they'd be poking around for some grub. Make your shots as close to you as you can....not way out there. All you do is create cripples, and there are enough of those every fall the way it is.

Couple decoys on outside edge maybe....then scatter them through the rice right up to the beach, with an open area right in front on you. The closer the ducks are the more time you have to make a good shot!

Have fun.

[TylerS]

I'd do both! Put a few out in the open to catch the eyes of passerbys. Have a bunch in the rice, too. They might not be as visible to ducks out and away, but as they get closer (and especially overhead) they'll see a party is going on and want to stop by.

[Sifty]

I'd do both! Put a few out in the open to catch the eyes of passerbys. Have a bunch in the rice, too. They might not be as visible to ducks out and away, but as they get closer (and especially overhead) they'll see a party is going on and want to stop by.

+1