Best decoys/system for packing in to hard to access beaver ponds

[lakevet]

Looking for input on how to get decoys back into hard to get to beaver ponds. Some are quite large. Need to be backpacked/carried in about a mile. Thinking of teal decoys because smaller. Thinking of about a dozen for the late season mallards. Targeting woodies , teal early and then late mallards and geese. Any ideas? How many needed? Type/species. Also on a tighter budget.

Thanks!

lakevef

[eyesonly]

I used my new My Deer cart last year for decoys and it worked really well. Its got those oversized tires that go over anything

[Barbelboy]

While not always available, I've found a teenager is as good a decoy carrying system. Properly fed and motivated you'd be surprised what a teenager can carry into remote places.

That being said. When hunting remote beaver ponds you will be hunting spots that you know birds are already frequenting. So do your scouting or you'll walk a long ways to watch beavers work and do little to no shooting. But that means you don't need a lot of decoys. A dozen mallard doesn't weigh much, especially aqua keels. I'd stick with about 6-10. No need to overdo it on small bodies of water that the birds already want to be on. Mallard decoys work for everything. so no need to diversify too much. Though you could sprinkle in a woody or two if it makes you feel better.

Motion would be more key. Some ripples in the water on those calm mornings is more likely to attract the ducks using the beaver pond to your spread than an increased number of decoys.

[brittman]

There used to be rubber (auto air inflate) decoys that would compact down to rather small space.

[brittman]

I would get a good decoy backpack - maybe avoid mesh if you have to get off trail so that it does not get tangled in limbs.

Pack in a half dozen to dozen decoys. Water keel are the lightest. No more than a dozen should be needed even if the pond is large.

Pack should be able to hold hip boots or waders too.

That way you can wear normal boots to walk in ...

[Barbelboy]

just reading your post made me angry at snagging branches. How many times have I thrashed through the brush like an angry rhino with a decoy bag snagged on every available stick. Ahhhhhhhhh, the very thought. Your tip was genius.

[Todd Caswell]

Id'e be more concerned about how I was going to retrieve them after the hunt, I don't think I have ever hunted a beaver pond that I could wade in, and if decoys are a problem to get back there then any type of boat or canoe is out of the question, we hunt one opener every year and use a belly boat to pick up decoys and never put out more than a dozen.. And it's about a mile hike, carrying out 50-60 ducks and geese is more of a problem than the decoys..

This sucker is deep

[lakevet]

So mallards with a couple woodies. 10 decoys. Will mallards pull geese? Any specifics on the backpack that will hold 10-12 decoys?. military surplus? Are teal decoys of any value? Backpack that you use for waders? Have teenagers for a few more years

lakevet

[Kettle]

I back pack in every year on opener on public land for ducks and do awesome. When I do this I wear my canvas waders instead of neoprene in fear of ripping them. I have a small envelope pack from that canvas backpack company in Duluth for my shells and my calls and choke tubes. Then an old herters decoy back that is also made of canvas, a really lite one, it has no holes like the mess ones so they don't get caught on branches. As for my gun it is cased up in an old DU foam case with a shoulder strap. My overall hike is 1.3 miles and every year it is worth it. A total of 8 mallard decoys and a jerk string is what I carry.

Kettle

[SledNeck]

we use feather flex decoys when we hunt the woods. 24 fit in a small bag.

I have the mack's Grand Prairie waders. I hunt them through some nasty stuff down in Arkansas and never have come close to ripping them on sticks or busting ice

[fishuhalik]

Texas rigged dekes. Carry 2 doz over your shoulder, no problem, through miles of brush. That being said, this is our normal deke spread for beaver ponds. 1/2 doz worn out dekes is all you need. Those birds are comfy and they don't need much coaxing to land on your feet!

And this was our take. All shot under 15 yds, cupped up. Took about 20 mins

[bemidjibasser]

Put 3 or 4 mallards on a jerk string and that should do it. Like others have said, if the birds want in, no need for lots of decoys. The jerk string gives you the motion and can be retrieved without getting wet...

Small set up can be easily packed in a good sized shell bag or small decoy bag.

[SledNeck]

ducks in Mn are easy to decoy. sometimes all I bring is the jerk string.

[bemidjibasser]

Ditto.

[Lunker]

I have done it, and it can be a lot of gear to carry. Decoys, waders, gun, blind bag, ammo, etc. I would suggest downsizing to a small spread. Use a backpack style decoy bag (i have one that is fairly comforatable and has a waist band.) The bag fits 2 dozen decoys. I would suggest bringing about a dozen, and packing your waders in the bag also. You backpack the decoy bag, and sling your blind bag and gun.

Otherwise a cart as mentioned above would work.

[BoxMN]

If you do want geese decoys just paint up some old water keel mallards into geese. Doesn't take much, and it works great. Birds don't care what size the decoys are, just shopping hunters We did that to two dozen this year, looks great!

[lakevet]

Great idea on repainting duck decoys into geese decoys. What type of prep and What kind of paint did you use on the plastic? Are a couple of geese decoys enough and how would you place them in the pond? Just a pair separate from the ducks? How far apart?

Great ideas, keep them coming!

[BoxMN]

As far as paint goes, just wash decoys, then black and white spray paint, with some masking tape. Can use a bit of brown or gray if you want to get fancy, or use a brush. Just get flat paint not gloss. We keep geese separate, as ducks will go into geese, but geese rarely go into ducks. As many as you want to carry We keep them apart as far as you can and still have kill shots at both.