green head decoys on opener

[Kodiak]

always heard it is a no no using drake mallard decoys on opener so i have always used hens on opener...is this a wives tale or is it true?

[outdoor ran]

I've never heard of that before. I always throw out my mallards. Drakes and hens. Then again my drakes are losing paint on there heads so they proably look like the early season greenheads.

[Nova]

we had both hens and drakes out on youth day and my kids got themselves a couple nice mature mallards. hope that helps. I haven't ever heard that either nor do I agree with it. I'll be putting them out in a week and a day hens and drakes.

[Kodiak]

they still had green heads on youth opener, they do not have green heads during waterfowl opener. I have always heard that it matters this time of year when they molt and do not have the green head...thanks for the replies keep em coming the more opinions the better.

[jblabsnduck]

Who ever told you that is full of it.

We shoot some nice GREEN heads on opener every year.

Put out what you got, hens and drakes.

We even put out a couple blue bills just outside the spread.

[Buckslayer]

I dont think it is a No No. I dought it really hurts anything. Although I guess I always put out a lot more hens than drakes for the first couple weekends. I do agree though, you can shoot some nice greenies opening weekend. I think it is preference.

[Kodiak]

keep em coming, this is proof for me so i can show the guys i hunt with on opener so they dont trip out on my when i put he drakes out.

[Tyler Holm]

You'll probably never shoot one for the wall on opener, but you can shoot some mature bright greenheads. Yearlings won’t be in full color yet, but I’ve shot very nice adult birds on opener. The plumage isn’t at full capacity, but the head is that emerald incandescent green that we all love.

[Willy]

I don't think it makes a bit of difference. Color is overated on decoys. All they are looking at is the silouettes. A black decoy would probably work just as good as a perfectly colored one.

As far as getting nicely colored ducks on opener, I haven't had many, except for wood ducks.

[wyldewal]

If I didn't put out my drakes I'd only have half the dekes out. I know smaller flocks early in the year is supposed to be better, but with as many people that hunt my area you need to have a big spread to compete. And the drakes make the spread look so much prettier.

[outdoor ran]

Wally, only half your mallards out? I don't think a 100 hens will do the job

[magnumthunder]

Kinda like what is best more drake or hen dekes?

Oh by the way ducks cant count!! dont matter!!

[HkLnSnkr]

I'd say consider what you see in the potholes when you're out scouting. Do you see much color?

The point made about the silouhettes being the main thing seems reasonable too. Got to admit, I haven't hesitated in throwing out greenhead dekes in the past. I just make sure i'm only shooting drakes!

[Guest]

Most of the young of the year ducks I have seen in the last couple weeks(up close while fishing) have had their full colors.. havent seen any of the ugly ones lately.

As for hens only.. its a wives tail.

Number of decoys.. I usually hunt where others are around too.. and ducks that are less wary seem to decoy to anything.. maybe more to a slightly larger spread(24 dekes on opener is larger).. at the same time.. The last couple years I have tried something new and it has treated me quite well on the opener weekend sunday... 6 decoys.. 4 mallards and 2 wood ducks spread over a pretty good size area...

Ever notice when the ducks get wary they stick high and land way outside, or a safe distance away?.. or off a distance away where another pair landed? I havent had this problem when its only a few decoys.. they usually sweep right in as long as nobody in the boat thinks they are a champion caller.

I will pick up 6 decoys any day vs 166 if I am shooting the same amount of birds!

[get-the-net]

The only place where I found that it works better to just throw out hens was when I was hunting in western Montana where they have a large population of Gadwalls. I didn't have any Gadwall decoys at the time and couldn't get them to decoy into my mallards. I pulled all the greenheads and they started coming in. I think that may have been the ticket, or it could have been luck...

[Kodiak]

so do you just put out a couple pairs on opener? that is what i usually do, probally about a dozen total, that is pushin it for me on opener, no more than a dozen.

[set the drag]

I leave the mallards at home and put out woodies and grn wing teal decs prolly 2 doz decs but no more.

[wyldewal]

Does that mean that the 91 dekes we put out on the WI opener was too many? Oh well, we got lucky, and had some big flocks of blue bills around.

Good luck to all you guys this weekend.

[Roosterslayer05]

Dude, i hunt over a spread thats half all black decoys and half mallerd decoys, throwin out the drakes wont matter.