Page 34 - Kansas Sportsman

WATERFOWL

BLIND / DECOY PLACEMENT KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL HUNT

By Brandon Mendoza / Tornado Alley Waterfowl

When it comes to having a successful hunt, attention to detail coverage from a place that matches what you will be hunting in
is of utmost importance. is equally as important.

First and foremost, scouting is undoubtedly necessary. Putting Blind placement plays a crucial part in the puzzle as well. Most
your time in behind the windshield and finding where the birds hunters prefer to shoot their birds coming straight at them.
are at is number one. Of course, we all want to hunt on the X, When done this way, birds are typically looking directly at the
where the birds are, but sometimes their exact location just blinds, which allows them to pick out any little detail that may
isn’t conducive to hunting. not look correct or be concealed.

When that happens, trying to get to a location that is close to Position the blinds so that you are cross shooting the birds.
the X that would conceal you is the better option. Going to the This helps take the birds’ eyes off the blinds and put their focus
X with an inadequate hide can make for a very frustrating hunt. more on the decoys. This also allows the callers to watch the
This makes decoying the birds difficult because in most cases, birds better and possibly get away with more movement when
they are then able to pick you out. I would always sacrifice you aren’t hidden in the middle of the spread. As we all know
being off the X a little bit to be sure that I have appropriate hide when we are waterfowl hunting, every hunter likes to watch the
for the blinds. birds. Hunting this way helps minimize the possibility of the
birds seeing the hunters’ faces in the blinds.
Making sure that your blinds/hide match the existing cover
that is around you is so important. Sometimes this may mean Following hunt location and blind camouflage are keys but
getting the blinds out prior the night before or prior to the hunt another important factor to making a hunt successful is decoy
to allow them to gather the elements; rain, snow, ice, etc. This placement. Creating a spread that portrays a relaxed environ-
helps ensure that they blend in with what you are trying to hide ment is crucial. Think about how the birds look when you find
in. When the terrain is wet and your blinds are dry, this makes them scouting. If you are glassing them on a pond from a mile
it very easy for the birds to pick you out. Also, picking grass or away, their heads are down feeding, dabbling, doing what birds
normally do.

When you drive by birds that are close to
the road, all of their heads come up into an
alert position. That alert bird feel is what
you want to stay away from. Setting up with
a lot of decoys with heads up implies to your
birds that there is something to be wary of.

Therefore, I typically like to have more
heads down in the feeding position versus
upright, by about 75% of my spread. This
indicates to those flying over, that it is a re-
laxed environment and is more welcoming
to them. We also try to do this with a water
spread for ducks.

Fully-flocked decoys is what we tend to run
Create a decoy spread that portrays a relaxed environment. due to the fact that if there is moisture on

34 THE KANSAS SPORTSMAN | SPRING 2024