How to Build a Duck Decoy Spread

How big a spread to run

Size is a separate question from shape, and it depends mainly on water size and season phase: Ducks Unlimited field writers report spreads from six decoys on tight water up to a permanent pit rig running into the hundreds. See Ducks Unlimited's guide to building a spread and our own how many duck decoys you need for the full, sourced breakdown by water type and season. Everything below is about how to arrange whatever number you land on.

Named spread shapes

• J-hook (or fishhook): the bulk of the decoys curl in front of the blind, forming the base of the hook, while a long arm of decoys trails downwind. One hunter Ducks Unlimited profiled runs the trailing arm 100 to 200 yards downwind, with a spinning-wing decoy placed in the bend just upwind of the blind, so incoming ducks work the length of the arm before finishing in close.
• Loose family clusters: instead of a geometric shape, decoys go out in small groups of three to six per cluster, scattered with gaps between them. One marsh guide profiled by Ducks Unlimited deliberately avoids "standard patterns like a J-hook or U" on pressured water, on the theory that pattern-wary ducks recognize a geometric spread faster than a loose, natural-looking scatter.
• Crescent or horseshoe with a landing pocket: a small cluster sits close to the blind, with the rest of the decoys scattered around the edges of the hole, leaving an open pocket in the middle where you want birds to land. A jerk-string decoy worked in that pocket adds motion right where incoming ducks are focused.
• Two groups with a landing hole between them: on bigger water, some hunters split decoys into two loose groups with open water between them and a spinning-wing decoy in the gap, so approaching ducks have a clearly readable place to land rather than picking through a single dense raft.

Two of the patterns above, drawn to scale with a blind and wind direction:

Rigging so it survives wind and current

A spread that looks right at 6 a.m. and drags into a pile by legal shooting light isn't doing its job. Two rigging styles cover most water: a Texas rig, which puts the anchor line and loop at the decoy so it swims on a short tether, and a standard slip-weight anchor, which lets the decoy find its own position on a longer line. Depth is the deciding factor either way. Rig'Em Right's Xtreme Texas Rigs are pre-rigged from 18 to 60 inches, and the maker's own Jerk Rig is recommended only for water up to 5 feet deep, so measure your hole before you buy line by the length that's already on the shelf.

Adding motion

Both patterns above use motion in the same way: placed where you want the birds to look, not scattered through the whole spread. A spinning-wing decoy in the bend of a J-hook or in the gap between two loose groups draws the eye of a passing flock toward your landing pocket. If your water or season restricts powered motion decoys, a hand-pulled jerk rig gives the same visual cue without a battery; see best motion decoys for both options and the regulation check that comes with powered units, or best jerk rigs for the hand-pulled kits on their own, including how to anchor one so a hard pull moves the decoys instead of the whole spread.

Field edges, timber and layout blinds

Hunting a flooded field edge, levee or timber hole from a ground-level layout blind changes what a spread needs to do: birds approach lower and slower, and your own concealment matters as much as decoy placement. See how to hide a layout blind for that half of the setup. If you're running ducks and geese in the same field spread, Ducks Unlimited notes that geese don't like to fly low over ducks, so keep duck decoys upwind of the landing hole rather than mixed through it.

Two things make or break a spread before it ever reaches the water. The rigging decides how long the set takes and whether the decoys hold their shape in wind — see how to rig duck decoys for line length, anchor weight and long lines. And the storage decides how long the spread lasts: see how to store duck decoys for the heat, weight and lead problems that cost most hunters a dozen every few seasons.