“It’s been 22 years, Pops, and we still haven’t had a legit diver shoot together. Something has to change – this isn’t a streak I’d like to extend,” I remarked to my old man. “Has it really been that long since?” he asked. “It’s probably been longer, Pops. I’m just going off of the amount of years that I’ve been hunting,” I answered. “Yah, you’re probably right…jeeze probably not since I used to go out with ‘Neighbor Ed’…(then proceeded to go on tangent of Neighbor Ed stories))”.
“Then it’s been closer to 30,” I remarked – “…based on when we used to live next to him. I know last year’s Waterfowl Weekend (WW’17) at Rob’s was an anomaly (we only saw 2 flocks in 3 days hunting in 2 different counties), but you have to make it this year’s Waterfowl Weekend (WW’18). It’ll be different this time – I promise.” I went on. “You promise, eh?? That’s pretty heavy of a commitment,” he retorted.
“Gotta stay positive right?! Plus, I have to put out good vibes on these decoys I’m flocking,” I casted. “I’d hope so, you’ve been putting in some serious hours on them. And they’re all just diver decoys too. How many are you planning on getting done before WW’18?” he asked. “I have 2 ½ dozen foamer Cans, Gingers, and Ringers for 2 of the large Decoy Rafts, a half dozen foamer Buffies for the X2 Decoy Raft, and 2 dozen large, foamer Bills, Cans, Gingers, and Ringers for the 2 long lines. So that’s, what…5 dozen fully flocked divers? Should be enough, for now, right?” I asked. “Uhhh, yeah, I still can’t believe you’re going through such a hassle for just some divers…You realize these are divers, right?” he schooled.
“Yes, call me crazy, but I think this will be the bee’s knees for the birds – not just with the seemingly uneducated migrating divers. You remember seeing the numerous 7 man limits of mallards we shot last year when I deployed just 1 Decoy Raft of Bills and a long line or two of various divers?” I countered. “Do as you want – just seems like a lot of work is all” he gave. “Sure is, but it’ll pay off in the end – you just wait and see for yourself, Doubting Thomas. The Fully Flocked Flotilla is going to suck them in!” I sold. “I won’t hold my breath” he jabbed.
All I could do is shake my head. He probably was right. People shoot divers with old milk jugs they spray paint black. Why all the effort for birds that pay minimal to no attention even to the fact that you can sit against a rock on the shoreline without any cover in front of you and shoot some. It’s slightly understandable with wary Mallards and Canadas, but, even then, to fully flock a diver decoy is going on quite a long limb.
I kept at it in the “serial killer den” (what my fiancé likes to call the corner of the unfinished basement where I flocked the Flotilla). My mind was set on how successful last season was when I used one Decoy Raft with diver decoys that weren’t flocked; the ever suspicious mallard would rather key in on the Raft of deployed divers than land with the 4-5 dozen mallard decoys that made most of the decoy spread. They even preferred it over the motorized/spinning wing decoys!
It bewildered me back then. I was hunting a lake that was used predominately by mallards and various dabbler species made up the rest of the population. I’d see a flock or two of divers, from time to time, but they rarely fed on the lake. Despite that, mallards would zero in on the Decoy Raft.
Even more, the lake was more of a loafing spot after the morning flight. So why would they key into something that gave the impression of a feeding frenzy? I may not ever know. What I do know is it’s something different and realistic than just using long lines.
Don’t get me wrong, one of my favorite mallard shoots was over 6 dozen long lines and 2 dozen geese decoys. But that shoot was with migrators. They’re still wise, but can be easily fooled. Regardless, the Decoy Rafts are far easier to set out than long lines. Plus, they served as the ultimate blocker for dabblers.
That’s why I upped the ante even more by fully flocking my diver decoys. It added another wrinkle of realism that could separate my spread from looking like a “J”, “U”, etc. that most waterfowlers deploy. In conjunction, the Fully Flocked Flotilla could translate to a full freezer.
Time would tell when WW’18 came…
The groundwork is set. Now let’s continue the saga about a public land hunt of a lifetime: Thirty for Thirty