# Decoying Tactics for Snows & Canadas...Which is Better?



## Squeeker (Apr 1, 2004)

Is it better to position yourself, (1) upwind or (2) downwind relative to your decoys to bring them in? I am assuming that there is some landing zone pocket in the spread and you would face that into the wind.

I have been doing some reading and have come across "V" and "W" patterns as a favourite of many for Snows. When you use either one of these, do you want the geese to be looking past your blind and focusing on the fakes BEHIND you (in this case, you would be downwind of the decoys)? Or is it better to have the decoys in FRONT of the you (in this case, you would be upwind of the decoys)?

Does it matter whether you are hunting Snows vs Canadas?

I know that when hunting Canadas, a different approach is taken rather than the "V" or "W". You usually put them into family groups, etc., etc...

I am more looking for the general answer as to whether it is better to have the birds fly over top of you to get at the decoys, or whether it is better to have them land in front of you. Thoughts?


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Really good questions to ask and I don't think you'll ever get a shortage of opinions on this.



> Is it better to position yourself, (1) upwind or (2) downwind relative to your decoys to bring them in?


Everytime you hunt, expect to hunt a bit differently. How were the birds in the field the night before? Today's wind/weather? etc. On windy days, you'll want to be close to the downwind edge of your spread. On calm days, the birds will circle/hang much more and you may find that somewhere in the middle and along the side edges works better, as the birds have more of a tendancy to shift outside the edges.



> I have been doing some reading and have come across "V" and "W" patterns as a favourite of many for Snows. When you use either one of these, do you want the geese to be looking past your blind and focusing on the fakes BEHIND you (in this case, you would be downwind of the decoys)? Or is it better to have the decoys in FRONT of the you (in this case, you would be upwind of the decoys)?


The more you spread out the groups/decoys, the more the birds have to look around for signs of danger. Try to spread it out as much as possible, but always keep in mind that your shooters have to cover that area. As much as I'd love to cover 80 acres everytime with the spread, if a bird lands on the other side of your than what's the point? Rule of thumb...use your highest quality decoys on the downwind side, but keep some motion going at the front/upwind side. And whenever possible, try to bring the birds in with the sun at your back. You can get away with much more.



> Does it matter whether you are hunting Snows vs Canadas?


Yes. Lessor canadas act similarly to snows but normally the big boys are another ballgame.



> I am more looking for the general answer as to whether it is better to have the birds fly over top of you to get at the decoys, or whether it is better to have them land in front of you. Thoughts?


In a perfect world, snows would land in front of you everytime. But when weather/migration/birds don't cooperate...that's when you have to adjust to get the birds over you.

As always, my .02 - don't spend it all at once.


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## Brett Beinke (Jul 20, 2004)

As a general rule canadas will come in lower and from the sides. Spreads very depending on time of year, geese using the field (are you on the X?) or if you are running traffic. Light geese come from right above you and tornado down. They are usually much more difficult to decoy than darks as there are many eyes and they are all looking right down onto everything. The best spread that I have tried for lights is an oval with a wing off of it. The wing has the best you got for decoys and some magnets and kites at the base of it. That is where the action will be. Blind placement in both light and dark geese spreads depends on wind and concealment. The closer you can hide to the landing spot the better but if you get too close, they will pick you out.


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## Perry Thorvig (Mar 6, 2002)

Brett, I am interested in your oval with a wing off of it. I have a mental picture of of something like the letter Q. Is that right? Please explain a little more if you would.


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## Brett Beinke (Jul 20, 2004)

Not really the letter Q. It is more of an oval with a stright line wing about 2/3's up and we always have it on the left side as you are facing the spread from down wind. I am not sure why but thats where we have it. The mass of geese is the attractant and the wing as the landing spot. [/img]


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## Perry Thorvig (Mar 6, 2002)

Ok, Brett, now I have the picture. That is the oddest setup that I have ever heard of. But, man, if it works, that's great. How did you come up with that kind of setup? Just wondering what goes through the mind of a fellow snow goose nut.


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## Brett Beinke (Jul 20, 2004)

We got it from an outfitter. It has yet to fail us. We saw his spread and they had done really well. We saw him in town and had a good conversation with him. It has greatly added to our goose harvest.


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## Perry Thorvig (Mar 6, 2002)

Thanks, Brett. Good luck to you this fall.


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## dlip (May 16, 2004)

anyway you could draw a diagram and post it for the stupid people like me?lol


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## shawn114 (Aug 22, 2003)

How many decoy's are we talkin, with this type of set up?


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## Nodak Duke (Oct 14, 2003)

I would say you want to be on the downwind side almost all of the time as the birds will have less time to flare off of anything not perfect in the spread and you can create a landing pocket on the downwind side relatively easily so you can actually direct the birds to where you want to be getting the shots. (Hopefully right in your face.)


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