Number of decoys

[Honkers]

I was wondering how many fullbodies should I have? I see all sorts of different numbers out there. I now hunt over two dozen Higdon Motion Decoys and a dozen full body GHG. What do you suggest?

Kenny

"A bad day in the marsh with your dog, beats a good day there without him."

[SwampHunter]

How many do you think that you should have?
One thing is to look at the numbers in your area. If you can get away with small spreads, then this is always the easiest route.
If you are on the X, sometimes it doesn't even matter.
You will have to experiment. On the other hand if you need a large spread for say like running traffic and don't have them, then you won't be able to put out a large spread.

It all depends on alot of things.

[buckduck]

Swamp is right.When in Rome do as the Romans do.Look around you and take notice of how many decoys the successful hunters use in your area and match it.Also take note of where and how they set there decoys.

[Mike Hungle]

Honkers,

As a general guideline, three to four dozen decoys is typically all I use when hunting honkers. When hunting lessers or whitefronts, I’ll upscale to ten or more dozen decoys. If possible I like to give the birds a different look everyday and will change how I set up my spread or how many decoys I use. If there is competition in the area and they are using lots of shells, I’ll eliminate shells from my spread. If the birds have been pounded over small spreads, I’ll go with a bigger spread or vice versa.

[JEDJR]

If your area has alot of hunting pressure, always change your spread up, give em something different to look at everytime. In Louisiana, for dark geese(specks) I normally downsize my spread. This really works well for the weiry older birds that have made it through the season. I have had as many as a couple hundred specks working 3 speck fullbodies. Like mentioned, if you are on the x it wont really matter they are coming in, If not, dont be afraid to change things up till you find out what they like. Good luck!

[Brett Beinke]

Excellent advice from those who have posted. Another good idea is the GHG Oversized Shells laying flat on the ground with sleeper heads. Again, this is something geese see every day but in the past, decoy manufacturers didn't produce. Look on any lake shore that has geese and by mid day there is nothing but resting geese. Also, as water freezes up waterfowl loves to sit on the edges right on the ice and you will usually find sleeping geese there as well. You will usually spot geese resting on their bellies in the fields as well. This is true especially in the late season. It is just another tool for your spread.