I am just getting back into this and am looking for advice . I want to keep it simple until I know if it's what i want . So i am buying a few new decoys (half dozen storm front mallards ) to mix with used ones when i find some . I also have about a dozen hollow shell goose shells for the field and i think I also have some goose socks that I never used from before , but I don't know if they will blend in with the shells unless i set up with a large flock . I don't have a boat but expect to be down to Long point a couple times anyway and the rest will be field and pond shooting . S0 here are my questions : Does it matter alot if you mix new and used decoys color wise or will i have to paint them right away . What type , brand and color paints work best on Mallards (male and female ) . When you're on the marsh if you mix decoy species , which are compatible and should you separate species and by how far ? When you are duck hunting , is it a good idea or not to mix ducks and geese (so i know if i need goose floaters ) . I assume you would keep them separated , but does this create a sense of security for ducks coming in ? I heard a crane decoy works well . Otherwise , if it doesn't matter about adding geese , I will hold off on that now and concentrate on field shooting for geese . I'm not so concerned about brands , but from what i have seen , there is a lot of variation in color and ratio of drakes vs hens and what variety of species comes together . At this point I just want to keep it simple but I see guys selling used decoys have mixed blue bills and blacks along with the mallards , but not as many teal or canvasbacks which I remember used to be at Long Point also . How many duck decoys will it take to start getting their attention ? Also : is there a recipe book or recipe anyone could share to for duck and goose as one of the big reasons i stopped hunting for ducks in the past besides time was the taste of duck and I have never ate goose ? I hear it's 75 % preparation and the rest is personal taste. I'm thinking something sweet and sour might help. Any help would be appreciated . Loved shooting them , but it's expensive if you're just giving them away .
Beginner Looking for goose /duck advice
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paddle maker
Well-Known Member
Goose is easy salt pepper, onion roast low and slow baste often. Tastes like roast beef. I have no idea how to make duck taste good.
WinSX3Tom
Well-Known Member
Goose breast on the BBQ quick and rare. Just like venison back strap or tenderloin.
Legs and thighs in the slow cooker for 6 or more hours covered in a nice BBQ sauce.
Duck is great in stirfrys or soups and gumbos. Roasted breasts in the oven just like you would chicken.
Or classic roasting is great too.
I like to smoke ducks whole that way you can add lots of flavor via the wood.
There are hundreds of good recipes online for duck and geese.
As far as hunting advice I'm not the guy to answer that I'm a rather new guy my self and never hunted the point. Nor done field hunting. On the pond I have mixed geese and ducks with success.
Ducks like spinning wing decoys I've heard geese not so much.
Legs and thighs in the slow cooker for 6 or more hours covered in a nice BBQ sauce.
Duck is great in stirfrys or soups and gumbos. Roasted breasts in the oven just like you would chicken.
Or classic roasting is great too.
I like to smoke ducks whole that way you can add lots of flavor via the wood.
There are hundreds of good recipes online for duck and geese.
As far as hunting advice I'm not the guy to answer that I'm a rather new guy my self and never hunted the point. Nor done field hunting. On the pond I have mixed geese and ducks with success.
Ducks like spinning wing decoys I've heard geese not so much.
If it comes out of the freezer what prep work do you do . I have heard with duck , that it sits in water or milk to get the blood and some of the wild taste out . If that is true do they have to be totally covered and does the same apply to goose .
In your stir fry , do you cook with a sweet and or hot spice and is applied to the duck in the stir fry or after the stir fry is made ? I don't know if i have had gumbo , but if it is like Jumblia ( excuse the spelling ) , I'm in ! How long does it take in the smoker for duck ? I am reading up on a lot of this stuff for hunting but the time is ticking so I'm holding off on some of the purchases . This is expensive to dive into all at once .
Jwalsh
Well-Known Member
I just cooked some wood duck up last night...soaked the breasts in milk for 24hrs, then sliced the duck breast into small strips, pan fried in butter, seasoned with Cajun, salt and pepper. I tested a couple strips last night and it was awesome, the rest is going in wraps for lunches this week!
As for hunting advice, i don't hunt geese so I can not really help you there. I usually run a mix of wood duck and mallard decoys this time of year, and then as it gets colder, I add in bluebill, redheads, buffies and cans. I try to use new decoys, but i add in older coys that I have painted to help bulk up the spread. Use what you have and upgrade every year.
As for hunting advice, i don't hunt geese so I can not really help you there. I usually run a mix of wood duck and mallard decoys this time of year, and then as it gets colder, I add in bluebill, redheads, buffies and cans. I try to use new decoys, but i add in older coys that I have painted to help bulk up the spread. Use what you have and upgrade every year.
Jwalsh is right as how he sets up i do the same woodies and mallard up till it gets colder then i switch to all mallard
and some geese as i don't shoot geese but it helps. you should have some goose decoys in your spread as ducks know
that geese have a few more brains then them and if you can put in some motion decoys like the mojo they change the game completely
mallards seem to know that motionless decoys are fake and will just circle and circle and then there gone with the mojo they lock in and commit
80% of the time i won't go without them after trying them it keeps there attention off you and on your spread i put out 30 mallard decoys and 15 goose
and make sure you make a landing ally for them i set up in a C or a V pattern and my mojo right in front of it and the duck and geese will land right in the opening of
your C or V as for cooking duck i like to cook it on the BBQ
and some geese as i don't shoot geese but it helps. you should have some goose decoys in your spread as ducks know
that geese have a few more brains then them and if you can put in some motion decoys like the mojo they change the game completely
mallards seem to know that motionless decoys are fake and will just circle and circle and then there gone with the mojo they lock in and commit
80% of the time i won't go without them after trying them it keeps there attention off you and on your spread i put out 30 mallard decoys and 15 goose
and make sure you make a landing ally for them i set up in a C or a V pattern and my mojo right in front of it and the duck and geese will land right in the opening of
your C or V as for cooking duck i like to cook it on the BBQ
When is it that you use the X pattern or i have even heard of an open circle ? Is this got to do with a day where the wind is inconsistent and changing up a lot ?Do you mix your geese among the ducks or more separated ? I assume you you are using the remote mallard . I was also told the geese aren't big on those and to use the goose that flaps at least for goose . Do you have both and do you set them up a fair distance apart . Where is there a good price on these as depending on which remote decoy , they look like they run at least $200 . And what is the point of the remote , just to start or stop it so you don't have to walk or wade out to shut them off ? Some list batteries and don't say remote so i'm guessing they are different . I was also looking at the ones that make the water ripple but I guess the wing motion would be noticed sooner and farther off . There was a lucky duck deal about a month ago for $75 but of course it was a distance away and on a shift that didn't work .Haven't seen anything less than double that since .
they are on sale at B.P you get 6 mallard decoys plus the mojo for 78$ i think it's over in Oct i separate geese from the duck i never heard of the x pattern not that it don't
exist just never heard of it i don't use winged goose decoys just float or field you can use floater decoys for the field as well all the new decoys for the field get
very expensive the decoys that ripple the water are very good to if the wind is calm and the water is flat your decoys just sit there dead in the water these decoys puts life in the water
ducks notice the difference my mojo just have rechargeable batteries that will last all day if i'm only going to use them for 6 hours i will charge them for 6 hours and if you dont wan't to
worry about batteries you can get wind driven ones it only needs 5km wind to turn the wings and they are cheaper then the batterie duck
exist just never heard of it i don't use winged goose decoys just float or field you can use floater decoys for the field as well all the new decoys for the field get
very expensive the decoys that ripple the water are very good to if the wind is calm and the water is flat your decoys just sit there dead in the water these decoys puts life in the water
ducks notice the difference my mojo just have rechargeable batteries that will last all day if i'm only going to use them for 6 hours i will charge them for 6 hours and if you dont wan't to
worry about batteries you can get wind driven ones it only needs 5km wind to turn the wings and they are cheaper then the batterie duck
I have that Bass pro flyer but I thought the Mojo was just a wind motion model and not a remote . If you only need a 5Km wind , I guess that's ok. I'll check my flyer . Hopefully they still have them in stock and the sale lasts till Sat. or so.
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Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
Any vineger based salad dressing will work as a marinade. I also like stuffing quartered orange and slices of ginger inside them. The big secret about cooking wild game is to "just" cook it ! Most people over cook and it tastes like an old boot.
That's what I'm worried about ( not really worried , just hate to waste the time just to chuck it out ) . I was just thinking about that very thing after reading the other replies . I didn't know whether the salad dressing would help or go weird if i cooked with it and I hate taste of rabbit that is made with vinegar (just my preference ). Ok . If its done on a BBQ ,do i need a spit or can i do it like a beer can chicken and at what temp. for how long ? If it's in the oven at what temp. and how long ? Should it be stuffed with oranges and say onions to kill some of that wild taste ? That's the clincher that " fowl" taste . Lol . How should the meat look on the inside so it's not overcooked and can I do it with the skin off . Heard a lot off people lay bacon strips over it to keep it moist .
I have one . That's core temp right ?