Teal Decoys
Nothing finishes those little buzzing teal than a spread of teal decoys. Known for their great taste and difficulty to bag, the teal is a sought after duck up and down the flyways. In some states there is a special teal season that many enjoy as a warm up to the main season.
Adding some teal decoys to your spread gives it an air of authenticity that the ducks really notice. Teal will find your spread hard to resist if they see some of their buddies chilling within a flock of decoys.
Given that
many states have special teal only seasons adding an array of teal decoys to
your spread is definitely something that people should consider. Many
people just use this season as a tune up for the regular duck season, but for
those that have gotten thick into teal over the years can attest, specializing
in a given species can reap huge rewards.
The first thing to consider is the type of teal that are common in your
area. For most people this is the ever
present blue wing teal, but it could include the beautiful cinnamon teal or the
hardly little bugger, the green wing teal.
At least for the majority of the North American populace.
There are
several other variations of teal that are present around the world, but let’s
keep our focus on the 3 most common species.
A special note that should be considered here is the time of the year
you are planning to hunt teal. If it is
during these September early season hunts then you should be keenly aware that
the plumage of the teal during these times is very bland. First off, the majority of the teal that are
present during these early seasons are hens, which obviously are brown
colored. In addition, even the males
that are along for the party are still getting there plumage moving in the
right direction. Here you will notice the
eclipse plumage on the males and really the vast majority of the population is
very brown in nature. Try to get your
spread to reflect this. If it is later
in the year you can have a great proportion of males and they will be fully
plumed and you can have at it with the brightly painted decoys in your
arsenal.
When it
comes to continued success while hunting teal, a nice spread of teal decoys will
work wonders for you.