current because otherwise each sin-
gle decoy would require a 10-pound
weight—just imagine hauling that
amount of weight in a boat.”
“We curve the ends of straight line
sets to make it look real, then throw
out a few single decoys just to break
up the straight lined sets. Many don’t
use big enough rope in river cur-
rent. I like using 3/8-inch rope or big-
ger. Some use trot line size, but it’s
too small. Bigger ropes are easier
to handle in cold water. I tie two
knots in decoy positions on all my
lines because current will pull the
clips and decoys down the line. You
can feel the knots when clipping on
decoys in the dark too.”
Soon the decoys were set and
Scott ran his duck boat firmly
aground in soft mud off the tip of
a selected island until it was stable.
Small red cedar trees cut several
days before were piled on top for
added camouf lage, giving the boat
a Christmas tree smell. That pleas-
ant holiday scent and the sound
of Mississippi River water pushed
by strong currents made waiting
a pleasure.
Daylight broke and a flock of div-
ers rushed towards our set. Scott
mixed a few mallard quacks with
a raspy diver duck sound that was
like a sarcastic raaasssppp. The ducks
responded and started making passes
to make sure the area lacked danger.
“Goldeneyes,” Scott whispered.
“Here they come.”
The ducks came in looking like
piñatas on a string, getting bigger
with each wingbeat in the early-
morning light still hazy with fog.
Their white and black feathers with
green heads looked surreal. The
entire flock curved over our decoys
with wings set. Three shotguns
dropped four of the beautiful ducks
within 30 yards of the boat.
Scott quickly goosed the outboardmotor to catch up with each duck
before the current carried them
away. All ducks were soon secured
and we settled back into the same
space. A fair breeze on the east side
of our island made each decoy swim
back-and-forth, a great aid to our
set that was apparently noted by a
distant flock of scaup.
The ducks angled towards our
set and then broke right. Scott used
more of his raspy sounds that turned
the flock for another pass. The ducks
pushed straight in, some within 20
yards of our boat and close enough
to hear wind slipping through their
wing pinions. There was no need
for more calling as the ducks collec-
tively dropped to land.
We stood up in the boat, scat-
tering the f lock in all directions
in what I call a controlled panic.
The f lock f lared in all directions
except for three that remained
f loating in the decoys. A fast pickbig muddy divers
96 WILDFOWL Magazine | September 2019 wildfowlmag.com