Layout question and survey

[ahartz]

How many of you that layout hunt use the tender boat with a boat blind and hunt ducks while tending to the layout???

I have never done this, since I believe it is fundamentally unsafe. I increasingly hear of more guys doing this. I think the layout tender should be attentive to one thing, the layout boat. The tender could get fouled in the decoys around the tender boat, situational awareness drifts from the layout to the decoys and ducks at the boat blind etc.

thanks for your comments on this..andy

[Camo Man]

ahartz,

I think it depends on where and how you hunt whether it is any more unsafe to hunt the tender than not. When in small inland water with small wave conditions we hunt the tender. We park the tender against an island, within easy sight and radio contact of the layout. The tender is not within the dekes, but against the island. And the tender does not interfer with the layout hunting as the tender crew is hunting puddlers while the layout is hunting divers. But I stress if you or anyone else believes it is an unsafe practice for you and your crew and the way you hunt and where you hunt; it is. I certainly wouldn't want to influence anyone, ever, to use any unsafe practice. :)

[goosewa]

Andy,

I have no problem if someone wants to take a pop at a low flier (if it is a slow day) that may be within shooting distance of the tender boat. We really do not get in the habit of that though.

Ducks are smarter than you think they are. It only takes a Mallard three classes (or times) before they become "educated". The same applies to divers as well. Don't know how many decoy shy divers I have seen from people sky busting them.

We do not go through any effort of camoing the tender boat. A clump of reeds looks rather unnatural when your 4 or 5 miles out in the lake. I find that the lack of concealment sometimes flares the birds closer toward the layout and further from the tender (That is where you really want them anyways.) From there it all depends on the color of your boat, your mainline (decoy) set and ability of those in the boat to lie still.

Flagging is one tactic that works well for geese. We decided to try it in the layout. It worked amazing well for birds that were out there a ways. We used anything black in color. Knit caps and gloves seemed to be the ticket. Anything to give just the slightest sense of movement.

For safety we always have what we call a "Mother Boat". This is usually the biggest boat in the fleet. We used a 21' Starcraft center console with 150 Johnson on it. (This year we have a 32' Foot Steel Net Boat with a Small Detroit Diesel we picked up out of Maumee Ohio. That should be in the water this year finally.)

This is where those not doing a rotation stay along with the equipment. Then we have 2 boats which we "tend" or "chase" with. Many times the birds here on Lake Erie are 4 to 5 miles out. Two boats are always a great idea. We always run each boat with a spare gas tank. (If some gets up late and wants to meet us out there to hunt there usually a third tender tied up to the Mother Boat.)

Anytime someone makes a run in a tender boat we always have two people. This is just incase one person falls out of the boat. Call it overkill but Lake Erie and I am sure St., Clair can turn over in a hurry.

-Goosewa