Well some of you got butt hurt about that question. Thanks for the input fellas just didn't know if anyone had tried it.

Lol i enjoyed it... Never a dull thread in here

Hey, quit hating on the big girls.

Well in Louisiana in the rice fields they are left out all year long, duck and goose decoys. My buddy has a lease I hunt some and we put them out before season and they are picked up at the end. Last year 4-5 guys killed 10 limits the first 10 days of season, ducks and specks so I do not think it is a bad thing.
I do not leave them out on public or private around North Texas though, it is actually not legal on APH land anymore anyway.

No kidding, finally! When did they pass that law? My very first post was on this very subject..

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/45302/1

Guy,
It was new for this year, so for the guides that hunt public water and set up decoys at 12:00 or 2:00am to save a spot then supposedly go back to get their clients at the ramp, this will not work anymore.
The blind/decoys/stuff have to be attended, I am sure it will still happen though. If you show up and decoys are out and no one is there it is "your spot", when they show up from their napping in the truck or "picking up clients" they will have to pound sand.
People will still do it though, they will have a ton of reasons too I am sure.

We all know...or should know it's bad manners to leave them out on public and overall stupid. Some think they will serve to save their spot...no it won't...a nice guy might pick them up for you...a guy like me will hunt over them, and then an outlaw like Garrett will take them figuring someone lost them.

On private...I really don't think it hurts hunts. Over the years I've seen several guides have spots with spreads that are out all year. But I agree with Jeff...those decoys look like junk by the end of the season.

To me the only advantage I can tell on private is it saves you time and all you have to do is show up to the blind. For big spreads or goose spreads this can be done the night before. However a guy on the prairie had an entire goose spread stolen last year doing this. So even on private you have a chance to get stuff stolen.

Putting them out the night before does not really save you time...in fact it's more time consuming since you have to make an extra trip to the property. But you can at least do it while there is still light and it lets you sleep in longer which lets you drink more the night before.

If I left dekes out, they'd be gone as soon as my truck pulled out

Id say most that leave decoys out and shoot birds everyday most likely could do the same without decoys.... just in the right spot

I wouldn't feel like I'm hunting if I just showed up to a spot with my decoys already out. That's just part of it for me, changing my spread around 15 times before it gets daylight. Everything has to be perfect or it drives me nuts