Small Water Duck Hunting: 12 Decoys, Zero Lease Fees, Full Straps

The Instagram version of duck hunting looks like this: a hundred decoys spread across flooded timber, five guys in matching Sitka, a pile of greenheads stacked on the tailgate.

The reality for most public land hunters looks different: three wood ducks flushed from a beaver pond, a single mallard drake that committed to six decoys on a farm creek, and the satisfaction of figuring it out yourself on water nobody else bothered to hunt.

Small water duck hunting isn't glamorous. But it's accessible, affordable, and—if you're willing to work for it—surprisingly productive. While everyone else crowds the popular WMA impoundments, the guy with a dozen decoys in a backpack is walking into potholes, timber holes, and creek bends that haven't seen a hunter all season.

This is duck hunting stripped to its essentials. Here's how to do it. For a full primer on waterfowl hunting fundamentals, see our Ultimate Duck Hunting Guide.

Why Small Water Works

Small water succeeds for one simple reason: ducks need places to rest.

Big public marshes attract hunters. Hunters pressure birds. Pressured birds find somewhere else to go. That "somewhere else" is often a half-acre farm pond, a backwater creek slough, or a beaver dam nobody thinks to hunt.

Small water also concentrates birds. On a 500-acre marsh, ducks can be anywhere. On a quarter-acre pothole, they're either there or they're not. Scout in the evening, return before dawn, and you know exactly where to set up.

The advantages:

• Less competition: Most hunters won't walk a mile to hunt a pond
• Lower gear requirements: You can't physically carry 60 decoys through brush
• More hunting spots: Small water is everywhere once you start looking
• Better scouting efficiency: Check ten potholes in an evening
• Faster setups: 12 decoys deploy in five minutes

The Gear List

Small water hunting rewards mobility. Every piece of equipment competes for space in your pack, so everything needs to earn its place.

Decoys: 6-18 Is Plenty

The magic number for small water is a dozen—enough to look like a resting flock, light enough to carry.

The minimum effective spread:

Total: 12-16 decoys

Cost: $80-150 for budget plastic decoys, less if you buy used.

Some hunters go even lighter—6 decoys for true run-and-gun hunting. It works, especially early season before birds get pressured.

Decoy Rigging: Go Light

Traditional anchors and heavy line work fine on big water. On small water, you're carrying everything, so ounces matter.

Light rigging options:

Skip the mesh decoy bag if you're walking far. A cheap backpack or decoy strap works better for distance.

Budget: $30-50 for rigging

The Pack

A quality backpack is your command center:

Hunting-specific packs exist, but any sturdy hiking backpack works. Budget hunters use military surplus ALICE packs—$30 and bombproof.

Budget: $50-150

Calls

Same as any duck hunting—a mallard call covers 90% of situations. Add a wood duck whistle if you're hunting timber.

Budget: $25-50

Concealment

On small water, you're often hiding in natural cover:

• Brush in against a fallen log
• Sit in flooded timber with your back to a tree
• Tuck into cattails at the edge of a pothole
• Lay in standing corn adjacent to a slough

Camo netting (8'x6') stuffed in your pack provides backup when natural cover is sparse.

Budget: $20-40 for camo netting

Waders

Non-negotiable. You'll wade through mud, cross creeks, and set decoys in water too cold to wade wet.

Budget: $150-300 (see the DIY vs Guided article for details)

Transportation

How you reach small water determines what spots you can hunt:

A kayak opens up dramatically more water. Creek systems that are un-huntable on foot become accessible. The investment pays off in spots nobody else reaches.

Budget: $0-400 depending on approach

The Total Small Water Kit

Subtract the kayak if you're walking in, and you're at $470 for a complete small water kit.

Compare that to the big-spread marsh hunter with $800 in decoys, a $3,000 layout blind, and a $12,000 boat.

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The Tactics

Scouting: The Non-Negotiable

Small water hunting lives or dies on scouting. You can't spray decoys across a 200-acre impoundment and hope birds find you. You need to know—not guess—that ducks are using specific water.

Evening scout protocol:

1. Drive past potential spots 30-60 minutes before sunset
2. Glass from a distance—don't walk in and flush birds
3. Note species, numbers, and where they're sitting
4. Mark productive spots on onX or your phone
5. Return pre-dawn to the best option

Signs of duck use:

• Whitewash (droppings) on logs and banks
• Feathers floating on the water
• Muddy water from recent feeding
• Flight patterns pointing to hidden water

One good evening of scouting can identify your next five hunts.

Decoy Spreads for Small Water

On small water, the goal isn't attraction—it's confidence. Ducks already want to use the pothole. Your spread tells them it's safe.

The basic small water spread:

1. Push decoys tight against the bank where you're hiding
2. Leave the middle of the water open
3. Create a natural "landing zone" between your hide and the decoys
4. Face decoys into the wind (even light wind)

Why tight to the bank? Ducks landing short of the decoys still land within range. Decoys in the middle of a pothole attract birds to the far side—out of range.

The U and J spreads work on small water, but adapted:

Calling: Mostly Don't

On pressured public land, overcalling educates ducks faster than anything else.

Small water calling rules:

• If birds are already working, shut up
• Use soft feed chatter, not loud greeting calls
• Single quacks beat five-note highballs
• When in doubt, don't call

Birds want to use small water—let them. A quiet spread with subtle motion (jerk string, ripples from wind) outperforms aggressive calling on educated ducks.

The Run-and-Gun Approach

Small water rewards mobility. Instead of sitting in one spot all morning, hunt multiple spots:

Run-and-gun protocol:

1. Hunt the best scouted spot at first light
2. If action dies by 8 a.m., pick up and move
3. Hit 2-3 spots per morning
4. Save secondary spots for the move

This requires a pack system—decoys that deploy fast and stow faster. Texas rigs and carabiner clips excel here.

Identifying Small Water

Where to look:

Public land options:

• WMA interior potholes (walk past the parking lot crowds)
• National forest creeks and beaver ponds
• Corps of Engineers land along reservoirs
• State forest wetlands
• Walk-in hunting areas with water features

Private land: Don't overlook permission hunting. Many farmers have stock ponds they don't hunt. A polite knock and an offer to share birds goes far.

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The Math: Small Water Economics

Per-hunt cost comparison:

Over a 20-hunt season:

Small water wins the cost-per-bird calculation by a wide margin—assuming you put in the scouting time.

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Group Small Water Hunts

Small water suits small groups—two hunters is ideal, three is the maximum before you're overcrowding the spot.

Expense splits for two hunters:

• Gas: Even split
• Kayak shuttle: Even split (or rotate who paddles)
• Decoys: Often one person owns them—either shared cost at purchase, or owner brings them every time
• Scouting gas: This adds up—track it

The scouting problem: One person usually does more scouting than others. That's gas, time, and effort that benefits the group. Some crews rotate scouting duty. Others agree that whoever scouts picks the spots (and gets first choice of shooting position).

The expenses are smaller than a guided trip, but they still exist. A season of two-man hunts with 15 trips and 200 miles of scouting adds up. Track it or resent it—your choice.

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The Bottom Line

Small water duck hunting isn't for everyone. It requires scouting effort, physical willingness to walk or paddle, and acceptance that some mornings will be slow.

But for hunters willing to work, it offers something the crowded WMA impoundment never will: solitude, self-reliance, and the satisfaction of a mallard cupped into a spread you carried on your back to water you found yourself.

Twelve decoys. Zero lease fees. Full straps.

That's the pitch. The marsh is waiting.

For more on waterfowl tactics and gear, see our Ultimate Guide to Duck Hunting.

Plan the trip. Hit the marsh. Split the tab.

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