Not so much bang for your buck with heavy-duty US decoy rig

I JUST flew back into town from Florida and Argentina where I enjoyed shooting bobwhite quail, doves and sporting clays.

I experienced more shooting in a single morning session than I have in a whole goose season in years past.

The shopping though was another attraction of the holiday and I made a beeline for the Bass Pro mega hunting mart in Orlando.

Top of my list was the Jerk Rig. Aptly named for anyone who buys one. I have read many good reports in Wildfowl magazine and had to have one. It is a manual mo- tion decoy device that adds movement to your decoys and ripples to the water in the set. Thus making your layout irresistible when enhanced with expert calling.

The reason I felt like a jerk when I opened it was that it consisted of a heavy lead weight of around 1kg connected to bungey shock cord, 100 feet of braid with four snap swivels attached. Four decoys from your set are rigged and they become the motion in your set when birds are sighted and you begin the enticement process.

I could have made this at home for a lot less than $US32 and I wouldn’t have had to carry it home.

Grant Hatcher at Fishing and Outdoor World reports that birds and success are scattered on the reserves. ‘‘There doesn’t seem to be any pattern forming yet, but that may change with rain coming,’’ he said. Grant said the best mail was from mango crops, Shoal Bay and Howard were patchy.

Moon phase: Waning gibbous to third quarter Tuesday.

Weekly rainfall to Thursday, November 21: Gunn Point 53mm, Shoal Bay 32mm and Middle Point 31mm.

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