How long should decoy cord be?

What length decoy cord do you have on your decoys for use with a motherline and single weights?

Tom says: The decoy cord length is down to personal preference and dependent on your hunting situation. I don’t like the cord to be too long as I find it unnecessary and it can become a pain when trying to carry the decoys. Three feet of cord is ample for all my decoying needs, either on the motherline or single weights. It allows the motherline to sink to a sufficient depth for the dogs to swim over when shooting on the foreshore or over deep water. I never decoy tidal water with single weights as I often need to retreat to the sea wall before the tide has reached its peak and dropped off. The only exception to this is when decoying shallow marsh floods, which never reach depths of more than a few feet, meaning that I don’t need long decoy cord lengths. I still use a motherline in most situations as it creates a perfect decoy spread that can be pulled to the edge of the water in one line, which speeds gathering the decoys at the end of the flight. It is also safer than wading, where you could slip or trip over in the darkness.