Hunting & Fishing Egg or Mushroom duck decoy weights for texas rigs?

[TOP PREDATOR]

a few years ago i got hooked on goose, now it looks as if ducks are filtering in, (newbie at rigging).

i'm going to make texas rigs, i have the line, crimps, and decoys.

looking to get 6oz weights, i figure the eggs will slide better on the line than the mushroom, but the mushroom may be better to keep the decoys in place by snagging and dragging the bottom.

question is for the more experienced waterfowlers, which is better the egg or mushroom weights?

or is there really no difference at all?

 

[knockemdown]

TP, I don't know how deep of water you are setting in, but I used to do a bit of waterfowling in the salt marsh here on LI and developed my own system for deploying a string of deeks from a sneak boat.
Basically, used a 100' main line with dropper loops tied in every 10', and 1.5lb. grapnel anchors at each end. SEAFIT Folding Grapnel Anchors at West Marine

Each deek had a 3' line tied with a longline clip at the end, for hooking onto the mainline's dropper loop. 3" Stainless Steel Longline Clips with Swivels (12 Pieces)

To set, I'd motor upwind, then throw one grapnel anchor end of the main line. Then, I'd just start clipping deeks to each dropper loop as the boat drifted away. Once all the deeks were clipped to the main line, I could tow the end around and position the full string however I wanted, for effect. It was easy enough to do from a boat, and would be a piece o' cake to do while standing in shallow water. Just adjust the length of each individual deek's dropper line to how much water you're in. Then, all ya need are some individual deeks to add some depth & fill to your spread. I found two strings and a dozen free-set deeks to work great in the salt marsh for puddles, sea ducks, brant and Canadas...

Good luck!

 

[sab9259]

I use egg weights, they seem work better for Texas rigs and shallow water. They are also less tangle prone than pyramids and mushrooms.

The Arkansas boys use cylinder teeth off of a combine for their weights. (Texas style)

For open water decoys (coastal) I use the longline method as above and standard strap weights and ~12ft line.

ETA-

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

KNOCKEM - not going too deep, just local puddles & ponds, maybe 4' tops, not hunting current. being a land lubber i start getting concerned anywhere past that as i'm a shorty at 5'6" and no boat.

SAB - are those 6oz or bigger?

let me add that eventually i'm going to also get floater geese, so i'd like to get a 50 pack of 6oz that i found on ebay, either the eggs or mushrooms, so i have enough "stuff" to rig my ducks now and floater geese later, even if i have to double up on the weights for the geese rather than going to 8oz too.

for right now on the geese, i'm sticking PVC pipe in the muck and putting the shell's stake in the pvc pipe just on top of the water, seems to be working well, but would like to get some regular floaters in the future.

back to ducks, in the end i don't really want to be chasing them around the pond, which is my biggest concern for egg vs. mushroom. when it comes to that, is there really a difference?

Christmas money to spend on this stuff while i still have it. thanks for the advice so far and appreciate any more coming...

 

[Btillr]

I Duck and goose hunt exclusively when it's in season , in currents and high winds, I hardly ever have decoy drift. I use 4oz on my ducks and 8oz on my geese. I use 9ft of cord on my geese with the tanglefree style weights. I use 5ft Texas rigs on my ducks with egg weights. I like the 4oz because its a lot lighter when carrying them when your hiking them in.

 

[sab9259]

4 oz is plenty, I use these in a slow moving river in ENC and they held just fine this morning. If you are hunting still water you can get by with 2-3oz as long as the wind isnt blowing 25+.

6 oz will hold floating geese decoys as well so if you can snag a bulk pack they will work just fine. Get a large climbing clip and you can clip them all together and hang them to dry.

I rig mine with 6 ft of cord for puddle ducks and 12 for divers at the coast.

Here are a few from this past weekend to get you motivated-

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

wish i was more motivated this morning rather than going online, nice take!

looks like 50 pack of 6oz eggs should do me well for both ducks and even if having to doubleup on geese, i'm still coming out ahead on price vs. buying separate 8oz weights and confident on both that they will stay put. from what you guys are saying, maybe 6oz is even a bit of overkill for the ducks, but that's ok too if i start going into more flowing rivers.

Egg Slip Sinkers 50 Pack of 6 oz Oversize 3 16" Center Hole | eBay

thanks for taking the time to help a newbie ducker, i really do appreciate it.

 

[TOP PREDATOR]

vvvv posted to help out newbies like myself

wow, i got the 6 ouncers, they are bigger than i thought. SAB, you are right, 4oz would be have been more than plenty for the duck decoys, would make them lighter to carry, and reduce the potential of cracking decoys when the weight hits decoys picking up / carrying them over the shoulder.

in still water i don't think i'd have to double these things up with geese decoys either, they are lunkers!