As many of us find ourselves perched in tree somewhere in our section of whitetail country this weekend, New York State — in their infinite wisdom — decided to schedule youth waterfowl weekend today and Sunday.

That’s a huge mistake, in my humble opinion, but any time is a great time to head to the field with a young hunter.

With the regular duck season beginning on Oct. 17, this year — please make sure you check the NYS regulations — dates have changed and, depending on zone, they have changed quite a bit.

For some of us, duck is a little more intense than others. Between guns, dogs, boats, calls and decoys, chasing waterfowl can be a lot of fun. Like most things in life that are fun, there generally is a little work involved.

Of all the items that I personally take pride in while duck hunting, I like my decoys/spread the most. I learned a long time ago that when all else fails have the best decoy spread you can. From the air, this is what the birds look at and, remember, they have been checking out spreads up and down the flyway for weeks.

Hunting ducks is a hobby for many people who love to spend their time doing outdoor activities. You can call this a pastime, too. Hunting ducks was important in the past as well, because it was a source of food. Even today, many people duck hunt with great passion, and can enjoy their hunting trip even more if they have the most realistic duck decoys with them.

In the early 1960s, decoys were made of woods and natural paints. Though wood is still in use to make duck decoys, many of the latest technologies are being used to develop the structure of decoys and give them a realistic look.

Many decoys also have batteries and motors to give realistic motions. Many decoys’ performance depends only on the structure, but whatever the customization and structure are, the duck decoys — like turkey, geese and deer — can be the key to any successful hunt.

This year I have been looking to add to my arsenal of decoys, so I have done a bunch of research and received first-hand knowledge from a couple folks in the industry. What follows is a few key points in different decoys that we have found make them good enough for our spread.

¯ Avian X Top Flight Duck Back water mallard decoys are truly some of the best motion duck decoys you will find in the market.

We all know that is the company which is preferred by many experts who use the best duck decoys in hunting. This company always provides decoys with the latest features in the reasonable prices.

Now we are going to discuss a product that has the structure of mallards. The pose of this set of decoys is very realistic. Any duck will fall in the trap, thinking this product is a group of mallards. The keel design is tested and proven very helpful. The painting is the main factor in decoys. The paint scheme used in this set is very good. It maintains quality and lets the product look like real mallards.

If you worry about the paint durability, then you don’t have to in the future as the paint used here is very durable and you can use this product for many seasons.

This floating mallard decoys set has great movement on the water. They do perform well while floating in ponds, in small lakes and even in larger lakes like Erie.

¯ Avian X Top Flight offers an ultra realistic paint scheme to make this product. This is durable and lets you use this product without fade issue. In-paint adhesion makes the product look like a real group of mallards. The weight forward swim keel design enables the product to float perfectly on the water and gives great movement, and they will make natural motion even in low breezes.

¯ Flambeau Sort Front Classix Mallard decoys contain drakes and hens. This is a very useful decoy set as it disappoints you rarely. One of the main features of this product is its easy set-up system, allowing you to save time. As we all know, every single time is important, so if you can save time by using this product then you can get focused on other parts of the hunting trip. The paint scheme used here is one of the best. It has the latest technology that gives a realistic look and makes the hunting easy. The structure will force the ducks to come near this set and fall into your trap.

The painting scheme is mainly based on the UV system. It lets the outer part of the decoys look like real feathers. This is one of the cheapest decoy sets, having technologies that let this product look real and live.

Each set comes with three active drakes, three semi-resting drakes, and six semi-resting hens; a secure strap weight location helps you to set the product up easily; the color scheme gives reflectivity that matches the reflectivity of real duck feathers; and, this year’s version, offers an innovative keel design.

¯ My first motion duck decoy was made by MOJO. The company is still making motion decoys and this season has stepped its game. If you want to enjoy the features of a MOJO product, but you also want something small, then this is the perfect product for you, because it has the shape of a baby mallard. The smallest of their decoys, it has many amazing features and addition, and comes with the battery which is quite unexpected.

It also comes with a powerful charger, and the surprising part is you don’t have to remove the battery to charge. You can recharge the battery even when the battery is inside the decoy. The wings are more durable than other products. They are made of durable, rich material. The quality motor allows for pretty good movement, too, so targets will surely get attracted and fall into your trap.

Motion is of the keys to any decoy spread. There is a bunch of different ways to put motion in your spread, but whatever way you go, mix it up. If you are using a MOJO-style wing motion, pull cord or battery-operated decoy make sure you change it up. Don’t lean on the same motion style every time.

The look of your decoys is the final thing that makes ducks want to touch down in your spread. Motion and calls get their attention, and the finish/look of your decoys is the final piece to the puzzle. Size and numbers are important. Ducks will land in your spread if it looks comfortable and familiar. Try not to over think the spread. Make your spread similar to the nature groups of ducks you have been watching.

Over the years, hunter have used just about anything to make their decoys look realistic. In today’s world, one of the best ways to do that is with flocking. Whether it be with fully flocked decoys, which are pricey, or flocked heads, the look will help fill your limit. Remember to check the NYS waterfowl regulation guide for bag limits and season dates for the zone you are hunting in.