Erstine: "I like to have my decoys fairly close to the blind or to where I'm standing in the timber, but even in open water I don't use as many decoys as I once did. Sometimes a lot of decoys can be a problem, If you put out a couple hundred, and water levels or something else changes, it's a chore to pick them all up and move them. So lots of times you end up leaving things the way they were, and that always costs you.

"The last couple years, since our seasons are ending later, we have lots of ducks that are well into pairing up. I think the decoy spread ought to reflect that, so I put the decoys out in pair groups. Whether that actually helps or not, who knows, but it gives me something to do and gives me more confidence in the spread.

"Hunting in the woods, I've killed them with and without decoys. I used to hunt timber almost exclusively without decoys, but with the new flexible foam decoys they've come out with in the last few years, it's just too easy not to carry a dozen. They're light and compact and a dozen will fit into a little daypack. They might help improve the hunt, and they never hurt anything.

"As far as motion in the decoy spread goes - I've been moving decoys since I started hunting. I've used some complicated systems, with pulley lines running from the blind and crisscrossing the spread, bungee cords and jerk cords. I've used barrel rings on a jerk cord to make whole groups of decoys move. I've painted trolling motors black and set them to move the water through a decoy spread.

"All those things are for decoy and water movement, not wing movement. The spinning-wing decoys like RoboDuck are usually effective very early in the season on young ducks, but after a week or two they don't give you much of an advantage. In fact, they can hinder you because they'll pull a young bird or two out of the big flights and make them come on in while the main body of the flock hangs off out there and waits to see what happens. And you can't not shoot the close ones and wait for the main flock; that almost never works."

Aycock: "We used to use 500 or more decoys in one field I hunted a lot. If it's a good big field, the more the merrier, but they need to be in good shape, with the colors bright and with no sinkers or leaners. If you have decoys in poor shape, get them fixed or get them out of the spread.

"I don't think decoys are near as important in green timber, but they can still be of some help if you're in a big enough hole or the timber is thin enough for the ducks to be able to see them. But if you're hunting brushy timber where visibility is poor, they're probably not worth the bother.

"Motion in a field decoy spread is very important, especially on still days, and it's worth whatever trouble you have to go through to create it. I never did fool with a RoboDuck, though; by the time I decided I'd get one, everybody was telling me they'd quit being so effective. I'm a country boy anyway, and I'm more comfortable with a plain old jerk cord."

Stephens: "Motion is extremely important in a decoy spread, but I don't get too fancy with it. I usually use plain old bungee jerk cord. There are lots of other options on the market, or you can make your own - splashers, swimming setups, all sorts of things - but it's really hard to beat a good old jerk cord, because you can control it better. I hate to say it, but if I had to choose between a jerk cord or a duck call, most of the time I'd almost rather have the cord.

"I'm not a big believer in the spinning-wing decoys. I used them the first year they were out, but I haven't since then. That's mostly a technique for young, inexperienced ducks, and it's very effective early in the season in Canada and in the northern states, but by the time the ducks get down here to Arkansas, they've already been shot at over spinners for six to eight weeks, and the young ones are both thinned out and well educated."

Aycock: "I spent a lot of years hunting from a cane blind that stuck up 5 or 6 feet out of the field, and a lot of time hunting from a pit blind that was only a few inches above water level. Both of them worked very well, but only if they blended in with their surroundings. I'd much rather hunt out of an above-ground blind that was well-camouflaged than a pit that wasn't."

Erstine: "Avoid hard edges, whether it's a pit blind or a cane blind. I spend a lot of time and effort making my blinds look like big hay piles or brushpiles, depending on where I'm hunting. And wear good camo on your body, especially face and hands. I use a face mask and a pair of mesh gloves, and it really makes a difference."

Stephens: "Don't move any more than absolutely necessary when ducks are working, and don't talk, either. Ducks can see and hear almost as well as turkeys, and most hunters don't realize that."

There are many more topics these three veterans agree and disagree on, but one thing they have in common, without question, is a deep love for duck hunting. If you ever are fortunate enough to find yourself sharing a hunt with any of the three, pay attention. You're bound to learn something.