It Hurts

[PorkChop]

Just bought Texas rigs for my snow goose decoys. $330 plus tax and I’m sure I will have to get more. I swear I stared at that submit button for over five minutes. It hurts just thinking about it!

[OGblackcloud]

Been there

[don novicki]

How many did you get for your 330 ?

[PorkChop]

4 dozen but they are 10 oz weights and longer lines.

[Ricky Spanish]

Hunted with a rich guy who bought rigging.
The store bought rigs would work for split 1 and then it rains and I need ten foot strings.
Imagine re-rigging your spread and carrying the extended length rigs too.
My decoys have to be adjustable. It took me 3 years to adapt.
Having just 5 feet of string on a decoy is no good for me.
That's why the keels have notches for a line.
For $300 I'll rigs your dekes if you supply me some scrap lead. I'll buy the line.

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[PorkChop]

Is that with those notches are for? Ha ha Ha I know this

No access to scrap lead. All the tire shops around here give their lead to jig makers in exchange for free jigs. Jigging is probably the most popular form of walleye fishing here in the spring So it’s a win-win for them.

Our water depth can rise pretty quickly as well with run off from snow melting and spring rains. We also have 30 to 60 mph wind days so when you leave your spread out for a week it needs to be able to handle that. 10 ounce weights might be too light but that was the heaviest I could find. Back home we always used 16 ounce

[Ricky Spanish]

If you get a serving ladle from a restaurant ... say two ounce size you can pour these.
They're ten ounce.
Free lead isn't a thing here either.
I sacrificed a bag of shot. I don't shoot lead anymore except targets.
They'll hold a honker decoy on the lake.

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Making those was easy.
Dip ladle into molten lead...carry to bucket of water and slowly lower it in and pretty fast the weight shrinks and falls out of the ladle.
Easy. Drilling holes is the hard part.
I kind of punch them with a high speed drill press.
Tricky.

Wish I had it where I could just put a spread out and leave it all season. Freelancing ain't so bad. I've done private too. Has its own set of problems.

[PorkChop]

Those look good

[Rick]

You have a cattle trailer to haul enough goose floaters to use $300 worth of rigging? And why floaters for spring geese?

[PorkChop]

You have a cattle trailer to haul enough goose floaters to use $300 worth of rigging? And why floaters for spring geese?

Yes I have a 16 foot +2 in the front by 7 foot enclosed trailer and another 10’ trailer. We hunt sheet water as when the birds are up this far north the first thing they are looking for is some water. Early birds hit the fields to eat, and then when they migrate north they are looking for a water. The more decoys the better

[Rick]

Interesting, as we'd be using something on stakes in sheet (or rice) water to replicate feeding as well as drinking and loafing water.

That, and floaters suck.

[don novicki]

In this game you gotta "pay to play". Seems reasonable enough.

[PorkChop]

Interesting, as we'd be using something on stakes in sheet (or rice) water to replicate feeding as well as drinking and loafing water.

That, and floaters suck.

Believe it or not our sheet water can get chest deep in some places. Otherwise when it’s shallow if we do exactly what you do. You do have to be careful with the Sillosocks though if you don’t have long stakes the water will splash up into them due to the wind and then you have water balloons

[PorkChop]

Well my Texas rigs arrived and I am happy with them. Each six pack came with a nice zipper mesh bag that I will most likely never use for the rigs again but I’m sure I could find some other purpose for them and also a big caribine (sp)

I don’t feel so bad about the price now as we were down at Scheels last night and a six pack of the 8 ounce ones with shorter lines were $10 more per six.