I see alot of guys with blinds built on their boats. I also see alot without. What do you guys prefer and is the blinds on the boats just as good as a blind you would build and pull in to?

Made a hunt in Lake Bouef with my brother when the water was high and most of the blinds had water on the decks where you would get out. Only a few were dry.

Alsoany ideas how to build a deck that could be adjusted incase of high water? I have a few ideas but looking for more feedback.

We are making big plans for next season and I'd like start collection materials soon.

IMO A pop-up blind on the boat is the only way to go. It gives you the option to hunt anywhere at anytime. Hunting a fixed blind, if the tide runs out or is low for a long period of time those blinds are going to be useless. And vise-versa if the tide is high and over the deck.

Popup give you options and in my experience work well in the marsh, but are not enough in large lakes. Need a brushed blind there. My 2 cents.

Thanks guys. I thought I'd get those responses. We/I may do both just in case.

Ive seen floating blinds before that worked really good. Just a deck built on some plastic 55 gallon drums. Dont have to worry about the tide anymore.

I think a self standing blind will give you better cover and look more realistic but a pop up blind can be used anywhere. if you want to hunt a new area its no problem having a pop up on the boat

never seen a boat blind that didn't stick out like a sore thumb. I'm sure it could be done though...

Someone on here said something that stuck with me "Pop up boat blind is like camping in a tent, Hard blind is like a pop up camper, self standing like staying in a RV. I would go with a floater, but I don't like those barrels. They float to high. Your platform has to be huge to make it stable. Alot of guys here use styrafoam blocks from under docks. 8 X 14 blind with 12" foam underneath is stable, safe, and roomy.

That was me!

the bilnd i built for mine does stick out like a sore thumb at times, when the tide is really high or there is not much cover against the bank i hunt. at other times the boat dissapears and blends in with the bank great. some of the perm. blinds in the areas i hunt stick out more than the boat does. i know its all what there used to seeing in certain areas. just my ubi ( useless bit of info)

My thoughts on the blind are that they conceal movement. Sure you don't wanna stick out too much. But we've def had ducks decoy in a blind that did not blend in with the surrounding area. We've had ducks decoy out in open water with a pop up blind. I like the blinds for concealment more so than blending in.

Just my .02

If your boat blind is stickin out, then you didn't brush it up right. You can't just throw some canvas over the boat on some tent poles. You still gotta cut some cane and brush it up after you set up. If done right, you won't be able to see the blind even if you know it's there. Here's one from early season. Only sticks out because the cane was still green. Didn't matter tho because there was another cane patch on the pond also.

It also sticks out because it's 6' taller than anything else around!

Those birds you speak of in parks and marinas ARE NOT the same birds we see down here. Most of those birds are residential birds. Plus the fact that birds up north have not been shot at and seen every setup out there throughout the entire flyway before we see em! I have seen it with my own eyes towards the end of every season...Ducks flair off foreign objects like crazy!!! Especially objects (whether it's a blind or big bush) that are taller then surrounding scenery!!

Wasn't tryna start an argument or nothin. But I'm not talkin bout local birds. Notice how many more birds show up at those local neighborhood ponds during the winter, and parks. Some are local, but some are migrators. The same migrators that stop in every city along the flyway. Hell when I see ducks flyin round the city, and in the creeks on the side of the road, and neighborhood ponds, I know its gonna be good huntin on the lakes that comin weekend.

I would agree sometimes outta place stuff flares birds. And late season birds are hard to decoy, but I don't think it has as much to do with your disguise as you think.

I aint that far north of you either. We's shootin at the same birds. But it don't really matter anyway. If you say they flare, and I say they don't, who cares. We're both right and can learn from each other. Maybe I try to cover up more and you start to notice other things is spookin the birds. I just know I've shot a lot of birds early and late while I know damn well I stuck out like a sore thumb (just a non movin sore thumb) .

You may be right considering your a Yankee!! But down where I hunt the only way to conceal yourself is laydown blinds or pits. I think I may only hunt one spot that you can sit in a chair and be covered up. Ofcoirse there's always those stupid redheads that don't flair off anything

I'm in N tx dude. We're shootin the same ducks

Lol yea I saw where you were from which is where the yankee joke came from.

oh, lol. I guess this thread was already dead anyway.

Where you huntin at? Marshes or fields or what?

If your usin layouts and pits. We're not really talkin bout the same kinda huntin. Where I hunt you can't really use either. We are actually huntin out of our boat. Some places water is too deep, and some places its illegal to get out on shore.

We hunt rice feilds and tidal marsh. The rice feilds have pit blinds or tall enough brush on the levees you can sit in. The marsh around here has pretty decent cover of mangos and salt grass. But down on the bottom of the coast usually are laydown blinds are the tallest thing around!! I would love to hunt timber and deeper water like you speak of

Not really flooded timber, just all these manmade lakes. Most of which, are private land all the way around. Most of the areas we hunt are in the stumpier areas, and creeks and stuff.
We used to have some property where we'd hunt in the sloughs really back in the timber. There you don't need cover at all. Just stand up next to a tree. Couple dec's, and when the birds come in, they're pretty much screwed once they break the treeline. They just hover, and it takes em a minute to get turned around to fly back outta the trees. By that time they're toast. Uncle sold the property, and now all I hunt is public.
The grass is always greener on the other side, I would love to hunt the marsh in a layout, and pit blinds in rice fields.

See, that looks plenty good to me.

Me and bandit were talkin bout two totally diff types of hunting though. Which I don't know why, cuz the huntin he's doin is not out of a boat. Anyways, we was both right in our own scenarios. May try to meet up wit em next year and swap a hunt so we's can show each other how we hunt in our own necks of the woods. That is if I can find some damn birds. Had a rough season this year till after the split. Hate to drag someone all the way up here for a crappy hunt out of a boat blind that flares all the birds.

I think those damn spinnin wing decoys spook the birds more than anything during the late season. I turn mine off soon as the birds turn my direction. I may hit once or twice if they start flyin away, just to keep em interested. Early season they'll land right on top of it. My blind has not to seemed to cause many problems for the ducks.

Who knows I'll prolly try to cover up better next year anyway just to see if it helps. Something I prolly would not have done had I not been involved on this thread. Just goes to show, you can always learn somethin.