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DIY Deep-water MOJO Pole


My next DIY project is for those of you who are already thinking about next duck season.  

If you've hunted open water with a guide, especially from a "scissor rig" on the Currituck or Pamlico Sounds, chances are your guide may have employed a floating "Mojo" or other spinning wing duck decoy.  Especially on the big water, you often need some movement to draw the birds in from afar.  

For my weekend-warrior duck hunting pursuits, I wanted to try and recreate a similar Mojo rig.  The biggest issue is, the water's deep.  You're not sticking any sort of pole into the bottom.  And even if you could, the best days are the rough days.  The chop of the sound isn't going to let the thing stand up even if you could get it in the mud.  

As luck would have it, on a summer trip to Maine, I spotted an "offshore" lobster buoy washed up on the rocky beach.  I suddenly visualized the thing, perhaps, being perfect for this floating, deep-water Mojo pole.  

Fast forward to duck season, back in Carolina, I finally got around to my project. The offshore lobster buoy and pole ended up being almost built just right my purposes, from the size of the PVC pipe, to the spacing of holes already drilled through the PVC and in a section of the Mojo supplied metal pole.  

A guide I'd hunted with in the past, Paul Garrett, had used a similar rig with a Mojo Teal, because the teal is smaller and lighter, and the wings spin faster.  So I went with a teal as well.  They also seem to be a bit cheaper...

I removed the larger buoy from the base, which I didn't think I needed, with the light weight of the teal, and used two hose clamps I had sitting in my tool box to secure the smaller buoy left on the pole.   






With a little spray paint, a small plate weight as a "counter-weight", some paracord, and a small grapnel anchor, the rig was complete.  Pretty easy.  

If you aren't as lucky as me to scavenge a free offshore-lobster buoy, here are the things you'll need:


(It works on "prized" hen buffleheads, at least.)


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