Matthews Brake

[Buckwabit]

The last time I hunted Mathew's I saw maybe 5 or 6 MS Tags there. The rest of the hunters were from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and I even saw a guy from Michigan there.

Before I get any knee jerk reactions, I'm not starting a war on the internet, just posting an observation on the vistitors to the Refuge.

[msdeltadawg]

Yes Lodi I am serious, I save my vacation so I can hunt as much as I possibly can, so I don't have to hunt on the weekend, and haven't for a lot of years,intentianally. I am hoping by them tightening the screws it will eliminate some of the knuckleheads that seem to have become duck "hunters" since the advent of the 3 1/2" magnum, and the 12 year boat financing, be it out of staters or not.
If I get drawn, fantastic, if not it's not the end of the world, there are lots of other places to hunt if you get out and look hard enough. The place had gotten out of control, and something had to be done. The hunting has gotten steadily worse every year, and the number of times I had ducks that I was working shot at by another group has gone up.

[stevo]

I talked to a game warden other day and she said you couldn't even be at the boat ramp before 4. You going to stop where Pas land is and matthews starts. she said just going to have to wait in line down the road until 4 clock comes. You can only put your name in the drawing once. If your name is on two different sheet your draw will be thrown out and only can get draw 3 times.

[adameaster]

I will have to agree it has got out of control I hunted there about two years ago with a friend from Gwood and it looked like Boston Harbor on the 4 of July with all the red and green lights. I used to hunt public land alot back when it was not 30 min. wait at the boat ramp. But no it is not enjoyable to work that hard to get a great spot and someone set 40 yards from and call like they are on Main street in Stuttgart and shot at everything that passes 70 yards from there spread. Guess the good times are really over for good.

[LODI QUACKER]

I will be brutally honest with you.

We hunt- hunted that thing ALOT!

WE did not allow some idiot to set up ANYWHERE near that close to us! 120-150 yards was as close as we would allow and that was dependent on the openness of the situation. I, we have never allowed anyone to set up close enough to shoot our swing birds. If the birds your working pull off and go check out another spread sure, and sometimes the idiots shoot at them over the tree tops but not while they are actively working.

That is yalls fault for letting them do that to you!! That can be avoided in MAny ways. Most of the time a simple conversation will do it. Yep there are plenty of times when your working birds and others shoot flaring birds. Its public, its going to happen. Happens more some years than others, just depends on your luck.

If you let somebody set up 40 yards off your decoys its more your fault than it is thiers because they obviously dont have a clue and need a little help finding out what the right thing to do is.

The only restrictions that were needed were shell limits (15) hp restrictions, and a min distace between hunting parties, plenty of states have them. Thats it!!! All problems solved.

If you cant kill 6 birds with 15 shells you need to be doing something else anyway!!!


By the way, how is Pass or anybody else going to get out of thier driveway!!!!!!!!!
This will make for some funny STuff. Tempers will flare faster and things will escilate higher because of this crap!!!! They are going to need a-- some traffic cops for this screwup!!!!!!! Its not ever going to work. Not there, on that road anyway.

[Buckwabit]

I agree with all of what was just said EXCEPT the 15hp Restriction. Don't see where that will help being is it's pretty shallow and you really wouldn't want to run a big motor anyway. I have a 60HP on my boat and I never got much over an idle anyway

[LODI QUACKER]

15 is what I meant in the way of shell limit. The hp and speed of motors ie. govt liability in this midnight race is the main reason for the new rules. I can say that because that is what Donnie Browning told me directly.

[Buckwabit]

If more people would go out across there wide open at midnight, we might not have this problem either..

[KWAKHED]

honestly, if yall want to know the truth, it was not that crowded before some no huntin morons got on the internet and ran their trap about shooting ducks up there. now it is a fad to hunt up there. yall can have all that mess. i applaud the feds for atleast trying to help solve a potentially dangerous situation. could they have gone about it differently?; probably so, but atleast they are tryingto salvage what a bunch of yahoos are ruining!

[msdeltadawg]

Pass has alot to do with the number of hunters in there as well. He guided alot of those OS'ers who now try to monopolize the places he showed them, and then went home and they told their friends, and they told their friends, and so on. He claims to not be guiding anymore, but for the right price I'm sure he might take a group out reluctantly. I agree it is going to be a cluster f&^$, and probably won't work, but we'll see, stock up on the Zanex.

[gator]

lotta folks that have never played chess typing on this thread.......LOTS of them.

swim in it, gator

[LawDawg]

[oltcutdown]

Yall can thank the fellas that put out that MO-WW video in '95 for bringing in a bunch of oos traffic. Those same fellas did a bunch of articles in hunting mags after that early Jan '96 freeze when every thing north of Tunica froze and pushed a ton of ducks to the delta. Those same hunts ended up on a later video. Just saying.

Matthews used to be a nice place, haven't hunted it in years. I feel for all yall that still hunt it.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

The thing that one MUST understand is this; it is a snowball effect. God only knows how many people will be at the scatters as if it isn't a bonanza already. Any jackasses out there ever think of that? I told MDWFP personnel this last February (and yes, for vienne weenies, I know it's federal). If they keep constricting available hunting lands down to a zero it will continually get worse and worse where there is open hunting left.

I have given up hunting in the delta, I'll put in for the draws, why not? It is clusterf*** beyond my wildest imaginations in that once enjoyable-to-hunt flat land called the delta. I cannot wait to win the power ball, buy my land and say ta hell with this chitt.

[Don Miller]

I don't know if anyone has thought about this but a free draw and not having to buy a permit before you can submit for a draw is going to make it real easy for the anti-hunters to steal hunting days from us. Think about it. It is going to happen.