Just recently I have heard/read where several people made reference to the “Good old Days.†Below is a link to an article out of the Nov/Dec issue of Ducks Unlimited Magazine. This is just one perspective with many interesting fact based contentions.
There are three different dates the author mentions that are pinnacle moments in my life that made the article interesting to me: first 1962 (the year I was born), the 1970s (when life was really taking on meaning for me) and then “the 1980’s†(I graduated High School in 1980 in Pontiac Mi. and moved to West Tennessee). During the early 1980’s I did my first bit of duck hunting while in college at the Univ. of Tennessee at Martin. I emphasis UT Martin because of it’s Northwest TN location (It’s near Reelfoot Lake an area full of duck hunting heritage).
Because I grew up in Michigan, I remember those 1980 days quite well, as it was hot as Hades in the South and I thought I had died and went there. I can tell ya, it was slow hunting in the 1980’s.
The 1970’s are the years that I remember most about Michigan. I remember the thousands of Canada geese and varied species of ducks that migrated through Michigan. I am telling you it was unbelievable. I remember the sky being full of them in the 1970’s. I just didn’t have the means, the know how and I didn’t know anyone who would take a kid duck hunting.
As for the 1960’s I don’t remember much, but I do remember “Purple Haze,†Viet Nam and the Beatles.
A note to any takers: It’s not an easy read, print it off or find last month’s issue, grab ya a cold one and read on.
See the article at:
http://www.ducks.org/media/magazine/sto ... ys2004.asp
Jason, this article basically sums it up: “
waterfowl populations and hunting success have always been highly variable.†My Grad School Statistics professor once told me: “everything has a cycle.†We’re just presently in one of them areas of the cycle that’s just not as much fun as those peak years.