Clipped a Hunting Day from Your Favorite WMA's

[Don Miller]

YEP!!!












We all need to stand up when something is going on in this state. Whether it affects us directly or not.


We need a MS public land Hunting Association, action committee, coalition whatever you want to call it. We need ONE strong voice for the hunters and fishermen of the state. We cant trust the people making the decisions and they need to be watched closely!


Maybe we already have one of some sorts that I dont know about. But for now and future generations we need to keep a real close watch.

There is no PAC or coalition that deals specifically with state public hunting lands usage in MS but there is now one in the works. I've got some folks that are a helluva lot smarter than me getting the necessary info and paperwork filed. I'm hoping to have it finalized in a few months so we will be able to lobby in Jackson just like the big boys.

[booger]

dubmckay - Five posts in five years?, glad to see you wade into the fray though. I'm sure others may feel the same way but they don't post because they don't want to get into an internet squabble. Kudos to your counterpoint effort, but I respectfully disagree.

I'd like to address some of your points. Nothing happens (quality hunt & harvest) unless you get drawn, no guarantee of that happening and there are fewer chances of that happening this year than last, due to fewer draw days. So don't load the younger generation in the truck and head to the delta just yet. IF you get drawn, you get to draw again that morning, there is no guarantee that your lucky streak will continue that morning at 5:00 a.m., Well you get the idea, there is no guarantee that on that day there there will be cold weather, water, ducks, etc. etc.

How do you feel about your (quality & harvest) season when year after year you don't get drawn, and perhaps your efforts to then go on standby don't yield quality and harvest expectations. Would you recommend even fewer draw days? Do you expect to have only one "quality" hunt per year?

I just want as many opportunities to hunt as possible, fewer is not the answer, drawing is not the answer. Quality is subjective and I have zero expectations of limiting out. That may or may not happen, who knows from day to day on "harvest".

You mentioned that you have fewer opportunities now, than years ago, well, the game and fish took a few more away on these areas. 60 day season now whittled down to just 24 LOTTO CHANCES or so, (I haven't figured out all the math with various WMA days, season splits, one day weekends etc.) Of course, you can standby for the lotto leftovers, if any. Whoo-Hoo!!! My gawd, if they're only going to hunt it three days a week why not hunt it all day, and if you pull out, let me in!!!

I would rather enjoy a guaranteed sunrise at your wood duck slew, with the younger generation that you mentioned, a happy dog and a cup of coffee, as opposed to staying at the house. Harvest optional. And I do agree with you that decent private land is a luxury, all I hunt is public within three states, so I feel pretty well connected to what's going on at hip boot level. Seen the game & fish handle things many different ways, just don't like thisaway they're doing it.

We used to be able to hunt EVERY day at some of these WMA's. Not now. Sometimes it sucked and sometimes it was good, I don't see the draw changing that.

(Disclaimer: Don't care what they do with catfish ponds, draw may be the only answer there, but hey, draw every day)

[hntrpat1]

Draws are for the lazy and people that don't know how to duck hunt.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

I would imagine that someone keeps all the little cards that we fill out and keeps up with number of ducks harvested per number of hunts, and maybe he/she has seen a trend. Hopefully by clipping a day from the week, we will see an increase in the quality of the hunts.

It would make it a lot easier to jump in the truck early in the morning to head to the Delta knowing you have a great chance of a high quality hunt.

I would imagine that this "someone" who keeps up with the cards needs to look relevant. The horror of the government is that when they are doing "busy work" it has a direct effect on my freedom, always.

Why should I care if YOU got a peaceful easy feeling about your hunt in the delta tomorrow morning; when my a s s is at the house with NOWHERE to hunt because I didn't get drawn?

News flash: There is no such thing as a high quality hunt- spoon fed to me via the government. A high quality hunt starts and ends with me and my waterfowling skills bringing home the birds.

It wouldn't be so bad if we had places like HM and maybe 1 or 2 others that were special for introducing yuppies and such to waterfowl hunting. They'd be a good place for the "sport" to go and shoot a few birds. The problem arises, however, in the fact that the MDWFP waterfowl program- and the department as a whole- is focusing on these areas exclusively as they acquire new property. Not only that, they gnash at the teeth to turn freelance areas in to draw areas.

I'm no sociologist, but I do have Google- and sociology was a super easy elective in college so I'm pretty close to being one. And it looks to me like the trends show that the top dogs at MDWFP are power-loving control freaks.

You want quality hunting and excitement? Give me the freedom and MY RIGHT to unhitch my lanyard and sword from the sword case so I can, at my own will, go chase birds on my property at my own will. THAT is quality!

Think if the MDWFP opened all of these draw areas to open hunting-how that would spread the hunters out again? In the words of the Trump, " It's gonna be incredible; it'll be incredible."

No offense to you, dubmckay, but I have heard your argument for the last 5 years from others. The difference between then and now is this: we have had time to experience the department's little experiment and those old arguments fail to meet logic and real-world experiences.

The verdict is out: the MDWFP sucks at offering me a hunt that meets my needs. Just let me hunt and get out of the way.

P.S. I don't know any waterfowl hunter who, in his right mind, believes he can leave a check station at 5:20 AM and be setup by shooting time in a moist soil unit. If the MDWFP wants to see the kill board lit up, they need to start the draw hunts where the folks are in the hole by 5 AM.