Mahannah's a draw now

[Anatidae]

Hey PoMo........I know how you feel about contributing to a thread.....and few readers seem to 'get-it', or are even genuinely concerned about the issue.

I also think your point about not hunting at the 'Favorite WMA' in question (yourself), emphasizes something that people have little consideration for.......there are fellow hunters that do - and maybe have hunted there all their lives. I think that's worth some consideration of not 'talking' about it. If it were a place WE hunt, it would be a big deal

My comments were offered partially in jest - everbody knows that i am an advocate of not 'talking' about places to hunt The thread would not be complete if I didn't get my personal 'jab' in there. I still believe it's detrimental to blab about public places all over the internet, and I will always care enough about our sport and heritage to voice my concerns about things I think will negatively impact what us old guys have come to appreciate.......a certain amount of solitude.

I am willing to endure negative comments from folks that don't know the difference, if the message reaches a few that are willing to give it some thought.

You keep posting. It at least makes folks think about what they say before they 'talk'.

It's just a natural tendency to take something for granted (a place to hunt) until it's gone......or in this case, unappreciated. It's a sad testimony to how cut-throat people can be and how little consideration some hunters
(excuse me).......'shooters'.......show for one another. Talk is bad, unless you (at least) know who's listening.

I'm sure there are other issues that contributed to the proposal to go to a draw system........but it's in response to 'people' management......not wildlife. That tells me we're either not doing a very good job of choosing who we share our heritage with, or that we're attracting so many to the sport, we don't have the opporunity to pass the heritage down at the personal level, anymore.......it's all learned via electronic media.

[msbigdawg1234]

JMO but there is never enough info talked about on this site and others compared to what the DWFP does on thier PUBLIC site.Giving reports is more determintal than some guys talking on a forum.Along with the News paper publishing all the new impoundments that DU puts in on the public grounds.If ya gona hunt public land to got to put up with the yahoos or get far enough away that they don't bother you. THE main reason's for this proposal of a draw is safety and crowd management.That came straight from the dept.Granted it has always been a crowd at the start of the season (which tapers off and is not there at all during the week) but NOTHING like last year. Still my thoughts IF they are gona do this draw crap do it on the weekends,one box shell limit ,drop the 5am rule ( for THAT is what caused the accident in the first place) and bring some feds in everynow and then. If ya ain't doing anything illegal ya don't have to worry!

[Anatidae]

Yes duck hunting is cyclical.........when the ducks show-up, so do the hunters. Just look at any hunting club where there's a guest allowance. Ducks show-up - every member shows-up and brings 2 guests. Ducks leave - hunters go back to deer hunting or whatever. It's not a year-to-year thing unless you have seasons like we did in the late 90's. Folks are still hoping things will return to like they were, then. Then we'll have twice as many more newcomers to the sport, because everybody's got someone they wanna show how good a duck hunter they are.

Folks that aren't die-hard duck hunters are content just to have a place to go.......it's a fulfillment of the 'look busy' requisite in today's society. The funniest bumper sticker I've eveer seen said...."Jesus is Coming - Look Busy".

You have to give the appearance of always going somewhere......like it's going to be much better where you're going, as envyous onlookers catch a fleeting glimpse of you, speeding toward's some 'secret spot'. We can't sit in one spot and admit conditions just aren't favorable.......'gotta get-out and 'look busy', going duck hunting.

"I'm going to the 'camp' " means: I don't have any better place to go, but at least I'm going somewhere......and it's a camp. 'Doesn't mean there's ducks there.....it's just a staging area for men, eager to engage in everything their wives have come to loath about them......to revert back to their primal adolescence.

Sad truth is......any idiot can kill a duck.......but you have to have a place to go, and know what to do when you get there. Running the roads satisfies the first requirement of giving the appearance of a duck hunter. Who knows what happens when they get where they're going - and nobody cares unless they're killing ducks and you're not.

How did I get-off on that? Oh yeah......finding a place to hunt.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

Anatidae...slowly falling into the abyss... Leave it up to an old geezer to say it how I meant it: everyone has someone they want to show how good of a duck hunter they are. EXACTLY what happens when a good season comes along. I am so sick and damn tired of guys ridin around with so many stickers on their windows I don't know how they can see. I saw a guy "training" his dog at the lake at my apartments the other day. He actually grabbed the 9 week old pup who is scared schittless and chunks him in the water from the boat. Then he gets his feelings hurt cuz the pup won't get the bumper. It's sad. It seems like this most recent influx of hunters has been the largest....Perhaps because of a mixture of "GeNeRaTiOn X" marketing bullcrap, chicks with bondage clothing on holding quackhead calls? I don't know. I admittely stopped waterfowling for a few years after my dad died...minus those three years I have been going since I could schitt behind a pair of boots at the age of five. I have single handedly seen what has happened to my beloved wma from being generous, taking a few guys hunting and WHAM! I get the shaft. I now have those guys accusing me of hunting their holes... Unbelievable... As bad as I hate to say it I honestly pray for a few more bad seasons...Because I know bad season or not...me and my crew will be boiling and ready to go for the next season no matter if we killed 1 duck or 300 ducks the prior season. I have slowly watched one on my hunting crew hopelessly fall into the deer hunting routine because of bad seasons... I have also seen first hand the effects of taking a youngster hunting... I got one coming up (my gf lil bro) who's blood boils just as much if not more than mine for opening day. A 14 year old ADDICT. HE has to pull me outta bed sometimes ... so I guess what I am saying is...long live the bad duck seasons...o yeah and peanut butter nabs too.

How did I get off on that? Oh yeah......Anatidae falling helplessly into the abyss...

[Anatidae]

some good comments there, Austin.

It's interesting though.......I don't know how many more 'seasons' I'll be able to slug through the marsh. I'm not what I would consider 'old' (because that's a relative term)......just to the point that I realize I'm not going to be able to do this forever.

So, I never wish for a bad season - my dog only lives a fraction of what humans do and maybe only get to hunt 10 seasons (after they are 'trained'). So, be careful what you wish for. God could take it away from us in the blink of an eye.

I just wish folks would appreciate duck hunting more than most seem to. The only thing I wish for is a heavy migration - and for folks to act right and be considerate of each other.

I used to play the blame game and stereotype folks, but that just pisses'em off. Just strive to be the best self-sufficient duck hunter you can be and be selective about who you share your knowledge and expereince. You wouldn't let your daughter go on a date with someone you know nothing about, would you?.......why be any less protective of anything else you appreciate and love - like our duck hunting heritage.

BTW - check your PM's...........and it's 'hopelessly' into the abyss.

Did you see my latest spoof on 'stickers'?........

[Seymore]

I haven't hunted the subject WMA, but, understand why they had to go to the draw. I spoke with a forest ranger about ATV use on my favorite WMA for deer hunting. ATV use has been banned for a few years and will likely be banned forever. He explained that it was a liability to have the ATVs there as much of the land was over 20 degree grade. The ATV manufactures association states not to get over that grade. Therefore, the forestry service and state become liable if some idiot hurts themselves.

I imagine it is the same principle at the subject WMA. A free for all race to the duck hole is just to much liability.

A bright side is that those who are not "die hard" duck hunters may tire of the draw system after a while. Thus reducing the number of hunters and actually making the draw an easier process.

[VICKSBURGBOB]

Looks to me like the Mahannah regulars get screwed so that those yahoos that want to come in on opening day and shoot an hour and a half before daylight and try to kill each other over the best spot to watch the ducks fly over from because some crazy coot hunter done scared em all up before he could even see them have won this one. It is unbelievable to me that anyone would prefer a draw which locks down the entire preserve to everyone but a few over some reasonable regulations like were recommended here. I have hunted Mahannah almost exclusively over the last several years because it is accessable, available (meaning that except for opening weekend and a couple of others there are usually few hunters there), and I always see ducks when I go there. Now I guess I am going to have to invest in a boat and hunt either Chotard or Eagle lakes as they are about the only public hunting close enough to me to be worth a regular trip. I know Delta National is there as are the Greentrees but they were usually worse than Mahannah for being over hunted and to me much more dangerous. They will be now especially.

It is a sad day if Mahannah has gone to a draw system. For anyone who regularly hunted there anyway.

[Anatidae]

Looks to me like the Mahannah regulars get screwed

Well. Bob...........I know this is going to offend you, BUT..................you sure aren't helping them much, either........

I have hunted Mahannah almost exclusively over the last several years because it is accessable, available (meaning that except for opening weekend and a couple of others there are usually few hunters there), and I always see ducks when I go there. Now I guess I am going to have to invest in a boat and hunt either Chotard or Eagle lakes as they are about the only public hunting close enough to me to be worth a regular trip. I know Delta National is there as are the Greentrees but they were usually worse than Mahannah for being over hunted and to me much more dangerous. They will be now especially.

It is a sad day if Mahannah has gone to a draw system. For anyone who regularly hunted there anyway.

Just an example of ' a little too much information shared (for the comfort of those who still plan to hunt there) by a well-intended hunter that doesn't plan to hunt there anymore (for whatever reason.....especially the part.....

"............and I always see ducks when I go there."

Man, that's all anybody needs to hear to make'em pack the truck and head that way......... .......regardless of whether you are a reliable source of information, or not.

......and an example of a 'used to hunt there' not having much consideration for the ones that still do......... I don't hunt there either, so I'm not about to speculate on what's the best solution - but more hunters (and now, potential draw applicants) doesn't seem to be a way to improve matters.

Sorry.....I don't get-it, I guess. That's why I wish the moderators would 'LOCK' the thread early, or go to a Private Message Response ONLY.....like they did on the 'Fuge'.

......and an example of not thinking anybody will end-up at the other two places you mentioned because of THIS statement........?

....."to be worth a regular trip."

Hey, it's your bed.......YOU lay in it. But don't screw it up for the folks that value a little solitude. If you don't hunt that WMA, then it shouldn't really be your concern - except for the fact that it COULD eventually happen to whatever WMA you DO hunt, if something isn't done to hault the flood of information. You aren't going to find specific endorsements about a particular WMA (like the one above), on the MDWFP website.

What do you intend to do.......talk about a WMA until it gets screwed-up, then move to the next one - only to 'talk' it up and lead more folks to screw THAT one up......then move-on? You'e gonna be a real popular guy!

I rest My case, PoMo......

[msbigdawg1234]

You aren't going to find specific endorsements about a particular WMA (like the one above), on the MDWFP website.

WTH they file daily and weekly report on every WMA on the site. I think that would be alot more reason for some yahoo to pack the truck.Just because someone says they have seen ducks somewhere that don't mean they are there everyday.There has been suggestions to fix the problem and they are the only way to do it right. This draw is not only gona hurt said WMA but will effect surrounding leases too. The place is so big if ya don't have x amount of hunters the ducks will sit.I have seen it happen.I am not saying we need this influx of 256 hunters piled on top of each other but it is only like that on weekends at the start of the season.Like i said draw on weekends, shell limit ,no 5am rule and some FED ENFORCEMENT would solve this prob.

[dukhntn]

You think I can get my $15 WMA fee back?

[greenheadgrimreaper]

I adressed that on another forum. Be damned if I pay a sum of money for wma upkeep when I don't even know if I'll get to hunt it. I got a couple 5 acre beaver ponds i got for lease for 1500/acre in the hills bordering choctaw wma...say... I do need that new boat/motor combo...

[mottlet]

A thread with the name of a WMA is now five pages long and sure to grow. On a forum that, with an occasional slip-up, is pretty tight-lipped as far as internet duckery goes. You don't think word gets out?? I met a fellow duck hunter up here in Virginia that recognized my handle. Almost every post I've ever made on this here internet was made on this site...and a guy from Northern Virginia had recognized "mottlet" from that "site in Mississippi." And I don't post near as much as some; and it's usually in the sports forum anyway. But he was familiar enough with the site to recognize my name anyway. You can be damn sure that if he ever plans a trip to Mississippi to hunt public land, he's gleaned enough information to race you to your hole. Chew on that.

mottlet

[LODI QUACKER]

What the hell difference does it make now?

ITS A FREAKIN DRAW LET EM PUT IN WITH THE OTHER 10,000 knee booters!!!!!!!!!

[bigwater]

how many hunters will get drawn?
how many "stations-blinds-hunting areas" will there be?
will the mdwfp have the necessary manpower in place to see that things run properly?

lots of work to be done and lots of questions to be addressed..

[champcaller]

only time will tell...