HOW WAS THIS YEAR?

[Wildfowler]

The hunting at our Steele Bayou location sucked again this year (until the last weekend) and I am convinced that Mahannah is the culprit...Ever since the state bought that property, our hunting has gotten steadily worse...

Hammer, do you think the hunting is getting worse only because of Mahanna, or because that part of the state is getting re-forested on a more widespread basis? What about your Satartia place, do you think it is suffering from the same problems? That's not too far apart.

Just curious to know what it is about Mahanna that has messed up the hunting in this area because I know of others who have said that Mahanna has helped to hold birds in thier area.

Thanks.

[Greenhead22]

I killed twice as many birds this season than last, and saw a helluva lot more birds this season, saw more in one day than all last season. This last weekend was the best in our area, new birds moved in Saturday, but disappeared when sunday morning came around. In three days, 3 of us ended up with 25 birds, best weekend of the season. Saturday evening was the best, probably had over 500 birds total to work the hole, got mallards and gads, alot of pintails worked but didn't get in close enough for a shot. I went back yesterday evening just for the hell of it and doubled on a pair of mallards that hit a crosswind and came in, knocked the greenhead down on a 50-60 yd shot after he flared, BBB's did the trick and couldn't believe he fell, I just shot at him for the heck of it. I had a teal to come by right before sunset, hit the duck, then he smacked a cypress tree head on.
Went over to get the duck, SOB was gone. I wished I had left on the double shot instead of losing that bird. Last season was a 2.........since I got twice as many birds this season, 4.5.

[caneycreekducker]

This season __________!!!!!

________this _______season_________ducks________ _________!!!!!!


__________ 2

Out!

[gadwall2]

GH22, did you look above your head. As fast as those teal fly, it might still be sticking outta that tree like an arrow.

Let me figure this out. Last year was a 2(rating). This year you killed twice as many birds so you are going to give it a 4.5. Yeah, you definitely did not need to go see DAC last thursday night.

[SoftCall]

I give it a "6". I give last year a "2" simply because a "1" would be if I killed nothing. The last two weeks picked up nicely after these cold blasts.

[Meeka]

I'd give it a big fat goose egg, that's right, 0 as far as duck harvesting. I think duck numbers are way, way down. Last year I killed 50 ducks, and almost all of them were greenheads. This year, I am partly to blame. I hunted like the topwaters I wrote about last year when i was bustin my butt to find ducks when no-one else was. This year, My number of hunts, time per hunt, and in-season scouting was WAY down. That's my fault. I killed two greenheads this year. Keep that in mind when reading my opinions.

On the other hand, I developed a killer sauce to pour over a steak.

[H2OFowl]

This season was just as good as any. I got to be there to see a friend kill his first pintail and his first banded. I had two great hunts with some great guys the last two days. Most of all, it was good because I was fortunate enough to get to go and that's alot more than some people. All this uproar and bullsh**t, about no ducks and DU did this and DU didnt do that. Some people can't see the forrest because the trees are getting in the way. It's not ALWAYS about what kind or how many ducks you kill. Sometimes it about taking time to appreciate what you have or have access to.

but enough of all that whiny sensitive crap, we smooth busted the hell outta some greenheads this past weekend and when you ain't hunting for bragging rights and aint got nothing to prove 2 or 3 good hunts can easily make a damn good season.

[Greenhead22]

haha gad2, very funny.......

that teal hit the water, i heard it, just didn't see it. as for the .5 extra, just threw that in for the hell of it.

[Haymaker]

I don't think that I can put a number on a sport that I love, I will say that there were some bad times, when my boat motor had to be replaced, and alot of good times. Everyone had a safe season, the dog did better this year than last year, did kill a few more birds this year, got to hunt some new places with some new friends, and got to see alot of beautiful sunrises.

Haymaker

[chopper30]

Had a good year, compared to last year it was great. We killed limits just about everyday in january. I give it a 9!

[Hammer]

Hey Wildfowler:

First thing, a friend of Lowell's is a friend of mine...

Second thing, I just figure that all that food and no hunting pressure on the sanctuary side of Mahanna helps right around there but not 5-10 miles away...Several times in the last few seasons I have had seriously flooded green timber with bumper acorn crops and no ducks in my woods or my slough whereas Mahanna was covered up...That did not used to happen...

In general, given the tremendous amount of land that is being managed for waterfowl all over the MS Delta and in light of the past 2 substandard duck hunting years in much of the region, I think it is time for the State and the Feds to rethink their approach on leaving sanctuaries for ducks...20 years ago things were different but there are now 100,000s of acres of private land where ducks are not shot past 12 noon...Why not open the sanctuaries up to limited hunting throughout the season- say 3 days a week til 12 Noon only- with drawings for who gets to hunt where? Such that the birds dont get so used to sitting in the safe zone that they dont spread out...

Dont forget that I also favor a 40/4 permanent duck season with species based adjustments as duck numbers rise and fall...For example, some years the 4 ducks could be all mallards...Other years only 1 or 2 mallards would be allowed...

HAMMER

[Wildfowler]

SB, we seem to have a general agreement among most if not all of the members of this community that waterfowl sanctuary areas on public refuge lands should be hunted at least on a limited basis each year.

I for one know that I would have given my eyeteeth to have been able to hunt in the sactuary of the Pearl River WMA this year.

What kind of executive order would it take to make this a reality, at least on the state maintained WMA's?

[HARLEY]

Up until this weekend it had been hands down the worst duck season I ever had. On the last weekend I saw more ducks than I had ever seen at one time before. Go figure! As a whole though I'm gonna have to say it sucked!

[MAG]

The number rating system is tough to use. If I had to put a number on this season it would probably be anywhere from a 4 to a 6. I think our crew (sometimes 3, but usually 2) ended up with about 80-85 ducks (mostly mallards). These numbers are slightly down from last year and a little more down from the previous year.

A good aspect of this season is our DPD (Dollar Per Duck) went WAYYYY down. The last 2 years we were in a lease and we decieded to try public this year. We killed nearly the same amount for a lot less money. However, our options were much more limited than in years past so we will probably (hopefully) pick up a lease or two next year to supplement our hunting opportunities.

All in all, it was ok. I got to spend a lot of time in the blind with friends, family, and myself. I got another Band, and harvested 2 Pintails. I just wish we would have had more opportunites to shoot some ducks. But I guess we will always wish for that.

MAG

[Crowell]

This year was much better than last year for me. I guess I would give it a 5. Generally had some shooting on most hunts this seasons. Last year I had several hunts with zero shooting. I'd like to thank the fellows on this board for sharing your knowledge. It's a tough sport and if you work at it, and love it, you get better. I sometimes wish I had learned the sport as a kid, but that's not the case. Having been an avid deer hunter most of my life, I now give the edge to duck hunting. The rush of this sport when ducks enter the spread is hard to beat.