Why all the bitchin ??

[BR549]

I agree with nohere and model 12. Location is everything. We've been hammering them all year on a relatively new place. Our best old spot is way off this year. We hunt in groups of at least four to a blind. I can remember twice out of 28 trips so far not limiting out. Just opened my 5th carton of shells.

[River Hunter]

LOCATION WOULD NOT BE THAT BIG OF A FACTOR IF WE HAD THE DUCKS WE USED TO. YOU CAN NOT FIND A BETTER LOCATION THAN THE MAJOR FLYWAY (THE RIVER). AND THERE WERE NO DUCKS ON IT THIS WEEKEND WHEN ALL THE FIELDS WERE LOCKED UP EXPLAIN THAT

[gadwall2]

River Hunter has a point. When the fields lock up you are supposed to see ducks on flowing bodies and in the timber. They ain't there. Malmaison is dead, hunted out. Grenada has some ducks, but not many. Hell, I even went to the Sabogla waterfowl refuge Fri. evening and did not see a duck.( I wasn't hunting, before you start in on me).

CBU93 is on target with the point about animals being habitual, especially ducks. Ducks go to places they know. Why haven't we seen the ducks like we should. Weather is a factor. Duck numbers are a factor. Federal refuges closed for hunting are a factor.

We can all point fingers and blame something. Let the cycle run and we will have ducks again. Its not going to be a quick cycle, but it will cycle. We can help out a lot by supporting a group like Delta Waterfowl. Them boys aint stupid.

[NOHERE]

YOU BOTH ARE CORRECT ABOUT OPEN WATER WHEN ALL THE FIELDS ARE FROZE. ALL OUR STUFF WAS FROZE SOLID SATURDAY AND SUNDAY,
WE MANAGED TO FIND AND MAKE A SMALL AREA OF OPEN WATER. THE ODD THING IS THERE WERE THOUSANDS OF BIRDS ON THE ICE DOWN FROM ONE OF OUR BLINDS WE COULDNT GET TO, EVEN THOUGH WE HAD OPEN WATER, THEY STILL CHOSE TO GO TO THE ICE WHERE THE OTHER BIRDS WERE AND THEY DID NOT HAVE AN OPEN HOLE DOWN THERE- THE ONLY THING WE FIGURE IS THAT THEY WOULD LAND ON THE ICE AND WALK BACK INTO THE UNCUT BEANS... YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE THEM TAKING THE BEANS OFF THE PLANT.

AS FAR AS THE RIVER QUESTION, THATS A GOOD ONE. BEST IF CAN GUESS IS THAT THE OLDER BIRDS ARE NOT USING THE RIVER, THEY ARE USING THE SMALLER RIVER SYSTEMS THAT MAKE UP THE MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY...ITS DEFINITLY BEEN A YEAR TO REMEMBER.

BEING A HUNTER AND A DOG GUY, WE CANT GIVE UP BECAUSE OF 2 BAD YEARS, WE MAY EVEN HAVE ANOTHER NEXT YEAR BECAUSE OF THE DRY CONDITIONS UP IN NORTH OF US, BUT THINGS WILL GET BETTER IN TIME,WE STILL GOTTA HELP THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT HELP THAT CAUSE.

[gadwall2]

NOHERE, funny you talk about ducks going to ice. Two years ago when it so cold we were hunting on Swan Lake and watched hundreds of mallards fall into a hole about 500 yards down from us and then swim to the ice and hop right on top and start congregating with the crowd. It was frustrating to watch and amazing to see.

[NOHERE]

Yep...thats why we keep hunting every year,ya just never know what those critters will do next.

[goosebruce]

I always love it when someone speaks of their 5 years of hunting. No dis-respect brother, but you ain't seen nuff seasons to have an opinion except that this season sucks. You came in on the highest note their ever was, you thought that is how it was supposed to be. You hadn't had no bad times, or hard times, so you couldn't appricate the good times. I'm glad your here, and I'm glad your out there swinging at them.. I honestly don't mean this as insulting, merely trying to point out you aint got a point of refrence.

I remember the days when they said they where gonna close it. The short seasons with 3 splits, with a week/weekend/week in between just to try to stretch it out. And there where ducks EVERYWHERE. Cause we got the weather, we got the birds. Your a modern day duck hunter, and take for granted the high times... 60 days is unheard of before the last couple years. 6 ducks was unreal. When they came up with AHM the most liberal regs they had was 50/5, and that was only 5 or 6 years ago! They upped the antee from that to 6/60 and we all freaked... We had never seen duck seasons like that.

Now this year the duck numbers where down some, and there was a strong push for a 5/50, cause folks said Oh $#!+, the sky is falling. Well, numbers are still 40% to 50% over long term average. Ducks weren't in trouble. But then again, the 5/50 was incredibly liberal when they came out with it just a few short years ago. It was still the most incredible season lenght and options we had ever seen.

So it sucks for 2 years, and someone is to blame? Why? Do ya'll all truely think that man has control over everything? When the ms river floods and breaks a levee that has stood for 80 years, folks say, well somebody should have done something. They did... They gave you dry ground for 80 years... And now, ma nature showed whut a bitch she is, and your house is in the gulf of mexico by this time tommorrow. Who's to blame? Nobody... it comes with the territory. Just like bad duck seasons, and kick ass duck seasons. Look at farmers, their entire lives depend on the weather. How many you see saying, somebody ought to make it rain? Somebody HAS to be to blame? They don't, cause it comes with the territory.

How can you blame a system that has given you in the last 6 seasons 3 "@#$%#" years of record harvests? You name ANYTHING else that has had records of 50% of the time and people bitch about it? The stock market is a good example I suppose... Folks that made a ton for the last decade have gotten beat up last 2 years. Guess what... Most know that it comes with the territory. Some came in on a high, and quit on a low, and they lost out. Those are the guys everyone else is playing on their money. Major league baseball had home run record runs 2 outta the last 5 years, and look what it did for a dying sport! People went nuts over it.. Cause they weren't used to the excitement. Ya'll have a couple bad seasons, and you're ready to hang someone on second base. Hey slugger I know you set a hr record last year, but what have you done for me lately?

Gann, you the man. travis

[BR549]

I guess you get the ataboy award for this week. But you are right about not being around long enough. I thought the most realistic and best seasons we ever had was back in the early 80's. We had an experimental 55 day season ending Jan. 31. We also had a point system. I really liked the point system because of the variety you could kill. We had so many ducks that were 10 point ducks (including pintails) that we probably destroyed our own populations but it sure was great. When I started duck hunting they had just raised the limit from ONE DUCK to two ducks. My dad thought he had died and gone to heaven. How many of you on here remember that?

[TheDuckSlayer@AU]

come on...land in da truck?

yes

[tupe]

Goosebruce,

I too have been around a while, 24 years of duck hunting. Trace that back and you will see that I came into this at the start of the last down turn. You are right about a few things, maybe more. Folks who got into this in the late 90's have high expectations. However, duck numbers are not 40-50% above LTA's. In fact mallards, or rather the Mid continent mallard population (by which AHM is set) was just on the line of the LTA this year.
Gadwall were still above as were a few others but wigoen and several species are in a sharp decline.
MCM population alone has seen an over 27% decrease in the last three breeding seasons.

This is a cycle, and 60/6 was NEVER a good idea, we agree there. Truth is another low water year for the prairie is in the long run a good thing, provided the current administration does not allow all the farmers and developers in the PPR fill in and plow the dry potholes.

Potholes need periodic drought to recharge adn renw vegitation. If we go though a short (two or three year) drough on the breeding ground we will loss some birds, but once it gets wet again we will see another boom in duck populations, IF and only IF teh habitat is not destroyed in teh meen time.


I was there in the bad old days, I'll be there till the end. Yep this year and last were tough, but I still came away with more gifts and memories than any non duck hunter will ever know.


Hope for snow in the prairie,

M.B.

[goosebruce]

M.B.... have I ever told you that i think we should share an adult beverage on a tailgate sometime? We will someday i bet.

Like i said, I certainly didn't mean no dis-respect to the new guys... Only trying to put it in perspective. Some of my best friends, and constant hunting partners, haven't been at it any longer than that. Some are grown men, that had never hunted anything, that I taught to hunt, shoot, etc., and are as much fun in a duck blind as anyone on this earth.

Never one to be all gushy about just being there, I can honestly say i killed a $#!+ load LESS ducks than I had planned too this year. But i did have a great time. Nobody got seriously hurt, and most years i can't say that! hehehe. Shudda seen the morning my sidekick tripped in the ice carrying a moto pole and sliced his forhead open... Had a new york slickker in the blind with us, and he thought us both nuts when I had to make this boy leave to go get stiitches, and this boy made me stay to kill some ducks... hehe, he told me he done busted all dat ice, somebody was gonna get to kill some ducks over it, and he'd call my cell phone if he got dazed from a concussion... Seemed smart nuff until he drove off in my truck, how in the hell could I come get him if he got foggy headed? Couple hours later he was back in the blind with a head full of stitches.I seen some things this year I'll always remember... My middle son ty (11) killed his first airbrone duck (been water smacking for a couple years, hunting for several before that). My bro's first spec. More pintails closer than I have ever seen (that damn split!). Seeing a 1000 mallard ducks all sitting on logs like turtles sunning themselves (still aint figgered that one out). And my dog provided plenty of memories, doing some thing that a few years ago I could have never dreamed a dog could do, let alone one i owned and trained. So yeah, it sucked... But it also provided some great times. travis

[MAKEMBLEED]

You better quit fussing or you wont have any left for next year when the season is about 30 days and you cant kill but two mallards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NOHERE]

WELL GOOSE , I HOPE WE DONT EVER SEE THE DAYS OF "THE POINT SYSTEM" AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH THOSE DAYS WERE VERY PRODUCTIVE AS FAR AS THE NUMBER OF BIRDS WE GOT.

YOUR RIGHT ABOUT THE "YOUNG GUNS", THEY HAVENT QUITE SEEN BAD YET OR MAYBE THEY HAVE, MAYBE THE LAST FEW YEARS WILL WEED A FEW FOLKS OUT OF THE GAME. US OLD FOLKS MAY BE ABLE TO PICK UP SOME DECOYS OR BOATS AT A BARGIN PRICE!!