re: Have the good ole days of duck hunting become a thing of the past.

Yes to all of your points. I have been fortunate enough to also make many hunts in the Texas Pan handle for geese, Wisconsin for geese, and Saskatchewan for ducks and geese. The habitat is vast north of us now. I made regular trips to a friend's ranch in Wyoming for about 12 years. The numbers of birds in the Nebraska Sand hills we saw reminded me of the old days. Land use changes north of us and habitat degradation in La along with commercial duck hunting nationwide have made the difference.