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Started By
Message
re: Have the good ole days of duck hunting become a thing of the past.
Posted on 12/30/23 at 4:15 pm to NorthTiger
Posted on 12/30/23 at 4:15 pm to NorthTiger
How many ducks do you eat a year?
0
Posted on 12/30/23 at 6:42 pm to NorthTiger
quote:I wouldn’t worry about these clowns, they have no clue of what decent duck hunting is.
NorthTiger
Posted on 12/30/23 at 8:13 pm to NorthTiger
ducks dont move until they are frozen out of food
Posted on 12/30/23 at 8:39 pm to Cracker
Conditions and habitat play a major role. If you are looking to kill mallards, Louisiana isn’t the state. Good hunts can still be had, though. Grays, teal and diving ducks still come here en mass. Way too much money to be lost by lowering limits and days.
Posted on 12/30/23 at 8:41 pm to Cracker
Blows my mind how the NELA guys still paying $16K/yr for a pit blind to kill a few teal, gadwalls & spoonies.
Posted on 12/30/23 at 9:38 pm to NorthTiger
I had one hunt about 15 years ago that was awesome like the old days. It was pure luck.
Tupelo gum brake outside Greenwood, Ms that used to be prime duck hunting. I scouted it out one afternoon and heard a ton of mallards back in there, went the next morning. 8 of us limited out on mallards in 20 minutes. They were pouring into that brake like a tornado funnel, breaking tree limbs. After shooting the limit we stayed and watched them come in for 2 hours. It was beautiful, mallards were landing so close to where we were standing in waders it was splashing water on us. My friend killed a beautiful black mallard he got mounted.
I figure I’ll never see a hunt like that again
That brake never got ducks like that again. I think they were migrating through and I just hit it on the perfect day. I was home for the weekend from Mississippi State. Didn’t even need decoys, they wanted to be there and no amount of shooting stopped them from coming. It was amazing
Tupelo gum brake outside Greenwood, Ms that used to be prime duck hunting. I scouted it out one afternoon and heard a ton of mallards back in there, went the next morning. 8 of us limited out on mallards in 20 minutes. They were pouring into that brake like a tornado funnel, breaking tree limbs. After shooting the limit we stayed and watched them come in for 2 hours. It was beautiful, mallards were landing so close to where we were standing in waders it was splashing water on us. My friend killed a beautiful black mallard he got mounted.
I figure I’ll never see a hunt like that again
That brake never got ducks like that again. I think they were migrating through and I just hit it on the perfect day. I was home for the weekend from Mississippi State. Didn’t even need decoys, they wanted to be there and no amount of shooting stopped them from coming. It was amazing
This post was edited on 12/30/23 at 9:41 pm
Posted on 12/30/23 at 11:10 pm to deltaland
The Wood Ducks have disappeared from my property.One boundary is Rigolette bayou(pronounce Row-gully) and we have a slough that is back boundary of my property.I’ve been hunting here over 50 years and last year is first year I never saw a Wood Duck all winter.I remember years past when the slough would be full of Wood Ducks
Same this year,the slough is dried up but water in bayou but I haven’t seen the first duck.
Same this year,the slough is dried up but water in bayou but I haven’t seen the first duck.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 8:09 am to Capt ST
quote:
We are stacking up the ringnecks.
Pretty sure you’re trying to be funny. Maybe not.
Late 90s you would have been laughed off if catshoula lake for bragging about a ring neck. Lol
Posted on 12/31/23 at 8:43 am to LSUA 75
quote:
The Wood Ducks have disappeared from my property.One boundary is Rigolette bayou(pronounce Row-gully) and we have a slough that is back boundary of my property.I’ve been hunting here over 50 years and last year is first year I never saw a Wood Duck all winter.I remember years past when the slough would be full of Wood Ducks Same this year,the slough is dried up but water in bayou but I haven’t seen the first duck.
Catahoula Parrish. Zero wood ducks seen in two days. Crazy
Posted on 12/31/23 at 8:46 am to Cracker
quote:
ducks dont move until they are frozen out of food
That’s what we’ve always said, but I now think it’s more a product of not tilling fields up north. Probly a combination
Posted on 12/31/23 at 9:02 am to Old Character
Like I said earlier we always had wooducks because of the hardwoods in the area. Mornings would always bring a duck or two moving from one area to another. Usually see a hundred or so milling around looking for a place to eat. We hardly see more than 20, sometimes less this year.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 10:36 am to White Bear
I started duck hunting in the 1960's. I was fortunate to have a great friend whose family owned prime property in Pecan Island. If I told the young guys about our hunts, numbers killed, and flights we saw, they would not believe me. If we weren't back at the camp by 8:00 eating breakfast, it was a bad day. The old hands will relate to this. I laugh when I hear some kid tell me that I need to learn to scout. We killed more birds in a season than they will if they hunt until they are 80. I applaud them for their enthusiasm and efforts. This thread is about the loss of our waterfowl hunting past, not tactics. I am now old, physically challenged, my Lab is 12 and I have finally accepted the fact that it is finished for me. This is the last year I will hand over a thick envelope of $100 bills to pursue my love of duck hunting. In the last two weeks I have shot 2 nice 8 points and find myself not missing the duck blind. Best wishes for those still in the game and I hope things improve for them.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 11:15 am to dwr353
Weren’t the limits pretty restrictive for time during the 60s?
La duck hunting really started declining with increased mechanized traffic all over duck country:
1 astronomical increase of shallow water boats(hunting, fishing and bb bow fishing- and yes crawfish paddle wheels too)
2. Explosion of invasives
3. Increasing habitat loss / degradation
Combined with much less or quite the opposite north of us…… perfect storm
La duck hunting really started declining with increased mechanized traffic all over duck country:
1 astronomical increase of shallow water boats(hunting, fishing and bb bow fishing- and yes crawfish paddle wheels too)
2. Explosion of invasives
3. Increasing habitat loss / degradation
Combined with much less or quite the opposite north of us…… perfect storm
Posted on 12/31/23 at 11:59 am to choupiquesushi
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.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 12:07 pm to Cracker
quote:I do not see this happening every year for 20+ years, man. Or maybe it has? There’s more to it imo, the “more” being fewer ducks exist than we’ve been led to believe.
ducks dont move until they are frozen out of food
Posted on 12/31/23 at 12:20 pm to Big Bill
I can second this as well. I haven't seen the mega bodies of blues or snows in SW Louisiana in many years. I used to know of three fields that I could drive by and almost always be guaranteed to see thousands of geese bodied up. These fields were around Thronwell, this one huge body would just randomly move to one field after the other. Year in and year out it was always like this. We happened to have a blind along the path the body would take and that made for some very memorable mornings. Those birds are now gone or only show up in shadows of what they used to be.
I do know several SW Louisiana hunters that now take trips to Oklahoma and claim it's like it used to be here.
I do know several SW Louisiana hunters that now take trips to Oklahoma and claim it's like it used to be here.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 2:09 pm to Old Character
quote:
Pretty sure you’re trying to be funny. Maybe not. Late 90s you would have been laughed off if catshoula lake for bragging about a ring neck. Lol
Yes, comment went over the head of many. And I had to be seriously struggling to shoot anything other than a can diver wise in 80s-90s on catahoula.
Spent last 3 months in TX handle roughly 50 miles from OK border. The amount of grain left in fields is mind blowing. I’ve seen the same from ND south. Add in the abundance of reservoirs, there’s no reason for the birds to leave without considerable snow cover.
I’ve watched the Terrebonne marsh deteriorate rapidly the last 20 years. Levee system keeps marsh too high now and the ducks we kill has changed with it. Fishing is much better and I guess that’s the silver lining. But explaining to guy last nite why are markers for run weren’t in a line. I had to break out 2001 map, old bayou 40’ wide is now an open expanse of marsh over 300 yds wide. Habitat loss is a big factor down here as well.
Might also add, the saltwater came in and wiped out all our SAVs this year.
Posted on 12/31/23 at 2:29 pm to dwr353
Glad you’re still kicking!!
Posted on 12/31/23 at 2:32 pm to Capt ST
quote:
Might also add, the saltwater came in and wiped out all our SAVs this year.
The salinity is very high in much of the intermediate and even freshwater marshes The feed is gone
Which brings up an interesting question. Why would a duck spend time in Louisiana this year? Can we even support a large number of ducks?
Northeast and Central LA bottoms are bone dry (no acorns to feed on). Most every pump on the WMAs are in the mud right now and can’t pump
NW LA lakes are chocked full of salvinia
The Mississippi /Ouachita/Red/Black Rivers are as ever (no backwater flooding = no food).
South LA rice fields are full of crawfish traps getting ran through everyday
South Louisiana cypress swamps that used to have duckweed are all salvinia and floatant
South LA marshes have no feed due to saltwater and 1000 flatbillers running through them everyday with daddy’s prodrive
Anything I am missing?
This post was edited on 12/31/23 at 2:56 pm
Posted on 12/31/23 at 3:11 pm to FowlGuy
quote:
I live in SE Arkansas and here are my observations. #1 Farming Practices When it’s bone dry in October and all the farmers disc the fallen grain fields and hip rows leaning it looking like the Sahara Dessert, ain’t good for ducks. Not to mention if thr land owner Dosent hunt or want to lease the land there’s no water for ducks to stop. I live 60 miles from Miss River and I haven’t seen a duck this year and it’s all Ag fields from my house to river. I also have not seen one snow goose or one speck on the ground. I’ve lived here for 20 years and the last 3 have been horrendous. Public land has mainly been due to no water accumulation
Pretty sure the rows have been hipped in the fall when possible for a long time
Also SE Ark has seen a decrease in rice acres from the past - more corn and soybeans- same with MS delta
The big rice counties in Ark are around Jonesboro now
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