manipulated grain fields

[bog hole]

i would like to get some input from you fellas about hunting over manipulated fields.
AND NO, THIS POST IS NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE WHO HUNTS OVER FLOODED GRAIN.
this is about flooding fields to attract waterfowl. in my opinion, flooding grain fields to attract waterfowl for hunting purposes should be illegal. it goes back to the CORN AND WATER CONCEPT. its legal to put water on corn, but its illegal to put corn on water. same damn combination, WATER AND CORN. I feel that fields should only be legal to hunt if they flood naturally. i thinks its BAITING otherwise. waterfowl should not be drawn to an area with food for hunting purposes. its an unfair advantage over the birds, because it is fact that they will be drwn to the area. I have always grown up with the teaching that one is hunting the waterfowl, it doesn't take much of a hunter to decoy waterfowl in a baited field. the birds are coming there anyway, all yuou have to do is be still and be able to hit your target. IT has nothing to do with fooling a wild animal into believing the caller is one of its own. I think it would lower harvest rates, and in turn send more ducks back up to the breeding grounds, if every yahoo and his brother weren't hammering them on flooded corn fields. FLOOD ALL THE CORN YOU WANT FOR SANCTUARY FOR THE BIRDS, BUT IN MY OPNION, ITS UNFARE TO THE BIRDS TO HUNT THEM IN FEEDING FIELDS. Same goes for spinning wing decoys and any motion decoy, I say we have missed the point, we as hunters have gotten more concerned with who has the biggest stack of greenheads on the tailgate, than the conservation of the waterfowl in general. what do ya'll think?

[JABIII]

[img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

[bog hole]

how about a serious comment JAB. NOT TRYING TO START ONE OF YOUR "WHO IS THE GREAT WATERFOWL MANAGER ARGUEMENTS" i have better things to do, but i would be interested in your view.

[bog hole]

i personally flood fields for sancturaries, but don't hunt them, not saying i have'nt hunted in flooded fields, but just wondering what ya'll think about it.

[Catdaddy]

BH,

Why don't you read the following straight from the USFWS. You might believe them since I get the feeling you don't won't to hear it from someone who owns a floodable impoundment.


http://www.fws.gov/le/HuntFish/waterfowl_baiting.htm

[Panther]

The feds say it is legal.Dose not matter what you,JAB,CAT,me or anybody else thinks.

[JABIII]

Well Bogster, if you have hunted as much as you claim to have, you would know that there is no easier place on the planet to kill ducks than in flooded timber. So are we going to outlaw that too? I guess we have to outlaw ricefields now because you say we can't hunt them either. Let's see now, how about all man made impoundments. That gets rid of Sparkleberry, Lake Murray, Lake Wateree, Parr, Monticello, etc. Will it be OK with you of we still hunt the marsh? I mean really, Daniel Boone, where CAN we hunt?? [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

[just one more]

LOL,


someones appears to be a little green.

I hunt only public land, but I don't get pissed at someone else cause they are killing the shit out of them
If you've got the time, the place, and the $$$ to do it, why not. I just try to hunt as close to those areas as I can.


You can water the corn, but you can't corn the water.

[jwilliams]

I have seen a few of these "bird watchers" in Sparkleberry.
For those of you that wonder, it IS LEGAL TO DUMP TRUCKLOADS OF CORN as long as you don't hunt it...I thought this was interesting since we had a discussion on whether or not it was "legal" to dump corn.

Feeding Waterfowl and Other Wildlife
Many people feed waterfowl for the pleasure of bird watching. It is illegal to hunt waterfowl in an area where such feeding has occurred that could lure or attract migratory game birds to, on, or over any area where hunters are attempting to take them. The 10-day rule applies to such areas, and any salt, grain, or feed must be gone 10 days before hunting. The use of sand and shell grit is not prohibited.

In some areas, it is a legal hunting practice to place grain to attract some State-protected game species (i.e., white-tailed deer). But these areas would be illegal for waterfowl hunting, and the 10-day rule would apply.

[jwilliams]

YES....by all means, please put signs up over your public corn holes. It was just the fact that someone, who we will not name, argued that it was illegal.

[Nab]

Let's cut to the chase here -
Corn ponds are legal to hunt in.
Dumping corn into the water and hunting it is not.
The end result of both practices is food that ducks are drawn to to be shot.
It's just like the dove situation - instead of cutting limits or season lengths - the one that benefits the person with the means is the one that was chosen.
I'm not saying baiting is right - just like spinners and such are wrong imo - but why not cut the limits and seasons and then feed the birds - this is another case of the gov. telling me not what I can do but how I can do it.
Personally, I don't agree with baiting and hunting over it, but the end result is the same as growing it and flooding it - food in the water.
Heck, I'm feeding the hell out of them now that the season is over, while the ponds are being drained - so don't tell me it is just to help the ducks and other birds - if it was then the plugs wouldn't be pulled the minute hunting season is over.
For goodness sakes, don't think you're a watefowl manager if all you do is manage a corn pond.

[JABIII]

WHAT? NAB is against corn ponds??? I am just shocked! [img]graemlins/freak2.gif[/img]

[Catdaddy]

Originally posted by Nab:
- so don't tell me it is just to help the ducks and other birds - if it was then the plugs wouldn't be pulled the minute hunting season is over.
For goodness sakes, don't think you're a watefowl manager if all you do is manage a corn pond.

<font size="-1" face="verdana,arial,helv">Nab, I sort of agree with you on corn pond management.......but it's really no different than managing any wetland for ducks.

Waterfowl management is more about controling pressure......than/while providing rest and food.
Pressure is SO MUCH MORE important than anything else that not shooting at all...or once a year comes into play more than you think. In order to shoot weekly, you have to have a constant supply of new ducks....something we haven't had in years.

That's the whole problem with public waters. "If I don't come back tomorrow and shoot these ducks, somebody else is going to."


Now as far as pulling the plug as soon as the season is over.............that may be true in alot of cases where draining out and drying in a timely manner is a problem. But just so you'll know ,I plan on draining part of mine this coming weekend.....and the rest a few weeks later.

[JABIII]

Course when push comes to shove and he gets the chance to hunt a flooded grain field...

"Nab
Elite Refuge Member


Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: SC
Posts: 1,649 Otter Predator


Anybody got one of these yet - planning on having 4 shipped to MS for hunting flooded rice and bean fields - only $160 each - weigh 25lbs and have a 3 yr warranty - I know you get what you pay for but these seem to fit the ticket."

http://refugeforums.com/refuge/showt...hreadid=277643

[Nab]

JABIII - don't get it - never said I didn't hunt some flooded fields - got a buddy with over 8k acrs of them in MS - by the way, these are harvested fields too - you know, the normal agricultural practice thing.

[JABIII]

Ohh so it's NORMAL to flood bean fields now? [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

Of course, as you should know by now, Normal Agricultural Process has absolutely nothing to do with hunting waterfowl over standing crops.

[Nab]

After harvesting it is becoming more "normal" - help decompose the stalks and such - even works better in rice fields - after the harvesting is done you should be able to do what you want to with them - have yet to find a regular farmer that plants a field, doesn't harvest it, floods it and still makes a living doing it.

[JABIII]

"After harvesting it is becoming more "normal""

QUOTE OF THE YEAR!

" have yet to find a regular farmer that plants a field, doesn't harvest it, floods it and still makes a living doing it.
"

Why would they try? [img]graemlins/lol.gif[/img]

[DUCKMAN]

First - It IS against the law to place bait in the public waters of SC during waterfowl season! State laws can be more restrictive than Federal laws but not less!

Remove field and grain flooding and you have closed every draw WMA in SC.

Baiting attracts ducks to one spot - A flooded corn field attracts ducks to one area. Flooded fields provide - food - water - cover and rest areas away from "pressure". All waterfowl depend on things other than "grain". Flooded fields provide needed micro-organisms that are not available in large open impoundments(IE - Murray, Wateree, most of Santee, etc.)and running water. These micros are critical to waterfowl and their life cycle.

The decriptions of saying that hunting a flooded impoundment and bait is the same is as ludicrous as comparing an elephant with a mouse.

Flooded impoundments are legal - will always be legal and without them - there would be no ducks and no duck seasons.

Argueing this is where ones credibility comes into question and anything that they say beyond this becomes suspect and highly questionable with anything else that they say, support, suggest or question.

A waterfowl manager regulates water - food - pressure to the betterment of waterfowl. He sends healthy birds north to breed and brood the future of waterfowl. Waterfowl in less than optimum condition are poor nesters(if they nest at all) and produce little if anything for the future. Excessive pressure, poor water conditions and lack of quality food causes stress which results in poor breeding/brooding conditions for waterfowl. Hunters force birds from the primary feeding areas thus the birds are forced into less desirable areas or controlled impoundments.

Waterfowl hunters that contribute little or nothing to waterfowl management( and I am not talking about $20.00 worth of stamps) are their own worst enemy and are the number one problem with waterfowling in SC.

[duckduckdog]

Waterfowl hunters that contribute little or nothing to waterfowl management( and I am not talking about $20.00 worth of stamps) are their own worst enemy and are the number one problem with waterfowling in SC.

I agree DM! I'll be the first to admitt that is wasn't that many years ago that I had some of the same thoughts, but after some reasearch, found that flooded fields are in fact nothing like dumping corn. I don't hunt corn ponds, never have, but I thank the guys that can afford to manage them. I would hate to see what shape this state would be in in if it weren't for the guys that do it right on private land taking care of the resources they have.