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Thread: Recent Mediocrity and Observations

  1. #121
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    Pressure is very difficult as to migrating ducks and boat traffic. You would have to regulate boats and hunting. That would be a hard battle to win on our public lakes and rivers. Managing nesting and wintering habitat is a must.
    Last edited by Strick9; 01-19-2020 at 07:59 PM.
    Genesis 9;2

  2. #122
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    Where is resting winter habitat north of I-20 in South Carolina

  3. #123
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    Quote Originally Posted by cat III View Post
    Where is resting winter habitat north of I-20 in South Carolina
    None to speak of.

  4. #124
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    Quote Originally Posted by cat III View Post
    Where is resting winter habitat north of I-20 in South Carolina
    There are private swamps where the owners just do not allow hunting. They collect ducks all season long. The ducks eventually find these places after getting run off of both public and private areas.


    I don't think there are any designated Government owned resting areas.....except maybe the Sandhills NWR at McBee, but I don't think the have very good habitat.

    Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk

  5. #125
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    To echo what Catdaddy mentions, there is a lot more conservation-minded owners around the Pee Dee and other areas than people realize. Conservation-minded people know that our duck population cannot sustain the pressure and fervor SC hunters bring.

    I’m in Florida for work this week. It is a very screwed up state, but SC could adapt a form of the quota system to help things. Maybe not, but in general the state needs to look aggressively at what other states have done to conserve waterfowl and preserve our duck hunting heritage.

  6. #126
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    Well said , Ghetto

  7. #127
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    Do they still feed the ducks with piles of corn in that refuge on Lake Marion?
    Last edited by Fish; 01-21-2020 at 09:38 AM.

  8. #128
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    Quote Originally Posted by Catdaddy View Post
    There are private swamps where the owners just do not allow hunting. They collect ducks all season long. The ducks eventually find these places after getting run off of both public and private areas.


    I don't think there are any designated Government owned resting areas.....except maybe the Sandhills NWR at McBee, but I don't think the have very good habitat.

    Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
    Goodale State Park.. there are a few bodies of water around here just a smidge above I20 that have peace.. well, from guns.

  9. #129
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fish View Post
    So they still feed the ducks with piles of corn in that refuge on Lake Marion?

    Not until after Yute weekend.
    F**K Cancer

    Just Damn.

  10. #130
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    Quote Originally Posted by Palmetto Pride View Post
    So, the question is, what if anything can be done to improve duck numbers?
    You mentioned hard, irrefutable data. Being involved with Delta Waterfowl like I was for so many years, and learning alot a bout their goals and initiatives, I still wholeheartedly believe in the cause even though I'm not actively volunteering with them anymore. The old saying we kicked around was 'if they don't hatch they don't fly south.' The data Delta has compiled that shows how effective predator trapping and hen houses, when in combination or by themselves, helps to boost nest success, is hard to argue with. There's so many variables in the whole duck equation that the what happens on the breeding grounds is only one piece, but in my mind its the most fundamental, and most important piece. A duck can find a place to hang out and eat. Like any wild animal their instinct is to survive and they're pretty good at it. They'll figure out or get shot, or get eaten, whatever. But if they don't hatch, well you know...

    Is habitat disappearing? Hard to say no. With so many farmers filling in potholes to make more plantable earth, that's a age old problem. But nesting hens will move to somewhere else. I don't buy much into the "guides from LA, OK, and other states saying there's no ducks, so it must be true." Well as y'all know all too well, we used to winter so many mallards here in SC it was insane. Then they quit coming it's not because the ducks disappeared, they simply went somewhere else. Sounds to me same is now happening, or already happened, in those other states as well.

    But back to Delta... I think the practices they implement that boosts nest success is the first step to bolstering, or at minimum stabilizing duck populations. Once they hatch and grow to adulthood they'll find food.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Delta in a nutshell: Breeding grounds + small wetlands + big blocks of grass cover + predator removal + nesting structures + enough money to do the job= plenty of ducks to keep everyone smiling!

    "For those that will fight for it...FREEDOM...has a flavor the protected shall never know."
    -L/Cpl Edwin L. "Tim" Craft

  11. #131
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    What does Delta do to support winter habitat in all 4 Flyways?

  12. #132
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    Quote Originally Posted by BOGSTER View Post
    Why do Florida hunters have such success on refuge draws, STAs, Lake O, St Johns, Tampa Bay, and more importantly, the open Glades?

    They are shooting limits of bluewings, ringnecks, widgeon, pintails, Florida mallards, and tree ducks in 75 degree weather, week in and week out. Why?
    I feel like nobody responded to this, so I guess I will.

    The amount of habitat in Florida, is obviously much greater than that in SC. Maybe the quality isn't even that much better, but the quantity of limited access areas, is much better. The amount of draw hunt opportunity a hunter in Florida has is exponentially higher than that in SC. But a lot of the draw hunt areas are only open a few days per week, are pole/troll/paddle only, and have tons of hydrilla / SAV's. These areas aren't open to bass boats or airboat.

    Now in regards to the glades, there's ducks out there and the imprint of lake o and the glades I feel like is why there will "always" be ducks out there even if the habitat degrades. It's the last stop for many BWT and ringers and the amount of water and vegetation is so plentiful that even if ducks are blown out of an area, they just fly a few miles away and enjoy the exact same water/vegetation/habitat they were in before being disturbed.
    "Hunt today to kill tomorrow." - Ron Jolly

  13. #133
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    Quote Originally Posted by cat III View Post
    What does Delta do to support winter habitat in all 4 Flyways?
    Not much, that DU's thing. DU is for ducks, Delta is for duck hunters. Local chapters are active and do some of that stuff on their own via their Waterfowl Heritage Funds (link at the bottom). Like the South Carolina chapters that orchestrated installation of the donated wood duck boxes in Hickory Top Greentree Reservoir and the Kansas Chapter that helped repair a public hunting area to get it back to usable condition (link also at the bottom), to name a few. DU likes to secure land to make sure a waterfowl's year-round habitat needs are met. Whereas Delta focuses on what science has shown to boost nest success to highest possible rates by removing predators from the breeding grounds that eat eggs and sometimes hens, as well as installing hen houses that gets hens off the ground and out of a predator's reach.

    Both DU and Delta have their things, and to me, deserve support from the duck hunting public. But I don't want to make this a Delta v DU thing. Unless you want to start another thread, then we can go down that rabbit hole if you'd like.

    https://deltawaterfowl.org/waterfowl-heritage-fund/
    https://deltawaterfowl.org/delta-res...nsas-location/
    Last edited by willyworm; 01-21-2020 at 03:07 PM.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    Delta in a nutshell: Breeding grounds + small wetlands + big blocks of grass cover + predator removal + nesting structures + enough money to do the job= plenty of ducks to keep everyone smiling!

    "For those that will fight for it...FREEDOM...has a flavor the protected shall never know."
    -L/Cpl Edwin L. "Tim" Craft

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