Shooting roosts in my area is also a big problem. I am all for having a shorter season for a few years and see if it makes a difference. Maybe a break the beginning of January
Shooting roosts in my area is also a big problem. I am all for having a shorter season for a few years and see if it makes a difference. Maybe a break the beginning of January
"And ignoring people on here....that's like being home schooled. Just say you're not ready to face life." Highstrung
Agreed. Technology may make it easier to find spots, but the main problem is people won’t let the ducks rest. People being on the water 7 days a week is the overwhelming issue. Same thing for deer hunting. Unless you have 5,000 acres or multiple separate tracts, you don’t need to be hunting everyday. People wonder why they can’t kill nice bucks and when I talk to them this is the overwhelming issue. They on the land every dang day hunting or putting out corn.
You get the loudest mud motor out there and blow by all of the other googans on the way to your “hole” and post reports on the inter web...
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” - Thomas Jefferson
Less pressure, less days on the water and half days in some areas
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” - Thomas Jefferson
But look at how catahoula lake is,they got birds and even more pressure than we got.They have the food and a higher abundance of ducks though.Every state has a different scenario,but our problem is we have no public food sources and they are constantly harassed.I would love to see how the state would benefit if we would have an alternating schedule for public waters like the Category 1 wmas do.We could be able to hunt 3 days out of the week and have to cut off hunting by 12 am like they have at the hatchery wma in the lower lake and other places out west.
Last edited by coot nasty; 02-13-2021 at 09:06 AM.
"I'm just a victim of a circumstance"
Pressure..... It would seem from some comments pressure it the only reason SC public land sucks..... I'm curious how many in here commenting already sent an email to dnr about the aquatic draft plan for this year..... Pressure sure plays a small part.... Limiting the hunter had gone far enough in my opinion and when that happens it doesn't go backwards.... Without food on the lakes and better management of our CAT 1s and CAT 2s limiting pressure will only give the illusion of success. Sure some hunters may get a few more birds.... It's the same number of birds that would normally be here without the food unless that changes... Maybe we should push for better management instead of limits on ourselves and teach the younger generation to take care of a resource. Limiting hunting and access has enough of an uphill battle against anti hunters to not have to fend off attacks from fellow hunters..... If you really think pressure in SC is the biggest issue.... A little research goes a long way...... I would start with duck stamp sells from the 60s to 80s and look at duck stamp sells now...... You think there is pressure imagine the amount of public land hunters the vs now.....
“Duck hunting gives a man a chance to see the loneliest places …blinds washed by a rolling surf, blue and gold autumn marshes, …a rice field in the rain, flooded pin-oak forests or any remote river delta. In duck hunting the scene is as important as the shooting.” ~ Erwin Bauer, The Duck Hunter’s Bible, 1965
That doesn't answer the question of food..... Everyone has there own opinion of what a true duck hunter is. Heck some think it's throwing corn in a pond until duck season and shooting whatever shows up and others think it's throwing out decoys calling and blam. The number 1 issue in SC is food period. Until we address the waste lands our lakes and rivers have become then the issue will remain the same. We have less hunters now than in the 60s and 70s. Kids sky busting and posting limit pics adds pressure how??? If a duck moves from one area to another??? Food and quality habitat has to be the number 1 goal not limiting hunter access. We have enough of an up hill battle with anti hunters than to argue among each other about what a real hunter is..... Instead of complaining take a kid and teach. I was lucky enough to have someone teach me some about duck hunting in HS then as I got older I was very lucky to have good friends to really teach me about it.
“Duck hunting gives a man a chance to see the loneliest places …blinds washed by a rolling surf, blue and gold autumn marshes, …a rice field in the rain, flooded pin-oak forests or any remote river delta. In duck hunting the scene is as important as the shooting.” ~ Erwin Bauer, The Duck Hunter’s Bible, 1965
What is interesting is the sentiment from many SC hunters about absolutely not wanting "restrictions" on our public waters. We want our freedoms and unfettered 24 / 7 access so we can camp out, hold the hole days in advance of opening day, scout incessantly and find "tons of birds" a week before opening day and then say "they left" or must have gotten "pushed out" by opening day and still absolutely refuse to do anything to make a change....and we'll do it all over again this next duck season.
What's even more ironic............these same folks will load up all of their waterfowl gear and run to AR, who restricts the numbers of days an OOS can hunt on public waters and hunt public waters that have strict horsepower restrictions, strict time restrictions on when they can access to hunt and strict time restrictions on when they must leave. I imagine shell limitations, prop size limitations, etc. Does anyone else see the double standard or is it just me? I believe it's a sad state of affairs that we're constantly blaming no food, sky busting, camping out days in advance of opening day, 24 / 7 access and we can't band together to make a difference. Yet we will continue to go to restricted well managed STA's in FL, restricted flooded timber in AR, etc.
The enormous benefit that private waterfowl impoundments have in SC are 3 fold: food, limited hunters and less / controlled pressure. High numbers of ducks = higher rate of success, lower numbers of ducks = ability to limit and control numbers of hunters, hunting days / times, etc. Even when they run out of food they're still providing cover, food in the form of invertebrates and refuge from the constant harassment they receive on public waters which can afford them the opportunity to still kill ducks.
Sadly, SC public duck hunters will keep doing what we do under the guise of nobody is going to restrict our rights to hunt and access and we'll continue to go out of state where we embrace restricted rights and access.
Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill
Well said. End thread
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance” - Thomas Jefferson
So if in Sc our dnr system said we will give in and give you one of the two options. 1 put food back on the lake. 2 make limited access and cutoff times. You would pick option 2 first?
Id like to make this a poll and see what yall would choose
Last edited by coot nasty; 02-13-2021 at 11:26 AM.
"I'm just a victim of a circumstance"
I wonder how many thousands of posts in hundreds of threads are archived on this site from the early 2000's discussing these exact points...
Like, https://scducks.com/forum/showthread...d-on-New-WMA-s for instance?
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