What are you willing to do to see more ducks?

[BigBrother]

As long as we're talking pressure and rest areas and trout...

There's always talk of reducing limits, no afternoon hunts...always something for the duck hunter to give up or give...

But the real pressure doesnt come from guys who sit in one spot with decoys out to "disturb" the ducks. It's from landings full of fishermen. Bass tournaments, trout tournaments, full time guides fishing every day "while the bite's hot" or chasing this oyster bank for this tide, or chasing this drain for that tide. Zoom zoom zoom.

Ducks on the East coast are so done, you dont need a fork to tell.

[thunderchicken]

DO NOT PLANT THE REFUGES!

That was one of the worst ideas in the history of waterfowling.

Out of curiosity, why?

[2thDoc]

so you're saying outlaw the internet to save the fishing?

[2thDoc]

Out of curiosity, why?

bc they will be happy there and never leave for the peons of the world to skybust?

I always wondered what made the santee lakes to good back when they were built. IMO, it wasnt aquatic vegetation. it was acorns. Too bad oak trees dont like being wet all year long....

[Remy]

bc they will be happy there and never leave for the peons of the world to skybust?

I always wondered what made the santee lakes to good back when they were built. IMO, it wasnt aquatic vegetation. it was acorns. Too bad oak trees dont like being wet all year long....

And big barrels of corn

[cajunwannabe]

Just what the title says, what are you willing to do to see more ducks in our Atlantic Flyway?

For me to see more ducks in SC, I install and maintain wood duck nesting boxes so next generations can have an opportunity to kill a duck in SC. I can't change the weather, I don't have a place to create habitat and if I did I'd probably only shoot it once or twice a season and sadly, most importantly, NOBODY in SC is interested in restricting pressure.

Many years ago after fighting, and losing, the battle against using grass carp to control, aka eradicate, hydrilla on Lake Murray, I saw the handwriting on the wall. When we were forced to 350 yards from the nearest occupied residence on Murray (while a significant homeowner continued to bait her yard) and a State DU official, in collusion with government officials, used the words "compromise" when explaining to me we "had to do something", I knew public waterfowling was not a priortiy.

Regarding hunting, I, like many others, am willing to go to other States that have ducks, States that manage and try to control pressure and States that have far superior habitat. Unfortunately, those States are now becoming inundated with out of state hunters, but some are responding and putting controls on nonresident hunt days and increasing nonresident license fees to better the hunting habitat and opportunity for their waterfowl and their residents.

[Coastal Woodie]

Out of curiosity, why?

I wasn't alive during that time period so I'm also curious why.

[joeydpga]

What happens when we go to other states and pressure those birds?

[LCO]

No "Significant" Agriculture = No food = No Ducks.

[cajunwannabe]

What happens when we go to other states and pressure those birds?

They have wings, they'll fly away to places with less pressure.

Unless there is a substantial amount of hard to access quality habitat and / or restrictions on pressure. 11 am cutoffs, 2 pm cutoffs, 4 day per week hunting only. In SC, NOBODY wants to hear the word restrictions.......but they'll drive 17 hours to a State that has them and abide by them in order to shoot a duck. It's kind of comical when you think about it.

A duck will not stand for group after group after group of hunters on public water "scouting", aka joy riding through quality habitat and running them up morning, noon and afternoon.

[LCO]

I am willing to leave my guns in the safe to go trout fishing. it is a hell of a lot more rewarding.

And All GODS people said amen. The trout game has been a damn good time for me in lieu of duck hunting

[BOGSTER]

Out of curiosity, why?

I wholeheartedly believe that by flooding row crops for waterfowl, we have completely screwed up everything we loved about them to begin with.


Wild animals don’t need us to feed them.
That’s a special kind of arrogance to think so.

We need to feed wild animals because otherwise the majority of us that hunt them would never get close enough to kill em.

[centurian]

It is all about weather, Without weather you only have local birds that are gone quickly after the season opens. I quess you have released birds down there too but I have never hunted a released mallard. I know some who have at Santee. My main stay has always been mallards and blacks with a few wigeon, pintail and gadwall thrown in. Hunting a little farther north than most of you guys but our season was dictated by the weather. No freeze ups or north western storm fronts equals no migratory ducks.

As far as refuges are concerned they have ruined what little duck habitat there is in the midlands of SC. We used to hunt Broad river and Tiger river from time to time. All that is now Waterfowl management areas with very limited access.

The pressure aspect can and will take care of itself when the effort/reward is to great. Duck hunting is tough and hard work if you are going to be successful. Do the hard work without reward and hunter will find something else to hunt. There are way to many duck hunters today. Thank the outdoor magazines for that. Ruined duck hunting, turkey hunting, and bass fishing. To many hunters for a finite resource.

anyone got any interest in several dozen cork decoys.

[BOGSTER]

No "Significant" Agriculture = No food = No Ducks.

I agree.

Wonder how the millions of em survived for millions of years before ole whitey crossed the pond and started planting crops for em?

That’s a head scratcher.

[BOGSTER]

I want the corks - PM coming

[mud ugh]

They have wings, they'll fly away to places with less pressure.

Unless there is a substantial amount of hard to access quality habitat and / or restrictions on pressure. 11 am cutoffs, 2 pm cutoffs, 4 day per week hunting only. In SC, NOBODY wants to hear the word restrictions.......but they'll drive 17 hours to a State that has them and abide by them in order to shoot a duck. It's kind of comical when you think about it.

A duck will not stand for group after group after group of hunters on public water "scouting", aka joy riding through quality habitat and running them up morning, noon and afternoon.

This to me is a huge part of the problem. I’d be willing to give up my mud motor to have better hunting. It won’t bother me as much as the younger generation because I learned to hunt when there weren’t any. I decided during teal season to give up hunting my favorite area after I watched the fifth boat blast through the field of emergent vegetation I was looking at with binoculars on a weekday.

At the very least make it idle only outside of main channels. I’ve seen good spots ruined in my time because they became well known shortcuts.

[Catdaddy]

Alot of ducks above us is the answer.


Farmers switching to winter wheat around the Great Lakes and up into Ontario would have the biggest impact for us.



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[BOGSTER]

always wondered what made the santee lakes to good back when they were built. IMO, it wasnt aquatic vegetation. it was acorns. Too bad oak trees dont like being wet all year long....

There were tons of mallards on Lake Moultrie back in the day.

Toy says they were feeding on grass.

He claims we’ve had aquatic vegetation on both lakes at least since he was 7 years old.

[Catdaddy]

There were tons of mallards on Lake Moultrie back in the day.

Toy says they were feeding on grass.

He claims we’ve had aquatic vegetation on both lakes at least since he was 7 years old.

I remember at first light all the Moultrie ducks would go to some impoundments near Russellville, own by Russcon const out of Charleston.

We used to set up on Twin Island. We sat up against the large stumps. They would come in droves like gnats around 9am to loaf and eat grit from those islands.
Nothing like shooting into five 100 bird flocks of mallards and blacks.

We didn't get to Boneau Beach landing until 7 am.

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[swampknob]

It has always surprised me that there aren't any mallards along the lower savannah river. The amount of oaks that get flooded from Groton to the Exleys is astounding.