Cooper river in danger

[Huntlabs]

I don't know about it. Look what happened to John C. at Gippy when he started messing with the wetlands.

[ruddy duck]

Man, I was wondering when this was going to come back up. I hate to see Mulberry go. I enjoyed hunting it a few years back. I havent been in there in two years bc the duck numbers became so low. I do believe this will be a good thing. I believe the hunting on the river will improve if a few fields ard repaired. This will surely bring a few ducks back to the river and then maybe we can regulate it from being over hunted again.

[Low Country Sandlapper]

I don't suppose any of y'all are familiar with what the feds did to the Maybanks on Jehossee.

[Fish]

Originally posted by DUCKMAN:
- just like a damn shrimper - never do nothing but run the combine and harvest what others have made the sacrifices for.....

<font size="-1" face="verdana,arial,helv">Can I have an amen brothers! As always, you're right on the mark DUCKMAN.

[Ring King]

I don't see how anyone can say this will improve the duck hunting on the public waters. When Buck Hall hunts their properties you can watch the duck take flight and all they do is make big circles above the ponds. Rarely do any of them leave the property. Not to mention all the impoundments that were finished on the Bluff Plantation a couple of years ago. These areas have had good birds in the past few years and there has been no noticed improvements in bird numbers on the river. Even Bobby Meads ponds on Wapoola Plantation have drawn in very few birds in the past few years and they are planted and managed just for the birds.

Lets see that means on the East Branch of the Cooper River alone I can name the following private lands that have impoundments for the birds.

Bluff Plantation
Wapoola Plantation
Mulberry Plantation
White Hall Plantation
Jippy Plantation
Washington
Buck Hall
Merrington Plantation (Back River)

So exactly how many private impoundments does it take to attract ducks back to the Cooper River?

[Huntlabs]

I agree, there are many places on the river already for the ducks to get relief from the pressure. There are more than you listed, if you add Polly, Lewisfield, and Brick House to name a few more. There just aren't any ducks on the river. I hunted Mulberry opening morning and killed 2 Lesser scaup, I hunted Buck Hall and killed 5 ring necks on one trip and 1 ring neck on the last trip. There haven't been nearly the ducks killed there this year as last. If the owner wants to close the dikes at Mulberry I think he has the right but will it help or hurt the hunting, my response is "what hunting?" Look at the hatchery, the place that I killed the best limits of mallards, pintail and big ducks as a young man. There were ducks there but not now. There used to be ducks on the river in all the fields but not now. The upper lake used to be loaded at Spiers Landing, the Islands, the lower lake at Russelville flats, the gator hole, Cross, and more. No ducks now!!! It will take something more than closing Mulberry rice field to get ducks back to the low country.

[quackaddict]

dont forget about potatoe creek, that place used to have quite a few birds itself. if you go in there now you MIGHT kill a woodie, a tamie, and a coot if your lucky. grass carp are the worst thing that could have ever happend to the lakes. although i did hunt russelville a few times this year and saw some hydrillia trying to make a come back, or maybe it was just some that the carp havent found yet....

[ruddy duck]

I believe the ducks have left the Cooper bc of pressure. How many times have you seen rubberheads set up in front of the ricefields and blow hen calls at passing ringnecks? I blieve the birds began to use the private impoundments to roost in and they leave before the sun comes up. Its sad that the river has gone down to what it was. I still love to hear the stories of hunting the Cooper by the oldtimers. It makes me miss a time that I never knew.

[TRASHDUCK]

I would say pressure had a little to do with it after the grass dissappeared from the lakes. The ringnecks and wigeon were on the lakes, but when SC killed the grass the ducks came to the river and surrounding corn ponds. Thats when pressure really took an impact. These ricefields are "Public Domain" after the dykes have been breeched for 10 years. Mr. Gilbert ( the main one pushing the rebuild) bought this property understanding it was public domain. Now after the fact he wants to establish dykes that have been breached for 50 years! That's bullshit!!!! Duck hunters won't get hurt as bad as the fisherman and the fish that can't spawn in the spring. Lived, hunted and fished this river all my life adn would hate to see this happen.

[DUCKMAN]

TD - I do not agree with you! I hunted the Cooper in the sixties and early seventities when the big duck hunting would get slow in the upper lake. We would kill easy limits of widgeon everytime we went - they were there by the 1,000's upon 1,000's. We used a couple of 100 milk jugs painted black as decoys - the locals would laugh at us for shooting "baldpates". Yes there were mallards, blacks, pintails but few ringnecks.

There was absolutely zero hydrilla or brazillian elodea/grass in the lakes or rivers at that time. We would hunt public and rarely saw anyone else except at the landings. Hell the Conservation Officers would not even check us when they found out we were shooting "trash ducks - baldpates"!

The hey-day of ducks at Santee was long before the grass unless you were a diver hunter which the grass did help tremendously but forget that as it will never be allowed due to both State and Federal restraints.

[Islandboy]

I think that everyone will agree that the duck population is declining rapidly despite the statistics. This would leave one to believe that closing the rice dikes and planting them w/ food will increase the # of ducks(population). However there are many other contributing factors to the decline of waterfowl these past years. Not all can be accounted for. I personally think that if we allow individuals to dike the rice fields, in addition to reducing the pressure(shorter season),the population of at least resident ducks will increase. I would rather see 5,000 mallards flying high while sitting on the Cooper than see a pair and some hooded mergs. Al least we all agree that something must be done.