What really would happen?

[2thDoc]

There is an awful lot of misinformation in this thread!

that's kinda where I am at this point. its hard to have scientific discussions when opinions get in the way.

it seems to always be the public hunter pointing at the private landowner. never the other way around.

hopefully, ducks will continue to migrate. pressure and habitat (IN MY OPINION) have a lot to do with where they winter.

[centurian]

Many of our grandparents would have laughed at someone spending thousands of dollars to let another man take him duck hunting in another state. Now it's normal and big business.

Not all but most of those paying could not kill a limit of ducks no matter where they were hunting. I watched a video yesterday duck hunting in ND looked like maybe 8-10 guns and birds just falling like rock. Some flocks came in and nothingt left. 10 people shooting a limit is not like me and my hunting buddy killing a limit, to the total population anyway. If i went out of state to hunt yes i would get a guide but not with 10 other hunters.

[mudflat]

Naturally or unnaturally flooded corn produces more pile pictures than anything out there. Personally speaking, I get this warm fuzzy feeling when I hear we having a wet year. Not sure how you can stop ALL hunting of flooded corn, but they can try.

[Remy]

I'll add - I don't think manipulation of land and/or baiting with corn helps duck or deer numbers. More deer are killed due to baiting than would otherwise be possible. More ducks are killed over impoundments than would otherwise be possible. For every 1 impoundment practicing good conservation there are 9 that only exist to kill big numbers of ducks (because they have paying customers and that's just how it works when people are paying for a product).

[2thDoc]

Naturally or unnaturally flooded corn produces more pile pictures than anything out there. Personally speaking, I get this warm fuzzy feeling when I hear we having a wet year. Not sure how you can stop ALL hunting of flooded corn, but they can try.

i respectfully disagree.
unless you mean released ducks?
i see more pics on here from coastal, non-corn WMAs. Second would be people who travel to hunt. Some flooded timber, some field hunting.
IMO, your statement is just bc you hate corn ponds.
Prove me wrong by pics on this forum....I dare ya

[Buckin Bronco]

i respectfully disagree.
unless you mean released ducks?
i see more pics on here from coastal, non-corn WMAs. Second would be people who travel to hunt. Some flooded timber, some field hunting.
IMO, your statement is just bc you hate corn ponds.
Prove me wrong by pics on this forum....I dare ya

Not to put words in his mouth but I imagine he’s talking about on social media. Which for NC/SC is probably true. Flooded corn and elevated palm frond(sp?) blinds.

[Buckin Bronco]

But at the same time I see plenty of videos of people filming themselves traveling to hunt the famed Santee lake system so maybe it’s not just corn ponds. Social media sucks

[drwilly]

that's kinda where I am at this point. its hard to have scientific discussions when opinions get in the way.

it seems to always be the public hunter pointing at the private landowner. never the other way around.

hopefully, ducks will continue to migrate. pressure and habitat (IN MY OPINION) have a lot to do with where they winter.

its other public hunters critiquing public hunters bitching about surface drive motors etc.

[BCR3]

Could we just start with banning splashers, spinning wings, swimmers, and anything that has a motor? The only thing legal should be a jerk string.

[BOGSTER]

This is complete bs. Most impoundments are left flooded as long as they can for the ducks.

Corn will not grow in wet-poorly drained soil,.....which is a moist area. Corn is planted in higher well drained fields surrounded by a dike. These fields won't convert to moist soil units without the owners pumping water on them throughout the spring and summer.

Like it or not, corn/sorghum impoundments are additional waterfowl habitat that wouldnt convert to habitat if left unplanted..

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

Cat - Thanks for giving your opinions. They are valued.

I'm not sure which areas you speak of, but in Clarendon County, many of the impoundments begin pulling water the last day of the season.
I'm sure not all, but a solid portion of them.

Also, not many impoundments in the county are level by any means. A good many of them vary wildly in depth and depressions, and also incorporate some "wetlands."

As you know, MSM is all about slow draw down, and I really can't think of but 4 that couldn't easily be converted to moist soil, reason being they are primarily greentree with corn pockets.

I've done it on 80 acres, 2 tiered, sloping toward the lake 2 seasons in a row with great plant response. I have added sheet water a time or two, but most desirables were already well on their way to finishing.

My dream would be to figure out how to cater to scarlet toothcup! lol.

In my opinion, it can be done with ease on most Clarendon County fields.

What area of the state have you noticed fields that wouldn't convert well?


I'm well aware that row crop is here to stay and see the benefits of it keeping ducks in an area. I'm just pipe-dreaming and pondering the what ifs of duck hunting because I like talking ducks.

[BOGSTER]

Again, how many birds does a corn pond or any impoundment feed house during a season, and how many birds do they kill? Now how many birds do the public kill and how many birds do they feed help throug out the season. The public land is being destroyed by governments killing off aquatic vegetation, wetlands are being lost to development, state programs are no longer seeding like they once did. So who is actually doing anything positive for the birds? Please tell me where in South Carolina a bird can go and feed outside of private? If there was no private or refuge there would be no ducks killed on public.

Private land offers the number one ultimate factor for birds to stay in an area and that is not corn, its lack of pressure. If you were to plant a million acres of corn and turn it over to public and allow hunting 7 days a week there would be 0 ducks on it. You said there is plenty of natural food available, then there should be no issue killing ducks in those places.

P - I couldn't agree more. The reason Clarendon County winters the most ducks in the state by far is solely because of the corn. That's a no brainer.
Without the corn, lake hunting would be non-existent.

BUT - the pressure on them is so ridiculous.

It's amazing that the ringneck runs the gauntlet everyday

[cajunwannabe]

I've said it for the last 25 years since the loss of 50,000 acres of hydrilla Statewide, if it wasn't for corn ponds, SC wouldn't have ducks.

Regardless of corn, Ringnecks have a death wish Bog, you know that.

[Duckman#1]

Maybe I don’t understand numbers, but there was 1.5 million federal stamps sold last year and there are 34 million breeding ducks in North America. If each hunter only shot 30 ducks there would be none left. Maybe we are just killing all the ducks. Maybe it has nothing to do with flooding corn.

I’d be more worried about breeding grounds, spinning wings affect on juveniles and a 8 bird limit which can be all hens in Canada

[BOGSTER]

I've said it for the last 25 years since the loss of 50,000 acres of hydrilla Statewide, if it wasn't for corn ponds, SC wouldn't have ducks.

Regardless of corn, Ringnecks have a death wish Bog, you know that.

Surprisingly after 20 plus years of just getting themselves mauled 3 days a week, they apparently have gotten wise and they are beginning to play cat and mouse on the impoundments.

Sitting tight til 9-10am before attempting to dive bomb the ponds.

[Duckman#1]

Could we just start with banning splashers, spinning wings, swimmers, and anything that has a motor? The only thing legal should be a jerk string.

I’m good with that. Made that change about 8 years ago

[BOGSTER]

I’d be more worried about breeding grounds, spinning wings affect on juveniles and a 8 bird limit which can be all hens in Canada

That is my ultimate concern D.

All timeless discussed issues play a factor but I honestly fear drain tiles in prairie wetlands and 12 man limits taken every day up there. People say the latter isn’t really a factor…. I can’t see how.

[cajunwannabe]

I listened to this today. Interesting stuff regarding hen mortality.

"Welcome to Delta Waterfowl’s Voice of the Duck Hunter podcast.

When hunters experience a poor season, the natural response is to want to fix it — to take responsibility and be part of the solution. One of the most common reactions we hear after a tough year is, “We’re shooting too many ducks. We need to cut limits or shorten seasons.”

But that idea is built on some assumptions that don’t always line up with the science.

Today’s guest is Delta Waterfowl Senior Scientist Dr. Todd Arnold, who joins us to break down what decades of research actually show about modern hunting harvest and its impact on duck populations. Todd explains why today’s regulated harvest has an insignificant effect on overall duck numbers — and more importantly, what truly drives duck population growth and decline.

If you’ve ever wondered whether hunting pressure is really the problem, or what hunters should be focused on instead, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss."

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcas...=1000748228130

[BOGSTER]

i respectfully disagree.
unless you mean released ducks?
i see more pics on here from coastal, non-corn WMAs. Second would be people who travel to hunt. Some flooded timber, some field hunting.
IMO, your statement is just bc you hate corn ponds.
Prove me wrong by pics on this forum....I dare ya

Using this forum as a sampling of what ducks are killed in SC???

There’s more wild ducks killed on a single pond on any given Saturday in Clarendon County than there are posted on here in an entire season.

Hell there’s more ducks killed in Hickory Top every Saturday then posted on here in a season.

[BOGSTER]

As of 2 min ago the total harvest report for all CAT 1 WMAs for this season was 3,078 birds.

A single pay club in Clarendon County averages almost twice that annually in Ringnecks alone.

[Buckin Bronco]

Cat - Thanks for giving your opinions. They are valued.

I'm not sure which areas you speak of, but in Clarendon County, many of the impoundments begin pulling water the last day of the season.
I'm sure not all, but a solid portion of them.

Also, not many impoundments in the county are level by any means. A good many of them vary wildly in depth and depressions, and also incorporate some "wetlands."

As you know, MSM is all about slow draw down, and I really can't think of but 4 that couldn't easily be converted to moist soil, reason being they are primarily greentree with corn pockets.

I've done it on 80 acres, 2 tiered, sloping toward the lake 2 seasons in a row with great plant response. I have added sheet water a time or two, but most desirables were already well on their way to finishing.

My dream would be to figure out how to cater to scarlet toothcup! lol.

In my opinion, it can be done with ease on most Clarendon County fields.

What area of the state have you noticed fields that wouldn't convert well?


I'm well aware that row crop is here to stay and see the benefits of it keeping ducks in an area. I'm just pipe-dreaming and pondering the what ifs of duck hunting because I like talking ducks.

What level of success as far as bird numbers have you seen? And what size impoundment?