What really would happen?

[BOGSTER]

I’m not disputing that.
How much refuge is needed?

If the refuge didn’t exist, but the corn ponds did, would the ducks leave?

I wonder.

I cut my teeth hunting public and guess I have killed twice as many on public waters than private. My most enjoyable hunting was in Snake, Mill, and Pine Island Creek,...by far.

I remember hunting Twin Islands in Moultrie when the water was low(1967). Mallards came flock after flock at 9 am to dabble and rest in the sandy pools on the 1 acre of sand that was exposed. They fed at daybreak til 9am in Russcon corn ponds behind Bonneau Beach. The first corn impoundment I had ever heard of. The flocks looked like gnats coming.

I also remember hunting Pinopolis hatchery back then on Saturdays. It closed at noon. At 12.15 the sky was full of ducks. Thats what will happen if you open the Cow Pasture for limited hunting.

All good mallard/gadwall/widgeon hunting takes place near a refuge, whether government or private. You take that away and you are hunting wood ducks.


Heres some results from the GPS mallards which Dr. Cohen is studying

[Calibogue]

It sounds to me like Clarendon Co. has a problem, not SC or otherwise.
In today's world of waterfowl, without the federal refuge system in place, the ducks would be just fine without it.
They will take refuge on private water where they are not disturbed.
There are plenty of landowners that understand waterfowl needs and allow birds to have rest ponds, ie refuge
Also, I've said this before, there is far more beaver swamp and much of it inaccessible than people realize and that number has been steadily increasing across the southeast.
There is 1000's of acres holding ducks and spreading them wide that people never lay eyes upon.

[Calibogue]

Another thing stated in this thread, why would anyone draw down as soon as the season is over?
There are lots of places still holding water and birds and this late food source is important for them.
I still have birds and therefore have no interest in drawing down and I'm not the only one with that mindset.
There is no rush to plant corn when you have until July to do it!

[FOWL MOUTH]

I'm still baffled that you can flood corn to bait ducks to shoot but I can't spread 50 pounds of shelled corn in the swamp to bait ducks to shoot. Only difference is, one costs a whole lot more

[FLS]

I think Cat Daddy is the exception rather than the rule. I’ve sold a fair number of pumps to move water in and out of impoundments. Sometimes part of my pay was a spot in a blind. So I’ve got a little insight. For the pond owner its recreation and business, build a pond and sell spots and have a place to hunt. The guys buying those spot didn’t give a really shit about conservation. They are paying for a spot where they could easily and consistently kill ducks, period. Most have been public hunters and were simply tired of spending the night to get a spot, then having to argue with the shitheads that showed up 15 minutes prior to shooting only to kill a wood duck if they were lucky. The ponds do provide food and refuge for the ducks on the days they’re not getting the shit shot out of them, but that’s not why they are built. The ducks have adapted. I was in Landfall up in Wilmington. Their main lake is large and shallow with a lot of vegetation. There are hundreds of widgeon, gadwall and divers on that lake from Oct thru February. They never leave and they never get hunted. Same thing at Oyster Bay in Calabash. Same thing at Compass Point in Leland. Debordieu in Pawleys. Multiply those by hundreds, maybe thousands and that’s where your all your Atlantic flyway ducks are.