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delta hunters

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2003 7:46 pm
by FARMDUX
i wish the guys that live in the delta and hunt almost everyday like a real duck hunter should would log on here and compare this season to past seasons so that the overpaid weekend hunters that bait there holes would understand population is down. just because they have ducks coming to 600lbs of corn doesn't mean there are a lot of ducks here.

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2003 7:53 pm
by gadwall2
kinda new here aintcha

Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2003 8:00 pm
by HARLEY
And here I was thinking that corn was solving all my problems! :oops: :shock: :lol: Seriously though I must agree there are no ducks this year, and after the success of the breeding grounds is determined (how do you get a straight answer on that?) We should probably back off a little next year, or continue suffering as we are now.

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2003 4:59 am
by Delta Duck
Thank goodness I have not had to start chasing those snow geese this year :wink:

Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2003 7:09 am
by RedEyed Duck
I'll be chasing those snow geese in about 1 week! Gotta shoot up all this excess ammo from the past 2 seasons.... Anybody want a few of these fine critters to eat just let me know.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 8:43 am
by gadwall2
DD you were close to chasing them. I had to talk Aaron out of that hunt.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:04 am
by SoftCall
Don't live in the delta but I spend at least 75 days there every year from Sept to Feb. Put it this way, I have 80 acres of standing beans and 50 ducks sitting in them. That's better than last year. This is a cyclical sport. Some years are slow, some are fast and furious. It's the thought of "next year" that should keep everyone coming back. I would spend the same amount of time in the delta if there weren't any ducks. :wink:

We did have a big spike in the number of birds that we saw last weekend and expect the same this weekend. Early season was pretty good for the most part.

Corn? If you know anyone who is putting corn in their duck hole - call the warden. I can promise you that they will not be doing it the next year :x

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 10:41 am
by damnyankee
In Sundays paper there was a short article that said the last count in AR reported 535K ducks. Said this is down over 50% from last years count and 39% off the long term average.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:29 pm
by torch
Softcall it is perfectly legal to put corn in a duck hole and the game warden won't do a thing about it.





You just can't hunt it.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:35 pm
by Greenhead22
Yep, it's legal, and for you to be able to hunt it, the corn has to be removed 2 weeks or so before hunting. I know of several holes in our lease area that have been baiting with corn and the damn ducks aren't going to them, water is clear as a bell and the corn can be seen from a good ways away by the human eye, so I know that the ducks can see it too.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:41 pm
by Greenhead22
As for comparing the prior seasons and harvests:

2 season's ago: over 150 ducks, 35 days hunted
last season: 32 in MS, 10 in La, 32 days hunted
this season: 45 ducks, 35 days

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 4:47 pm
by FARMDUX
go dawgs. another comparison, two years ago at this time my group had harvested @ 540 ducks ; this year were at @ 175. last year totaled @ 225. its killing me! :!: :(

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:10 pm
by SoftCall
two kinds of corn - corn that is planted there vs. corn that comes out of a bag or in the form of chops. I am refering to the later. If you are trying to tell me that it's ok to dump it there, then you must be trying to get rid of me :lol: :lol:

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:23 pm
by Greenhead22
It's legal to feed both deer and ducks with corn, you just can't hunt over it or close to it, within viewable distance or something like that. Alot of the guide services in ark start putting corn in their holes in oct for the ducks, then let the acorns in timber and beans/rice take over when the ducks start coming in heavy. If it was illegal to feed ducks then I know alot of people that would be in trouble by feeding mallards coming to their ponds, lakes, etc.

Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2003 9:24 pm
by dudlbugr
Corn is illegal??? Hmmmm... Guess I'm not going hunting in the morning! :oops: Seriously, though, I'm in the delta, about 10 miles south of Greenville, and there just ain't no ducks!!! I have one good "honey-hole", but it's nothing this year. I've killed about 10 shovelers, gadwalls, and teal this year, all together. I've only hunted about 20 days, due to being out of the country 'till the middle of December, and the rut didn't help, either. I don't know where they are. I went to Oxford, MS this past weekend to visit some relatives, and talked to some hunters out near Sardis. They told me that all the ducks were in the delta! HA!!! I have heard some good reports from the Tallahatchie River area near Charleston, but I don't hunt out of boats very much, so I haven't tried it. My season ends Sunday due to having to go back to work on Monday, so I'm gonna give 'em hell for a few more days!