Call It What You Want

[borntohunt]

Short Stopping. That’s the problem. Ducks no longer migrate south. They only go south as needed to survive. A few still have the old migration imprint but we are seeing the evolution of a new breed of ducks.

Just look at the latest survey in Arkansas. They went south for a few days and then back north to the DU impoundments and corn fields:

In the final statewide aerial survey of the 2022-23 waterfowl wintering period, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff last week saw a drop in mallards and total ducks across the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (the Delta) compared with the staff’s midwinter survey from two weeks ago,

I’ve read plenty of solutions in this forum. Most if not all are not even close to solving the problem. For example somebody posted the problem is younger hunters sky busting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Just like lakes and rivers are stocked with fish, so too the sportsman’s paradise needs to be continually stocked with birds in the wild. The stocked fish haven’t introduced any diseases and neither will stocked ducks.

Many states are stocking tens of thousands of pen raised pheasants. Stocking has brought pheasant hunting back to South Dakota.

 

[Rick Hall]

No thanks. But I do wish that flooded corn would quit short-stopping our poule d'eau and robins.

 

[ukcpeak]

I don't even know where to start with this one...just no...not even. You are comparing apples and carrots. There is that much difference between fish in a lake or pond and wild migratory fowl. This experiment was a miserable failure in the Atlantic Flyway, and everywhere else it's been tried. If you want to shoot that bad take up trap, skeet, and/or sporting clays. If you want to shoot a pile of mallards, go volunteer to be a gunner for your local retriever club's next test.

The answer is habitat, and it has never changed. Put the marsh back together and 75% of LA's migration problem is solved.

 

[ducaholic]

Weather and habitat. Y'all can figure out the rest. I refuse to be baited in to this debate again this year As for supplementing the fall flight or lack there of no way

 

[Jordan Vizinat]

I want to shoot wild ducks. If you advocate for shooting pretty much flighted Mallards, then I question why you’re still even duck hunting.

As for everything else on short stopping, I agree.

 

[Jmuv]

Wow! First if anyone believes that the government will participate or even allow a waterfowl stocking program for what will be publicized to the anti hunting public as government sponsored wildlife slaughter, they are not living in today’s world. I don’t know about all the theories about why ducks don’t return to the same places year after year but here is my two cents. Habit manipulation is real. Sometimes we can blame people, sometimes nature. Fields crops planted to attract and hold waterfowl are real. Hurricane damage to marshlands is real. Invasive plants are real. Human use mechanical transportation to and from blinds that damage the habitat is real. What is also real is that for as long as there has been migration of waterfowl there has been cycles of were the waterfowl winter. It has a lot to do with survival. More high quality food means more chance for survival. Less hunting pressure means more chance of survival. We in south Louisiana are in downward part of this cycle. I have seen several over my 64 years of living in this part of the world. I doubt that many folks are hunting because they are hungry. Most hunt because of tradition and the desire to take a break from their otherwise busy lives. I am certainly not going to give up on waterfowl hunting just because I didn’t kill a “limit “ every morning I hunted. That is just childish and greedy behavior. Why not take some of this passion and improve the quality of the habitat. At least you can make a difference that way.

 

[Gmack]

After being back at it a few years I think 75% of it is loss of habitat. The local freshwater lake I hunt sometimes was 100% devoid of ducks for 30 years. Few years back the flow of drainage water was changed which allowed grass to begin growing it the lake again. That very year pool d'eah, ring necks and dos gris were back big time. And as far as I know didn't hurt hunting for anybody around which to me means more ducks came/stayed because of the habitat. On other hand saltwater marsh along the cost is all but gone and there are 0 ducks where 25 years ago it was teaming with birds.

 

[DU4life]

If ducks were more popular than crawfish, we would maybe stand a chance. But that isn't the case.

 

[H20DAD]

Short Stopping. That’s the problem. Ducks no longer migrate south. They only go south as needed to survive. A few still have the old migration imprint but we are seeing the evolution of a new breed of ducks.

Just look at the latest survey in Arkansas. They went south for a few days and then back north to the DU impoundments and corn fields:

In the final statewide aerial survey of the 2022-23 waterfowl wintering period, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff last week saw a drop in mallards and total ducks across the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (the Delta) compared with the staff’s midwinter survey from two weeks ago,

I’ve read plenty of solutions in this forum. Most if not all are not even close to solving the problem. For example somebody posted the problem is younger hunters sky busting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Just like lakes and rivers are stocked with fish, so too the sportsman’s paradise needs to be continually stocked with birds in the wild. The stocked fish haven’t introduced any diseases and neither will stocked ducks.

Many states are stocking tens of thousands of pen raised pheasants. Stocking has brought pheasant hunting back to South Dakota.

Stocked ducks ruined the Atlantic flyway and there is genetic proof of this. But go shared and ruin the central and Mississippi flyway mallards too.

Not to mention quail populations.

 

[bird junkie]

Short Stopping. That’s the problem. Ducks no longer migrate south. They only go south as needed to survive. A few still have the old migration imprint but we are seeing the evolution of a new breed of ducks.

Just look at the latest survey in Arkansas. They went south for a few days and then back north to the DU impoundments and corn fields:

In the final statewide aerial survey of the 2022-23 waterfowl wintering period, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission staff last week saw a drop in mallards and total ducks across the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (the Delta) compared with the staff’s midwinter survey from two weeks ago,

I’ve read plenty of solutions in this forum. Most if not all are not even close to solving the problem. For example somebody posted the problem is younger hunters sky busting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Just like lakes and rivers are stocked with fish, so too the sportsman’s paradise needs to be continually stocked with birds in the wild. The stocked fish haven’t introduced any diseases and neither will stocked ducks.

Many states are stocking tens of thousands of pen raised pheasants. Stocking has brought pheasant hunting back to South Dakota.

It’s not going to get better and stocking ducks isn’t going to help. Weather has been changing forever. And ducks/geese are only going as far as they have to. It was 60 two days ago here in Va should of been 30 upstate NY has open water all along Canada boarder. Why would they fly south?