Altamaha WMA

across the river

Senior Member
I think DU’s execution is poor, compared to the QDMA or NWTF.
Considering the fact I can see 20+ DU stickers on trucks backglass driving around daily there should be more of an impact, regardless if this is a major flyway state or not. Because there’s definitely enough guys out there contributing.

Look at what the QDMA or NWTF has done with those game populations, how the quality of animals and harvests has been. Flyway or not, DU has done a **** poor job. Especially considering how many ring necks, woodies etc migrate down this way.. Their cooperation at the State level seems to be nonexistent


Where has QDMA or NWTF done an excellent job on public land? If you are looking strictly at the populations and judging based on that measuring stick, the DU has done an excellent job. I'm not saying they have, just saying based on your criteria for the other two, they have. The problem I have with all this bad mouthing DU is you'll act like there are all these public land meccas up and down the east coast that DU has created. You all mention Florida. Go pull up a Google earth map of Florida and Georgia. Tell me which one has more water relative to land size, and then tell me where you think the majority of the ducks would be. I promise you DU didn't build all those ponds and lake you see in Florida, and if you think the public ones don't get hammered you are fooling yourself. I've been there. If you want to see more ringneck in Georgia, then build your own private impoundment that you can manage and control yourself. The DU money raised in Georgia isn't close to enough to build a public impoundment that more than a handful of people could hunt each year. The corp of engineers and Georgia power have built lakes across the state that are thousands of acres that don't hold a lot of ducks anyway, but have people camping out overnight to possibly kill a ringneck or two. I don't get it. If the state of public land waterfowl hunting is already like it is now on lakes that are 10 of thousands of acres, what do you all expect DU to build that is going to provide any real hunting opportunities. If a ringneck can't land on Clarks Hill or Oconee without someone jumping him up, skybusitng at him, or shooting at him out of a boat, what is DU going to do to fix that? The $35 people send in each year doesn't entitle them to a good hunt spot, it simply gets them a magazine subscription.
 

Mexican Squealer

Senior Member
I support DU and Delta and am more than happy for my dollars to go to the breeding grounds. I’ve got their wintering habitat covered and am glad to support their breeding ground habitat. I’ve given up on Govt land. Don’t give a fig about who does what. I manage 180 acre of duck food in SC and a 15 acre impoundment on my farm in GA. Wish GA land owners gave a hoot about ducks. They don’t. Taking faith in the state and anything public in GA is a dead end. Which is a shame considering how much food could be produced with proper draw down and management of the stuff dux eat.
 

across the river

Senior Member
I support DU and Delta and am more than happy for my dollars to go to the breeding grounds. I’ve got their wintering habitat covered and am glad to support their breeding ground habitat. I’ve given up on Govt land. Don’t give a fig about who does what. I manage 180 acre of duck food in SC and a 15 acre impoundment on my farm in GA. Wish GA land owners gave a hoot about ducks. They don’t. Taking faith in the state and anything public in GA is a dead end. Which is a shame considering how much food could be produced with proper draw down and management of the stuff dux eat.

And how often do you hunt your impoundments, once a week, twice a week tops? Even if DU raised a billion dollars a year in Georgia, how much sense would it make to build bunch of impoundments in Georgia that can realistically get hunted less than 10 days per year. People on here act like the DNR or DU change create something that they can't. I don't care how good of habitat someone builds, you will never have a public place here, or private place for that matter, that can get hammered on multiple days a week and still produce. With a 60 day season, there just are many opportunities for people to hunt, so it makes absolute no sense for any agency, government or otherwise, to put money into something will so little return in terms of public usage. Like you said, if you are waiting on public land opportunities in Georgia to be provided by the DNR or DU, you are going to be sorely disappointed.
 

Mexican Squealer

Senior Member
We hunt once a week...my goals are more about providing duck habitat and conservation vs hunting opportunity. Main reason I am more than happy for my dollars to be used in the breeding grounds and areas that can make an impact. Plenty of places that hunt several times a week though. We choose not to.
 

Duckbuster82

Senior Member
For all those saying du or any other organization doesn’t do enough locally, why don’t you form your own non profit and promote it as being local money local projects. All money you raise can be used to find Georgia projects, hire lawyers to fight the state when they want to spray the lakes or release carp.
 

flatsmaster

Senior Member
We have a organization in Fl and I belong to it ... I'm sure it helps some ... they work pretty hard on access ... they might ask but there going to spray whenever it fits there schedule ... we may have a lot of water but it doesn't stop people from showing up late and settling in 75 yds away ... I don't hunt public in Fl very much thank goodness ... I hate rude people and if they were there first I'd keep on moving ... a lot of problems here are created by the hunters ... all FWC gets is headaches from hunters for the most part ... I do hunt some public in another state and surprisingly if ur there first they move on
 

flatsmaster

Senior Member
Can't honestly say .... if ur talking last yr I'd say no bc even though I'm not involved other then sending $35 I'd have thought me or my son or his girlfriend who's active in local DU would have heard something or they would have seen something on social media .... I'm old so this is as social media as I get !!!
 

JackSprat

Senior Member
If a ringneck can't land on Clarks Hill or Oconee without someone jumping him up, skybusitng at him, or shooting at him out of a boat, what is DU going to do to fix that? .

The stories I could tell about that.

Back in the early days of the current goose hunting seasons, I was one of the first locals to invest heavily in quality floating decoys - most everyone else was hunting the hill with cardboard silhouettes. So the other locals were not used to seeing quality floating decoys.

Can't tell you have many times on those two lakes we had to jump out of our blind and wave off someone who was about to jump shoot our decoys.

Back on topic, didn't DU build a green tree water control structure several years ago in middle Georgia, and it became inoperable because the state wouldn't spend the money to keep it up?
 

ICU2012

Member
That 9 million dollars must have those boys distracted....not one of the walk-in ponds in Darien are even remotely accessible for teal season in 2 weeks
 

DRBugman85

Senior Member
The DNR could spend 20 million on the Altamaha WMA and never have the mecca waterfowl hunting It once did do to 1 fact over hunting,The amount of pressure on this small area is more that the waterfowl can handle from scouting 7 days a week from all the Internet hunters that see a post on social media,Walmart hunters and the state promoting this WMA as the Premier waterfowl area in Georgia. Sure some time hunters harvest a few ducks then post pictures for all the world to see and that brings more hunters than ducks.The night before opening day some groups spend the night in a spot just to Q beam the hordes that show up at shooting hours and look for a SPOT.Last year the boat ramp had a over flow and had to park on the side of the Highway. Sky busting is not the problem the Duck Commander want to be are coming from all over Georgia just to have a chance to shoot a duck.
 

capt stan

Senior Member
The DNR could spend 20 million on the Altamaha WMA and never have the mecca waterfowl hunting It once did do to 1 fact over hunting,The amount of pressure on this small area is more that the waterfowl can handle from scouting 7 days a week from all the Internet hunters that see a post on social media,Walmart hunters and the state promoting this WMA as the Premier waterfowl area in Georgia. Sure some time hunters harvest a few ducks then post pictures for all the world to see and that brings more hunters than ducks.The night before opening day some groups spend the night in a spot just to Q beam the hordes that show up at shooting hours and look for a SPOT.Last year the boat ramp had a over flow and had to park on the side of the Highway. Sky busting is not the problem the Duck Commander want to be are coming from all over Georgia just to have a chance to shoot a duck.
Which is exactly why I haven't gone back in years..theres not a duck worth the BULL and the ignorance/ disrespect of people ya have to put up with...anyone who wants to hunt there...can have it!
 

Drew dumas

Senior Member
Anyone been down to check out the pull overs? Just getting back from deployment haven’t had a chance to get down there and scout but I did hear something about some construction down that way on the dikes. Anybody know if there’s any pull overs or winch spots into pool one?
 

fountain

Senior Member
Yet people still will donate, and never see their money put into a project that will go to their benefit or benefit the state’s wma’s.

This is it right here. NWTF is a prime example. Do they actually do anything for the turkey... where it be habitat or stocking ? Not that I've seen. But they sure have made one heck of a complex in South Carolina now and make some dang fine bird houses at the outdoor shows they have for the women
 

BassnG3

Member
Anyone been down to check out the pull overs? Just getting back from deployment haven’t had a chance to get down there and scout but I did hear something about some construction down that way on the dikes. Anybody know if there’s any pull overs or winch spots into pool one?
No pullovers into pond 1 due to dike re-construction.
 

JackSprat

Senior Member
Which is exactly why I haven't gone back in years..theres not a duck worth the BULL and the ignorance/ disrespect of people ya have to put up with...anyone who wants to hunt there...can have it!

Lived in that area for many years. We shot a lot more ducks up the river in the sloughs than we ever did on the WMA. Good variety of ducks, but not many mallards, which the "true" duck hunters grumbled about.

We shot a lot more ducks escaping the morning barrage than the hunters on the WMA did.
 
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