Best Waterfowl Quota Hunts?

[Duckbuster82]

Good for you, good for your “group” and good for Texas. We simply have different ideas on what great duck hunting is. Likely an age thing.

So everyone has a different opinion of great duck hunting. So how do you know I never have seen it? Again what is your opinion of great hunting. You called me out yet have not given your definition.

 

[Para Bellum]

All most people do is complain about the crowd and how terrible hunting is. Yet, they continue to beat their head against the wall have the same results and continue to groan. If you were to go to a restaurant that had a long wait, terrible service and poor quality food would you go back? So why make duck hunting sound so miserable and continue to go. Duck hunting is over crowded as is. But still would like you to tell me what great duck hunting is like, maybe tell the group so we know what to look for, something to gauge our experiences off of as we begin to prepare for the next season.

I may continue to groan every so often because something I loved more than life itself got really popular really quick. I met my two best friends because of duck hunting. I stuck it out for quite some time after it became the cool thing to do. Battled the hoards of jack legs on public land. Even battled the rich folk for leases for a season or two. I’m no idiot though. I quit. Sold the boat. The dekes. Still go every so often but nowhere like what I used to. Great duck hunting isn’t firing the first shot of the Arkansas opener. It isn’t having the fastest mud motor at Bayou Meto. It isn’t full straps when your buddies failed. It just makes ain’t the same anymore.

 

[Para Bellum]

So everyone has a different opinion of great duck hunting. So how do you know I never have seen it? Again what is your opinion of great hunting. You called me out yet have not given your definition.

You may very well have seen what your idea of great waterfowling is.

 

[mizzippi jb]

A chuckle just came to me... Thought about chuuuuurios

 

[Rich M]

I experienced years of great duck hunting at MINWR in the late 90s and early 2000s - and some of the inland lakes. Covered in birds, multiple species, friendly folks around us, good laughs, and just plain fun times. Having flocks of birds, sometimes numbering over 100 working the decoys is something to see and worth remembering.

Most of the time when we go duck hunting these days, we see few to none - I knocked down 3 ducks all season last year. Sure as heck would not tell someone to drive down from GA to hunt MINWR unless you got family local. With a little scouting you can probably get a mottled duck and scaup or two. The teal, pintails, widgeon, etc. are tough to come by - especially if the birds are in an area you don't have a quota permit for.

To me, the idea of a good hunt is light atmosphere in the blind, laughs and chatter, and a couple flocks of birds willing to decoy. Can still have a nice time without birds, but some decoying birds and a few laying feet up on the water always make it better.

 

[kingfish]

Hunted MINWR back in the late 70's and early 80's when Pintail were 10 point birds and if you could identify birds on the wing you could kill 10 birds a piece. Some unreal hunting back then, no quotas no crowds. Duck hunters were looked upon as an odd group back then.

 

[Uptonongood]

I hunted Butler Island back in the early and mid 80’s. By Georgia standards it was good duck hunting IF you knew how to hunt waterfowl. David Edwards was the manager and he really did a great job.

Most folks in Georgia do not have the opportunity to build their waterfowl skill sets because hunting is poor and there are too many hunters too impatient or unwilling to learn.

Great waterfowl hunting? Freelance hunting in northern Alberta, Canada, 24 honkers AND 24 mallard and pintails (limits) by three guys in bout an hour and a half. The birds were all taken in dry pea fields, feet down coming into full body goose decoys. No exaggeration. The three hunters were all experienced, skilled and patient hunters schooled by experiences in several states with much better hunting than Georgia.

Funny how addictive duck hunting is even when the hunting is lousy.

 

[Stickemdeep]

Good for you, good for your “group” and good for Texas. We simply have different ideas on what great duck hunting is. Likely an age thing.

It is different hunting out west and growing up out there, I got into waterfowl inadvertently seeing them hitting farm ponds dove hunting. My hunts in Georgia are limited but more about hanging out with buddies i have not seen in a long time than killing birds.

 

[Long Cut]

Duck hunting Georgia is comparable to getting a root canal

 

[Duckbuster82]

Duck hunting Georgia is comparable to getting a root canal

Yet, every weekend and some days boat ramps are packed, people on every point and cut. They continue to not kill birds complain and come back for more. Definition of insanity.

 

[across the river]

Yet, every weekend and some days boat ramps are packed, people on every point and cut. They continue to not kill birds complain and come back for more. Definition of insanity.

It isn't about killing birds anymore for a lot of people, it is about posting a picture. A limit of wood ducks, a couple of divers, even some coots get posted with pride. Camping all night to maybe kill a couple of ringers or a bluebill is done by many without hesitation. If you don't kill anything you can still post a picture of you with facepaint on to look cool.

 

[jdgator]

it isn’t just Georgia that has seen radical radical decrease in duck numbers of the past 20 years. In Mississippi there were places that could get steadily leased in the early 2000s that nobody is touching anymore. There are only a few outfitters left in the state who focus on guiding for wild ducks.

 

[mizzippi jb]

Ms as a whole sucks now. We stacked em up there in the early 2000's in the north delta

 

[FloppinBob]

Lets see, great duck hunting. Having a contest with your buddies to see who can limit out the quickest on ringers and everyone is done before the sun is over the trees. (Florida public lakes 90's to about 2005). 5 buddies limiting out during early teal season 10 minutes after legal shooting time and having them still trying to land in the decoys even though there are 2 canoes in the middle of the dekes (Florida WMA late 80's). Shooting limits of woodies like they were green timber mallards, just wading in (Florida WMA last several seasons), killing drake mallards and pintails for four straight days (McClure Illinois private property 90's to late 2000's). Killing redheads and bluebills on the NW Coast of Florida, decoying like you owed them money (Last 10 years). Use whatever word you want, lucky, blessed, fortunate, but I do know what great duck hunting is.

Is your real name Phil Robertson?

 

[FloppinBob]

Ms as a whole sucks now. We stacked em up there in the early 2000's in the north delta

I’m sure you can still stack me up there, maybe.

 

[kingfish]

No, not Phil. Was brought up a duck hunter by my dad in the early 70's. I was absolutely consumed by the sport and was very lucky that my drive was supported by a time period where there was a very healthy duck population migrating to Florida and not near the rules and regs there are today. This was late 80's into the mid 2000's. Name the lake and I hunted it. Not just hunted it, dialed into the lake and how the ducks moved. No spraying of hydrilla on any of the local lakes, and the state had several WMA's that they really groomed for attracting waterfowl and I hunted them all. A couple of the best duck hunting buddies you could ever ask for and some really good private property connections along the Mississippi Flyway. Like I said before, VERY blessed, lucky and fortunate. It makes the current duck hunting situation a lot easier to deal with with all those memories.

 

[FloppinBob]

I heard FL used to be really good...ki da like everywhere else

 

[devolve]

I heard FL used to be really good...ki da like everywhere else

Yep. 90’s to 05 for me. All public, scout every PM and hunt every AM. Burned a ton of gas n the boat and it was well worth it. Hunted every day of the season for a long time back then. It has changed 100%, but it has changed in many aspects everywhere. I still go 5-6 times a year out of state public and drag my boat along. But I see that coming to an end in the near future.

 

[Fenderbuilt27]

Guess I'll put in for Butler Island and wish for the best.

 

[TurkeyH90]

Wherever the crew that parked their truck 100 yards from me DOESNT put in for I guess. 5 years of points for a lazy idiot to ruin. Im bout done with the public stuff.