Back in the early to mid 1980s I hunted several COE lakes and had a big time despite many days never firing a shot. When I first started hunting them I would stick to the backs of creeks and in shallow water areas and had mixed results. Toward the end of this era I stuck mainly to big water and main lake points.....always saw a lot of birds and could usually kill a few where hunting the backs of the creeks I wouldn't see as many birds but would usually manage to pass shoot a few and occasionally have some work decoys....not often but often enough to keep me coming back. SO what is the consensus? Backs of creeks and shallow water areas or big water and main lake points and islands? I prefer the bigger water areas but like I said none of the lakes I hunted were considered good duck hunts. Anyone hunt large lakes and if so which do you prefer? I know the preference is where the birds are LOL but which areas do you usually see birds?
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COE Impoundments
- Thread starter GTMODawg
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Para Bellum
Mouth For War
Depends on what you want to kill. Divers on big water and puddlers in the creeks and flats.
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I have killed about as many mallards on big water at Oconee (not a COE lake but similar in size) as I have in the shallow water areas. And about as many ringers in the backs of creeks as mallards. Woodies are a different matter....but I have killed woodies on big water as well, especially late in the season when they are migrating.
Oconee and Russell are unique from most COE lakes in that the pump back keeps water levels consistent in the shallow water areas. Lanier and West Point and Clark Hill will, most years, not have anything growing in shallow water areas because of the drawdown.....these lakes are utilized for loafing and roosting for the most part with rivers, creeks and beaver swamps as well as fields being used to feed in. In my experience this means some early morning and mid morning pass shooting in the shallow water areas as birds transition between big water and feeding areas and some fantastic mid morning shoots on big water as birds return to loaf and folks get out and about and disturb them on the smaller water. I have generally done better decoying birds, both puddlers and divers, on big water and most of the shooting I have done in shallow areas was more or less pass shooting with maybe a group of birds swinging within range to look the spread over. I have sat birds in the dekes on big water, I don't know that I have ever done it in shallow areas. I have had birds plop right into the spread or swim into it in shallow water but I do not know that I have ever managed to call birds in, have them swing 3 - 4 times, and commit on a large lake in a shallow area. I have done it fairly regularly on big water.
across the river
Senior Member
I’m not sure what time period you are referring to, but there was a time when Clarks Hill had more food (and typically more ducks) than any lake you mention. We would drive over Oconee to go to the Hill back in the day. I won’t waste the time and gas to go to any of them today unless I’m fishing or the wife wants to go to Reynolds.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
We agree on something for once.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
Sounds like you got her all figured out.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
I’ve killed more ducks on the Hill than most will kill in a lifetime in Arkie. Nowadays it’s a circus. Sounds like you remember the good ole days too. Ever walk on the hydrilla?
Clark Hill is full of food now, for divers anyways. I haven't been on Oconee in years so I can't speak to that. The period I am talking about would have been in the early to late 80's when the drawdown at the Hill left 30 feet of red clay to the waters edge and 60 days prior to the drawdown there was 10 feet of water over that clay and nothing growing but rocks. Oconee wasn't exactly a farmers john smorgasbord for ducks but there were often times areas of flooded green timber and it was really good in that era. This was also at a time when there probably weren't 200 federal stamps sold in the state, not counting the ones sold to collectors. During the point system, Canvasback closure and 3 mallard limits as if there were ever 3 mallards (drakes only, one Suzie and that was your day) not raised by someone locally gathered together in any area. Almost no one hunted Oconee (the lake....the area below the dam was hunted hard) then while there was some pressure on the Hill. West Point was better than both of them when it was right. Same was true of Eufala. Outside of the WMA West Point got almost no pressure but Eufala would be covered up with folks at times.
I was just curious what other people who hunt COE lakes think. If a person knows it all I can't imagine how boring life would be. Luckily only arrogant fools conclude they know it all and can't tolerate a question that wasn't necessarily directed at them to begin with....
I can tell you that West Point is a total cluster now during duck season. The amount of pressure has ramped up 100X what it was 10-12 years ago. I used to hunt 20-30 days a season and now I'd rather go sit in a deer stand.
I’ve killed more ducks on the Hill than most will kill in a lifetime in Arkie. Nowadays it’s a circus. Sounds like you remember the good ole days too. Ever walk on the hydrilla?
Thats astonishing given that Arkansas, even in bad years, more than doubles Georgia's hunter success rate (man hours spent hunting compared to birds killed). Thank you for keeping Georgia's average at least respectable....without those kills the average would be even more lopsided. Shoot if more excellent duck hunters hunted the Hill Georgia would probably catch Arkansas.....imagine what that number would be like if 25% of those duck killing fools in Arkansas descended on Clark Hill....it'd be a massacre.....wouldn't be none left for seed.....
The lake or the WMA? The WMA was a hoot if you liked watching folks act a fool....very frustrating if you actually intended to shoot a duck. But almost no one hunted the lake in the 80's and it could be pretty good at times. Never great but good enough to keep you coming back....
across the river
Senior Member
When is the last time you actually hunted any of these lakes you are mentioning, or Arkansas for that matter?
across the river
Senior Member
I’ve killed more ducks on the Hill than most will kill in a lifetime in Arkie. Nowadays it’s a circus. Sounds like you remember the good ole days too. Ever walk on the hydrilla?
If you weren’t there then you just don’t get it. A family member in his 20s sent me that ring neck heaven video from YouTube, and wouldn’t believe me when I told him I have seen them thicker than that at the hill. Was in a group that killed 8 different species up there in one hunt, and let a lone drake redhead fly past all of us late in the morning that would have been nine. In the early 90s when the grass was in certain places but not everywhere yet, they would stack up pretty good, real good at times.
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across the river
Senior Member
I think we agree on a lot, that stuff just isn’t as fun to talk about.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
Agree. And the blatantly obvious dig couldn’t be further off base.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
It was astonishing. Not no more.
Para Bellum
Mouth For War
There you go again. Mixing up “was” and “is.” It ain’t the 80’s anymore brother.
Both.
Duckbuster82
Senior Member
Not too long ago, the hill was full of grass, the ducks were there and the people were not. We could hunt any day of the week and maybe hear one other group shoot. We had a good stretch where we would kill a limit of ducks 9 out of 10 days. It was mostly divers but a few puddle ducks mixed in.
And to say there is plenty of food there now your joking. Add in the fact that there are hunters in every cove, point or island in the lake all day, there is no chance for a bird to rest or feed. That is why hunting in the Georgia Carolina area sucks. There is no habitat and too much pressure.
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