Why the ducks didn't reach Louisiana.
 

I can debunk just about every theory offered in this article, but I'm not been gonna waste my time. Larry Reynolds threatens we are gonna be down to 30 days and 6 ducks soon. The good ole days gone he says.

http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.s...each_loui.html



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So what do you think? I think some if the theories are plausible.

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I think that it can't be blamed on one specific thing. I think there multiple different reason that are all to blame.


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I don't know what to say about this one,I thought they came down pretty good this year,especially the second split,most Mallards I've killed in years,but who am I to question
this guy.

I think the ducks are here now and they weren't in big numbers earlier.


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So is it just that the migration was later then?

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I think that is a bunch of BS........ You have bad duck seasons like you have fishing seasons...

I know a guy who hunts in Pine Island who limited out everyday this year during hunting season

Might not be a bad idea for season and limits to go down. Get some off these yahoos out off hunting.

Yes I think the migration was late. And yes certain areas did good but with conditions we had this year we should have had good numbers wide spread


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I would like to hear your thoughts on this marshrat. No sarcasm intended.

All these biologist aint got a clue. On one hand we have fewer birds than ever and on the other its a record hatch. Im sorry but surveys dont represent actual numbers. Survey Ws friend and there are more birds down than ever. Survey joe blow who aint killing and there are no birds. Its all a bunch of bull**** that I don't believe. Whether Mr. Reynolds says we have a ton of birds or none, ill still go and make the best of what I have.

I hunted from Sabine Pass to the Biloxi Marsh this year. The SE side of the state's hunting was HORRIFIC. The lease I hunt in Delacroix was the thickest I've ever seen with vegetation in the 18 years I've been hunting it, thought the birds were going to be everywhere, sadly sadly mistaken. But I did have some success elsewhere.Overall, I was satisfied with the hunting season and had some of the better hunts this year than any other. I do believe that the bird count is decreasing though, due to multiple factors.

You're right, the surveys don't represent the actual numbers, but people act like that is what biologist are saying is the case. I would bet any biologist would tell you those numbers are not the exact number, but an estimate. That's what it is. But people take it as an exact count.

The other thing I've found is that duck hunters tend to assume that if wildlife and fisheries is saying there are X amount of birds in this part of the state, that they should be seeing birds at their place. That's just not the case. All habitat is not equal. Birds are much more sensitive to changes than we are. Somewhere that has been a stronghold for ducks for 3 decades may no longer be that way for some unknown reason.

I don't think anyone will ever fully know why the ducks aren't here or there. the White-tail is one of the most studied species on the face of the earth, and deer biologist still dont' know everything there is to know about them. If they don't know everything about 1 species, what makes anyone think waterfowl biologist will ever know everything about multiple species with a complex ecology?

I'm with you though, Mcnabb. I'm still going to go out and make the best of it. Even if they go to a 3 duck limit, that's still better than no ducks at all.

Bet he was bouncing the hen.


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Due to work, I got to hunt 1 month out of the season and I killed 1/3 of what I killed last year. So theoretically I was right on step with the previous year. Now I heard horrible reports just like everyone else but for me, the numbers don't lie

Hatch was a month late as well. No correlation?


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

The more manipulation of our natural terrain for the specific reason of holding waterfowl is what is hurting the migration. Plus with all the new hunters crowding the area, ducks are getting shot far sooner and much more on their way down to the south. Nothing is going to change. Too much money in hunting nowadays. The average guy cannot compete with the multimillion dollar lodge that manages fields of crops with the sole purpose of waterfowl hunting.


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"Statewide, it was below average," biologist Larry Reynolds said. "In Southeast Louisiana, it was well below average, and I think it was probably about average in Southwest Louisiana."

Well said


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

My thoughts as well. In our area ppl started crawfish ing or setting up for crawfish earlier


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

And a lot of good that did. lol At this rate they won't catch crawfish till mid February.




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With the average guy paying 6k to hunt in a crawfish pond and hunt while the traps are being run. It just doesn't work.

Exactly! Traps had nothing in them for a month leading up to end of season. But it puts water up to the head of second crop so ducks can demolish it and never worry about us killing them


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

More money being paid for hunting, more people "working" on attracting ducks.

More rice in Arkansas than Louisiana, especially SW La

Weather patterns changing

More saltwater intrusion = less for ducks to eat

Etc.

Some place just hold birds because of no pressure, food, flight paths, etc and they kill in those areas. If you are not in one of those areas, the season sucks.

This.

And on too of that, the birds get down to Kansas/Oklahoma/Missouri and don't have to leave. There's plenty of feed for them there. And when they get a big freeze the birds just find flowing water or open fields with feed in em. It takes like up to two weeks of snow and freezing condition for those ducks to have to move south from areas like that and that just didn't happen.


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Conditions like we have now? More reason for the season to open around thanksgiving


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Or later


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Potlickingisahabit this is my thoughts exactly to the T. So if they have all the food they need further north and areas large enough for them to rest. What will make them continue south?

My answer would be Ice. The last 2 weeks of the season they had no choice but to come down. Larry said himself in this area it takes extended periods of cold weather to push them.

Wouldn't it seem more logical to be hunting during periods when this is more likely to happen? Why start the season the first week of November when all we're getting is lil pissant fronts. We had isolated successful days during the first split when we received big pushes of bluewings. For most people the switch wasn't really turned on till the last two weeks of the second split.

The season is closed now and we are stacked with mallards and pins. The landscape of our flyway all the way down has changed. Migration patterns have changed as a result of this.

It's time we make changes to adapt. Quit basing our season dates on old science. I'm no biologist and don't claim to know it all. I do however spend a lot of days in the fields in a lot of different areas.

Yes, We still get ducks. But not near the numbers that make good hunting wide spread. Just my thoughts.


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I agree. Or open at the same time just have a longer split.


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Many factors have contributed to the overall lack of ducks in Louisiana this year and the very alarming long term decline in both ducks and geese wintering in Louisiana. That is not to mention the change in species composition/percentages in the numbers. This is some of my thoughts.

1. Major Changes in Agriculture. This is a vicious cycle and a bad long term trend from a LA hunting perspective.

a. Massive Reduction in the Number of rice acres in Louisiana. Arkansas now plants almost 4 times as much rice as Louisiana. 2012 numbers (rounded) LA - 350K Arkansas - 1.3 Million. Why fly past a buffet? You can also dump habitat loss from erosion and intrusion into this if you want. It just magnifies the issue.

b. Widespread use of Clearfield rice varieties. Now farmers can kill red rice and other moist soil plants and still grow rice which means after the rice harvest there is little to no food in our fields. Less quality on less acres.

c. Changes in Ag up the flyway. Ethanol subsidies have resulted in massive acreages that were once planted in other crops now planted in corn. These same subsidies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of CRP nesting habitat being turned into cornfields. Less nesting habitat and more available desired high energy food means less ducks and less motivation to migrate.

2. Explosion of new habitat and hunting operations in the mid continent portion of the flyway. This new habitat and/or better management for $$$ has resulted in a large population of ducks and geese that now don't need to migrate past a certain point. Mallards and geese like to feed in dry fields. As long as adequate resting/roosting habitat and food exists they won't move.

Personally I believe those are the 2 biggest factors. But I have been wrong before although I don't remember when. Wait let me ask my wife ... LMBO.

I don't buy the pressure arguments because a mallard that has never been south of Missouri doesn't know what kind of pressure is in LA unless they are a Salty Cajun member ... :). Now I'm not arguing that pressure doesn't effect the distribution of birds that do come down. I'm talking about the birds staying in the mid continent.

Just random thoughts.
Robbie aka Big Hutch

Open a week later and a week to the split.

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I think Missouri south zone opened on the Nov. 26 this year. They just closed Sunday. Granted they don't have any split. But still....I'm not necessarily in favor of hunting into February. Ducks are paired up by then. We also don't need to be pressuring the hens they hard that late. They need time to relax and fatten up for the breeding season. I'm just saying let us hunt till the last week of January.


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Perfect solution, that puts us ending feb 2 this year.


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And u would think they would change that so we can concentrate CONSERVATION efforts to better suit us and killing ducks which is what conservation is all about.... Right?


Nope ! They wont


"Go ahead, share your opinion! I won't cry"

Lets face guys we had our day in the sun and things are changing. Sell all ur duck stuff and give up ur leases...it's over lights out.

What about widgeon grass !


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winner winner chicken dinner.....

Hell corn or widgeon grass?? You want a chocolate cake or a stick of celery?


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This.


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60 day season, 2 splits two week each, 20 days each season. Keep opening weekend around 2nd or 3rd wk of November. That way the early groups get a good shoot, and this extends the season into Feb.

Just think of what would happen if all states would outlaw hunting waterfowl over standing crops.


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there'd be a TON more birds overall, but drastically less migrators.

I would love to see us go to 1 zone with 2 splits. I think having 3 zones is ridiculous and probably political. My guess is some people have property in all 3 zones and if so this year you could hunt from Nov 9 till Jan 26 or 79 days(if you have property in the coastal and east zones I think it's 74 days). Also, the Feds won't allow hunting after Jan 31 so the state has no controll over that but they do controll the zones and dates within the Federal boundaries.

^^^^^This

not getting in on a duck thread NOPE:rotfl: BUT, the regular season (not youth) going into February isn't going to happen


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I disagree. If no hunting was allowed to be done over standing crops then it would not benefit the Midwest hunters/lodges to plant crops with the sole purpose of keeping ducks. Corn would only be planted to harvest which would be done before duck season.


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I heard that the reason we did not have as many ducks was because they did not save enough widgeon grass behind the weirs this summers

So this year they will close them off year round

should bring in way more birds when they find out the widgeon grass is back

Interesting. You might be right.

Actually, there is a thread on another forum started by someone who hunts that specific area you are referring to and the title is something like 'worst season ever', says the marsh looked better than it ever has:eek:

definitely a plausable argument. I did see corn fields planted for harvesting purposes in connecticut and birds were stacked in them after harvest. now how long it stays that way im not sure