We had a pretty bad season. I hunt just west of PI. I have two ponds, one of which dicdn't grow any wigeon grass. That pond is traditionally our best by far. This year it was terrible. I think its because we had so much water all summer long. The main part of my kill is usually greys. I had them thick maybe 4 times this year and we really smashed them. Of course I'd have them one day and they'd be gone the next, which is unusual for my place. Usually my place does really well during the first split, then as the rains come, we pick up too much water thus sending the ducks elsewhere. Our first split was absolutely horrible. That didn't happen this year, we actually lost water throughout the season. So although we didn't have the birds as thick as often, we effectively ended up with more days to shoot ducks (if only DU would come put me a water control structure.) So, I just think that everything went against us this year. Hell, we didn't shoot but a few mottled ducks which is crazy. We usually have to be very careful not to shoot too many. All of this leads me to believe it was a habitat issue that hurt me most. Mottled ducks are local right?...A delayed hatch, migration, or short stopping shouldn't affect them yet I didn't see many. I have had some bad leases in my time, some that didn't produce no matter what. This one is pretty good, so when I have a down year, it definitely leaves me scratching my head.
As far as season dates and lengths go, I'm down for a longer split and be allowed to hunt until the end of Jan. Early openers are usually great for us, of course this year was the exception.
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