Hard water report from SD

Dwight Harley

Dwight Harley

Well-known member
Tried to get the boat in one more time this AM but even the big deep water is locked up. There are still a few thousand snows on the ice, and lesser numbers of Canadas and mallards. Those south of us waiting for the "big push" of birds may be dissapointed. We held a lot of birds around here for a few weeks but I am betting a significant percentage of the birds in the Central flyway were within a 125 miles of here. When they disperse south they will get spread out over a large area. Duck numbers are way down, guys, even if the FWS wants to lead you to believe otherwise with the liberal limits and long seasons. Pray for lots of snow, a farm bill that supports more CRP acreage and some common sense waterfowl managment at the federal level.
That said, the Boykin and I managed to salvage the morning and shot two roosters on a WPA near DeSmet.
 
Don't blame FWS for a poor season. Just becuase you don't have ducks in your area does not mean the estimate was inaccurate. Their survey methodologies are tried and true and provide the best estimate of our watrefowl populations. As a biologist, it cracks me up when hunters say FWS is messing with the numbers because they didn't have a good season. The guys who do these surveys are hard working individuals who put in long hours in nasty conditions and are dedicated to their jobs just like any other working person out there. They don't deserve to be insulted.

Just my 2Cents.
 
Send us some divers and send the cold weather east to start freezing up the great and finger lakes. Me wants some cans in december.

-D
 
dave, not looking good for a freezup right away here in the fingerlakes. water temps in the mid 40's, air temps today hit 70! plenty of redheads around, but getting them off the fuge is a different story. glad it looks like it will get nasty next week as we close the first split tuesday. damn it. few cannys around too. best, mark
 
Carl,
I'm not blaming FWS for a poor season. I have had a great season. I am blaming them for the liberal limits and seasons which, in my opinion, are detrimental to the resource. Granted, I am working with anecdotal evidence, but my opinions are based on many, many days spent in the field over the 12 years I have lived in the prairie pothole region.
I am not some conspiracy nut who sees black UN helicopters flying around at night. I am a former wildlife biologist for a state agency and I know well the pressures that trickle down from above to give the hunting public longer seasons, liberal limits and easy access to public lands and waters. I did not say anything in my post to insult biologists. I said that FWS is making bad policy. I think it is being driven by political pressures and the commercialization of the resource. Adaptive Harvest Management is poor science. Just my two cents worth.
 
I've been hunting out here just on the western edge of the Rocky Mountains, (Pacific Flyway), since 1987-88 and this has been the most consistently good year yet. Mostly Mallards and Widgeon, lots of Widgeon this year. I can't explain it except we had a long reletively warm fall with only one period of single digit cold in mid October. My anecdotal experience was slow duck hunting late 80s thru about 1992-93 when we had a lot of wet weather and things turned around dramaticaly. In 1993 the feds raised the limit from five to seven ducks, where it has been ever since regardless of locally slow hunting years.

We hunt a combination of locally bred and northern birds. Late season, starting about now is usually just mallards and diver ducks. The mallards will stay all winter as long as the fields aren't covered in snow. Whatever birds we lose to migration are made up by concentrating the remaining birds on the still liquid Flathead River and Lake.

With your background you obviously know a lot more about how policy is made than me, I apparently naively believed that litits and such were based on sound science. How bad do you think it will have to get before the Feds drop the limit to six or even five ducks, I also remember when there was a split season. On the other hand I remember as a kid seven duck limits with no difference between hen or drake, Pintail, Mallard, Teal, it made no difference. We always tried to get a limit of seven bull sprig, then it went to six bull sprig.
 
I am from eastern SD and I have a slightly different view. The number of ducks I saw was at or slightly below years past. There was alot of ducks here, however hunting was diffucult due to water levels lowering during the entire season in the areas I hunted. I agree that we need alot of snow. Also I think alot of ducks left here in early Nov when all the little stuff froze. I hunt one of the largest lakes in SD and I can tell you the number of Bluebills, Bufies and Goldeneyes declined greatly after the middle of November and there was still plenty of open water. So in a nutshell I don't think the numbers were down that much I just feel the birds left a little earlier then in years past and the habitat was not as good.

Allan
 
Hunted today in Virginia in short sleeve shirt. It has been unseasonably warm. but hopefully that will change tomorrow. Of course our seson is closed all next week when the birds may get here. At least it can only get better from here
Dan
 
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