Ive been hunting an area for years and never seen more than 3-4 boats launch at this ramp. Got there Sunday morning at 4, and there were already 3 truck/trailer combos launched with an air boat getting ready to launch. I make the thirty minute boat ride to the spot I wanted to hunt and get flashed off. Not a big deal, but just shocked to see the traffic. We went to another spot, and were off the x by 100 yds. Oh well, what are you gonna do?

When I got back to the ramp, there were 9 boat trailers, all mud motor boats and air boats. Wondering if any other public hunters are seein 'new' boat traffic? I was jokingly ribbing on the duck dynasty crowd before the hunt, but after seeing that much new traffic maybe I was right.

Yup... they're starting to make mud motors more convenient with reverse and things like that, so it makes them more practical to have than what they used to be. Even regular ol' fisherman are beginning to use them to run stumps for catfish and crappie.

We hunted a spot Saturday that I have been hunting for about 13 years now. Twice as many trucks as Ive ever seen. We were the first on the water at 2:00am. By 5:00am there were about 10 groups of hunters shoe horned in a strip of bank about 300x800 yards. Funny thing is every group except us was trying to set up on the X. They were fighting over someone moving someone elses decoys that were placed the day before to hold the spot and getting into it over who was set up on top of who. They all got to see what they didnt know once the shooting started and the birds quickly abandoned the X.

Ten years ago it would have been 90% outboards. Now its 90% mud motors.

Its not duck dynasty, its internet forums like this. Keep posting pics oof all the ducks you shot and all your cool stories. We used to joke that the best place to get hunting reports was listening in at the sporting goods section at Walmart.

By posting your stories on the forum, your basically standing in the sporting goods section and yelling it out at the top of your lungs. Everyone in the store just heard you. But even better, everyone in this store hunts.

Think about it....

Yea, we sure don't want to talk about duck hunting on a duck forum!

One thing nobody has mentioned and probably don't realize.....TX is still in drought. Lots of folks venturing out to 'new' places that have more water than their normal haunts.

I will say this, I have NOT seen an increase in boat traffic where I hunt.

If an airboat is using a boat launch and running spots a mud motor can run, HE'S DOING IT WRONG!!!!!!!

Yes

Where I hunt I have seen an exponential number of increased hunters and how many persons are in the hunting party's.

Every 3/4 ton crew cab trunk that pulls up out pops 4-5 youngsters and 2 young dogs.

I think as it gets colder some of them will give up, I would definatly not show ducks at the ramp though unless checked by the warden. I never shoot anything, hunting always sucks at the lake I am at if I am asked, my ducks will always be hiding under my decoys. It was kinda of hard to hide two limits of ducks along with some white geese last weekend though.
Eventually some will give up, however it is dry up north so we will have some seasoned hunters here as well.
Just part of the challenge.

true, when the private shallow water spots dry up those private water hunters look to public

If you post your pics right, and tell your stories right(don't give out any decent landmarks in pics, and don't say the lake in the story) there's no harm. It's the guys that don't do this that will eventually get burned.

That must have been 10 years ago. Walmart barely even has any sporting good section now days. And water fowling has come a long way since then...

WRONG.... just because hes running where the mud motors are doesnt mean hes wrong, we all try to hun where the birds are, if they are where a mud motor can get to it then hey thats where you need to be....

I have seen more boats every time I go out. I do think people will lay low if we can get some good ducks weather. I know I will be out no matter how cold it gets.

Just give it a while, it'll slow down.

what I have noticed is the addiction to have the "latest and greatest" 20k for a duck boat 1.5k for a gun 4k for a trained dog, 2k in the latest gadgets...

me on the other hand... I walk in, with a 300 dollar gun and a dog I trained with a mix and match set of deeks that go back 20 years... I have a great time and shoot my fair share of birds.

this is what happens when you get older

I agree with nogeese. Most of the sports that I have seen this season are young with new gear. I feel like an old man out there and I am not 50 yet. They put out some robo duck decoys, and shot with camo wrapped guns. Opening weekend, I was using a jerk cord. They other guys on the pond did not know what it was or why I would use it.

I agree, opening morning some nut roll buy us right at LST in a 20 foot camo boat, sets up after LST about 400 yards away with more crap than I have ever seen, he had 5 mojos running and a Vortex which is a pole with Mojo's flying in a big circle, funniest thing I have ever seen.
I do not know how well all that crap worked but he only shot once the hour it took us to limit out and pick up all our gear and get out of there.
Pretty entertaining set up.

Not all us youngins need fancy rigs

Exact same thing happened to us. Except the guy set up within 30 yards of us. Karma was in our favor and every duck that came into the area hit our spread. We limited within an hour and half while they shot at maybe three birds. But it sucked to see him wave off our flashing light and drive right up beside us exactly at LST. We had been set up for over an hour. I will say atleast he didn't sky blast and try to call away the birds. We both just let the birds do their thing and the cards so happened to fall in our favor.

30 yards, that ain't happening around me without a face to face discussion. Another group the same morning walked in and set up 125 yards from us, I tried to shine them off, they would not leave so I parked my boat 50 yards from them and let them watch my boat all morning.
It really did not matter because they were not on the X.
If someone is trying to set up that close(30 Yards)they just need to be educated because they probably do not understand, they can get killed that close.

you would flash someone off at 125yrds? then park you boat there? lucky you didt have a boat full of lead

They were walking to us the whole time trying to set up closer, they ended up about 125 yards away but I left my boat there were I was shining them off and we set up 75 yards from the boat to hunt.
For all they knew they were setting up 50 yards from us because that is were my boat and light was, they did not find out they were that far till we started hunting.

gotcha

That is a good looking rig that belongs to a veteran hunter. I think this thread is more about all the "new boats" and "new hunters". The last two weekends I have been on the pond with a couple of young guys. They are good hunters and really nice guys.

My apologies if I offended you. You are not the guy we talking about.