When I grow up I want to be Barneywho. I’m glad I was never kwood.

Ramball you big ole bully biscuit neck.

I've been a member longer than you you fool.

Bobo, haven't built any in Kansas, but I've done a few of them in Texas. But hey, what do I know, apparently my wildlife degree and experience don't mean anything.

Texas has same freeze line as KS? who knew.

same wildlife degree that told me prairie dogs eat minimal grass, and are beneficial to farming…. but what do I know, my bushel and grass tonnage sky rocketed after I killed them out.

when someone flexes their knowledge on a subject based on a degree its time to exit the conversation, not worth it when a man already knows everything. Next thing you know he'll start trying to tell you silver labs and GHG decoys are top notch.

You’re getting there.

So do the haters disagree with KWood? I'm just trying to learn something.

I swore I wasn’t going to reply to this, but I can’t help myself.




So that education and experience taught you that only one certain food makes ducks nocturnal? If I plant anything other than corn, they won’t eat at night? Sky blasting, hunting all day…….aka pressure isn’t what makes them nocturnal? It’s the corn? Guess I learn something everyday.

Appreciate the advice, but I’ll stick with my experience and what has been working for us the last 15 years.


More pics and progress to come…..

I have the degree as a base, I have the years of experience after that to back it up, lol.

No, there's many variables, but corn is a very influential food. I have no clue who barneywho is, was just giving him facts on wetland projects that he can do with as he wishes.

I still have that research paper, and I actually came across and read it the other day. What you said isn't what the paper was about at all, good try to be a criticizer though. The research was about how they are good for the ecosystem as a whole, and if they should be put on the endangered species list, etc. That paper is full of research facts, and I can send it to you if you'd like, now that I know where it's at.

No, it taught me many other things. Like I said, any person that manages for ducks, and actually knows anything, knows that a buffet is better than straight hot crop. Hot crops absolutely have their place though. I don't know who you are, nor do I care, I answered the question like you were a beginner to help your success since most people are beginners and run straight to hot crop and then wonder why they can't kill ducks in their plot. They've never actually managed for ducks, so they try what they've seen on Instagram and wonder why it doesn't work.
If you have something that works for you, awesome, but I bet you manage pressure, have other plots have thermal cover, have a refuge, and more. I had no idea this wasn't your first rodeo.

Also look at my wording, I didn't say guarantee, I said possible. Ducks go nocturnal quick, but the research proven facts, plus anecdotal evidence, shows that corn makes them do it much quicker since it provides food, thermal cover, and protection from predatory birds.

I'll admit, there's a lot I don't know, but I'm far from ignorant like these clowns like to think.

I have seen them feed at night on public, because of hunting pressure…acorns, smart weed. The past season 1 week they are coming in on a string, the next week I can hear them all night long camping then gone by morning, nothing but mud boats.

thats why location and pressure are so relative. Freeze line and types of open water are way different

those years of experience landed you on Sitka and Boss shells? keep paddling kid, you'll get there one day

This is an interesting article on duck behavior
Full link - https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/waterfowl/why-do-you-see-so-many-ducks-after-the-season

Two recent telemetry studies in Arkansas and Tennessee (the latter is still ongoing) show that mallards become programmed to avoid hunting pressure and human disturbance once the season is underway. The birds stick to sanctuaries devoid of shotgun blasts and boats racing through the marsh. There have also been telemetry studies conducted on gadwall and pintails that reveal similar habits.

Both studies provide a detailed look at mallard movements in wintering areas. What they discovered is quite illuminating. Once the duck season begins, mallards quickly adapt to survive, spending their nights feeding on private, flooded agriculture and flying back to the refuge before shooting light in the morning. They spend the remainder of the day on these sanctuaries and do not fly out to feed until after sunset. The mallards remain on this strict regiment for the entirety of the season unless a substantial weather event forces them to move.

Dittmer’s mallards hardly spent any time at all on public hunting areas—day or night—until duck season ended. Once it did, the birds began to frequent public hunting acres and moved away from using spatial sanctuaries during daylight hours.

“When hunting season was on those mallards were either on the sanctuary or private agriculture, normally flooded rice,” Dittmer said. “But about two weeks after hunting season ended, during the daytime, they preferred public hunt areas over spatial sanctuaries (mostly flooded timber) and private lands. It was really clear that once hunting season ended, mallards started using these formerly risky areas. Presumably, they somehow knew it was safe.”


“What intrigued me most about these mallards, other than how smart they were, is that most of them stayed within the vicinity of White River NWR,” he said. “Out of 105 birds, only two moved farther south than Arkansas.”

Dittmer’s mallards acted much the same. He tracked their peak flying times, which, not surprisingly, were in the minutes before legal shooting light and after sunset. The only times his birds were killed—only 10 were shot during the study—was if they flew off the night roost a little too late or left the safety of the sanctuary too early. And of the 10 mallards harvested, only two were shot on White River NWR, where they were deployed.

Them mallards are smart, probably reading this forum.

They are quite smart.
We see it here in the panhandle all season while goose hunting about them flying to safety.
When we're out scouting, you'll see them making their way to a field around sunset, then when we're setting up in the morning you'll see thousands of them heading back to water. They feed all night, sit on water all day. It's crazy to watch tens of thousands of ducks hitting the water at first light.

So I ended up getting the best gear, and you're implying that that is stupid? You're really showing your ignorance and hate here. Keep hating though, jealousy is an ugly thing.

I wont resort to name calling, but I will say life is a long game, and I have seen the "best" change a few times over. Some people grow and learn about marketing and some just jump from fad to fad.

what would really blow your mind is that I really don't even wear camo, all the new patterns are made to catch the hunters eye on the sales rack. Keep your face down and be still...game over

It's not about the camo, it's about the warmth without bulk. We mainly lay in whites, so camo isn't much needed.

camo was more of a side note really, every latest and greatest "best" is about warmth without bulk. You're going to need to come out with something more ground breaking than regurgitating a marketing statement.

If corn did not work, people would not be spending 800-1200 dollars an acre to plant it every year... I have hammered ducks over flooded corn in the middle of the day for days on end and when the hole was not pressured for a few days you could go back and restart the process (public land flooded corn from when a river got out of its banks) ... I have watched ducks land on ice and peck the corn off the cob when five foot deep water froze over.... in the middle of the day... to say ducks will only use corn at night as asinine... I remember when the manager on the Barker Ranch (Eastern Washington, private club, pretty good hunting) said he was going to plant corn all the KWood_TSU know it all members said the same crap... "they are only going to use it at night and go back to the river the next day"... they all shut up when they killed more mallards that year than ever before. Yes, that property also had a buffet of food... but corn helped, especially when it was cold... the kind of cold Kansas gets pretty much every year....

Are you saying they sit in dry fields all night feeding? 😅😅😅

Not saying that’s never happened before but it’s definitely not the norm.

I don't think it's possible for me to care less about what another man wears or ammo he shoots. But I gotta admit if you tell me you need Sitka to hunt in TX and Boss shells to kill dux, talk from the perspective of your college degree(s) and not from your experience, Imma be a bit of a skeptic. Especially when it comes to how I manage my land that I'm putting so much time and effort into developing.

Clearly Barney know WTF he's doin and wasn't asking for any suggestions, but if he's listening... the she shed is a definite must!

Congrats Barney, looks like you got a good thing goin there!

y'all ninjaed this up so much, I'm not even sure where I was in the process.

back on topic..........The engineering firm finally got to the project, reviewed our design, overlaid the survey data on the aerial to verify elevations, and sent us the drawings. Once the drawings were finalized and all the drainage reports were done, the engineering firm filed the paperwork with the state at the first of this year. Now we, wait. The plans are sent to 7 different agencies for approval. I'm sure there will be some back and forth, but once the plans are approved we can move dirt. Hopefully by April or May to give us time to seed the levees to get enough growth to protect from erosion as well as a crop to make the ducks nocturnal we won't be able to hunt.

Final design:


Drawing overlaid with aerial. The firm didn't have the drone shot with trees removed:


Dike profile drawing:

Does anyone want to comment on the survey? Do we have any guys with minors in civil engineering that have found flaws in the plan?