Migratory OT

With all the trolls and bs from certain members going on, can this section of the forum be taken seriously any longer? Seems like 50% of the post are egotistical clowns or just flat out trolls.
I can’t be the only one losing interest.

Duck hunters are strange. Some are stranger.

You obviously haven't been around this forum much. It's way more boring and serious now than it was 10 years ago.

dead on...a lot of these new guys dont even understand when they are getting trolled, takes the fun out of it

this section has been chest pounders and trolls since day one, just like every other waterfowl forum on the internet. after about 12 months you have already seen every question answered like which shells, which gun, which call, how do you call, how to you set up a spread, why does my lab suck and my buddies chessy kick [censored].

at a certain point the trolling just happens organically.

speaking of trolling I always forget I have that sig line haha

Id take real offense to that chessie statement if I hadn't just asked you to have your chessie mount my lab.

Oh stop crying Ricky, its all the crying is the issue. Ricky crying because I'm not always serious, Mohunter crying because I post limits.

Cochise always nails it.

"Migratory OT"

"OT" means overtime to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guess you represent the snowflake group around here...

I do get what you mean.
You have newbie hunters come on here and a guy trolls. I don't care for it bc that guy is being lied to essentially.

I dont mind it, it keeps things entertaining.

As far as the comment above about new hunters being lied to. I don't know, people just have to understand that there are no best shotguns, best shells, best calls, best anything. And it takes a lot of hard work and money to get successful at shooting ducks. Its really no different than any sport out there, everything takes effort and there isn't much out there that you can do cheaply anymore.

Yeah, that and teal tags are getting more expensive every year.

I agree with Ricky that between sarcasm and bromances this section of the forum seems to be trending in the wrong direction. Also agree with what others have said regarding that it’s always been this way....Well at least to a certain degree

It's like the Clash say, "Should I stay or should I go..." Forums are Forums...take em for what they are worth. This forum seems better than most, and if you really want to get some good ideas from people PMing is usually the avenue. And I do think every year there are good repeat posts on safety, on what to bring opening day, where can I get some good deals on shells etc, and areas like that...because believe it or not every year you have new folks coming by, and if we can provide them with something that makes them like the sport just a bit more or be just a bit more safe....that's cool.

Also, some of the pictures of birds and dogs are realy good...that's a bonus.

there's a surprise

this thread makes me want to start posting everyday again.

Your post are missed.

I use the 80/20 rule, 80% serious, 20% BS. Garrett is like 95% BS, every now and then he says something of use.

95%? that seems like a high number, what if I did 80% BS and 20% serious? that seems like a good start, I'll need to make it up north and hunt with you and tyler this year so you know I'm not so bad

Only 95%. Either your math is bad or I'm missing some of Garret's post.

I've been gone to long, ya'll just dont remember all my helpful posts leading the new guys on the straight and narrow.

Hmm, I'm going to agree with Guy on this, but I believe what is driving the high percentage is your far and few post of last few years. When you do come on, its more BS than serious, but hey, only Ricky has an issue with the BS.

Yup, just me

Never said I had an issue with y’alls humor, never said I had a problem with the jokesters. I just believe this is more of a troll section of the forum, such as what y’all are turning this thread into. Carry on children.
This should go awhile.

Yep. I think this is year 4...

I am underwhelmed by your command of the obvious, I don't think much has changed. The volume of good stuff goes up and down with the season. It can be good again, cheer up.

...and you brought garret out of hiding

hopefully rick lets me stick around and doesn't run me off

Can confirm this. Uncle G taught me everything important about duck hunting. Like spoony's are the green head of central Texas, and if you ever wanna take your kids to see the Barney show just go to Granger opening morning.


I will say if your trying to learn how to duck hunt from a forum, your screwed anyways. Nothing Kwood is going to say here will teach you how to ID ducks, find productive areas, or be consistently successful. It's all done with time, and if your not smart enough to pick up on the jokes maybe you should stick to DU articles.

Lake namer!

Whoops must've slipped. It's all good though I'm already sleeping in my teal hole for the opener.

Did you ever find a wealthy woman to marry? Thought that was what you were hunting before your disappearance.

ndhunter, I messed up and married another poor one...my next time

Tyler, I saw a picture of your spot, looks like a magnet for birds.

X2

I missed the DU sticker deal the first time, well played

I see you updated it... I know you slacken over the years, but at least keep sig line updated..

[/quote]

Go to Ark. forums if you want to see some stuff.

Interesting group on Arkansas forum

And ringer is central Texas pintail? Man, both you guys love to shoot them ringers.

I told you I was on them. Wish I had more guns this morning, quick shoot. Not exactly spoonies, but they all got blue wings.

what did you do with the spoonies?

Nonsense.

There's so many public spots to hunt, hunting ducks can be as easy as hunting dove. You just need someone to show you how to do it. I've seen so much cheap used gear on craigslist over the past few years a hunter could get kitted out a heck of a lot cheaper nowadays than years past.

Pumping young hunters with nonsense or lies about hunting diminishes the value of a forum. my $.02, tifwii

Sanded down the bills,painted the feet and threw them in the pile.

Yes in regards to gear you can spend as much or as little as you want.

It really just depends on what you consider success. Some guys are just happy to get out there and if they shoot a couple ducks even better. We all know the lakes that draw crowds of hunters to fight over a handful of ducks. If your ok with hunting the same cove with several other groups and competing over the few birds its holding then more power to ya. Thats not why I go hunting and that [censored] drives me crazy.

My post is mainly referencing guys that hunt 3,4,5 days a week and shoot near limits or limits on public land. To have that success you will spend alot of time and money (gas) to stay on top of the birds. Thankfully gas is realities cheap right now but I can still run through a $50 bucks or so in gas every hunt. Not uncommon for me to drive a hundred miles one way for a morning hunt. It adds up when your hunting multiple days a week.

And as far as I'm concerned it takes more than someone showing new hunters how to do it. We are hunting wild birds that can and do travel hundreds of miles in any given day. If there is pressure or poor conditions they don't stick around. The principles of duck hunting are very easy. Find the birds and hunt where they want to be and you'll shoot ducks. The effort, time and money comes with how far you are willing to go to find those birds, especially in years where conditions are less than ideal.

I'm not trying to fill anyone's head with nonsense. One of the reasons you find all that gently used gear for sale is bc people find out really quick that public land duck hunting isn't like the duck dynasty duck hunts.

Maybe not a troll post, but a troll sig line. You and guy seem to be in love with me now days.

fly, I couldnt agree more with most of what you've said. Particularly the part about duck hunting and duck dynasty. Not so much that it's harder than on the show (it can be) but from losing its coolness since the hysteria over duck dynasty has dissipated. There's always people that get into hunting ducks or other game and for whatever reasons give it up.

For the most part, folks I know that stick with it grew up hunting.

aerangis I'm curious how much do you typically spend a season on duck hunting? I know last year between up keep of boat, trailer, storage, shells, two pairs of waders, pulsators, hotel rooms, gas, wear and tear on truck (mileage) I spent over $4,000. I also spent easily as much time scouting as I did hunting typically 8-10 hours a week. I ended my season with an average of 2.8 hunters per hunt and a 13 duck average. To me that's a considerable amount of time and money being that I'm in my twenties. Everything is relative so what do you consider not a lot of money and being successful?

dont pick a fight with aerangis, he wont give up and make these long winded posts to make a point. At the end of the day he doesnt really hunt much at all.

edit, for being a jackazz

I can and do hunt pretty cheap. I'm close to a number of public areas with good hunting and have access to private, with the majority of hunts walk-in (I don't need the services of a guide). I have a 14 ft jon and kayak that I've had for years, they work well and don't cost much to run. I use old mojo's, dekes, waders, and havent bought any gear in years and I'm shooting shells left over from previous seasons. The flip side of that would be trips out of state and out of the country. Just like cars, you can spend a little or a lot and still get from point A to point B. You don't have to spend a lot of money to have successful hunts. And a successful hunt to me is filling up the freezer. My $.02, and worth as much.

that was harsh, isnt this whole thread about trolling? Lets get back on track I guess

hunting is expensive no matter how you slice it, if you're poor folk its even worse. Maybe not even poor, but young men in their early who are in the beginning of their careers at a lower pay scale, older men with a family to support, college or high school kids. There are financial obstacles to overcome before they even buy a piece of gear. I think people look at things at face value and dont peel that onion back, a cheap set of decoys is not a lot of money to someone, to someone else it might be a stretch. If I had to guess a lot of people come here looking for help fall into the not a lot of money to spend category.

At bare minimum before you ever set foot in the water whats it take?

hunting license, supper combo with a duck stamp is just shy of $100, you dont need a super combo, maybe just a regular hunting license with the state and federal stamp, $60?

public land permit $50

chest waders $100, if you know someone you can just get rubber boots and save money here, but like I said if someone is on here they most likely dont know anyone and will need to walk out to get a bird, that water can be cold during the season

decoys, $30-50 for a half dozen (this surprised me)

gonna need anchor lines also, not sure where to start on that one, it can be done cheap, unless you ask on here how to do it

notice I didnt include shells, fuel or other consumables.

$300 isnt chump change to a kid, $300 isnt chump to change to a lot of adults considering only about half of Americans can handle a $1000 emergency.

My suggestion is to buy the Dave Ramsey course and complete it before starting duck hunting. Learning to budget and how money works will be way more important than waders if you stick with it.

best case they have a private place available that has ducks. Then they could just sit on that spot and shoot ducks coming in no matter what. Then they can post pictures here about being great duck hunters and give others advice. That route would be pretty cheap.

Garrett, it was harsh, my apologies.

Like anything, you can spend a little or a lot, Not just money either but time. Time is by far my biggest investment hunting waterfowl, I spend a lot of time scouting and talking to friends that are doing the same elsewhere helping each other out. But yea, if I got paid for it Id be making good money. Fortunately, I office out of the house with a flexible schedule (which isnt the case for most folks) and hunt 5-6 days a week if the huntings good.

I know HS kids that hunt before or after class with little more than a shotgun and a box of shells and they do good.Growing up hunting with access to places to hunt makes all the difference in the world as opposed to someone starting from scratch.

Speaking of. You put your decoys out incorrectly and called to quietly when they were finishing.

private land hunters are so funny

Duck hunting is cheap and areas to hunt are accessible to anyone for free. It does not need to be the extreme sport it has been commercialized to be and most of the things people think they need to have a successful hunt, they don't really need. A young man could get set up and hunt for less than the cost of a typical date or two back then. Today I could afford to set up from scratch again and duck hunt a whole season for less than the cost of one date out with the wife. I duck hunted for years in blue jeans, earthtone plaid shirts, army surplus field shirts, rubber hip waders, cheap walmart bought shells, scavenged lost decoys and 2 liter bottles, or just shot them by being were they were the morning before. Duck hunting is one of the easiest cheapest types of hunting there is if you need it to be.

Id say you need to budget $50 a hunt for just shells and gas and that's being relatively conservative.

Ive been hunting public land for years. And yes, you can get it done on public land. But it all depends on birds. Last year I opted to buy my own land and build my own Disney Land for Ducks on it. Frankly, Im tired of dealing with idiots day in and day out on public lands. Money or no money I feel duck hunters need to go thru a training class on huntings "non written rules" before they can set up on their own. I grew up hunting in Arkansas so Ive seen it all. But it seems to be getting worse every year!

I agree 100%. Takes the fun away fist fighting before first light for a spot....

My experience the last few years has been the opposite. There was a number of years up until around 2017 when the hunting was easy peezy. That, and Duck Dynasty bringing a lot of folks with no hunting etiquette into the fold made for some rough times on public. But thats in the past. I see very few hunters today. The thing about public is if you're willing to put in the time to scout there are some REALLY good places to hunt. Snipe, geese, ducks, dove, its all out there. You just got to find it.

Years ago I noticed a correlation between large populations of wild ducks & geese congregating at city park ponds and golf courses in close proximity to lakes. Particularly at parks and golf courses where the waterfowl are fed. And that, is all Im gonna say about that

It pays to check the crop of the birds you're shooting.

I will definitely say there are fewer duck hunters today than there were 8 to 10 years ago. I still believe there are more today than there were 20 years ago though.

If your strategy of hunting is to shoot the local park ducks and geese that's all I need to hear about how you hunt. Class A sportsman.

I used to hunt a spot on a public lake that was notorious for being crowded and muddy to the point that it was dangerous. Tons of birds would be in the middle of an area of the lake that low water had turned into a flooded timber wetland loaded with food and birds galore. It was about 400 acres in size and folks would surround the area starting the night before (the hunting was that good) and literally be spaced out every 20 yards or so and catch the birds coming off the water at LST. What they didnt know was the area that the birds were in was hard bottom. If you could get past the 20-30 yard of mud/silt basin you could walk in. So I built some underwater paths over the mud using logs, nylon rope and cinder blocks.

First day of the season we'd come rolling up two hours before LST to a parking lot already full of trucks, walk down to the waters edge and start walking through to a constant chorus of hunters telling us all the spots were already taken. Then we'd turn our head lamps off, and start heading offshore with people yelling at us that it was impassable and the mud too thick. Once we got a hundred yards or so away from the shoreline where the hunters were stacked I'd put on my NODs and head to the bridge, cross it, and walk into ground zero and set up. We'd sit on submerged logs up against tree stumps still as could be with a dozen dekes and a mojo and have birds swimming all around. As soon as it was LST, we water swatted and fly swatted the heck out of them birds and my phone would blow up with texts from folks asking if it was me out there in my kayak

It's under water now, but boy those hunts were epic year after year. The only downside was when I had to sit and wait for everyone to leave so they wouldnt see how I was getting in. Id sit around and call and take pics with my phone to pass time. It was 20 minutes from the house. And I had it all to myself and those I shared it with despite the crowds.

Good times, good memories. Thats what it's all about.

He said WILD ducks congregating at parks near lakes. Waterfowl hunting always has and always will be related to a food source. The birds need to eat, they need water, No different than hunting Flooded timber where there are acorns, peanut fields, rice fields etc or planting millet. Now rolling up to a park with an air rifle at night to shoot the birds with bands... that would be different.

Wild ducks and geese that come running when you shake a Mrs. Baird's bag? Let me guess some of the mallards are snow goose hybrids and have white on them.

Thanks dub.

Just to clarify for those with reading comprehension problems, I don't hunt at city parks or golf courses nor did I say that.

drama queens, everywhere. geez...

You must not get out much. The city parks around here are loaded UP with wild green heads and canada's. They're used to being fed at the park and roost and hang out on a nearby lake near the house. If they eat Mrs Bairds, no worries. I like their bread too.

Those geese don’t migrate. Same with most city ducks. I was talking about hunting public spots. Nothing to do with city birds.

We must live close

From how you reminisce on your past hunts it sounds like your the one who doesn't get out much. Especially if how you get your waterfowl fix now is by walking the local city park. I could give two feathers off a ringers azz about ever shooting a Canada goose, let alone a resident park goose. They have to be one of the dumbest birds there is to shoot, and tastes like a big merganser. While that does "fill the freezer" it's not exactly something I'd be bragging about.

Resident wild birds vs migrators. I don't descriminate.

lol. If I do, you're not far from ground zero. A ton of wild geese and greenheads roost on the nearby lake.

Shoot me a PM, I don't mind sharing.

Let me guess. Carrollton area???? Lol.

No fist fights for me, and I'm 100% public hunter. When I first started duck hunting I got into some arguments with barney setting up too close, but don't have those issues any more. I do pretty good staying clear of barney (which is part of the challenge), but if barney sets up too close, I laugh about it, and just enjoy the circus, and drink my coffee.

If you hunt public, remember they are just F'n ducks. Public hunting is about the adventure, not the ducks. If it is all about the ducks for you, private is the way to go. I had a private lease for 6 years and just got bored with it, it provide great sense of relaxation, but no sense of adventure.

Kdub with his biyearly check in.

Originally Posted by garrett

dont pick a fight with aerangis, he wont give up and make these long winded posts to make a point. At the end of the day he doesnt really hunt much at all.

aerangis, summarize! summarize! summarize!

looking at those pics those geese look like resident geese, just an observation

and hopedale for the win haha

I give. Not my fault I can type 5000 words a minute

If those geese migrate more than 20 miles a year I'll buy wahi steaks for everyone.

I'm thinking less than that, I've been watching those birds for years. And eating their brethren when we cross paths at the lake during hunting season.

The group used to hover around 40-50 birds but in the last few years its jumped to well over 200. During the season when they pull migrators in, the group gets swole up real good.

Someone has been putting out grain at a couple of city park lakes for the past two years. The ducks & geese that were already there brought a lot more birds in and they bounce around. Both geese and greenhead raise young on the ponds, theyve had good hatches the past several years with the wet spring. I walk two miles at one park every day and enjoy watching the birds, sitting on the park bench with a call when I have time. Doesnt take much set them off honking up a storm.

Adventure. I like that.

That one word explains why we get up in the wee hours of the morning, venture out by ourselves in the cold, dark and wet. And enjoy what most folks would consider being tortured

That’s a lot of fun... I used to do that a lot to hear how ducks talk and see what spooks them.

I grew up in the "Bayou Meto Madness" in Arkansas. Moved here and went to college in Commerce. Which was then the Copper Lake Madness. Then on to the Red River airboat madness! lol.

Im so ready for "House Shoe hunts!" F Adventure! lol.

shot a banded goose in Southern OK last year that migrated 3miles from where he was tagged . He should have stayed at the HOA lake and enjoyed the good life . He looked like a B1 bomber flying across the bottom.