|
CALIFORNIA DUCK HUNTING NEEDS HELP!
By: Ron Wilson
January 29, 2004…. For
the past two years I’ve been chasing ducks all season long. I hunted the
rivers and game
refugees, San Luis mainly.
Sorry I haven’t gotten
into particulars but my partners would disable me if I gave out details on
what we have been doing.
I know that my columns
haven’t been as informative as they should be and I apologize about that,
but its one of those cases where I must keep quiet in order to keep my
word to my partners.
In the upcoming weeks I will be fishing for trout and bass in the lakes
and ponds in the central valley. I promise to be informative about how and
what I am doing.
Hopefully I will be doing some catching, which is one of the reasons I am
glad this miserable duck season is over!
Talk about a disappointing year. I spent more unsuccessful days hunting
ducks the last two years than I did in the fifteen before that!
While the duck numbers have been going up on most species, the hunter
success rate has been going down at the same time.
The reason is our government agencies and their cohorts, Ducks Unlimited
and CWA, have pretty much trained our migrating waterfowl.
As any good duck hunter knows, ducks can be smarter then those that chase
them. Anybody who has used a Robo duck and paid close attention could see
this. The birds would come close enough to see what’s flashing, but then
flare and stay out of gun range.
I
believe a good percentage of birds have related flashers to hunters,
especially on bright sunny days. That’s when the flashers work the best,
but the ducks eyesight becomes the sharpest. A lot of waterfowl have wised
up to our flasher tricks, which shows were doing a good job of education.
Now you take that knowledge and then train our waterfowl on where all the
safe zones are, and within a few years you have flock after flock that can
fly from North America to South America during their migration and never
get shot at!
Not only does the hunter suffer from this training, but the suppliers of
hunting equipment also suffer. Shotgun shells, calls and clothing are just
the tip of the duckbill when you look at the expenditures required to
hunt. Add on food, lodging and gas to get to and from your favorite
hunting spots and the cost adds up fast.
If every hunter penciled it out, the out of pocket cost per duck killed is
huge. I bet a lot would just give it up or head north for a week of
fantastic hunting and then hang their gun up for the rest of the year!
 Hunters
are on the decline because of the poor waterfowl hunting and the makers of
hunting equipment are suffering right along with them.
The hunter spends a great deal of money on their sport and their dollar
touches just about everyone in the community in one form or another!
The local mom and pop operations, where people eat, sleep and buy gas, are
just some of the first to feel the impact. Next is the overall revenue of
sporting goods dealers both wholesale and retail.
While I have been a strong supporter of helping the ducks over the years,
it is quite evident that we have overdone it and shot ourselves in the
foot.
I
don't have a good answer, but I know something is wrong. We need a few
groups with deep pockets to band together and take action on those
responsible for our waterfowl.
We need to take a look at the programs currently in place and find ways to
deprogram our waterfowl!
We need to find ways to increase hunter success. With that the
participation will climb and those that make hunting products and supply
hunters with their needs will once again see a nice increase!
You can also send letters describing how you feel about your year of duck
hunting and what changes you would like to see in the near future. A few
letters in the right hands can make a difference!
The mailing address to send letters.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capital
Governor's Office
Sacramento, CA 95814
Director of Fish & Game
Department of Fish & Game
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Michael Chrisman
Secretary of Resources
Resources Agency
1416 Ninth Street, Suite 1311
Sacramento, CA 95814 |
