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DUCK SEASON A
REAL STINKER SO FAR!
By: Ron Wilson
January 16, 2012.... This year
has to be one of the worst duck seasons ever. We have sat in the blind
at Modesto Reservoir day after day and
the sky was pretty much empty of waterfowl. The waterfowl weather we
have been used to has just not developed which equals to no weather, no
birds.
What few good days we have had are few
and far in between. One Monday we saw a great migration of ducks early
and had a limit of Sprig in the first 30 minutes of hunting time. Joe
Ryan and I thought, "boy this is going to be a great day", when the east
wind changed directions to a west wind and the fog came rolling in over
the dam and within 15 minutes we couldn't see the trees that were just a
couple hundred yards away.
We sat and listened to ducks flying
overhead for about a half hour and then motored slowly toward the bank
and made it back to the ramp to go home. That's one thing I hate about
reservoir hunting, once the fog rolls in you are done for the day most
of the time. Either that or you have to just sit and wait it out hoping
that the ducks will fly once it has lifted.
In the grasslands I always prayed for a
good fog but at the reservoirs it’s a death sentence for waterfowl
hunting. I think its because once the fog rolls in the waterfowl just
fly over the top of the fog and head on down south to the grasslands.
While sitting in the fog I had a chance
to think about the time and money spent to chase the birds at the
reservoirs. I put in a few hundred dollars at Woodward Reservoir just
for a chance at putting in a blind. This year I found out that some
idiot made a ruling that you have to pick up your decoys every day. My
spread takes a full day or two just to set it up so I will save money
next year as I will not be putting in for a blind at that reservoir to
hunt waterfowl.
I have said for years the best place to
hunt for waterfowl is the wildlife refuges. It’s not only some of the
best waterfowl hunting around but the cheapest. In years of drought like
this not only do they have most of the waterfowl food for the birds to
eat but also most of the water in the surrounding area for them to rest
on.
I know at one time there was contests
between the refuge managers where they competed to see who’s area could
hold the most waterfowl. Not for the hunters to shoot but to have the
highest waterfowl count in the closed areas.
I heard at the refuge's someone with too
much power has dropped the ball. They hired the foxes to guard the hen
house. It seems the people in charge hired people that they could not
trust. Some of the money hunters were paying to hunt these areas was
disappearing. To solve the problem you now have to go online to buy a
hunting pass or to a computer at a store that sells hunting license in
order to buy a pass to hunt as they no longer accept cash at any of the
refugees.
Now it all hasn’t been a wasted
waterfowl season. The local golf course honker’s have taken a beating
this year. While the hunters have put a dent in the population with the
early special hunts and generous waterfowl hunting season. It will be
short lived by the time they have another gaggle of geese the population
numbers for non migration honkers will be bigger than ever.
I guess
when you get right down to it hunters are just lucky to be able to own a
gun so that you can get out in the great outdoors to enjoy the sport of
hunting. I wouldn’t take this for granted for too long as I have seen
our 2nd amendment rights being whittled down to where it is
just a matter of time before they make it illegal to own a gun and then
someone will knock on your door to take you hunting equipment away. Why
do you think they now make you register when you buy a firearm? Simple
reason is that when it comes time when the government in power outlaws
them they know where they are so they can go pick them up. |
