So, this is why I built a duckboat ...

Steve Seibel

Steve Seibel

Member
With excellent water conditions here in central Kansas and eagerness to get the hunting season going, I've looked forward for weeks to hunting a walk-in public marsh near home. Also, teal hunting should be a casual, fun-sort of duck shooting. However, at 61 years of age and 40-some years of experience hunting public hunting areas, I should have known better.

Arriving at the marsh two hours before legal shooting time -- on a weekday, no less -- found a half-dozen vehicles parked beside a 40-acre pool. Okay, thought I, we'll just try another spot -- only this time the parking lot was full. I should have known better -- it's not worth getting up earlier just to have someone walk into your setup.

Yeah, I had to remind myself -- this is why I built my duckboat. Forget the walk-in, wade-in areas. Bring on frosty mornings with big ducks on big water!
 

After deer season most guys wrap up in their snuggies and start thinking about fishing in April....THAT's when duck season really starts.

It takes the snow and cold blowing wind to weed out the fair weather hunters.
 
Sorry to hear of that, Steve. All this time I thought our teal season started a week from tomorrow. Well, thank goodness I talked with Tim because I found out it starts tomorrow. Dashed out to my teal spot---it has water but no ducks. They haven't come down yet and the forecast for the next 9 days is to have a southerly wind blowing. Not good, but I'll be out there hoping to see just one.
Al
 
My teenage son has taught me that you can sleep late on the weekends and then go or we can go after school and still get a chance at some ducks.
 
hunting sure has changed... i like duck dynasty etc. as much as the next person but they along with DU and such have turned 1 in 4 people into duck commanders..

its gotten so bad here in eastern NC theres some places i have given up all together. When theres 35 trucks at a public ramp on a tuesday for a chance to just SEE a teal.. and highs in the low 90's (had some friends see that here this week, said no one fired a shot either in the whole area) its not worth it anymore, its not hunting anymore, just dealing with stupid people. I can do that at walmart and not drive an hour for it.

It wasnt long ago that people thought i was crazy for getting up at 3am to chase a duck, now everyone in the state is a duck commander.. i wish this fad would go away and they would go back to playing sports or something.

Is it like that up north? ive done some hunting in jersey and it seemed that no-one cared a bit about it except the old timers. We hunted all over the public marsh the week between christmas and new years and had it to ourselves.. it was paradise! Would never happen here in carolina.
 
I also have seen a (rapid) change in hunting pressure. When I retired in 96 I could hunt mid week and rarely find other hunters except a few old farts. It has all changed. 7 days a week there is pressure...nearly everywhere that there is easy walk in access or boat access...even the big (for us) water....there are hunters. At first I decided it was unemployed folks (with the economy and all) but then as I watched there were $35000 truck and boat rigs showing up?? I guess that the job world has changed enough that work schedules allow this now? Used to be to hunt other than weekends took a vacation day or week. Not now.

I have to either hunt on water where the hunting is not as good (usually) or hunt water where I target species that most hunters pass on.

The actual result is my days afield have been reduced by 2/3rds. I fish more in hunting season now but then that has it's problems now also???

Sign of the times???????????????
 
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