# Unreal!



## recker (Oct 12, 2003)

Well when will politics take a look at the duck issue and say enough is enough. It is time to have some more restrictive seasons.Who needs six ducks anyway?It is just frusturating to me as I want to protect the resource.

Generous limits urged for ducks 
Dennis Anderson, Star Tribune 
July 31, 2005 ONOT0731

Despite the dismal season duck hunters experienced last year in the Mississippi Flyway's top waterfowl states, another liberal season -- 60 days, with six ducks allowed daily -- has been recommended by flyway wildlife managers and federal officials.

The recommendation was based on the number of mallards counted in spring breeding surveys and the number of ponds on northern duck breeding grounds in May.

Whether Minnesota, which sought a more moderate hunting season in recent flyway meetings, will give its hunters the 60-day season with six-bird limits might be decided this week.

That's when top officials of the Department of Natural Resources Fish and Wildlife Division meet with DNR Commissioner Gene Merriam to discuss season-setting options.

Agency wetland wildlife group leader Ray Norrgard said Friday that concern for the resource might lead Minnesota officials to tighten daily bag limits.

Duck harvest in the Mississippi Flyway dropped by about 1 million birds last year from 2003. Bad as Minnesota's season was, with a 23 percent harvest decline, dropoffs in Missouri (30 percent), Illinois (32 percent) and Louisiana (39 percent) were greater.

At flyway meetings held recently in Mississippi, Minnesota attempted to secure a "moderate" season with reduced bag limits and a shorter season. But the idea died in committee for lack of a second.

The mood among Minnesota hunters, who have not seen many ducks in recent seasons, might be for more restrictive regulations. But Norrgard said minor tinkering with the season length and bag limit won't significantly alter the harvest -- only more dramatic changes will do that.

The big question about the fall flight seems to be whether relatively late moisture to the breeding grounds -- rain that fell beginning the first week of May -- will account for good duck production this summer.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in recent years has suspended its midsummer duck production survey due to a lack of funds. So production and fall flight estimates -- always somewhat sketchy -- are unavailable.

Meanwhile, it appears hunters throughout the flyway might only be allowed two bluebills (scaup) this fall, because of its declining population.

Green Lake meeting

A public input meeting on Green Lake experimental fishing regulations will be hosted by the DNR from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 25 at the Dethlef's Senior Center located at 317 Hillcrest Av. in Spicer. The meeting was previously scheduled in Willmar.

The purpose of the meeting is for the DNR to share results of a nine-year fishing regulation study on Green Lake and for citizens to provide input on future fishing regulations. Current regulations include a 24-inch maximum size limit for northern pike, which means all northern pike 24 inches and larger must be released immediately, and all bass 14 to 21 inches must be immediately returned to the water.

Those unable to attend the Willmar meeting can send written comments by Sept. 6 to Bruce Gilbertson, Spicer Area Fisheries Office, P.O. Box 457, Spicer, MN, 56288.

Also on Aug. 25, the DNR will host an open house to discuss the Green Lake regulations from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the second floor conference room at the DNR Central Office at 500 Lafayette Road in St. Paul.

Dennis Anderson is at [email protected].


----------



## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Ducks will only move if they have to from pressure or to find food. Southern states can ***** and whine all they want, but if there is not enough very cold weather for an extended amount of time, the birds will not move. They don't just migrate for the hell of it. There has to be some catalyst.

Just because there is plenty of food, open water and little pressure up North, does not warrent restricting the season in the Southern states.

I believe the experts. If they say there are enough birds to warrent a liberal season, that suits me. If they say we need to cut back, I can do that too.

Just because the limit may be six birds, does not mean that YOU have to kill that number. You may practice restraint and set YOUR personal limit to whatever number YOU are comfortable with.


----------



## recker (Oct 12, 2003)

I dont care what they say i know some dnr guys and they will speak to me off the record and they say that is all bs just for making money from stamps etc. I dont have to shot six ducks nor do you and i wont but most people will because they dont know any better. That is the problem. It has become a total game of politics these days controlled by the southern states who want to shot as many ducks as possible.Not all people in southern states but they have the politicions by the throat. One day there wont be any ducks to shot.


----------



## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

I have always heard that you should never argue with an idiot. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience... :lol:

There are plenty of birds. Maybe not where you scouted, but the Northern states that I hunted had plenty. It does require a lot of scouting and miles upon miles of truck time.

20 years ago, it didn't matter... plenty of all three key ingrediants. If there is water, food and little pressure; you WILL have birds. Does not matter wheather this is in SC., Nebraska, NoDak or Cali... If you remove any of these three KEY ingrediants, the birds WILL LEAVE. This is how it is now...


----------



## recker (Oct 12, 2003)

very true i am an idiot that i a take time on a forum and actually care about ducks.Sorrry for that. In the future I will make sure any duck coming over at 75 yards i blast at. I am pretty dumb wasting all these years with du and delta waterfowl. I will have to tell them that this fall before i quite. Thanks for telling me though all i did was for nothing. I will email me other du associate today and tell him i can no longer help with the fundraising.


----------



## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

I'm sorry about the idiot line. You are not one, and I was out of line to use that.

The crux of what I was trying to say is that WE are all armchair bioligists... When we make second guesses on issues where I KNOW that we don't have all of the facts, then we do so with less information than those who do have access to this information. What WE are doing is speculating...

Sorry for being abrasive. :beer:


----------



## jbaincfl (Feb 5, 2003)

First off Sasha you probably hunt in ND where there are plenty of ducks. ND and MN are in different flyways and the topic of the article is the ducks in MN and the central flyway. It is like night and day between the two states as far as the quantity of ducks goes.

I understand that many of the Southern States gets ducks from both flyways, but the hunting in MN has really gone downhill over the past 20 years.

I believe there are more duck hunters in MN than any other state. I don't know why with the small numbers of ducks around.

On a positive note, the goose hunting has been getting better and better every year for the past 10 years.


----------



## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

If you think you have it bad, you need to hunt SC... It is as bad here as I have ever seen it. The birds never get down here any more unless everything above us locks up for a few days.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

i dunno S&A, i wouldnt go so far as to say there are plenty of ducks. maybe at certain times in just the right areas, but there is lots of water, food, and pressure in the pretty wide range that i hunt and even with all the hours put on scouting i seem to return home dissapointed much more often than not. and i havent seen a big push from up north for years. we watch the weather channel day in and day out waiting for the front that is supposed to make the year long wait worth it, the front shows up, the ducks dont. i know they arent wintering in canada, so where are they? sure you can drive to nodak and get ducks, but mn is in poor shape.


----------



## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

That would tell me that the "flyway" has shifted from where you are...


----------



## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

Yes the flyway has shifted West with water levels rising across the dakota's in the mid ninties until now. However with a predicted drought to hit the Dakotas in the next five years the flyway is expected to shift back to the east. AKA MN. In my youth we had 3 bird limits with thirty day seasons in MN and my uncles and I would have no problems bagging our limits early. Plus we would be picking up our decoys earlier and the ducks would recieve less gun pressure. Making the birds less decoy shy the next morning. 
With so many waterfowl hunters in MN the ducks have few spots the can roost and fell secure. Maybe that's why they do not migrate through like the used to. :eyeroll:


----------



## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Once again, MN is trying to improve their duck hunting through 'feel-good' regulations. The brass at the DNR biatch about the counts being full of "paper" ducks, but then they hypocritically try to manage their dwindling resource with "paper" solutions. Such as punishing their hunters with a moderate season when it won't make a bit of difference on how many ducks choose to migrate through MN.

IMO, I think most guys who are willing to go along with this are the opening day crowd. They don't care if the season closes down early or if the limit is reduced because they never hunt past the second week of October and never approach a limit. The hardcore guys don't want this and will end up being the ones to make the sacrifice, not the fairweather hunter who will be hunting deer once November rolls around anyway.

The bottom line is that it is completely asinine to shorten the season of one state and expect it to make a difference. MN made their objection to the liberal season and the DNR can pat themselves on the back for trying while still having that 'feel-good' feeling....then they can announce the flyway has spoken and as a result MN will be forced to have a liberal season.

I'm all for protecting the resource, but this is clearly not the way to do it.


----------

