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Message
re: Shortstopping Ducks over 25 years not 20
Posted on 1/15/26 at 3:28 pm to choupiquesushi
Posted on 1/15/26 at 3:28 pm to choupiquesushi
quote:
Ive been hearing about shortstopping since the early 70s. See Canada Geese.
Been longer than that in the Atlantic Flyway. We have a WMA with a managed waterfowl area on the coast of Georgia that has been keeping harvest records in a set of notebooks at the check in station since the 1930s. From then until about the mid 40s Snow Geese, Specks and Canada Geese as well as Atlantic Brant were recorded in those notebooks and the first 3 were very common....Snow Geese in particular, there is very few dates that site was hunted from the 30's to the mid 40s when there werent quite a few snow geese killed. From the mid 40s to mid 50s it tapered off to nothing and has been that way since...its been about 70 years since a snow goose was killed on that site. These notebooks are available at the check in station.
Until about 1935 there was a substantial market gunning industry the length of the Atlantic Flyway. It ended in Savannah YEARS before it did further north. Probably by 2 decades but it was probably unsustainable for 2 decades prior to that.
The change most studies indicate was due to mechanical corn harvesting in the DELMARVA peninsular. Waterfowl as far south as the ACE basin relied largely on rice and whatever food they could find in aquatic vegetation. When there was millions of acres of corn spilled across the DELMARVA there was no reason for the birds to migrate until much later in the year and then they would do so in massive pushes that would last for a month or so before they began back migrating. Even with a lack of pressure birds get stale.
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Posted on 1/16/26 at 11:25 am to geauxbrown
quote:
With all that said, I would ask two questions...why is Arkansas still the number one state for wintering/migrating Mallards if they're all being short stopped in the midwest?
Lots of rice. Unbelievable amount of acreage in rice.
Posted on 1/16/26 at 2:09 pm to aTmTexas Dillo
Can’t be the rice. All the coon asses say rice doesn’t hold ducks like corn does.
Posted on 1/17/26 at 8:26 am to CitizenK
Up to 10-15 years ago, I had enormous amount of Mallards and Grays stop on my pond as they moved further south. Now just a few stragglers here and there. My gumbo supply has gone dry. 
Also my neighbor moved and no longer is there Millet farming on his land and thus dove hunt has gone dry.
At least deer population is gigantic. And trout are always here even though some unhealthy tailwater situations of recent has caused some problems.
Plenty of squirrels and rabbits.
Also my neighbor moved and no longer is there Millet farming on his land and thus dove hunt has gone dry.
At least deer population is gigantic. And trout are always here even though some unhealthy tailwater situations of recent has caused some problems.
Plenty of squirrels and rabbits.
Posted on 1/17/26 at 9:07 am to FlyFishinTiger
The issues are very simple. Animals, ducks and geese, want safety and food.
The major change is all of the safe habitat they have since the 90s and beyond from urban sprawl, industry, and most important power plants. The industry and power plants pump out hot water that’s used to cool the power plants and machinery into ponds that hold the water open for them to safely stay. No one is hunting those industrial parks. Then you have city parks, golf courses, etc.
Then you add in food. The reason for the 2nd migration is not the cold anymore as there is water left open. It’s food. Heavy snowfall covered the fields and food and forces them to fly south until they find the food.
I’m also fairly convinced that overtime the migrations have shifted west away from the heavy hunting pressure of Arkansas and Louisiana and into Kansas and Texas where there’s been less pressure.
The major change is all of the safe habitat they have since the 90s and beyond from urban sprawl, industry, and most important power plants. The industry and power plants pump out hot water that’s used to cool the power plants and machinery into ponds that hold the water open for them to safely stay. No one is hunting those industrial parks. Then you have city parks, golf courses, etc.
Then you add in food. The reason for the 2nd migration is not the cold anymore as there is water left open. It’s food. Heavy snowfall covered the fields and food and forces them to fly south until they find the food.
I’m also fairly convinced that overtime the migrations have shifted west away from the heavy hunting pressure of Arkansas and Louisiana and into Kansas and Texas where there’s been less pressure.
This post was edited on 1/17/26 at 9:09 am
Posted on 1/18/26 at 7:38 am to baldona
Man, I think about and read about all of these issues way too much. My conclusion is that there is no one issue/solution that will remedy things. Flooded corn, as a sportsman seems like an unfair advantage but it does benefit the flock post-duck season. If I were to rank the issues I would say they are:
1) Loss of habitat, especially in the breeding grounds but elsewhere too. We lost a lot of rice ground to other crops in LA and the Katy rice fields are almost gone too. All this shifted a lot of the Speck flock to Stuttgart area and definitely affected Mallard migration. In my mind, any habitat improvements, anywhere, are good for the ducks so join an organization that is doing that whether it be Delta or DU and give them money.
2) The current cycle of warm winters. Not much we can do there.
3) 30-yrs of 6 ducks and 60-days. I’m a weekend warrior so I want my days but I’d be willing to give up a couple of ducks a hunt until the population starts to rebound. I would push for the northern states and Canada to not start their seasons until Oct 1st though. Technology has improved to the point that there should be more “real-time” changes to limits annually.
4) All NWA/WMA should have rest areas BUT they should be rotated annually so ducks can’t pattern to the refuge.
5) I hunt LA and SW Ark and almost every club has areas set aside for resting ducks and not hunting them. A couple close by don’t allow members to shoot more than 20 ga in the holes in close proximity to the rest areas. Meanwhile the pressure is relentless on public ground. Not sure how to fix this but it needs to be discussed.
The bottom-line to me is we need more ducks in the population - however that can be done. In the late 90’s/early 2000’s the population was 2x as big as it is now.
1) Loss of habitat, especially in the breeding grounds but elsewhere too. We lost a lot of rice ground to other crops in LA and the Katy rice fields are almost gone too. All this shifted a lot of the Speck flock to Stuttgart area and definitely affected Mallard migration. In my mind, any habitat improvements, anywhere, are good for the ducks so join an organization that is doing that whether it be Delta or DU and give them money.
2) The current cycle of warm winters. Not much we can do there.
3) 30-yrs of 6 ducks and 60-days. I’m a weekend warrior so I want my days but I’d be willing to give up a couple of ducks a hunt until the population starts to rebound. I would push for the northern states and Canada to not start their seasons until Oct 1st though. Technology has improved to the point that there should be more “real-time” changes to limits annually.
4) All NWA/WMA should have rest areas BUT they should be rotated annually so ducks can’t pattern to the refuge.
5) I hunt LA and SW Ark and almost every club has areas set aside for resting ducks and not hunting them. A couple close by don’t allow members to shoot more than 20 ga in the holes in close proximity to the rest areas. Meanwhile the pressure is relentless on public ground. Not sure how to fix this but it needs to be discussed.
The bottom-line to me is we need more ducks in the population - however that can be done. In the late 90’s/early 2000’s the population was 2x as big as it is now.
This post was edited on 1/18/26 at 9:31 am
Posted on 1/18/26 at 9:34 am to Ziggy Pop
26 years
Posted on 1/21/26 at 7:56 am to Ziggy Pop
quote:
4) All NWA/WMA should have rest areas BUT they should be rotated annually so ducks can’t pattern to the refuge.
I was just informed that Rockefeller refuge feeds a dump truck of rice to their ducks every week. They have no reason to leave the refuge now. Btw, very few ducks in Cameron.
Posted on 1/21/26 at 12:44 pm to Motorboat
quote:
I was just informed that Rockefeller refuge feeds a dump truck of rice to their ducks every week.
I have witnessed the FWS feeding ducks and geese on refuges first hand. There are those who will claim that is not so but I have seen it firsthand. In one instance these fields: (google coordinates)
46.23602063248735, -119.01871754066401
Are a public hunting area in Pasco Washington. Almost due south of there:
46.209349813675324, -119.0092815215553
Are some more fields on the McNary National Wildlife Refuge. I have hunted the public area and watched as THOUSANDS of ducks and geese flew from all over the Snake and Columbia Rivers, from every compass point, and light in those fields on the NWR....about 9 AM, 4 or so days a week a convoy of grain trucks will enter those fields, scattering ducks and geese out of the way, and dumping truckloads of grain (corn mostly) on the ground. I have seen a CLOUD of nothing but Mallards get up out of the grain storage facility between those 2 sets of coordinates and start flying toward those fields when you could see the trucks coming. I have watched this from that facility while hunting.
I have seen it at Horeshoe Lake Refuge (state) in Illinois and Umatilla NWR in Oregon.
Posted on 2/4/26 at 8:34 am to baldona
Do you think starting the season later with hope of more cold weather would bring more ducks into Louisiana?
Posted on 2/7/26 at 4:11 pm to CitizenK
Louisiana used to winter the most canada geese in the flyway. They started feeding them and the migration completely halted . It is well documented. Mallards behave very similar to canada geese, and they have always worried the same could happen with them. Everything that is going on right now is not a surprise. Article after article was written back in the day by biologists foreshadowing todays current conditions. Do not let the corn people gaslight you. They are all full of shite. They are the same types who claim high fence hunting is real hunting and crossbows belong in archery season.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 4:50 pm to mrcoon
Add some bowfishing and it’s gonna be da shite show
Posted on 2/7/26 at 4:50 pm to Ron Cheramie
Also ever increasing mechanized traffic through duck country here.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 5:28 pm to FlyFishinTiger
quote:
Do you think starting the season later with hope of more cold weather would bring more ducks into Louisiana?
No, later messes with breeding which messes with duck production. Also, from what I understand, ducks are already working their way back up. Fresh arctic blasts will distribute some birds and lead to better hunting, but I don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze in the long run.
If we can get the duck population back to better numbers, and we still have crappy hunting, I’ll get on the short stopping bandwagon.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 8:03 pm to TrueTiger07
quote:
Need to go to a 30/3 system for a few years. Numbers are horrible everywhere, Canada included.
This. Pressure is a main factor in SWLA that we can control. Crawfish farming is not going away and neither is flooding corn north of us.
The only solution is to reduce the pressure and harvest down here.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 8:19 pm to CitizenK
quote:
They were around long before then especially between Lake Chuck and Lacassine Bayou. Not much sport in shooting something so slow so no pressure on them.
I grew up there. The tree ducks were not there throughout the 80's and 90's. Just the blue feet squealers. LDWF is making new smaller wood duck boxes now because of the tree ducks. Wasn't a problem until lately.
Our snow geese population in SWLA is less than 1/2 of what we had not to mention specks. That's not due to shortstopping. I think it's over harvesting throughout the flyway. That includes Alberta where the bottleneck is and they kill all the young birds.
This post was edited on 2/7/26 at 8:28 pm
Posted on 2/7/26 at 8:26 pm to Antib551
quote:
The problem is the last few generations of mallards (and most ducks in general) don't even know about the habitat degradation here. I'd bet the majority of them have never seen Louisiana. That migration has been bred out of them. They will only travel far enough to eat, and that is the only thing dependent on the weather.
This right here. I'm very concerned about the specks. They don't know to migrate down here anymore.
We HAVE to lower the limit and shorten the season.
Look at teal. When they reopened it, it was unbelievable. Now it's slowly declining yet they increase the limit. Insane management practice! It's about money.
Posted on 2/7/26 at 8:40 pm to Motorboat
quote:
I was just informed that Rockefeller refuge feeds a dump truck of rice to their ducks every week. They have no reason to leave the refuge now. Btw, very few ducks in Cameron.
Lacassine refuge was rumored to do that, but it was bullshite.
I do think they need to dry it up and clean it out. There's no open water left for the ducks. They missed a great opportunity with the droughts.
Posted on 2/8/26 at 8:49 am to loogaroo
quote:
I grew up there
They were all over Lacassane Company rice/marsh back then. Bluebill population sure did increase in the late 90's. I only hunted the west side of the Mermentau on that land. Snow geese were grossly overpopulated with botulism outbreaks and why a special season with restrictions to limit to 3 shells in a shotgun.
This post was edited on 2/8/26 at 8:53 am
Posted on 2/8/26 at 9:56 am to loogaroo
Lacassine pool used to be lowered every year and burned, but the fisherman made such a big issue over it. That practice was stopped now there is very little open water in the Lacassine pool to hold ducks.
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