Which way did they go?

bigshark · 01-30-2002, 04:10 PM

I'm not about to complain about this last duck season as it was a winner from a fun standpoint while being the worst season ever for bird harvest. There were the usual guys that claimed they took a truckload, but the guys who are known for not being full of it, all seemed to wonder what happened this season? The bird count and take was very bad for many of the private clubs.
The east side of S.I. seemed to have the worst luck. Some at the south end didn.t fair well. Our
club took about 1400 LESS than normal or about a 65% drop from the average year. One 10 gun lake at the south end told me they had less than 100 birds for an 80% drop. Larry the OSP friend to all of us said its the worst season he can remember and Jerry Ronney said the same. Yes, I suppose we can all say we had this or that good day but for those who keep close tabs on their numbers it was a very light harvest. What happened? I don't know. Some claim they were here but only fed at night and were only moving on the west side when they did come out. Another opinion
is they didn't stop for very long in OR and kept on going south. What is the opinion of the members of this board? Did your lake or favorite spot have what you think was a normal amount of birds? If not, what do you think happened?

Tilla · 01-30-2002, 04:44 PM

We had the best year in three. But it happened all in late Oct and November. While the millet was there so were the ducks, as a twist to all this most of the ducks were shot on a weekday. This seem to be when the early part of the storm arrived either Tues or Wed. It seemed I limited or came close when I went for an hour or two in the afternoons.I felt satisfied getting 10+ ducks/week. My youngest pup got to retrieve her first (70+ ducks for me and a few other guys and showed great progress and enthusiasm (my older dog is frankly quite P.O'd about getting about 1/3 the season)There was a good Sat in Nov., and there was a good Dec 13th storm.( at least for Fishalot and Sandyboy.)
The geese never really happened so we'll see what happens next month on that.

Perfect Drift · 01-30-2002, 08:12 PM

I had two fine hunts all season, opening day and the last day I hunted. I quit just before Christmas when I realized the birds were just not going to come this year. My feeling was if there are indeed this few ducks all over the area, I will not harvest any more and hope that most make it back for next year. Better to error on the safe side.

birdhunter · 01-30-2002, 08:18 PM

I had a few good hunts up North and some really awesome days down in S. Oregon. Only a handful of excellent days around P-town. Not nearly the numbers of birds as last year. I could go out every trip for a few hours and usually get 1 or 2, but my birds/hours in the field is way way down. Can't complain and won't. That's what happens some times. Ma nature did it, not us. Just makes you appreciate the good years all the more. Better luck next time.

Fishalot · 01-31-2002, 06:32 PM

Tilla's pup had a lot better season then he lets on, she retrieved most of my ducks as well a lot of other guys on the lake. That pup can sure mark a fall. The season was ok for me just for the fact that I shot a few limits when Tilla could not make it out, well he can say the same so I will shut up. Had some good times with good friends, this is part of the good life. We still have Geese to kill. :smile:

Fishalot

Meridian · 02-02-2002, 06:29 AM

I have to give season a thumbs down. I think the only thing that saved it was the few storms that we had. When it wasnt stormin there wasnt much happening. When the wind blew we got ducks. There was no such thing as the evening hunt, birds came in way after dark.