Rate the Duck Season

[Tilla]

How would you rate your duck season?

[Drakeblake]

Last year wasnt concidered a good year by anyones standards but I killed 33 ducks and this year 15 ! Ouch it hurts just typing it.

-blake

[Rauly]

I think the ducks had a great season. None of them showed up. Don't get me wrong, I like to get birds like everyone else, but I like to watch my dog work more. It only takes a few birds to do that. Thank God or the season would have been a bust. The geese are here though.

Thats why we are having the Ifish Goose hunt. [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] Man I hope we wack-em and stack-em. :grin:

Rauly

[Lured In]

I usually make about 20-25 trips a year and I would say this year was better in some ways and worse in others. I finished out the year with aout 35-40 birds. We tried some new areas and they produced well and the old areas did much worse than I remember.

I say it was a fair year, if the limit had been 4 or 5 birds I would have limited out 7-8 times. As it was I only limited once (thank Tilla ). While I am not a meat hound, Iwould support a drop in the limit for next year. It will keep the number of ducks around up for longer and it will create better turn over/less pressure on heavily hunted areas like SI.

I don't hunt them but there hasn't been as many as usual in the Klamath Basin this year. I don't hear as much shooting either.

[Firedog]

Considering I never managed to get out this year it was a terrible year :depressed: Seemed every day I had planned something came up, either work or stuff to do around the house. Really bummed me out because my dog is getting up there in years and I hate to have her miss any time at all, since she loves to hunt more than anything. Oh well hopefully next year will be better.

[Beer Waggin]

Let's see.... got a very late start because of a knee surgery, broke a crank and had to sit on the sidelines for the last month.
Had some good days and some bad days.
Most of it was spent hunting with my brother and Dad, those days are good no matter what flies.
Met some new friends and found some new productive spots.
I'd have to say the hunting was good and the shooting stunk as usual.

[duckcall]

Considering that we didn't get water (private land) until the middle of December, we did the same as last year. I have kept track for several years and the peak of our season in the valley is mid November thru mid December. We got enough to eat. We are having "Madison Duck" tonight. If anyone wants a great recipe let me know.

[Crashin' Bait]

I had a great time. Shot enough to feed the family and had fun doing it. :smile:

[ 01-27-2003, 09:48 PM: Message edited by: Crashin' Bait ]

[Gun Rod Bow]

Hunted the opener in Klamath and 9 of us limited. (yep that's 72 ducks in one pile)

Never set up for ducks after that.

Killed maybe 15 incidentally on the river and while goose hunting.

Based on what I saw around, and what the reports were, couldn't get up for it.

My buddy lives in Hermiston and I won't put in print what the birdes were like even 3-4 years ago, but it was really good. He hasn't shot a limit in 2 years now.

Remember the days of prying your boat off the frozen runners on the trailer, using the propane heater to thaw the outboard before you could run it, sitting in front of a heater all day 'cause it was too cold without it, spraying your decoys with "ice off"....what happened to cold snaps?

My stupid fruit trees are budding and I haven't pruned them yet!!
[img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]

When we get some cold weather back, I'll get after 'em. Geese will suffice till then.

GRB

[Flatfish]

December 11th, and the last week I hunted( mid Jan) were worth getting up early for. The rest was just watching the sun rise while in good company, while the dog licked my face. Which sounds a lot better than doing yardwork.

Mark and the dog.

[bigshark]

Our lake produced 28% more than last year. However, last year was only 43% of the average number harvested for the past 15 years. A lot of it we believe can be attributed to how the refuge plants and how much water is on our side of the island. The story I'm hearing is that DU has some improvement plans for the public lands of Sauvie Island. How it will effect us will have to be seen. I have to believe that anything helping the public land will be a positive for all.

[Capin' Dan]

Last year I was restricted by doing the Sauvie Island thing their days their rules. This year I did not hunt there once and had the most productive season of my life. It was a lot easier too. Get out what ever time I wanted and stay as late as I wanted hunt any day I wanted. I learned a lot and have a lot to learn. Once I do I will have a duck hunting paridise (SP).

[wetaline]

most of the season was good... limited probably 6 trips out of 20.. and got close on several others.... only got skunked 2 times.....

[KingFisher85]

I got like 10 this year :depressed: last year we were getting into flocks of 20+ birds at a time out here and took many limits.