Thanks for jumping in here, Larry. Hope (and I'm certain you will) you find it a much more civilized panel of discussion that heads in the right direction, versus other places I've seen the discussion going on lately. DComeaux and I got to kick it around a bit on the closing day of the east zone enjoying a morning in the blind that was slower than we'd hoped yet we still saw a lot of ducks........and that was quite a bit less than we had been seeing for most of the season there. As you saw in the logs on here, many of us in Louisiana, top to bottom, had our share of great hunts this season so we're not here ranting with pitchforks. But this is also a gathering of (civilized, I think
) and passionate waterfowl hunters that have taken notice of changes over the last 10-15 years.
My take on this, which has been touched on by others, is yes you have climatological changes in play for sure. But even with that removed from the equation, we would still be seeing discernible impacts from enhanced habitats north of us in Ark and MO. Duck hunting is simply big business now for many more people. Overall hunter numbers may be down, but money invested per hunter has to be way up, and is becoming the have's and the have-not's. Look at Habitat Flats in MO, literally farming for ducks, with tremendous success. They are not alone in that region. People are investing in the land and giving the birds more options, thus spreading them wider and holding them longer. On a local level, Little Pecan Island club is a glaring
local example of this very practice. Big bucks are paying off for the have's, and they held a significant chunk of SW La marsh birds for much of this season, good for them. A friend of mine who grew up hunting the region made a hunt there this season, described it as "the most birds hes ever seen anywhere, the best hunting I've ever experienced, just indescribable". I'd do the same had I the means to do so. Lottery hits this weekend? Better believe I'm buying up all I can to build my own farm/duck haven. Short of that, I'll keep doing what I'm doing now that's been just fine. But not without an awareness of what's become undeniable.
I've seen the data, as you've shared to all who would listen (or not), and am certainly not one to disregard it. The numbers just don't lie, even when what is perceived on a given day at a given blind might attempt to temporarily discredit it. So that's what we have now, some have big hunts and think all is well, others have slow hunts and think sky has already fallen. Answer is somewhere in between, I suppose.
Keep the civil discussion rolling, gents