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I got my Delta Waterfowl magazine yesterday, and this was one of the top stories, stating that waterfowl hunter numbers were way down, and that we needed to change that???? whaaaaaaa????? All I can say is there must be an ass load of new duck hunters that do not buy their hunting license or duck stamp. I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but we have had a huge uptick in the number of duck hunters over the past couple of years, yet this article wants us to believe that we don't have enough new hunters to keep the sport going........whaaaaaa?????? Any of ya'll seeing a decrease in duck hunter numbers in your area? What am I missing????

Larry occasionally posts our Louisiana numbers, and they've generally been well up (around the 100,000 mark) from, say, a decade prior.

We need more duck hunters with less money so lease rates go down.

DComeaux wrote:...so lease rates go down.

That trend is definitely up again this year.

Let me describe before and after.

Before:

There was a handful of us die hards that went daily to a certain launch at Big Lake WMA.
I'm talking about ten or maybe fifteen rigs. The last week of season people from all over the USA would show up and even then there would only be maybe 25 rigs at the launch which is TWO launches and two parking lots. The north launch is for north of the highline ditch while the south is meant for hunters that go south of the highline.
I usually hunt near what is called the crossroads. Here is a video of the culvert that allows access to both sides of what is also called the highline road. It has boat lanes on both sides of the road.


That guy in the video is an airman named Hawkeye. He's stationed at Minot now but was stationed in Louisiana then.
Hi Hawkeye if you happen to see this.

After: This season so many rigs were there that both parking lots were full and the access road to the north launch was lined up both sides of the road which is in very bad shape. So many rigs...
There is a bridge you cross and you are at the south launch. The road to the north launch is about 1/2 mile long. It was too much. Almost had to park on the wrong side of the bridge?!?!

I find it impossible to believe that hunter numbers are down unless they're talking about me. I was for sure down and I mean depressed about the whole thing,

I hunted three days, said fuck this shit, and went home. Might not ever go back. It sucked that bad.

Some "acorn" guy's been on the internet advertising the Big Lake mallard Mecca.

It's not like I posted 1000 pictures of rick in my season log thread.
See what happens when you throw rocks?

The pond by Gander Mountain has a lot of geese.

aunt betty wrote:It's not like I posted 1000 pictures of rick in my season log thread.
See what happens when you throw rocks?

The pond by Gander Mountain has a lot of geese.

Take a pill, you'll feel better.

Red or blue?
http://matrix.wikia.com/wiki/Redpill

I have seen more hunters on my section of the Connecticut River the last 3 years than than anytime in the previous 30 years. They are crowding in on some spots that I like to hunt but with three groups surrounding me I tend to go looking for more lonesome places

Have hunted the same spot for 40 years. Up until about 3 or 4 yrs ago I was the only one. It was like I owned the whole lake.
Now? Kids walk in and are literally trying to shoot killdeer over my shoulder from 50 yards away. They act like such idiots when I scream at them "HEY YOU IDIOTS!!! Can't you fucking see my 6 dozen decoys and the lights I had on until LST?
Eventually I'm going to start shooting back.

Back at the boat launch there are twenty rigs hunting a two-mile stretch of lake. It has gotten really crazy and usually there ain't any ducks. Once in every ten years that place gets good for a week or two and then they're (the ducks) gone.

aunt betty wrote:They act like such idiots when I scream at them "HEY YOU IDIOTS!!!

I've never met an idiot that doesn't act like an idiot, especially when you scream "hey you idiot" at them.

I don't expect that you were expecting a different response.

My duck hunting has been limited to pretty much never seeing a single other hunter when I was a kid and then moving to the Chicago suburbs where it is overrun with hunters where you can hunt.

Duck hunting numbers definitely did spike up where I grew up because the resident goose population took off. As a result, they seem to have wiped out the resident duck population and pretty much the goose population as well. I drive one stretch of the river, maybe 20 miles, and still do probably at least once per year. Used to always see ducks and geese. Now, almost without fail, I see exactly ZERO. I wonder how much the combination of very liberal seasons, I started hunting during the 30 day season, mostly as something to do with my dog after pheasant season closed. Then the geese numbers took off and we hunted late goose and watched lots of ducks while hunting geese late season. The big honkers started attracting hunters to these non-flyway areas, caused a big spike in hunter numbers, but I left just as people were starting to take it up. Now the hunting has tanked as the bird numbers have tanked. There are no urban centers for the geese to have safe haven where I grew up. We just didn't know what we were doing or we would have killed a lot more .Our dads had never hunted them or packed it up before we started like my Dad had done.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I'd love to go back and do it where we tried as a kid, but they aren't there any more. I know my buddies that stayed around started killing a lot of them as did the few duck hunters in my dad's generation that stuck it out through the very lean years. Now I don't even see a single duck or goose, literally not one, most times I drive along the river and when I'm back home I will cross the river multiple times per day and often travel for many miles along it. It is bizarre.

Rick wrote:Larry occasionally posts our Louisiana numbers, and they've generally been well up (around the 100,000 mark) from, say, a decade prior.

Got off my arse, checked our Louisiana hunter numbers and found that while they were up over that mark with 103,600 in 2012, they've gone down the tube with the hunting to just 47,000 in 2015 - all of whom must be bidding for space in our area. Flat remarkable how blind prices have spiraled upward during that same period.

SpinnerMan wrote:

aunt betty wrote:They act like such idiots when I scream at them "HEY YOU IDIOTS!!!

I've never met an idiot that doesn't act like an idiot, especially when you scream "hey you idiot" at them.

I don't expect that you were expecting a different response.

My duck hunting has been limited to pretty much never seeing a single other hunter when I was a kid and then moving to the Chicago suburbs where it is overrun with hunters where you can hunt.

Duck hunting numbers definitely did spike up where I grew up because the resident goose population took off. As a result, they seem to have wiped out the resident duck population and pretty much the goose population as well. I drive one stretch of the river, maybe 20 miles, and still do probably at least once per year. Used to always see ducks and geese. Now, almost without fail, I see exactly ZERO. I wonder how much the combination of very liberal seasons, I started hunting during the 30 day season, mostly as something to do with my dog after pheasant season closed. Then the geese numbers took off and we hunted late goose and watched lots of ducks while hunting geese late season. The big honkers started attracting hunters to these non-flyway areas, caused a big spike in hunter numbers, but I left just as people were starting to take it up. Now the hunting has tanked as the bird numbers have tanked. There are no urban centers for the geese to have safe haven where I grew up. We just didn't know what we were doing or we would have killed a lot more .Our dads had never hunted them or packed it up before we started like my Dad had done.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I'd love to go back and do it where we tried as a kid, but they aren't there any more. I know my buddies that stayed around started killing a lot of them as did the few duck hunters in my dad's generation that stuck it out through the very lean years. Now I don't even see a single duck or goose, literally not one, most times I drive along the river and when I'm back home I will cross the river multiple times per day and often travel for many miles along it. It is bizarre.

The duck and goose game where we went is cyclical. Next season when it gets wintery and I mean an early snowstorm is forcasted for that county we hunted in skeedaddle your butt down here and I'll beat the crowd, hang the lantern, and meet you at the boat launch only next time we're going to houseboat cove. Use the docks at secret area A.
It can get awesome there if you're there on the right day.
I will camp in the blind overnight to get the spot like I did when I was in college.
If you've never shot a merganzer...that's the spot.
I took State Farm there and he weighs twice what you do.
There's a cheap motel in that town you had to have gone thru.
F.C. It's the only town in the world with that name and if I name it Rick will criticize me for not learning my lesson.


Sorry about the memes. Take em down if you feel the need Olly.

Anyone hunting here would certainly think so, but I got that number from a pretty official source: https://www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/pdf/ ... 015-16.pdf

aunt betty wrote:

SpinnerMan wrote:

aunt betty wrote:They act like such idiots when I scream at them "HEY YOU IDIOTS!!!

I've never met an idiot that doesn't act like an idiot, especially when you scream "hey you idiot" at them.

I don't expect that you were expecting a different response.

My duck hunting has been limited to pretty much never seeing a single other hunter when I was a kid and then moving to the Chicago suburbs where it is overrun with hunters where you can hunt.

Duck hunting numbers definitely did spike up where I grew up because the resident goose population took off. As a result, they seem to have wiped out the resident duck population and pretty much the goose population as well. I drive one stretch of the river, maybe 20 miles, and still do probably at least once per year. Used to always see ducks and geese. Now, almost without fail, I see exactly ZERO. I wonder how much the combination of very liberal seasons, I started hunting during the 30 day season, mostly as something to do with my dog after pheasant season closed. Then the geese numbers took off and we hunted late goose and watched lots of ducks while hunting geese late season. The big honkers started attracting hunters to these non-flyway areas, caused a big spike in hunter numbers, but I left just as people were starting to take it up. Now the hunting has tanked as the bird numbers have tanked. There are no urban centers for the geese to have safe haven where I grew up. We just didn't know what we were doing or we would have killed a lot more .Our dads had never hunted them or packed it up before we started like my Dad had done.

Now that I know what I'm doing, I'd love to go back and do it where we tried as a kid, but they aren't there any more. I know my buddies that stayed around started killing a lot of them as did the few duck hunters in my dad's generation that stuck it out through the very lean years. Now I don't even see a single duck or goose, literally not one, most times I drive along the river and when I'm back home I will cross the river multiple times per day and often travel for many miles along it. It is bizarre.

The duck and goose game where we went is cyclical. Next season when it gets wintery and I mean an early snowstorm is forcasted for that county we hunted in skeedaddle your butt down here and I'll beat the crowd, hang the lantern, and meet you at the boat launch only next time we're going to houseboat cove. Use the docks at secret area A.
It can get awesome there if you're there on the right day.
I will camp in the blind overnight to get the spot like I did when I was in college.
If you've never shot a merganzer...that's the spot.
I took State Farm there and he weighs twice what you do.
There's a cheap motel in that town you had to have gone thru.
F.C. It's the only town in the world with that name and if I name it Rick will criticize me for not learning my lesson.

throwback.jpg

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Sorry about the memes. Take em down if you feel the need Olly.

Unfortunately for my wife, this working remotely in Florida didn't work quite as well as it needed to. 90% of my job has been fine, maybe even better because I'm not in the office to be bothered. Unfortunately, there is 10% where I am just irreplacable This means I will be back up north the entire winter The plus side, I should be able to do more hunting. So I'll definitely try to take you up on your offer. I got lucky this past season. The few days I did get out were the best of the season and I killed more birds in those few days than I did in a couple of seasons

It's for real here in Pa.. Just got back from the waterfowl symposium and there are less than 20k duck hunters here in Pa. overall. According to statistics this number is off 27 % from the previous year and goose hunter numbers are 22,000 which is down 40% from the previous year. At Pa's current rate of decline things will be dead in about 6 years if we continue on this trend. Don't have an answer but looking at the current trend we don't have much time left.....................We need new blood, and fast.

Instead of it being a "looming crisis", seems to me that if the numbers are truly going down as documented, we are getting back to normal numbers.........it is not a frickin crisis! As all have mentioned, sure can't tell it at the launch or in the field!

Rick wrote:

Rick wrote:Larry occasionally posts our Louisiana numbers, and they've generally been well up (around the 100,000 mark) from, say, a decade prior.

Got off my arse, checked our Louisiana hunter numbers and found that while they were up over that mark with 103,600 in 2012, they've gone down the tube with the hunting to just 47,000 in 2015 - all of whom must be bidding for space in our area. Flat remarkable how blind prices have spiraled upward during that same period.

A fool and his money...... It's good for those on the receiving end ,though.


I had to add that if I had stupid money, as most need out that way, I'd be in the mix......maybe. Not sure I could deal with some of the characters.

Know a fellow who'll be happy to hook ya up.

Did the math (farm price/number of blinds) for the wholesale cost per blind of the camp's most recent acquisition and the last three (of five) digits were 666. Suppose that's meaningful?

Rick wrote:Did the math (farm price/number of blinds) for the wholesale cost per blind of the camp's most recent acquisition and the last three (of five) digits were 666. Suppose that's meaningful?

HA! You need to have that change.

My daughter and I were discussing repeating numbers just last night. Seems see had noticed a pattern of 777 following her around.

This is the exact reason I purchased my own property… sure I probably over paid for 34 acres of swamp but you can't put a price on peace and quit and being able to walk into your comfortable blind at 5 minutes until shoot light. I've seen a HUGE up-swing in not only hunters but unethical punk-ass hunters… acting like they own the marsh sky-busting everything that flies within a 100yd radius.

The day I stopped hunting public land: I'm up at 3am, 1st boat at the ramp, I'm to my spot I've scouted for 2 weeks by 4am, get comfy and wait 3 hours for shooting light, 15 minutes before shooting light 3 dumb asses come motoring into my spot and I'm whistling at them to let them know I'm there… They begin to piss and moan and I can hear them swearing… they set up 40 yards away up river in the reeds and shoot the facking birds they are swinging into my decoys… they clipped a goose that fu king landed in my decoys… they couldn't control their dog… screaming at him all morning… after that I was done on public water.

DComeaux wrote:

Rick wrote:

Rick wrote:Larry occasionally posts our Louisiana numbers, and they've generally been well up (around the 100,000 mark) from, say, a decade prior.

Got off my arse, checked our Louisiana hunter numbers and found that while they were up over that mark with 103,600 in 2012, they've gone down the tube with the hunting to just 47,000 in 2015 - all of whom must be bidding for space in our area. Flat remarkable how blind prices have spiraled upward during that same period.

A fool and his money...... It's good for those on the receiving end ,though.


I had to add that if I had stupid money, as most need out that way, I'd be in the mix......maybe. Not sure I could deal with some of the characters.

Can I ask what are we talking about for a leasing a premium spot?

I suspect there are probably two things going on.

First "stupid money" is a strong function of how much money you have. I am at the tail end of spending 6 months at a beach front condo in Florida to see if getting my wife out of the artic winters of Chicagoland would be good for her health. Some would think it is stupid money, but it is what I made the stupid money for. Not for bigger fancier houses.

Which gets to the second, those that love waterfowl, love it. And it is those things, after we care for the family and ourselves, that we make the stupid money for. I suspect we are not talking about the cost of very much Chicagoland real estate here. It is people that love it, they are now middle aged or older, financially very well off who can now afford to do what they love and as Duck Engr described so well, they simply don't want to deal with the BS that they had to in the past because they can afford to not have to deal with it.

The next generation. They largely grew up in the suburbs or addicted to social media and the electronic world, and don't have the appreciation for wildlife and the outdoors. I do worry about a bigger looming crisis of the internet addicted suburbanite that has lived in such an ideal and limited world.

SpinnerMan wrote:Can I ask what are we talking about for a leasing a premium spot?

Have seen what I think "premium" blinds go for as much as $20,000. But many with cash to burn on their pastime or corporate entertainment will knock some off that by leasing whole farms with multiple blinds - or buy them. It's common for marginal farm land to draw premium land prices from folks who can afford it for the hunting and don't need to pay for it with farm revenues. (Might even have to give a sharecrop farmer the whole crop plus other concessions in return for keeping the place up and huntable.)

Rick wrote:Have seen what I think "premium" blinds go for as much as $20,000.

That takes a lot of hunting to justify $20k in rent. That's $200 to $300 per day depending on whether you count teal and late goose or not.

And that's just the rent.

SpinnerMan wrote:

Rick wrote:Have seen what I think "premium" blinds go for as much as $20,000.

That takes a lot of hunting to justify $20k in rent. That's $200 to $300 per day depending on whether you count teal and late goose or not.

And that's just the rent.

I know I was given a break on what I paid in that area, and I really appreciate that good man for allowing me and my crew to spend some time there, but the prices have doubled, or more than tripled my old lease pricing. That doesn't include the other things we'd come out of pocket for each year to make things happen. I was at, or just above my limit for the time we spent there, but I really enjoyed the hands on prep work we did on our shoe string budget. It made the hunting enjoyable and satisfying when things came together.

I'd love to have a big piece of rice land and the equipment to play with, but it's only getting further, and further, out of reach.