A dog in open water is pointless. The dogs going to freeze to death trying to swim around all day and cost you birds. The point is efficiency, if the boat is a better way then that's what you should do. Dogs are used when its most efficient and to better the hunt.

Originally Posted by Goatkiller
I tell you what... I've got a blind on Reelfoot so I have gotten to know a LOT of people. I hunt in Arkansas and MS all the time on private holes. People that have hunted with me on The Foot. I also hunt down near Marshmud some... I have a guy down that way I hunt with about 2 times a year. I also hunt at White Lake about every other year.

Duck Hunting in 2019 is nothing like it was 30 years ago. Nothing like it. We don't have the ducks because the 60 day seasons sealed our fate.... everyone North of us who didn't bother building and flooding wintering habitat today floods every thing they can flood. Farming is not what it use to be and some of these people make as much or more off their hunting leases. It is a big part of their income. There is so much habitat flooded north of the Mason Dixon line today you can't image the difference as compared to what was going on in the 80's and maybe through the late 90's. That's why we don't see the wintering duck numbers we use to see. I think they still get good counts on the refuges but those ducks don't leave the refuges like they use to. Hunting pressure has played a big role in that and is an secondary factor/issue here down South.

As for Dogs they are fine in a flooded field but once they start swimming I'm done with a dam dog. Forget it... you aren't hunting with me. I'm not going to stand around out there all morning listening to you yell at your dog swimming all through the decoys getting tangled up and blowing yer little whistle while I'm trying to duck hunt.

On The Foot we go get them in the boat. Most do not have a dog they are a 100% nuisance trying to swim around through 400 decoys.