Charleston MS

Went to my friends duck club in Charleston, MS over the weekend. Lots of Geese flying high but nit many ducks. Managed to kill 4 on Saturday and got skunked on Sunday. He said it is the worst season they have ever had in the Mississippi delta.

I was there last week. It’s awful.

Delta was rough this year. Out of about 8 hunts I had one good morning over there. Supposed to be over there right now, but I caught the covid.

Not much better in Arkie. Some are killing but it seems most are not.

This is really odd. Pretty decent weather.

I bet there ain’t a wood duck left in Arkansas

From my observation. There are still a bunch of ducks and geese up here. Warmer temps have open water, and fields are exposed with all the corn and soybeans damaged from the duracho.

It's getting hard to be a duck hunter in the south with all this warm weather. Last good season we had was 17/18 and we had 23 ice days during that season and we killed the chit fire out of the mallards.

It's been poor ever since.

Buddy sent a video of a Lake in Michigan that looked like the Realfoot photo from yesteryear....nuts. Proof that the majority of the migration has yet to happen.

It ain't gonna happen. Too warm.

Every year is worse than the previous one. Everyone keeps saying “leases will stop getting leased” and every year the fields get leased.

When I joined the duck club in '13 was averaging 250 ducks a year, carrying 8 members. Last year we killed either 26 or 32 ducks, total. The duck club I joined is now a deer camp that I didn't sign up for...even dusted off the deer rifle and hunter's orange, after nearly 10 years of time off. I just don't have the desire to get up pre-predawn to hunt pine goat, like ducks.

Doesn't help that we have a "roadblock" landowner getting up in years and ornery...he throws up "roadblocks" at every turn...didn't even have water pumped on the opening day of duck season (IF we had birds). After telling us not to turn on the pumps, due to his soil sampler coming that week, and that he'd turn them on....he just didn't get around to it.

Based off personal observations and reports from friends, no one SAW a duck opening weekend in the Mississippi Delta. I know people that have been 6-8 times and haven’t averaged a duck a hunt. It’s amazing people spend time and money for that punishment.

There weren't even shovelers on the catfish ponds around Itta Bena at the start of the season. Just awful.

Rem270...it is the very definition of insanity! We haven't so much as made a plan to duck hunt, much less thrown out a decoy spread, at our place. Killed A mallard each at my buddy's place in Indianola, but it is and always has been a proverbial "X" for ducks (if they're anywhere near the tri-state area). Full traveler's moon, clear night and not a duck in sight...ride the moon, baby...ride the moon!

Just got off the phone with somebody who road the state and said they saw more Bald Eagles than ducks in the MS Delta!

Buddy of mine hunts in the delta and he said it’s real bad over there. He finally killed a few last week. I usually go over and hunt with him once a year and we load up on mallards.. he said he’s letting the lease go this year and the hell with it..

Duck hunting has become more of status symbol than anything.

Heck I joined the fray and loaded up on Gunner crate for my pup. We stylin now. LOL
Only took 35 plus years but I’m there.

That’s wild. I guess they just stay up in Minnesota all year. Reports from southern Missouri aren’t even good.

I’m officially out of my Arkansas club after this year. Hunted 4 days total. Opening weekend was great but it’s just not worth it. I can stay in Alabama and kill more on my own place and sleep in my own bed and deer hunt when I want too even though this year the ducks are just not like normal. I will go to Alberta a couple of times in September and October if they open the border and might book a pay hunt in Arkansas for opening weekend for fun with my friends but I’m done driving up to Arkansas and spending money for nothing. There are a few farmers out there that I hope have to eat their own sh”” for being so greedy and selfish because they used to have a prime duck farm but now it’s a wasteland but that’s a story for a different day. This all about the money honey and until the season is cut back to 40-45 days they will continue to lease land and stick it to people anyway they can.

You right on that. There’s some real class A shitbags that screw folks on lease out west. But it’s a 2 way street. If some of those are stupid enough to pay some of those high $$$ then we’ll he’ll take it from them. Hate it’s gotten so bad for the duck hunters

Does any of you guys recall an article in DU magazine. An open letter written to Arkansas from Maryland. It referenced the overzealous Canada goose hunting. They ended up closing the season because of the drastic population decline. They were their own worst enemies yada yada yada.

Arkansas was promoting duck hunting capital of the world in Stuttgart. This was mid 90s I think. Farmers were being prodded into pumping fields and burying pits on every bit of land they could. Money was no object and remember talking with several farmers that obliged. I remember guides having pits that shot 20 plus hunters and were booked solid. The guys would rotate shooting. It was crazy as hell. Well we’ve gotten there one more time it seems. Very similar complaints etc.....

That was when I personally started chasing white tails hard.

It’s a cycle. Hunting desires fuel money driven decisions. They also collapse under their own weight. And it starts all over.

Arkansas needs a break. The pressure is absolutely crazy. And that's a small part of the problems