Congratulations to the 1237 duck hunters on Lake Guntersville this morning. Y'all kilt the hail outta all 17 ducks that were on the lake. Except that one flock of divers that I saw.

I use to duck hunt, but you guys must hate em more than I ever did.

Can you hear shooting from where you live?

No sir. I'm about 6 miles as the crow flies, from the lake. I was on the lake, fishing.

What time was blast off for the mallard melee

Not sure. I heard shooting as soon as I cut off my motor.

Used to be many that’s camp out for a few days to get their spot. 😝
Guys used to post pics camping out and some of their buddies bringing thanksgiving food to them.

I've never been mad enough at any critter to miss T'giving lunch.

I used to hunt Guntersville in the 70's, 80's and early 90's before everybody and their brother started duck hunting and bass fishing with absolutely no common courtesy or respect for others. Quit fooling with that place when other hunters would set up less than 100 yards (and very often much less) down-wind of our set-up and bass fishermen would pull up and fish IN our decoys.

Lake Guntersville Duck Hunting is best discussed in terms for Pre and Post Duck Commander being on TV. It's a zoo out there now

Really my only knowledge of anything duck hunting related to the big G all came from the days of alducks…

Is Duck Commander/Duck Dynasty still a thing? I mean I know they still make calls and stuff, but can we still blame them for the increased pressure? And, is it still as bad as it was 10-12 years ago? I don't feel like I see/hear about duck hunting nearly as much as I did then...

Maybe Dave Owens and the THP guys should quit turkey hunting and take up duck hunting...

I think that age that saw that show was able to capitalize when it came out, got to see some good hunts, and now able to chase that dream. And now with social media folks get to see only the ramantics, ie: cool boat with mud motor, perfect ( pit, layout, blind), big decoy spreads, calling birds” while on the “”x””, dog working, and photo ops with all the combinations. Makes for a popular sport if you have the time and/ or money. So, In short answer kinda.

I get the sentiment against the Duck Commanders but I agree, they capitalized on a growing trend. That show wasn’t around when I got ugly in public land in Arkansas. Also as mentioned alducks was a thing. I met several guys and killed my first Can which so happened to be a big bull and is on the wall now. I also saw where guys that stored the pit with each other on al ducks were in fact pretty good friends and just liked stirring the crap. I also see that here in the shoals and on pickwick.

I think it comes down to more of a problem with how social media plays out with folks these days.

And last and probably the biggest thing. Duck hunting is a social status. I remember years ago I was talking to some ladies and their hubbies were going to a local banquet. The ladies were of the who’s who and their hubbies were absolutely not outdoorsy. That chapter has closed up shop.

Duck hunting requires a combination of money, time and hard work. To reduce one is going to take more of another. The days of riding to a public hole just in time to throw out decoys and load a gun are never coming back.

My personal opinion is a few years of 3 duck a day with a 30 day season would rid the game of the social media posers.

I share the same opinion.

No doubt pressure is ruining the waterfowl world as we knew it. People hunting all day in bigger groups anywhere a duck might be found. I would love the feds just trying a 45 day season with some weekdays off as a starter. It will never happen though way to much money is made from duck hunting as it is now. I’m really afraid it’s gone to far already

It's always about "the money"...

No duck hunting after noon, would go a long way helping. Our wood duck roost holes get annihilated down here.

Yes I’ve never been big on afternoon hunting here or in Arkansas as I’ve seen lots of good places ruined by it. I’ve been guilty of it myself but I’ve learned better. More and more the birds fly after dark and return to their safe places before sunrise. Only time I do it now is in frozen conditions and for only a couple days. Hell we don’t have frozen conditions anymore

And never on a roost place

You are absolutely correct. I sure do miss the old days before the duck commandos.

Me too

You mean when the top-waters showed up.

There was a club in arkie called Topwaters started by some Alabama guys

I hunted with a well known young feller. Andrew got me my first Can. It took 3 trips and he was known for killing Cans. My second trip up someone loaded his boat trailer full of dead ducks. I had to get them off the trailer and put them in my truck bed and backed his trailer in the water. It was pretty crazy back then and it was pre-duck dynasty.

I wanna say it was 07 or so. Alducks was a thing and lots of drama at times. I learned that many of the guys a good friends but online you’d think otherwise. It was just part the deal I guess.

Me three, some good times back in the days. Once that show came out, what used to be duck hunting was all over.

So it got worse than it was in 2006-2007?
Every boat ramp we went out from was packed mid week to boot.

I don’t know when duck dynasty and all that came out, but, yes, 2005ish was the Alamo. After that, it steadily got bad. It eased up around 2010 for a year or so then it’s been horrible ever since.

Ah….the good ole Alducks days. I was supposed to get up with a guy on there to go hunt Canvasback but it never worked out. I wanted one so badly. Still do.

Heck I can get you one of those If we had them consistently. I’ve killed so many I quit shooting them. Redheads too. I’ve got pics somewhere on an old phone of redheads lining the truck. Tailgate, down the bed on each side, across the tool box, and across the roof of the truck. People wouldn’t believe the ducks we used to kill on Guntersville before the yuppy folks ruined it all. Idk if I have any on this phone, I’ll check.

These are a few I could find easily on my new phone. All these ducks were killed on public WMA’s and TVA owned waterways. Some flooded timber, sloughs, and big water. I wish I could find all the pics from the good ole days, we killed them with no remorse. Most hunts were a lot less people in a group that what you see now. I love seeing pictures of folks bragging where they killed 15-20 birds but had 10 people to do it. We killed em like that but far less people. Idk what the statute of limitations are, so I don’t wanna say too much lol.

Not to derail the thread, but something I’ve always wondered. Are the ducks on guntersville a part of the Mississippi flyway or they stragglers from the Atlantic flyway? Basing off the river i guess it could go either way?

Mississippi. But that’s why west Alabama is getting more of the birds now IMO. Those ducks are shifting more westward due to pressure on guntersville and the surrounding areas is what I think. Swan creek and that area still has a lot more birds than weve had in years. Im sure 100 different people will give 100 different theories, but, that’s mine.

Always thought that area was a melting pot of the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways.

Alabama has never been in a flyway so to speak and even less so now.

I used to really enjoy hunting public land for ducks in both Alabama and Arkansas. Lots of really good hunts in flooded timber. Similar hunts would cost way more than I could afford. The end for me was a pair of guys who walked into a hole in Alabama.. Decoys were set and we were waiting on legal. These yahoo's walked into our kill hole and started putting decoys in the middle of ours. They couldn't understand why they couldn't sit directly across the slough (75 yards) and shoot ducks. Was about to get real but my buddies woke up and they were not going to fight 5 of us. They moved 100 yards around the bend and shot at every duck they saw. Bet they shot 4 boxes of shells and I didn't see a duck fall.

They still do the same stuff. Last year we waited at the ramp to have first pick. Got the spot we wanted set and was waiting on shooting light. 20 min before shoot time a boat pulls in not even 100 yds from us and starts throwing decoys. We could hear em talking they were so close. I hollered that they were only making it bad for both of us. They just kept on. Sky busted everything that passed by.

I grew up with shot fallin on my roof….they blowed up the world…im not a duck hunter..i have been..just not my thing…i have annihilated ducks just for kicks an giggles..yes i was legal…i lived on the water..dang things were in the yard..it wudnt hard to do. When i was a kid they was thiusands of ducks…now..j just dont see ducks like i did…i work in and around guntersville every day….i hadnt seen chit for ducks lately. I know some of the best duck hunters in marshall co and they still mash ducks..but they tell me it is infinitely harder to do..and not just that..a bunch if guys have wuit all together unless they got some ponds or flooded fields to hunt. Also, these duck commander snapchat welps..i work with some…an they cant kill ducks for chit…i am literally bottom of the barrel on duck hunting traditional knowledge..i suck at it and do NOT..want to learn…but i have been exposed to second hand duck hunting my whole life…an i rekin i am the duck hunting advice and tip giver now🧐….when i know more about duck hunting than the ones burnin down the water..yall…theys a real problem out there…i wouldnt hit a dog in the hind leg with ever duck ever…but dang..these kids are worse than clueless…i really hope turkey hunting doesnt get any worse..but if these little chits ever get a wild hair…ima put sugar in their gas😐

The same crew duck hunting today will be in the turkey woods this spring. Learned both from YouTube.

The real public land duck killers in North AL don’t post anything on social media! Facebook, instagram, Snapchat, others have played just as much a role in increased pressure on public land than anything and that goes for all huntable species! The thing about hunting a migrating animal is you have bad years and good years and hunting in the south it all depends what the weather north of us does in any given year to reflect how many ducks make it this far south! Then the local weather still plays a role in what is killed on public land! There is still piles of birds getting killed on regular bases all over the south on public lands though, the smart ones have just realized the social media clout ain’t worth the pressure it brings and that’s why you aren’t hearing as much ab it these days!

Yep. Just like there are plenty of big deer that get killed every year that never see social media...too many people ruins everything.

Chevydude2015 for the win....."too many people ruins everything". To add to that, you can have a lot of people hunting and if they follow the rules and respect other hunters and the resource it can work. Too many don't.

What I don't understand is if the duck hunting sucks so bad.....why the high number of duck hunters?

Makes good instagram pics

People won’t believe it, but I think you’re right. “Do it for the ‘Gram” is how nearly everyone behaves now. It’s incredibly sad.

Yup. It’s ima form of status symbol and or coolness. Never forget when my buddy called and said we were gonna have to stickler up so as to be a part of the movement. 😝

But the original I quoted. Today’s me Hunter can only relate to their experiences. If you only knew how it once was.

From what I’ve seen the duck hunters at the ramps are just there for the pics with all the “ toys” of duck hunting and think skybusting a few groups and picking up some grey ducks and woodies is what it’s about. Don’t think they know what it’s like to break ducks down and work em.

There are definitely groups like this. But don’t be fooled, there are still groups of young guys out there doing it right and working decoying ducks. I’m friends with a few of them. There’s also a surprisingly large amount of private duck “clubs” in N. Alabama that people not from that area probably don’t know exist or how many ducks they kill a year.

Most start out hunting public land or going with a friend to a club/lease. Migrate to strictly hunting public because duck hunting is an expensive sport. I can remember talking to my wife before I bought my first spinning wing decoy. At the time it was a significant expense. As we mature the clown show on public ground becomes less and less appealing and finances improve. So the expense of a club is added to the budget. Nowadays it seems it gets more and more expensive to kill less ducks every year.

The latest counts in Arkansas show the least amount of mallards since they begin counting. I will wager we will get a 6 duck 60 day season next year.

I feel the population of many species is definitely down. However, due to mild weather far to the North.....the Mallards just haven't migrated to the Southern states in any large flights.

Pressure pressure pressure. I’m 58 and been blessed to see the good and bad from North Alabama to Arkansas to Manitoba and Alberta. I can talk and preach with anyone and have been seeing this downfall trend for 7 years. It’s all about the money for the big players who control the lobbies and have to keep saying the duck counts are great and hunter harvest has no effect so they just keep on going 60 6 or 120 6. Let’s go to 3 days a week nationwide and stop the nonsense, I’m afraid it just won’t happen.

This is true to but they’re not killing the numbers nor seeing the numbers that once were here. There’s no comparison to today what I saw during the 80s on Pickwick. I’ve seen horizons filled with ducks during the late season. Thicker than black birds. I’ve seen them flying over the bridge in Decatur like that too. Maybe been the 90s there. Public land other kill because they have a rest hole not far away. One of the keys to having ducks. There are no rest holes around Pickwick and the ducks are harassed relentlessly.

Those are just facts.

You can find ducks here and there if you put the time in. It used to not be near that difficult