Lol. Love your editing at the very end. I approve this message as well. Dude, ya knocked it out of the park. I’ve listened to a couple podcast here recently where they even had guys who deal with this for a living and you made more sense than them on the same subject. I hope you never get burned out on this. A lot of us look forward to your stuff and success.
Thanks brother, cant tell you how much messages like this mean. Hopefully this video will bring some clarity on the issue to some people. When the population survey came out, this was some interesting theorys floating around to say the least lol
Awesome job this data, well researched and presented. I'm from Manitoba and from last year's record drought we have received enormous amounts of precipitation since late last fall. The highest on record actually. The breeding condition for mid and late season nesting waterfowl was superb. So I would expect a very strong flight. Most of the ducks we have shot so far are young of the year birds.
@@ChasingGreen not sure they will any time soon, but you never know. I pray to God we don't get another winter like we did last snowing every day and -40f most of the winter
We head to Manitoba every year to hunt, last year was the driest we’ve seen it in 10+ years. Glad to hear things have changed this year! But I will miss being able to drive into the fields out there lol
Not even close my friends!We were doomed in the the 1980's!Prairie went dry for years!It has been phenomenal since 1994!It is cyclical and it's just nature!
How could u possibly think that? Habitat is being lost at incredible rates. The whole Atlantic flyaway way is a fraction of what it used to b. Granted the central and Pacific are in not as bad a shape but definitely losing ground. Yes the eighties were bad but that was nothing compared to the dust bowl 30s. What is happening now is on going decimation of habitat that is mostly a result a environmental changes. The Eastern Mallard is doing so badly the limit is down to 1.
What is your point?Just to argue?I promise you I know more about waterfowl than anyone you know!I've been doing it since 1978 and know everything there is to know about waterfowl!NOTHING I said was incorrect!All I was saying was in fun that no we are not doomed!I'm sure the guys in the 1930's thought we were doomed but not even close!Wd had record numbers of ducks in the 2000's!We do have habitat loss but we also spend billions creating new habitat!
Thanks man! I agree, the amount of misinformation and just crazy theorys i seen when the survey was released lol hopefully this helps. Appreciate you watching
Well prepared presentation Jake. Being in the lower half of Florida we are officially in short end of the stick headquarters. My duck hunting now consists of watching you guys get it done on video. Hope you have a good season this year, for both our sakes!
You really do a great job with originality in your content. I'd love you to do some videos with conservation groups or scientists talking about ducks and how we can help.
Great video bro... I agree 100% these are the glory days of waterfowling and we all need to get along as we are all in this together. There's alot of people that would like to shut us down so we have to set the best example as we possibly can.
If you believe these numbers you need to wise up. The people who knew how to accurately count ducks are dead. I am 75 yrs old we don't have half the number of ducks we had in the 50s,60s and 70s.
no joke past few days I've been worried about the future of waterfowl but you're words put my mind at ease hope you have a great season and crush them this year
As a kid raised as a Ducks Unlimited committee member as soon as i could do anything to help get out there and support your local DU chapter my father started our county’s 26 years ago since then an entire public marsh complex was built in our home county with funding from DU when signing sponsorship papers you get to decide where your money goes and you will see it coming to a place near you just like we did im 20 now and a life sponsor to DU the community is great the food at the banquets is even better and sometimes you might just get lucky on a raffle
Great analysis. I get so tired of hearing the same tired arguments that fail to take long term trends into account. Can we do better? Certainly. I'd love to see CRP contracts/rates increase to provide greater nesting areas for waterfowl and other species. But even without those, the sky isn't falling.
Agreed, need more but were not going to get more without more funding and with the trend in lower and lower hunters, funding will probably continue to go downward as well
High duck numbers and lower hunter numbers, and all we still hear about is complaining about pressure.. I wonder if these hunters who are doing the complaining are all hunting popular areas/spots instead of doing the work to actually get out and find birds? My guess is NO.. great video buddy!
Thanks man and you are SPOT ON! Some people are just going to complain no matter what. They want to go out to the most popular spot 10 minutes before shooting light, see no one in sight and shoot a limit in 30 minutes lol
Very late to the comment section here lol but! Amazing video and great research and information. I honestly see waterfowling as somewhat of a dying sport for various reasons. Access to productive land to hunt for average people being personally my number one on the East cost. Lets face it it’s always been a Elitist sport 🤷🏻♂️. That paired with overall cost in today’s world just makes it Unattainable for so so many. What does a Dozen goose decoys cost these days 🤯!!? I think Climate change 🤭(bad word.) is taking a toll also in hunter Participation. Migrations just aren’t reaching areas they once did. Good example, Maryland’s famed Eastern Shore simply and plainly does NOT hold wintering birds like historically did. With the drop in Hunters, the amazing work done by fish and wildlife, DU, Delta exc exc exc.. I see waterfowl numbers only increasing honestly. I see a new Golden age of Waterfowling coming for people who live for the sport and live in good migration paths. Could I be wrong? Of course but I know plenty that would agree.
I pretty much agree with all that. Very well put. Only thing thats going to save the sport, or at least keep at a decent level, is produce more access. More public land opportunities. Duck numbers are fine, pressure is fine, just need more ground for the average person.
I live in Connecticut and our mallard limit used to be 4 and now it's 2 a day. We have tons of wood ducks around here decent amount of mallards lots of merganser also. We don't see many pintails here. We do have sea ducks which are fun to hunt also so that helps when the marshes slow down.
I've spent 45 years chasing ducks in Northern California. I've never had the chance to shoot a limit of Greenheads. In the rice it's Sprig and greening that give you that opportunity. With Teal being the only possible opportunity for a limit. The ducks will bounce back.
Here in Northwest Washington, the pintails were the duck we got the most of last year. Local farmer let us hunt his land. His hay field floods in the winter. Pintails seem to be attracted to it when water takes over.
I can make your harvest impact on duck populations video real easy brother, It doesn’t. It’s just something people see to panic about. BTW, my wife is from J-town and if you want to ease a bit further south the invite is still open. Keep doing what you do man!
Bag limits here in New Jersey have been cut to only 2 mallards and only 1 goose during the regular season. Hunting days have also been cut. Also, I saw data that this spring and early summer surveys showed much better water conditions for a large portion of Canada and US so hopefully the recent breeding season was a good one. Let’s hope!
Hey what’s up man. That actually might change. East coast survey was solid for mallards. Because of Covid delaying the surveys for 2 years, and subsequently pushing back changes for 2 years, I’d say 50% a change is made for your 2023 or 2024 season. I’m from CA and that’s what we hear for Pintails. Going to a 3 bird limit from current 1 bird in 2024
@@bobcostas1331 let’s hope so. I also don’t understand why the goose limit was reduced to just 1. The migration is strong with plenty of geese visiting NJ.
@@ChasingGreen that’s possible. The long term average is down like -50% across the 4 flyways. In the Pacific Flyway (because we have Alaska, which doesn’t do the summer farming like Canadian farmers are now doing) it’s down -20%. The number of pintails in the Central Valley is insane. Our ponds at times can we wall to wall pintail.
I believe a lot of the low numbers are reported anecdotally by hunters and conservationists in historically relevant hunting states. My theory is that more ducks are hanging up in northern states longer and more often as cattle land is converted to crop operations. Obviously we can measure low years by the survey numbers and I am not speaking to that. My point is that there is obviously a discrepancy between wholistic numbers, and what is reported in those keys states. we can see that the graph is not as extreme as what is being reported, for example, in the Mississippi delta.
Go job ! I started in 1974 duck hunting it was great back then .Then came the 80s horrible years went in to goose hunting cause ducks were so bad then the 90s was better had some good years then 2000s were good high water years made it much better should be a good year here in Wisconsin again on Green Bay and Lake Michigan and the corn fields and winter wheat Have a great season this year buddy I'll be watching your videos take care god bless .
Thanks for sharing the perspective! Thats a lot of experience and i bet some good times over those years. Hope you have a good season and thanks for the support
@@ChasingGreen exactly! I can’t go 7 months each year without killing ducks and not find something to complain about 🤣 May through September has always sucked, I actually have to show up to work and spend time with friends and family doing non hunting related activities.. I hate it lol
The 2 year drought was followed by record water levels so the re-growth of the potholes will not be stellar( too much water flooded baby cattail growth), and the surrounding upland habitat was not there. As Chris Benson has prior ground trooped those duck surveys in the past when there was water, and covid restrictions put a damper on data collection for 2 years as well. Well put forth clip.
California is the least talked about in terms of the disaster years ahead of us. BONE dry Klamath Basin and multi year drought. Our Mallards are getting crushed (I legit shot 2 all year). On the other hand, I could’ve shout 7 pintails everyday I went out. We expect the pintail limits to increase pretty soon. Looks bleak now but it’s who knows! Please advocate for science, not anecdotes. Only thing that will save populations if they are actually in need.
@@Ariv98 makes sense. There’s been a different narrative going around in California waterfowl groups due to the over abundance of the species in this flyway
Very informative and broke down simply put easily to understand. Would like to hear your opinion for us southern guys for lower numbers . Lol Florida for example
Oh gotcha, like why lower duck numbers as far as migrating ducks. Hope to do one on that. I personally think its 90% weather but will try to do a deep dive and see
Duck hunting is my life... right behind my Lord,my family,and my friends.Ducks are my 4th love of my life!!!There will be NO DUCK SEASON IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY BY 2050...I have hunted and studied waterfowl on the Eastern of Va for 65 years.I have hunted them since the 50's...back then there were loads of ducks, A REASON WAS EVERYBODY BAITED DUCKS BACK THEN!!The 60's we're good,we had 4 gunning clubs along with individual hunters and all hunter fed ducks with corn,Milo,wheat,or weed seeds. The point is everyone baited!!!The 70's shoed slight decrease.Still good numbers overall.The 80's was slight decrease from the 70's.From the 80's waterfowl hunting has gotten worse,worse and WORSE!!! THE MAIN REASON THERE ARE NO BIRDS IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY IS THEY HAVE NOTHING TO EAT!!!Where I live on the Chesapeake Bay BAITING DUCKS FLOWS IN YOUR VEINS,AND THRU YOU R BODY AND SOUL....NOW ALL OF THE CLUBS ARE GONE LAND HAS BEEN GIVEN TO NATURE CONSERVATORIES AND ONLY A HANDFUL OF HUNTERS BAIT DUCKS .. I TALKED TO THE HEAD OF THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY DIVISION FISH AND WILDLIFE LAST YEAR AND HE WAS SO DUMB HE DID NOT KNOW WHETHER HIS ASS WAS PUNCHED OR BORED.... THESE ARE THE KIND OF PEOPLE WE HAVE IN BIG POSITIONS THAT DO NOT KNOW THEIR ASS FROM A HOLE IN THE GROUND!!! ONE WAY TO IMPROVE ALL THE DUCK POPULATION IN THIS COUNTRY IS TO BE ALLOWED TO BAIT AND PAY FOR A BATHING PERMIT AND STRICTLY ENFORCE THE LIMIT AND THEY ARE ALREADY DOING THAT NOW. CURRENTLY THERE ARE MORE GAME WARDENS AND DAGGONE BALD EAGLES ON THE EASTERN SHORE THAN IT IS DUCKS . THE LAW THAT PROTECTS DUCKS AND YOU CAN'T BAIT AND YOU CAN'T USE A SINK BOX AND YOU CAN TRAP THEM WAS ADOPTED 104 YEARS AGO IT ALSO ESTABLISHED THAT YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH BIRDS OF PREY... BAT LAW THE MIGRATORY BIRD ACT WAS PASSED IN 1918 THAT IS 105 YEARS OLD WELL THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN!!! THE ONLY WAY TO GET THIS CHANGED HIS CONTACT YOUR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE AND YOUR SENATOR AND TELL HIM YOU WANT THE LAW CHANGE SO YOU CAN BAIT DUCKS BY A PERMIT WHICH WOULD THROW MONEY INTO THE FEDERAL AGENCIES SUCH AS THE PARK SERVICE AND THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND MAYBE THEY CAN GET SOME MORE DUCKS IF THEY HAVE TO HATCH THE DARN THINGS!!! DUCK HUNTING IS A DYING SPORT AS IT IS NOW AND IF WE DO NOT DO ANYTHING THEY WILL NOT BE HERE NEITHER WILL I BUT BY 2050 THERE'LL BE NO SEASON IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY. I HAVE DONE THIS ALL MY LIFE I KNOW EVERY TRICK I KNOW EVERY TRADE HOW TO DO ANYTHING WITH A DUCK THE ONE THING THEY ARE IS UNPREDICTABLE BUT THE PAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS THEY ARE JUST ABOUT NON-EXISTENT IN MY AREA.... LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE THIS OPINION. NOTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN TO ALL OF EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER AND CONTACT THEIR SENATOR AND CONGRESSMAN TO GET THIS SCREWY LAW OFF RHE BOOKS!!!
Not that anybody cares anyways, just seeing if I can get some opinions and a good discussion here. I love to duck hunt, that’s why I am here, I’m always checking migration reports, scouting, making my duck boat better. Only problem, I live in Georgia. I know it sounds crazy, a hunter who is avid about duck hunting in Georgia?! (Nope, there is nothing wrong with me, i’ll explain.) In Georgia birds are scarce, but when you find them, you find them. I’ve heard story after story after story about how when Georgia grew more corn, sorghum, wheat, ect. it was better than Arkansas today. I believe that that the crop rotations are what really make the ducks change patterns, that’s not solely what I believe, of course weather patterns, amount of water, and pressure areas (how many hunters are in the state actively hunting the ducks), and how educated the ducks are. The problem with Georgia is that we have switched back to cash crops, mostly (things like cotton that we grow for money, not to eat.) and when we switched we lost our duck population, now you get a couple of woodies and very few mallards and teal. Except for the spots where locally, people grow crops like peanuts, corn, and sorghum. I’ve hunted areas like this and I’ve had very good shoots. Some have compared to Mississippi or Arkansas in numbers we have shot. I just find this very interesting and I think people should take this into consideration when wondering why their state has little to no ducks.
Man, no offense intended here but i think whoever you heard this from was wrong on their info. As far as records go back, GA has never harvested even 20% of what arkansas does. A lot of people tend to look at the past as better for some reason with no real data. If you look at the fws harvest report it goes back almost 25 years and the harvest in GA hasnt changed much at all. i think whoever said GA had as many ducks as arkansas didnt have very good information.
No definitely not an expert no means brother, just try my best to look at the data we got even if its not perfect data. But i do know one thing, its human nature for most people to view the past as better whether it be duck hunting or anything else. Now you point about the food id say has some merit. Hard to put a value on how much of an effect it has but id definitely say food available plays a big role. Ultimately weather is the biggest imo. But again im by no means an expert. These conversations are always interesting and good for learning though
@@ChasingGreen That’s what made me think it was true, any animal follows food. especially food that’s good to them, i guess i should have done my research. Next time i’ll just leave a comment on your video to see if any rumors are true or not 😂. thanks man, keep up the great work, i’m actually enjoying one of your hunts from back in december as i write this lol.
Personally I've seen a lot less ducks leaving lately. And other wildlife. Our duck numbers are falling probably a lot faster. and we have to understand what's happening when they go south. They are probably massacred.
Basically a complete non factor. Ive been to the north and actually hunt these birds that dont come down. They aint in flooded crops lol. If anything they feed in dry corn fields and anybody thats ever been to these states will tell you that. There are a ton of species that are not ducks that have completly changed how they migrate. All weather related my man. Lakes people have ice fished on for decades have been wide open for the past severala years. I go all up north and see thousands upon thousands of ducks and i can count on one hand, how many times ive seen them in a flooded crop.
@@ChasingGreen THANK YOU. Hunt western/central Missouri here about 50-60 days a year and have hunted flooded corn twice in the past two years and Missouri is supposed to be one of the “problems”. There’s lot of stuff up here that holds birds that isn’t grain. LACK OF WINTER
Yes but hes like a tiny minority, im telling you ive actually been and hunted ducks in those areas. They feed way more on dry crops than they do flooded. Way more like 100 to 1. And there are miles and miles and miles of dry crop. You would just have to go up there and see it. Its hard to imagine how those ducks act if youve never been there. Im just telling you, flooded crops are not the big of a deal and if you listen to any person who has studied it or been in those areas, they will tell you the same thing
@@ChasingGreen I remember years of “great duck numbers” that have produced less than stellar hunts. Not just in the south. Then years where numbers are down, more people report better hunts. And there’s so much conflicting information. I sent the video delta put out last week to a buddy in Cali. It said the western mallard numbers were way down. He replied with a different study that showed western mallards were up. What study am I supposed to believe? I take them all with a grain of salt. Don’t care what they say anymore. I’ll hunt my 50-60 days a year regardless. And at the end of season, I’ll decide how the year was
Yes it’s doomed if you’re outside the changing fly way along with increases nest predators and farming… so basically the ducks stay concentrated in the good spots
Yeah, but theres not according to all the biologist. People and their memories arent very reliable, and thats with anything, not just ducks. No, and i repeat no journals were hunters recorded their harvest supports that that ive ever seen
Maybe there are more ducks now than in the 80s I don’t know. I started duck hunting in 1988. What I can guarantee is the quality of hunting was much better than now. Too many people. Most hunters don’t have the fortune of hunting all week long or 40 50 days a season. Weeknd warriors get one shot a week at it.
In ohio last year I had best year yet for being ohio this year I've had a decent year so far also seeing increased numbers of geese and ducks every year more pintail in my area then I have a few years ago
Maybe it’s time to let nature heal and entirely stop hunting ducks for 2 seasons. I know that will upset some people but it is a definite way to speed up the populations.
Just curious, out of the information just presented in the fws data, which is duck populations are tied closely with water conditions on the breeding grounds...how do you come to that conclusion? With liberal seasons and limits we reached the highest pop since being recorded?
@@ChasingGreen I see your point; However; just because we have water this year and populations are better than the past few years does not change the fact that most of the newer birds will be young. Just because we have one good year of water and breeding doesn’t automatically repair what we lost In years past. IMO …. Time to back off and let populations get back to normal. With our juvenile birds returning to the prairie in high numbers for next seasons breeding. Love your presentation. Thanks for the video !
Thanks, i see what your saying. I would just say that the fws has managed the pop pretty well over the past 50 years so i would have to lean on their recommendations as i feel they have a pretty good hold on all the possibilities of what may happen. Thanks for sharing the viewpoint and perspective!
Go to the boat ramps on the well known WMAs in Arkansas or watch the videos of guys camping for 4 or 5 days at the boat ramps. Boat races? I agree with a lot of what you have presented but fewer hunters. Absolutely Not!
Its not hard for them count license sales. A key thing i do, is NOT go to the well know boat ramps. Im from arkansas, and ive never hunted meto or dave d because thats where 90 percent of the hunter congregate. Meanwhile 90% of others places get way way less pressure.
@@ChasingGreen I have to disagree. Arkansas has limited the number of nonresident days and will have to continue to do so. Tok many people. Western big game is the same way. States are issuing way less non resident tags for big game. Too many people. Missouri limits non resident duck hunters with draw systems for blinds. It’s just a matter of time Kansas and other stated that you hunt will have to do this. Turkey same deal. Just way too many people man. If you believe there are less hunters I don’t know what to tell you .
You all try to kill all you can why? Ego videos money. Why is it all about. 58. 60 bird days? Why does everyone have to get a full limit every time... ego
Lol. Love your editing at the very end. I approve this message as well. Dude, ya knocked it out of the park. I’ve listened to a couple podcast here recently where they even had guys who deal with this for a living and you made more sense than them on the same subject. I hope you never get burned out on this. A lot of us look forward to your stuff and success.
Thanks brother, cant tell you how much messages like this mean. Hopefully this video will bring some clarity on the issue to some people. When the population survey came out, this was some interesting theorys floating around to say the least lol
Awesome job this data, well researched and presented. I'm from Manitoba and from last year's record drought we have received enormous amounts of precipitation since late last fall. The highest on record actually. The breeding condition for mid and late season nesting waterfowl was superb. So I would expect a very strong flight. Most of the ducks we have shot so far are young of the year birds.
Thats what i like to hear! Thanks for the good feedback. Hope to make it up to canada at some point. If they ever go relax the restrictions
@@ChasingGreen not sure they will any time soon, but you never know. I pray to God we don't get another winter like we did last snowing every day and -40f most of the winter
We head to Manitoba every year to hunt, last year was the driest we’ve seen it in 10+ years. Glad to hear things have changed this year! But I will miss being able to drive into the fields out there lol
Not even close my friends!We were doomed in the the 1980's!Prairie went dry for years!It has been phenomenal since 1994!It is cyclical and it's just nature!
Agree 1000%
How could u possibly think that? Habitat is being lost at incredible rates. The whole Atlantic flyaway way is a fraction of what it used to b. Granted the central and Pacific are in not as bad a shape but definitely losing ground. Yes the eighties were bad but that was nothing compared to the dust bowl 30s. What is happening now is on going decimation of habitat that is mostly a result a environmental changes. The Eastern Mallard is doing so badly the limit is down to 1.
What is your point?Just to argue?I promise you I know more about waterfowl than anyone you know!I've been doing it since 1978 and know everything there is to know about waterfowl!NOTHING I said was incorrect!All I was saying was in fun that no we are not doomed!I'm sure the guys in the 1930's thought we were doomed but not even close!Wd had record numbers of ducks in the 2000's!We do have habitat loss but we also spend billions creating new habitat!
Hell of a job man! Might be your best video to date. Really enjoyed it brother. There are a lot of folks that need to see this.
Thanks man! I agree, the amount of misinformation and just crazy theorys i seen when the survey was released lol hopefully this helps. Appreciate you watching
Well prepared presentation Jake. Being in the lower half of Florida we are officially in short end of the stick headquarters. My duck hunting now consists of watching you guys get it done on video. Hope you have a good season this year, for both our sakes!
Sorry to hear that man, i appreciate the support. Maybe you can make a trip somewhere this season
You really do a great job with originality in your content. I'd love you to do some videos with conservation groups or scientists talking about ducks and how we can help.
Thanks man, thats a huge goal of mine. I got a couple of videos like that i hope to do in the future
Great video bro... I agree 100% these are the glory days of waterfowling and we all need to get along as we are all in this together. There's alot of people that would like to shut us down so we have to set the best example as we possibly can.
Well said, only like 1 percent of population duck hunts so that leaves a lot of people that could be against us. Got to stick together
If you believe these numbers you need to wise up. The people who knew how to accurately count ducks are dead. I am 75 yrs old we don't have half the number of ducks we had in the 50s,60s and 70s.
no joke past few days I've been worried about the future of waterfowl but you're words put my mind at ease hope you have a great season and crush them this year
Same to you man, id try to just stay to the studied data and hope it brings some clarity to the situation.
As a kid raised as a Ducks Unlimited committee member as soon as i could do anything to help get out there and support your local DU chapter my father started our county’s 26 years ago since then an entire public marsh complex was built in our home county with funding from DU when signing sponsorship papers you get to decide where your money goes and you will see it coming to a place near you just like we did im 20 now and a life sponsor to DU the community is great the food at the banquets is even better and sometimes you might just get lucky on a raffle
I like it 👌🏼
Thank you for staying on track! You could have went off in many different angles but you kept it straight and well drafted!
Thanks! Appreciate you watching
Kinda expected it to drop from last years prairies and breeding grounds being so dry. It’ll jump back up next season. LORD WILLIN. Great video brotha
Thanks man! Hopefully well get good conditions and things will be back on the rebound!
Great analysis. I get so tired of hearing the same tired arguments that fail to take long term trends into account. Can we do better? Certainly. I'd love to see CRP contracts/rates increase to provide greater nesting areas for waterfowl and other species. But even without those, the sky isn't falling.
Agreed, need more but were not going to get more without more funding and with the trend in lower and lower hunters, funding will probably continue to go downward as well
High duck numbers and lower hunter numbers, and all we still hear about is complaining about pressure.. I wonder if these hunters who are doing the complaining are all hunting popular areas/spots instead of doing the work to actually get out and find birds? My guess is NO.. great video buddy!
Thanks man and you are SPOT ON! Some people are just going to complain no matter what. They want to go out to the most popular spot 10 minutes before shooting light, see no one in sight and shoot a limit in 30 minutes lol
@@ChasingGreen yep and unfortunately so does all the other people there too 🤣🤣🤣
love your channel too !!!!
Well said, its refreshing to see someone who does his homework before forming an opinion. Keep up the good content.
Thanks, appreciate that. Its a lacking practice in todays world unfortunately
Best waterfowl channel there is! And we have many great ones
Appreciate that man! Means a lot
Very late to the comment section here lol but! Amazing video and great research and information. I honestly see waterfowling as somewhat of a dying sport for various reasons. Access to productive land to hunt for average people being personally my number one on the East cost. Lets face it it’s always been a Elitist sport 🤷🏻♂️. That paired with overall cost in today’s world just makes it Unattainable for so so many. What does a Dozen goose decoys cost these days 🤯!!? I think Climate change 🤭(bad word.) is taking a toll also in hunter Participation. Migrations just aren’t reaching areas they once did. Good example, Maryland’s famed Eastern Shore simply and plainly does NOT hold wintering birds like historically did. With the drop in Hunters, the amazing work done by fish and wildlife, DU, Delta exc exc exc.. I see waterfowl numbers only increasing honestly. I see a new Golden age of Waterfowling coming for people who live for the sport and live in good migration paths. Could I be wrong? Of course but I know plenty that would agree.
I pretty much agree with all that. Very well put. Only thing thats going to save the sport, or at least keep at a decent level, is produce more access. More public land opportunities. Duck numbers are fine, pressure is fine, just need more ground for the average person.
Someone needs to take your point about pintails to the top of a conversation organization. Very very valid point
Hopefully they are already are on it, id have to believe anyway. Going to be a tough fix for sure though
They know it man ducks unlimited and delta both are trying hard
I live in Connecticut and our mallard limit used to be 4 and now it's 2 a day. We have tons of wood ducks around here decent amount of mallards lots of merganser also. We don't see many pintails here. We do have sea ducks which are fun to hunt also so that helps when the marshes slow down.
I've spent 45 years chasing ducks in Northern California. I've never had the chance to shoot a limit of Greenheads. In the rice it's Sprig and greening that give you that opportunity. With Teal being the only possible opportunity for a limit. The ducks will bounce back.
Man, you ought to travel somewhere and get a limit of green at some point. Cali is the second highest state in mallard harvest.
Here in Northwest Washington, the pintails were the duck we got the most of last year. Local farmer let us hunt his land. His hay field floods in the winter. Pintails seem to be attracted to it when water takes over.
Pretty cool, hard to beat being under a bunch of pintails
If you never hunted in the days of the points system, you don't know what doomed duck population is.
No doubt 💯
I can make your harvest impact on duck populations video real easy brother, It doesn’t. It’s just something people see to panic about.
BTW, my wife is from J-town and if you want to ease a bit further south the invite is still open.
Keep doing what you do man!
Bag limits here in New Jersey have been cut to only 2 mallards and only 1 goose during the regular season. Hunting days have also been cut. Also, I saw data that this spring and early summer surveys showed much better water conditions for a large portion of Canada and US so hopefully the recent breeding season was a good one. Let’s hope!
Same for what ive seen. Need another season of good breeding conditions
Hey what’s up man. That actually might change. East coast survey was solid for mallards. Because of Covid delaying the surveys for 2 years, and subsequently pushing back changes for 2 years, I’d say 50% a change is made for your 2023 or 2024 season.
I’m from CA and that’s what we hear for Pintails. Going to a 3 bird limit from current 1 bird in 2024
Dang thats crazy bob, i actually heard pintails were possibly going on nationwide shutdown or like a short 12 day season
@@bobcostas1331 let’s hope so. I also don’t understand why the goose limit was reduced to just 1. The migration is strong with plenty of geese visiting NJ.
@@ChasingGreen that’s possible. The long term average is down like -50% across the 4 flyways. In the Pacific Flyway (because we have Alaska, which doesn’t do the summer farming like Canadian farmers are now doing) it’s down -20%. The number of pintails in the Central Valley is insane. Our ponds at times can we wall to wall pintail.
Awesome information. I thought my phone died at 3:39 😂 and 6:19 haha
🤣 was hoping that would trip the brain a little bit and keep people engaged lol
@@ChasingGreen yea more like temporary panic for 2 seconds haha
Jake, excellent post!
Thanks! Appreciate you watching
Great video bro. I’m from Texas and as for pintail duck, I personally will harvest one per year. At least do my part😊
Sad whats happened to em. Hopefully they start making some moves to right the ship.
Awesomely informative video bud! Thank you.
Thanks man! Lot went into that one lol
@@ChasingGreen keep it up.
Great information and wonderfully thought out.. Blessings
Thanks Kraig, appreciate you
I believe a lot of the low numbers are reported anecdotally by hunters and conservationists in historically relevant hunting states. My theory is that more ducks are hanging up in northern states longer and more often as cattle land is converted to crop operations.
Obviously we can measure low years by the survey numbers and I am not speaking to that. My point is that there is obviously a discrepancy between wholistic numbers, and what is reported in those keys states. we can see that the graph is not as extreme as what is being reported, for example, in the Mississippi delta.
Also- the change in land use I believe also plays into overall population numbers as ducks cannot nest as successfully on crop tracts.
Agreed
Go job ! I started in 1974 duck hunting it was great back then .Then came the 80s horrible years went in to goose hunting cause ducks were so bad then the 90s was better had some good years then 2000s were good high water years made it much better should be a good year here in Wisconsin again on Green Bay and Lake Michigan and the corn fields and winter wheat Have a great season this year buddy I'll be watching your videos take care god bless .
Thanks for sharing the perspective! Thats a lot of experience and i bet some good times over those years. Hope you have a good season and thanks for the support
I wish I could be so optimistic on the duck population. Personally I would be better safe than sorry
Well done - great job - fine analysis 😊‼️
Thanks brother! Hope it brings some clarity
Duck hunters who don’t complain.. is that even a thing? Lol great video man.
😂 there kinda like bigfoot or a yeti! Only speculated on but never seen or proven lol
@@ChasingGreen exactly! I can’t go 7 months each year without killing ducks and not find something to complain about 🤣 May through September has always sucked, I actually have to show up to work and spend time with friends and family doing non hunting related activities.. I hate it lol
Lol no doubt 😂
170000 hunters in Canada and it seems like 70000 are on Lake St Clair
THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO !!!! LOVE YOUR CONTENT , GREAT CHANNEL, KEEP UP YOUR GREAT WORK !!!!
Thanks buddy, appreciate it. I thank you for taking time out of your day to watch
The 2 year drought was followed by record water levels so the re-growth of the potholes will not be stellar( too much water flooded baby cattail growth), and the surrounding upland habitat was not there. As Chris Benson has prior ground trooped those duck surveys in the past when there was water, and covid restrictions put a damper on data collection for 2 years as well. Well put forth clip.
Thanks for the insight man! Apprciate you watching
I agree with you about us Arkansas Boys the weather has a big part for us.
Huge, heck Louisiana has had it worse than us. Hopefully its just a trend and the weather will return to normal
@@ChasingGreen I hope so.
Yeah man. It was a tough season last year in Louisiana, literally more hunters than water. It’s already looking better this year, so fingers crossed
Yeah, hopefully we get a good winter
If we get a good winter season will be over 😆 🤣
Alberta is doing a lot better compared to last years drought
Glad to hear! Need another year of good conditions
Great information and video as always!
Thanks man, appreciate it
California is the least talked about in terms of the disaster years ahead of us. BONE dry Klamath Basin and multi year drought. Our Mallards are getting crushed (I legit shot 2 all year). On the other hand, I could’ve shout 7 pintails everyday I went out. We expect the pintail limits to increase pretty soon. Looks bleak now but it’s who knows!
Please advocate for science, not anecdotes. Only thing that will save populations if they are actually in need.
Your pintail limit isn’t going up
@@Ariv98 what makes you say that?
@@bobcostas1331 they’re not going to raise the limit on the bird who’s population is dropping the fastest
@@Ariv98 makes sense. There’s been a different narrative going around in California waterfowl groups due to the over abundance of the species in this flyway
Loved the video and info.
Thanks!
Thanks for a great video and a great breakdown!
No problem, thanks for taking the time to watch
Great vid jake. Needed to be addressed!
Thanks man, seen some crazy theories after the survey was released so i thought id try to bring some clarity on the subject
Last year on lake buistino we seen a few hundred Pintail we just Shood there in Awe
Nice!
@@ChasingGreen how is Hunting this year in Arkansas
Not sure as ive yet to hunt here yet lol. Been traveling but hope to get started soon
@@ChasingGreen my buddy Said louisiana is dead this year in Northern louisiana I was unable to hunt this year
Dang, sorry to hear that. it was good early for us but dec has been tough
Very informative and broke down simply put easily to understand. Would like to hear your opinion for us southern guys for lower numbers . Lol Florida for example
Thanks man, appreciate you watching. What do mean exactly on the numbers?
@@ChasingGreen lower numbers is the southern states ? As far as migration I guess is what I’m asking
Oh gotcha, like why lower duck numbers as far as migrating ducks. Hope to do one on that. I personally think its 90% weather but will try to do a deep dive and see
Duck hunting is my life... right behind my Lord,my family,and my friends.Ducks are my 4th love of my life!!!There will be NO DUCK SEASON IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY BY 2050...I have hunted and studied waterfowl on the Eastern of Va for 65 years.I have hunted them since the 50's...back then there were loads of ducks, A REASON WAS EVERYBODY BAITED DUCKS BACK THEN!!The 60's we're good,we had 4 gunning clubs along with individual hunters and all hunter fed ducks with corn,Milo,wheat,or weed seeds. The point is everyone baited!!!The 70's shoed slight decrease.Still good numbers overall.The 80's was slight decrease from the 70's.From the 80's waterfowl hunting has gotten worse,worse and WORSE!!!
THE MAIN REASON THERE ARE NO BIRDS IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY IS THEY HAVE NOTHING TO EAT!!!Where I live on the Chesapeake Bay BAITING DUCKS FLOWS IN YOUR VEINS,AND THRU YOU R BODY AND SOUL....NOW ALL OF THE CLUBS ARE GONE LAND HAS BEEN GIVEN TO NATURE CONSERVATORIES AND ONLY A HANDFUL OF HUNTERS BAIT DUCKS ..
I TALKED TO THE HEAD OF THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY DIVISION FISH AND WILDLIFE LAST YEAR AND HE WAS SO DUMB HE DID NOT KNOW WHETHER HIS ASS WAS PUNCHED OR BORED.... THESE ARE THE KIND OF PEOPLE WE HAVE IN BIG POSITIONS THAT DO NOT KNOW THEIR ASS FROM A HOLE IN THE GROUND!!! ONE WAY TO IMPROVE ALL THE DUCK POPULATION IN THIS COUNTRY IS TO BE ALLOWED TO BAIT AND PAY FOR A BATHING PERMIT AND STRICTLY ENFORCE THE LIMIT AND THEY ARE ALREADY DOING THAT NOW. CURRENTLY THERE ARE MORE GAME WARDENS AND DAGGONE BALD EAGLES ON THE EASTERN SHORE THAN IT IS DUCKS . THE LAW THAT PROTECTS DUCKS AND YOU CAN'T BAIT AND YOU CAN'T USE A SINK BOX AND YOU CAN TRAP THEM WAS ADOPTED 104 YEARS AGO IT ALSO ESTABLISHED THAT YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITH BIRDS OF PREY... BAT LAW THE MIGRATORY BIRD ACT WAS PASSED IN 1918 THAT IS 105 YEARS OLD WELL THINGS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THEN!!! THE ONLY WAY TO GET THIS CHANGED HIS CONTACT YOUR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE AND YOUR SENATOR AND TELL HIM YOU WANT THE LAW CHANGE SO YOU CAN BAIT DUCKS BY A PERMIT WHICH WOULD THROW MONEY INTO THE FEDERAL AGENCIES SUCH AS THE PARK SERVICE AND THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE AND MAYBE THEY CAN GET SOME MORE DUCKS IF THEY HAVE TO HATCH THE DARN THINGS!!! DUCK HUNTING IS A DYING SPORT AS IT IS NOW AND IF WE DO NOT DO ANYTHING THEY WILL NOT BE HERE NEITHER WILL I BUT BY 2050 THERE'LL BE NO SEASON IN THE ATLANTIC FLYWAY.
I HAVE DONE THIS ALL MY LIFE I KNOW EVERY TRICK I KNOW EVERY TRADE HOW TO DO ANYTHING WITH A DUCK THE ONE THING THEY ARE IS UNPREDICTABLE BUT THE PAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS THEY ARE JUST ABOUT NON-EXISTENT IN MY AREA.... LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE THIS OPINION. NOTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN TO ALL OF EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER AND CONTACT THEIR SENATOR AND CONGRESSMAN TO GET THIS SCREWY LAW OFF RHE BOOKS!!!
Not that anybody cares anyways, just seeing if I can get some opinions and a good discussion here. I love to duck hunt, that’s why I am here, I’m always checking migration reports, scouting, making my duck boat better. Only problem, I live in Georgia. I know it sounds crazy, a hunter who is avid about duck hunting in Georgia?! (Nope, there is nothing wrong with me, i’ll explain.) In Georgia birds are scarce, but when you find them, you find them. I’ve heard story after story after story about how when Georgia grew more corn, sorghum, wheat, ect. it was better than Arkansas today. I believe that that the crop rotations are what really make the ducks change patterns, that’s not solely what I believe, of course weather patterns, amount of water, and pressure areas (how many hunters are in the state actively hunting the ducks), and how educated the ducks are. The problem with Georgia is that we have switched back to cash crops, mostly (things like cotton that we grow for money, not to eat.) and when we switched we lost our duck population, now you get a couple of woodies and very few mallards and teal. Except for the spots where locally, people grow crops like peanuts, corn, and sorghum. I’ve hunted areas like this and I’ve had very good shoots. Some have compared to Mississippi or Arkansas in numbers we have shot. I just find this very interesting and I think people should take this into consideration when wondering why their state has little to no ducks.
Man, no offense intended here but i think whoever you heard this from was wrong on their info. As far as records go back, GA has never harvested even 20% of what arkansas does. A lot of people tend to look at the past as better for some reason with no real data. If you look at the fws harvest report it goes back almost 25 years and the harvest in GA hasnt changed much at all. i think whoever said GA had as many ducks as arkansas didnt have very good information.
Hey and this is why I commented this, I figured It was mostly opinion based, but I really wanted to get the facts, your the expert!
No definitely not an expert no means brother, just try my best to look at the data we got even if its not perfect data. But i do know one thing, its human nature for most people to view the past as better whether it be duck hunting or anything else. Now you point about the food id say has some merit. Hard to put a value on how much of an effect it has but id definitely say food available plays a big role. Ultimately weather is the biggest imo. But again im by no means an expert. These conversations are always interesting and good for learning though
@@ChasingGreen That’s what made me think it was true, any animal follows food. especially food that’s good to them, i guess i should have done my research. Next time i’ll just leave a comment on your video to see if any rumors are true or not 😂. thanks man, keep up the great work, i’m actually enjoying one of your hunts from back in december as i write this lol.
Thanks for watching man! Appreciate the support
Personally I've seen a lot less ducks leaving lately. And other wildlife. Our duck numbers are falling probably a lot faster. and we have to understand what's happening when they go south. They are probably massacred.
What are your opinions on non manipulated flooded crops? As far as the migration coming to louisiana goes.
Basically a complete non factor. Ive been to the north and actually hunt these birds that dont come down. They aint in flooded crops lol. If anything they feed in dry corn fields and anybody thats ever been to these states will tell you that. There are a ton of species that are not ducks that have completly changed how they migrate. All weather related my man. Lakes people have ice fished on for decades have been wide open for the past severala years. I go all up north and see thousands upon thousands of ducks and i can count on one hand, how many times ive seen them in a flooded crop.
@@ChasingGreen THANK YOU. Hunt western/central Missouri here about 50-60 days a year and have hunted flooded corn twice in the past two years and Missouri is supposed to be one of the “problems”. There’s lot of stuff up here that holds birds that isn’t grain. LACK OF WINTER
@@ChasingGreen you should watch some of Tony Vandemores videos then. Shows quite a few wintering ducks in flooded corn
Yes but hes like a tiny minority, im telling you ive actually been and hunted ducks in those areas. They feed way more on dry crops than they do flooded. Way more like 100 to 1. And there are miles and miles and miles of dry crop. You would just have to go up there and see it. Its hard to imagine how those ducks act if youve never been there. Im just telling you, flooded crops are not the big of a deal and if you listen to any person who has studied it or been in those areas, they will tell you the same thing
@@ChasingGreen what makes you assume I’ve not? My lease is in Jonesboro ar….
I’m beginning to think the people that post these numbers are no better than a politician.
What makes you think that? What exactly do you mean by that?
@@ChasingGreen I remember years of “great duck numbers” that have produced less than stellar hunts. Not just in the south. Then years where numbers are down, more people report better hunts. And there’s so much conflicting information. I sent the video delta put out last week to a buddy in Cali. It said the western mallard numbers were way down. He replied with a different study that showed western mallards were up. What study am I supposed to believe? I take them all with a grain of salt. Don’t care what they say anymore. I’ll hunt my 50-60 days a year regardless. And at the end of season, I’ll decide how the year was
Great video!
Thanks buddy, appreciate you taking the time to watch it
Yes it’s doomed if you’re outside the changing fly way along with increases nest predators and farming… so basically the ducks stay concentrated in the good spots
Bad ass video!
Thanks!
Your saying fewer hunters today but you have to camp at your spot or get up at 2 am to get a spot? That doesn’t make any sense.
Go watch my videos. I never camp at a spot unless its opening day
There were 100x more ducks in the 80’s. that’s according to ALL the old timers.
Yeah, but theres not according to all the biologist. People and their memories arent very reliable, and thats with anything, not just ducks. No, and i repeat no journals were hunters recorded their harvest supports that that ive ever seen
Maybe there are more ducks now than in the 80s I don’t know. I started duck hunting in 1988. What I can guarantee is the quality of hunting was much better than now. Too many people. Most hunters don’t have the fortune of hunting all week long or 40 50 days a season. Weeknd warriors get one shot a week at it.
In ohio last year I had best year yet for being ohio this year I've had a decent year so far also seeing increased numbers of geese and ducks every year more pintail in my area then I have a few years ago
Glad to hear it!
Maybe it’s time to let nature heal and entirely stop hunting ducks for 2 seasons. I know that will upset some people but it is a definite way to speed up the populations.
Just curious, out of the information just presented in the fws data, which is duck populations are tied closely with water conditions on the breeding grounds...how do you come to that conclusion? With liberal seasons and limits we reached the highest pop since being recorded?
@@ChasingGreen I see your point; However; just because we have water this year and populations are better than the past few years does not change the fact that most of the newer birds will be young. Just because we have one good year of water and breeding doesn’t automatically repair what we lost In years past. IMO …. Time to back off and let populations get back to normal. With our juvenile birds returning to the prairie in high numbers for next seasons breeding. Love your presentation. Thanks for the video !
Thanks, i see what your saying. I would just say that the fws has managed the pop pretty well over the past 50 years so i would have to lean on their recommendations as i feel they have a pretty good hold on all the possibilities of what may happen. Thanks for sharing the viewpoint and perspective!
Uh oh lol
😂
Go to the boat ramps on the well known WMAs in Arkansas or watch the videos of guys camping for 4 or 5 days at the boat ramps. Boat races? I agree with a lot of what you have presented but fewer hunters. Absolutely Not!
Its not hard for them count license sales. A key thing i do, is NOT go to the well know boat ramps. Im from arkansas, and ive never hunted meto or dave d because thats where 90 percent of the hunter congregate. Meanwhile 90% of others places get way way less pressure.
@@ChasingGreen I have to disagree. Arkansas has limited the number of nonresident days and will have to continue to do so. Tok many people. Western big game is the same way. States are issuing way less non resident tags for big game. Too many people. Missouri limits non resident duck hunters with draw systems for blinds. It’s just a matter of time Kansas and other stated that you hunt will have to do this. Turkey same deal. Just way too many people man. If you believe there are less hunters I don’t know what to tell you .
Only bad hunters are doomed. Killers will kill
So ok maybe more ducks but way more people. The quality of hunting is poor. Too many people. Do you hunt Arkansas anymore ?
click bait kills good channels change my mind.
What is click bait about that? Thats the question that were trying to answer in the video
I shoot about 5 ducks a year lol.
Sorry to hear that, just lack of time to go or lack of places?
@@ChasingGreen both really
You all try to kill all you can why? Ego videos money. Why is it all about. 58. 60 bird days? Why does everyone have to get a full limit every time... ego
What video have you ever seen that many birds taken on my channel. Uneducated statements....uneducated
Also, after all that in that video, thats what you came away with...mind blowing lol
Just because you don't know which end of a call to blow dont mean the rest of us go home empty handed. Quit bitchin and go play golf