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DUCK HUNTERS ENDURING TOUGH SEASON
by
Steve McCadams
www.stevemccadams.com
Duck numbers have increased
in west Tennessee the last week to ten days but overall hunting success
has been low.
Waterfowl hunters throughout the region continue to hope for some cold
fronts and harsh weather that will stimulate movement. Moderate weather
has dominated the scene for duck and goose hunters since Christmas. Prior
to
that, a most unusual season was underway dominated by warm weather that
delivered severe flooding to the region, scattering ducks over a wide area
of western Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and eastern Arkansas.
Bottomlands have now drained back to normal where only a few weeks ago
thousands of acres were inundated with shallow water providing a Mecca for
ducks but tough for duck hunters.
Normal flight patterns have been slow to resume as the wetlands along
the Mississippi River have kept a lot of ducks there even after waters
receded a few weeks ago. This past week large bunches of ducks were seen
heading east and returning back into the Obion, Forked Deer, and Hatchie
River Bottoms where flood waters pulled them away in December.
On Kentucky Lake, numbers of ducks increased last week on the
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge. Aerial counts taken back on December
19 reported 125,000 ducks but the most recent count taken on January 8
showed 225,000 now on hand. The numbers were 24 percent above the 5-year
average reported by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A breakdown between the three units showed Big Sandy unit holding
83,000 ducks and 2,300 geese. The Duck River unit had 138,00 ducks and
3,400 geese. Busseltown had 3,500 ducks and 1,300 geese.
Numbers of geese were still low and 42 percent below the five-year
average with only 7,000 geese counted.
Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge reported 30,000 ducks and only 1,200
Canada geese. Lake Isom NWR reported approximately 11,000 ducks and only
100
geese.
Although numbers of ducks have increased in the Kentucky Lake area,
hunters are not seeing much movement as moderate weather and ample food on
state and federal refuges are keeping the birds concentrated there.
Due to the flooding and warm weather that dominated the first half of
season down south, the ducks are just now returning to refuge units and
have not eaten up much of the available food there. Thus, the birds don't
have to venture off to hunting areas or private flooded fields away from
the refuge borders.
Normally, ducks and geese have eaten up a lot of food on refuges by
this period of the season and begin venturing off. Such movement is needed
to provide good hunting but that has not been the scenario this year.
Most hunters feel the next cold front and brisk north wind will
stimulate some good hunting but cold fronts have been few and far between
this season.
Statewide season ends January 31 so there still several days left for
hunters to go out in style on what has been a most unusual season that has
not been kind to waterfowlers across a four state areas.
For Other Waterfowl
Reports...Click Here
For Official Waterfowl
Counts...Click Here
Steve McCadams
is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing
area and host of The Outdoor Channel's television series IN-PURSUIT. |
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