Home Resorts and Lodging
Camping
Guides
Boat
Sales and Storage
Sporting
Goods, Bait and Tackle
Restaurants
Hunting Stories and
Information
Fishing Report
Fishing
Stories
and Information
Other
Stories and Information
Tennessee
Fishing Records
Discussion
Board
Weather
Lake Levels
Land
Between
the Lakes
Upcoming
Events
Kentucky Lake Map
Seasons and regulations
Links
Advertising
Contact
Us
|
DUCK
HUNTERS HAVING TOUGH SEASON
by
Steve McCadams
www.stevemccadams.com
First it was the warm
weather and then came the floods. Those two elements combined to make the
early duck season a real challenge for most hunters across west Tennessee.
Around Christmas the cold weather finally arrived but now there's ice
forming in many shallow areas that has dealt yet another blow to hunters
in what has been a very tough season overall.
There have been a few good reports thus far but as the season nears
the halfway point, the bulk of waterfowlers have had tough times. Duck
numbers have been somewhat below average down south, even with the arrival
of the recent cold snap.
From wildlife management areas where shallow fields and flooded
timber are found to open water blinds on Kentucky Lake, the ducks have not
been kind to hunters this season. Now comes ice, which has forced many
hunters to abandon plans for hunts as their blinds and decoys are socked
tight.
Most of this week has seen temperatures dip into the teens at night
and barely make it above freezing during the daytime. So, thawing has not
been in the picture.
Normally, cold fronts bring new ducks to the deep south and while
numbers have increased slightly, there's a lot of room for improvement in
the eyes of most hunters.
The bottom line is hunters here are just not seeing the numbers of
ducks needed to deliver consistent, quality hunting.
Flooding is still in the picture as you head west along the
Mississippi River. Although most of the backwaters in the Obion, Forked
Deer, and Hatchie bottoms have dropped back to normal, such is not the
cast along the main Mississippi River. In parts of west Tennessee and
Mississippi, along with eastern Arkansas, the water was still well above
normal and offered ducks too many places to go.
Ducks have been scattered since season reopened in mid-December and
they've been slow to get back to normal flight patterns. The colder
weather has frozen many backwater areas and that should send ducks to open
water and main river venues.
Goose hunters are also singing the blues as numbers are also below
average for this time of year on state and federal refuges. Very few geese
have been taken in the Kentucky and Barkley Lakes goose zone as hunters
are just not seeing many new geese migrate to the area.
There's still a lot of hunting left in the season and most
waterfowlers are hoping the second half of season makes up for the poor
showing experienced thus far.
Things can change quickly and hunters are keeping their fingers
crossed for good luck. Areas to our north have just begun to freeze so
increased migrational activity should be the case in the days and weeks
ahead.
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. |
|
