25-26 Duck reports

[spoonie]

Floated the river this morning, several teal and few grey ducks around, only seen two mallards.

 

[tnbucs1]

Hunted NE Arkansas Friday and Saturday. 5 Friday mostly singles mix of spoonies and teal. 1 Saturday morning. Lots of Geese flying really didn't see a bunch of ducks flying. Saw some big groups on the drive that were loafing but overall still slow where I hunt.

 

[WaterSwatter]

friends had a good day at Reelfoot today. 7 man limit of mostly spoonies and mallards

 

[tickweed]

12 today, near Whites. Over by 9

 

[tickweed]

6 today . No traffic at all. Could hear thorny pools shooting some, seems pools 2 thru 4 maybe

 

[beefydeer]

Reelfoot has been red hot since Saturday

 

[tnbucs1]

NE Arkansas just got back from a few days there. Much more ducks than I had seen previously. Saw more in Arkansas than I did in the boothill MO driving thru. Report today is numbers were good.

 

[Midten20]

Do we not give reports anymore to keep all the internet scouters away or has it just been that bad? I know it hasn't been great for my group west of Reelfoot. They've scratched a few out here and there but nothing to really hang the hat on this year.

 

[TnKen]

Do we not give reports anymore to keep all the internet scouters away or has it just been that bad? I know it hasn't been great for my group west of Reelfoot. They've scratched a few out here and there but nothing to really hang the hat on this year.

It's been that bad

 

[Displaced_Vol]

It's been that bad

This!

 

[UT-longbeard]

Yep. Pretty bad.

 

[casjoker]

Just got back from North Eastern Arkansas and Southern Missouri (St Francis River and surrounding areas). Other than the fist fight one morning over someone trying to move a pontoon blind into a hole, it wasn't worth the gas money or dealing with my MIL....

Maybe next week's weather will push some new birds down.

 

[30-06 type of guy]

Hunted reelfoot for the first time last Friday and Saturday. Friday real cloudy good wind. we saw way more birds than I was expecting. We were told that was the most mallards that had been around that blind in a while. Water is real low. We could've sky busted at least 5 but wanted them lower. Scratched out 1 that did it right. Saturday we had one in the decoys right before shooting time and opted out not to shoot til he got up or others flew in. Had a few give us a look but that was it. He flew off the opposite direction. Zero for Saturday. Going back in a couple of weeks so maybe it'll be a little better. Gone try and kill some woodys til then.

 

[tickweed]

Have took a break this week. Got to be one of the slowest, driest seasons I remember in years. Just no traffic at all on west end of Whites lake. Of course, the food is all to the north, towards Miston, but would still expect a little traffic in and out of Missouri. Whites counted 96000 on the 2nd of Jan. Cant prove it by me. We need a big weather event, lots rain, Ice, snow, something. Some spots are killing regular, but very few, mostly those right against big corn fields holding. I keep seeing all this chatter about cold , snow coming above us, but my long range isnt showing it. Not much time now.

 

[Hawk]

I have spend more time deer hunting this year cause there ain't enough ducks to hunt. My first hunt Jan 3 @ South Fork river area. Just across the river from Lake Lauderdale and at one time maybe the best duck hole around until those sky carp took over. Two green heads, one blue, and one snow. Back to Deer! Thorny Cypress area Sunday. Several first light volleys from surrounding state duck pools & private holes. Then nothing. Did pass on a nice young buck.
This year kinda compares to the season back in the sixties when the limit was one mallard. Actually there more ducks around then than now. Duck hunting has gotten so popular around here that every spot that holds water is leased. Most of these spots don't and have never had many ducks use them.

 

[4Low]

Reelfoot has been slow for us
I went to North Louisiana last week and killed 20 ducks in 4 days but its slowed way down there
Taking this week off and see what the weather does the next few weeks
Good luck to everyone for the remainder of the season

 

[spoonie]

It's probably been 17 years since I haven't hunted less than 30 days a season…..

Been a good year to be busy at work and pretty days to crappie fish, went hunting two times in mid December when the freeze came, skunked the first day and a limit the next…… the lack of water has really kept me from hunting my usual spots. A friend got drawn for a decent reelfoot blind around the the 20th of this month for a few days, we have a place rented and going to enjoy the company of some buddies I haven't seen in awhile, birds will just be a bonus if there are any around.

 

[MickThompson]

We had a draw hunt out west on 12/30. Killed 18 between 4 of us. With life and kids and living at the wrong end of the state, I can hardly justify doing much more than that. Glad to have the opportunity to stand in some willow bushes with great friends for a few hours though.

 

[WilcoKen]

When you think a next year cant get any worse, it does. But I have had a few hunts where we killed 5-6. Killed a beautiful pintail on Old Hickory last week.

 

[WaterSwatter]

Have a trip to Reelfoot planned next weekend. Hoping things improve because it's been pretty dead out there as of late.

 

[WaterSwatter]

When you think a next year cant get any worse, it does. But I have had a few hunts where we killed 5-6. Killed a beautiful pintail on Old Hickory last week. View attachment 308627View attachment 308628

Fairly certain I know which blind this is.

 

[tickweed]

For whatever reason, my buddy hunted our blind this morning, saw lots come out of the north, most he said he's seen all season, but no recent report. Not really high migrators. Strange.

 

[Iglow]

It's gonna be 66 degrees at 1 am tomorrow morning….that pretty much tells the tale.

 

[yellalinehunter]

It's gonna be 66 degrees at 1 am tomorrow morning….that pretty much tells the tale.

Some weather might stir em up

 

[MickThompson]

Some weather might stir em up

We had a banger in a 60 degree thunderstorm out there a few years ago. Full on duck tornado

 

[yellalinehunter]

We had a banger in a 60 degree thunderstorm out there a few years ago. Full on duck tornado

That was my point. A front ahead of some cold could bring a push and stir locals

 

[BSK]

Duck hunting has gotten so popular around here that every spot that holds water is leased. Most of these spots don't and have never had many ducks use them.

Hawk, even though my local flyway (KY Lake) can't hold a candle to the Miss. River, absolutely every piece of flat ground that can be made to hold water is now leased for duck hunting. Absolutely crazy. In my area, no one deer hunts anymore.

 

[30-06 type of guy]

 

[Iglow]

View attachment 309097

I'm glad somebody is doing something cause all we got is windy empty blue skies.

 

[tickweed]

I honestly am doubting the counts on the West Tenn Refuges. How can a count be anywhere near accurate just by driving a boat thru a refuge? I understand counts from a plane, but just don't see any other way to even be close. Im hunting within 300 yds of one of the top refuges in Tn., supposed to be holding 100000 birds. For the last two weeks, no traffic, no shooting. No birds coming in, going out, none milling around. Just very odd to be claming these numbers. Im really beginning to believe no where near these numbers. I hunt almost every day, have seen years with lots of birds. One of the top two worst yrs lve hunted. If there was 100000 birds, l would be seeing a few. On a side note, had a young man other day come off a private farm that joins refuge. Hes a deer hunter, hunts it alot. He told us he was hunting right against refuge normally sees thousands from his stand, has them flying around him all morning. He told us he's not seen very many at all. Hasn't seen many. I don't think the birds have got here, and really believe the numbers, mallards, are way down.