For all of the hunters that haven't been hunting the seasonal draw blind areas and are slobbering at the thought of having the chance to hunt these duck meccas, I really hope you will take time to actually research and see what you are getting into before you waste your time and money making a long drive. Yes, in past decades, several of these areas and blinds killed a BUNCH of ducks. But, over the past several years, many, if not most, were a total waste of time for the permit holders if you were talking about the number of ducks killed.
I've never been drawn for a blind in over 30 years of attending blind drawings. But, I have had the opportunity to sign on a couple of blinds. I actually killed a handful one year on Old Hickory. But, in recent years, it wasn't even worth buying the duck stamp to make the drive west to a blind I had supplied time and decoys toward, even though I had a slot waiting on me. On the last blind, a top 5 pick for that area, I was told many years ago it averaged around 400 ducks over the 60 day season. The year my group had it, I think there were less than 50 killed over the sixty days. For you math wizards, yes, that is less than killing a duck a day. And, before some of you diss on the calling and shooting skills of the group, I can assure you that wasn't the case. If there are no ducks in the air, it doesn't matter how great you are! While the food and company can be awesome, the opportunity to kill some ducks is rarely there. And, unfortunately, that is the REALITY on a lot of these areas even for the "good" blinds. Many of the blinds on these areas are gar holes where hunters park hoping for a chance to hop to one of the duck a day blinds. They will still be gar holes when they are hunted for 3-7 days out of a boat.
And, it isn't just the state run WMAS that are sucking. I have multiple friends that pay major dollars for private holes from TN up to IL. While there may be a couple of days they kill a limit on these PRIVATE leases with much less pressure, on the vast majority of days they are lucky to scratch out a couple of ducks. So, for every one of the great grip and grin pics you see on Faceplant of a rat killing day, realize there are a bunch more where they don't even fire a shot. I've been told by several that they would NEVER want to discuss the cost per duck from their lease with their wives!
Until we get a change in the weather patterns where we actually see a lot of the states north of us freezing up and snow covering the food again, our duck hunting is going to continue to suck. It doesn't matter how many ducks are in the fall flight if they never make it down to TN during the season. So, if you are up for the time and travel expenses to stare at largely an empty sky, then, I wish you well. I'm just lucky it doesn't eat at me like it did when I was crazy enough to drive 30 hrs to the SK prairies for some real DIY waterfowl hunting.
I've never been drawn for a blind in over 30 years of attending blind drawings. But, I have had the opportunity to sign on a couple of blinds. I actually killed a handful one year on Old Hickory. But, in recent years, it wasn't even worth buying the duck stamp to make the drive west to a blind I had supplied time and decoys toward, even though I had a slot waiting on me. On the last blind, a top 5 pick for that area, I was told many years ago it averaged around 400 ducks over the 60 day season. The year my group had it, I think there were less than 50 killed over the sixty days. For you math wizards, yes, that is less than killing a duck a day. And, before some of you diss on the calling and shooting skills of the group, I can assure you that wasn't the case. If there are no ducks in the air, it doesn't matter how great you are! While the food and company can be awesome, the opportunity to kill some ducks is rarely there. And, unfortunately, that is the REALITY on a lot of these areas even for the "good" blinds. Many of the blinds on these areas are gar holes where hunters park hoping for a chance to hop to one of the duck a day blinds. They will still be gar holes when they are hunted for 3-7 days out of a boat.
And, it isn't just the state run WMAS that are sucking. I have multiple friends that pay major dollars for private holes from TN up to IL. While there may be a couple of days they kill a limit on these PRIVATE leases with much less pressure, on the vast majority of days they are lucky to scratch out a couple of ducks. So, for every one of the great grip and grin pics you see on Faceplant of a rat killing day, realize there are a bunch more where they don't even fire a shot. I've been told by several that they would NEVER want to discuss the cost per duck from their lease with their wives!
Until we get a change in the weather patterns where we actually see a lot of the states north of us freezing up and snow covering the food again, our duck hunting is going to continue to suck. It doesn't matter how many ducks are in the fall flight if they never make it down to TN during the season. So, if you are up for the time and travel expenses to stare at largely an empty sky, then, I wish you well. I'm just lucky it doesn't eat at me like it did when I was crazy enough to drive 30 hrs to the SK prairies for some real DIY waterfowl hunting.