ex-duck hunters??????

[Woodrow]

I find myself hunting less and less every year.

It is hard to kill ducks in East TN.

In the early 80's we use to wear them out when we had milfoil in the lakes. TVA sprayed and killed it out because people complained that could not swim off their docks.

 

[booche]

I hear ya SilverFox. I hate people that crowd you when you are duck hunting. And some of these kids seem to have every new gadget there dad's wallet can possibly buy. I know that when I hunted reelfoot, you had to be at least 200 yards from the next blind. Makes it nice but there are still those idiots that think they can call the birds off of you. And when they don't succeed, the same idiots resort to sky busting. I like duck hunting, it seems more enjoyable when you hunt good private holes.

 

[Biggun4214]

The number of fishermen on some lakes have made it harder to duck hunt in East Tn as well. Fishermen will actually cast into your decoys.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

I hear ya SilverFox. I hate people that crowd you when you are duck hunting. And some of these kids seem to have every new gadget there dad's wallet can possibly buy. I know that when I hunted reelfoot, you had to be at least 200 yards from the next blind. Makes it nice but there are still those idiots that think they can call the birds off of you. And when they don't succeed, the same idiots resort to sky busting. I like duck hunting, it seems more enjoyable when you hunt good private holes.

The crowding in, disrespect on swing birds, BS at the ramp, and just arrogant people are the main reasons my uncle and hunting buddies about gave it up for good.... they have slowed way down since I first got started.... course maybe older age has changed their priorities too... but my uncle wound up getting in on a place for himself.... no more aggravations.

 

[whistlinwingman]

I agree with what all has been said. It became too much work to scout and find birds only for them to leave over night. The only time I will hunt now is if there are a dozen or more birds hitting the two ponds on my dads place. My layout boat is for sale if anyone is interested.

 

[stik]

cold,wet,muddy and miserable for no ducks is why i quit. steel shot had a lot to do with it too.

 

[deerlawman]

refuges, refuges, refuges. pile em all up on refuges, let the lucky who own or the rich who buy up the ground around the refuge have fun, and screw the thousands of other hunters in other places. it is crooked and has zero biological foundation.

 

[mathews338]

i used to love it but i can no longer stand it. used to could have had a good day here on cordell hull when there was grass but the grass is just about all gone and so are the ducks. i used to go to old hickory and have some good hunts but the last few years haven't been good imo. old hickory gets hunted everyday. if you are lucky enough to draw a good blind then you better hunt it everyday cause if you dont then someone else will, which is legal but the birds never get any rest. the fields never get a chance to reload. unless things change i will never go again, in this state anyways.

 

[In_my_sights]

im a hunter so if it takes more effort to kill something i will put in the effort. I do it all!

 

[AR turkey]

I know a few Places u can go in Arkansas. We have flat wore em out this year! U still got the open invite for whenever y'all would like

 

[Chaneylake]

I know a few Places u can go in Arkansas. We have flat wore em out this year! U still got the open invite for whenever y'all would like

are you interested in sending me pm, email [email protected] or just a phone call, 1-731-780-4320, it would be just me and my dog, I have a friend that could also go if there was extra room

 

[GRAMPS]

I have stopped duck hunting simply because I have no one to hunt with. I have never experienced great duck and goose hunting as I hunt in upper East Tn. I always did enjoy floating the Holston River and jump shooting ducks and decoy hunting on Cherokee Lake. As my hunting partners got older, they all just stopped hunting. I am actually getting ready to get rid of my duck and goose decoys and calls. Guess you can say it is the end of an era in my hunting life.

 

[rsimms]

I haven't quit... but I've quit "working" at it. My excuse is that I'm semi-old and lazy.

Thirty years ago I would duck hunt 30-40 days a season and if I killed 20 ducks, I was happy.

Now I hunt 10 days a season, give or take. I go where it is easy and probabilities of success are high, at least compared to the degree of effort.

Some of the change is due to habitat changes and duck behavior. Chickamauga and Nickajack used to winter huge numbers of ducks. But when the milfoil crash came in 1990, wintering ducks went with it.

Another important factor many folks don't consider.... it used to be that nobody fished in the winter. Ducks could sit down on the lake and actually rest and relax unmolested.

Now that people fish 12 months a year and there are boats buzzing all over the lake 12 months a year, ducks have changed their patterns, imprinting on other areas and bypassing places that used to be historic wintering areas.

Age and fewer ducks in Southeast Tennessee are the primary factors in my degree of duck hunting effort.

 

[LA man]

i quit when the limit dropped to 3 ducks. it just wasnt worth the effort and time to shoot 3 birds. even after the limit was raised to 6 i never went back. but someday ide like to go again