Did duck seasons change??

[Robhuntandfish]

didnt there used to be a like a 5-7 day early duck season in Oct then it reopened in Nov ?  Talking about the southeast region.  Now its Oct 19-Dec.  On my lease one of the stipulations was one guy and his kid duck hunt once in a while and I try to plan on them being there the duck opener.  So i check the date today and swear that changed.....

[Robhuntandfish]

found it on google and yes it did change from 2018 - 

2018 - Oct 6-14th , Nov 10-Dec 30

Now its just open Oct 19-Dec 1 and Dec 7-22nd.  Weird break in there?  

[sodfather]

A lot has changed with duck hunting this year. Youth season opens Saturday the 5th and 6th I will be out with daughter on. And regular season opens the 19th. But the second split is longer this year and starting earlier. Most importantly the bag limits have changed . Last year was 4 mallards with 2 being hens and this year it’s only 2 mallards with only one being a hen. That should drive a lot of guys away from duck hunting. It’s a lot of work to just shoot 2 ducks . 

[sodfather]

My bad just realize your in the SE region 

[Robhuntandfish]

10 minutes ago, sodfather said:

A lot has changed with duck hunting this year. Youth season opens Saturday the 5th and 6th I will be out with daughter on. And regular season opens the 19th. But the second split is longer this year and starting earlier. Most importantly the bag limits have changed . Last year was 4 mallards with 2 being hens and this year it’s only 2 mallards with only one being a hen. That should drive a lot of guys away from duck hunting. It’s a lot of work to just shoot 2 ducks . 

i have thought about getting into it as the lease has a couple of ponds.  But its another investment and i really like to deer hunt.  Sure is a lot for 2 ducks like you said.  Such a weird season ... why the break from Dec 1- Dec7 ?  

[sodfather]

12 minutes ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i have thought about getting into it as the lease has a couple of ponds.  But its another investment and i really like to deer hunt.  Sure is a lot for 2 ducks like you said.  Such a weird season ... why the break from Dec 1- Dec7 ?  

If you are looking to get into it I can loan you some decoys and other stuff to get ya going but won’t give ya my dog lol. 
shoot me a pm if interested 

[Robhuntandfish]

3 minutes ago, sodfather said:

If you are looking to get into it I can loan you some decoys and other stuff to get ya going but won’t give ya my dog lol. 
shoot me a pm if interested 

thanks will keep that in mind- that is much appreciated!  I bought a dozen mallard decoys and weight lines and a couple of calls and always say every year......if i tag an early deer im gonna do some waterfowl hunting ......an never do.  I dont want to shoot a bunch at the lease where my buddy hunts and ruin his hunting either.  But then i always just look for another deer anyway.  lol 

and i have a dog but he is mostly just for getting sprayed by skunks and not much on duck hunting- lol   

Edited October 3, 2019 by Robhuntandfish

[Moho81]

1 hour ago, sodfather said:

That should drive a lot of guys away from duck hunting. It’s a lot of work to just shoot 2 ducks . 

I stopped duck hunting a long time ago just for this reason. Extremely early mornings a lot of work to set up the decoy's and very little to show for it. 

I never got into goose hunting but wish I did as it seems a little easier and you can take a lot more.  

[ATbuckhunter]

Ive decided to sacrifice a few mornings try a few duck hunts instead of deer hunting. I really want to get a Mallard and a wood duck this year

[BigVal]

A long late season is a huge plus for me. The mallard bag limit sucks but is necessary. Unfortunately I'll be away the entire first week of the first split

 

[ATbuckhunter]

35 minutes ago, BigVal said:

A long late season is a huge plus for me. The mallard bag limit sucks but is necessary. Unfortunately I'll be away the entire first week of the first split

 

My duck spot gets better when all the swamps are locked up with ice. Not too happy they ended the 22nd, but its not that big a deal

[sodfather]

3 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

thanks will keep that in mind- that is much appreciated!  I bought a dozen mallard decoys and weight lines and a couple of calls and always say every year......if i tag an early deer im gonna do some waterfowl hunting ......an never do.  I dont want to shoot a bunch at the lease where my buddy hunts and ruin his hunting either.  But then i always just look for another deer anyway.  lol 

and i have a dog but he is mostly just for getting sprayed by skunks and not much on duck hunting- lol   

I like the mix of deer and duck hunting. With deer hunting I can only take a couple empty sits of not seeing anything then I go duck hunt for a couple days. Also hunting different areas depending on where the ducks are. I ton more scouting is involved more than deer hunting cause you constantly driving looking in the air 

[BigVal]

40 minutes ago, sodfather said:

I like the mix of deer and duck hunting. With deer hunting I can only take a couple empty sits of not seeing anything then I go duck hunt for a couple days. Also hunting different areas depending on where the ducks are. I ton more scouting is involved more than deer hunting cause you constantly driving looking in the air 

And dont even start on goose scouting Haha.  Miles on the truck seem endless

[land 1]

Rob lots of ducks in the area your lease is and sometimes i see a rooster pheasant or two that come over from N.Main where they are released....dont hunt that area but drive over that way all the time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robhuntandfish]

1 minute ago, land 1 said:

Rob lots of ducks in the area your lease is and sometimes i see a rooster pheasant or two that come over from N.Main where they are released....dont hunt that area but drive over that way all the time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

i saw the weirdest pheasant last year it was grey.  Seen it twice - thought maybe it got away from some farms but so far havent seen any regular pheasants around. Yeah we def have a few ducks from time to time.  Its funny i sit in the treestand and watch them and geese basically fly right over my head all the time and think i should just sit there with the shot gun.  Whereabouts are you from that you pass thru a lot?  

[land 1]

Live of 31 on the lake in Sullivan work over by stota, was it an off colored hen pheasant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, land 1 said:

Live of 31 on the lake in Sullivan work over by stota, was it an off colored hen pheasant

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

wow we are about neighbors then. I live just off the lake in verona beach.   I think it was a rooster.  It had a long tail plume as well.  

[Al Bundy]

There are more ducks than mallards.  Yes it sucks the mallard limit is reduced but blacks were increased (haven’t looked, from memory. verify before shooting).  I see tons of blacks, redheads.  Duck hunting is easy setup for me. Toss a dozen decoys, sit, watch the sun come up. I sat in pouring rain once last year for quite some time. Waders and rain coat kept me bone dry. Great day...