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Weed Line
Posts: 177 Officer
any ducks outside sta's?
Weed Line
Posts: 177 Officer
Been on 3 hunts on the st johns from loughman to harney and its been slow. A few birds for us but not too much flying, mostly teal with a few other species here and there. Anyone seeing anything flying? Shooting hasnt been all that common either. Dec 21 we had a bunch flying high but nothing landing and its been dead since. Mostly single birds and pairs. Probly gonna start to work jesup to monroe coming up. Just wondering wondering of anyone is seeing any birds. Good luck out there.
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Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
The main difference between the STAs and the other more public areas is that they only shoot on the weekends. So the birds are less pressured. Granted the water depth and the food is a big draw but what keeps them there is the lack of pressure.
More "waterfowler" than duck shooter... You have knowledge others do not possess.
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
Nope...I think easy ducks are there.
Low pressure birds on good habitat with surrounding marsh only marginal habitat but good for refuge for the few hours while its "noisy"...
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
St Johns is always slow this time of year - most other times as well. We get a push of ducks the end of the season, that's likely when you'll see an up-tick.
I don't understand the hate for the STAs. The guys who want to hunt it 24/7 will only ruin the hunting there. It is better to have the limited hunts so more people can have great hunts vs the few who would hunt it every day until the birds run out. Just sayin'
It is better for the most people to benefit as opposed to a select few.
Derek- I had a buddy of mine say the same thing, im new so I dont have a lot of history to base what I see in the field off of. Its what I have been figuring based on the number of boats that go out and the little shooting that is taking place. I remember fishing ML during duck season and hearing shotguns all over the place. Outside of opening weekend its been a tad quiet there and by the st john's. Weve been going out of hat bill and c s lee park.
Good hunt reports from open lakes and marshes hopefully won't hit the internet.
^^Could be your problem...^^
But yeah, pretty tough around here too.
Another president put a man in the Lady's bathroom.
Of course that's the problem. I remember when I had only fished 3 times and there weren't many fish coming home either. But you dont get to year 20 of a sport without getting through year 1. I should have already bagged a few more than I have but im not a great shot. Got to keep practicing right? Btw I fully expected to sit in the marsh and just hear crickets lol however it seems I found a few birds, educated them on my first hunt....ate some my next hunt. I think I learned something lol im getting excited and gonna be scouting around some more bc im not looking forward to trading my gun for my fishing pole just yet
Think about that idea. I know it is not realistic but??????
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
To tell you the truth with weather and timing evolving as it is, some of you restrictionists should be pushing for a later start and finish to better capture the migration in Florida, and asking to put youth season first rather than in February.
Weed - you are gonna find that duck hunters like to whine at each other and come up with reasons to change the regulations to suit their own fancy. Very rarely will they agree on more than one or two points. Some get very nasty about it.
Some also think that you need to scout your little heart out and if you don't do that, you don't deserve to shoot anything. They will do anything in their powers to be the first on in a spot and if you beat them, will try to intimidate you out of said location.
Others get real uptight if someone says there are ducks where they hunt. If there are birds on Lake O and it gets to the internet, sparks fly! LOL!
It continues...
So, you will find that most people tend to keep quiet about what & where & how on the duck hunting scene. For some reason it seems to turn out the worst in many people.
This is my 32nd licensed season and I can definitely say that the zealousness of some ruins it for the majority. It isn't supposed to be a combat competition.
Duck hunting is fun - good luck with the rest of your season.
But it's a moot point without decent habitat. Merritt Island is hunted 3 half days a week but there is nothing to draw the ducks. Ducks need food first and in some small pockets they are willing to risk life and limb (pressure) to get to it. Lake O, the Glades, St Johns, all had no problems attracting and holding ducks with good food 20-30 years ago. Even with round the clock pressure. But that preferred food was Hydrilla. So it was nuked without being replaced with anything. Those great duck areas became barren mud bottom deserts. Didn't help the fishing much either. The easy fixes are tempting but it's putting a band-aid on a axe wound.
My Dad hunted Ducks on his ranch in Cuba before Castro. He said they would hunt teal and woodies in October then hunt deer, doves and quail in Nov and December. Then at the end of Jan and mid Feb they shot Pintails, Shovelers, and of course more teal. He told me that the big ducks wouldnt show up until late. Since the ranch was in the western part of the Island and they grew rice they would pull ducks from all the major flywyas in the US. But that is gone and now only Canadian tourist hunt there giving their money to the communist nation.
If our ducks are showing up later? Why not move the season a month out say starting in December and hunt through mid Feb??
If they would paired up they wouldnt be here. They would be up North nesting. And in Feb everything North of the Carolinas is frozen.
Ducks "pair bond" here in the wintering grounds....
Many things to do.
Knots to be unraveled
'fore the darkness falls on you
I have one quick question. If there is not much shooting going on in the rest of the state where is all this pressure pushing the birds to the STA's?