Why the ducks didn't reach Louisiana.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by simplepeddler

You make great points........
These are rehtorical for sure.......

I have pushed poled many many times for over an hour to get to a hole......and the birds would fly out and return winthin minutes, they absolutely do not do that when spooked by a mud motor.......

for every teal that comes into a mojo...........a mallard does not.......

the "new" way of hunting as pressured the birds beyond thier limits.
But I understand your views..........
Many guys have never hunted any other way.

Push poling into a spot, where birds are getting up in front of you and you can't see them in the dark, and your dog is frustrated because he can smell them and hear them but can't see them yet, is MY idea of a perfect hunt.

When I see younger guys sitting around after a hunt, I rarely hear talk about the actual hunt. I hear lot's of conversation about the boats, the guns, the mojos.........but rarely the actual hunt.

again not busting anyone's balls here, just my opinion.
closing in on 50 may have me seeing things a different way.

I personally killed 78 birds this year, my lowest numbers year in quite a few years.

I had a great year! I was out there, with a third season dog, a breed no ones knows about, a 18 year old over and under that people say I should not have in the blind, no mojo just old school kicken the water and jerk string, a pirouge with a paddle and pole, beef jerky and a thermos........

Could not have been better season.
All birds cleaned and eaten.

Great post, I am right behind you in age and agree that today it's more about your gear than the actual hunt. Technology has made it easier for those without skillz to access previously unaccessable areas and educate the birds. Birds are more educated than they have ever been in the past 50 yrs. There's plenty of birds out there but they have adapted to the world of motion decoys, mud motors and meat stick stickers on barrels. Ten years ago gadwalls would gladly come in and you could kill all but one and then he/she would come back to die. We killed all of the dumb birds and what we have left are the non-Darwin ducks. That instictive survival gene gets passed to the young and now gadwalls' are as difficult to kill as the mysterious Mallard. The "Full Strap" mentality will eventually be the demise of waterfowl hunting (disclaimer;I too have been guilty of this). Sunrises,whistling wings, great shots and outstanding retrieves should be what we remember.