Migratory bird season comments wanted

kahunter

Eight Pointer
Hope they go with the earlier november and later december starts. Great that we can go to the end of january!
 
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Downeast

Twelve Pointer
And get rid of those stupid youth days too! I see no difference in a 15 year old with a shotgun and a 17 year old. If they are mature enough to handle a firearm they are mature enough to hunt as an adult. No wonder they act like babies until they are 30, or should I say 26, which is the legal age in some matters such as insurance. :)
 

Gus

Six Pointer
Hope they go with the earlier november and later december starts. Great that we can go to the end of january!

Me too. What few ducks are still here in December are stale as 2 week old bread.
I also asked them to look at moving the October split to 2 weeks later.
 

coachcornbread

Ten Pointer
And get rid of those stupid youth days too! I see no difference in a 15 year old with a shotgun and a 17 year old. If they are mature enough to handle a firearm they are mature enough to hunt as an adult. No wonder they act like babies until they are 30, or should I say 26, which is the legal age in some matters such as insurance. :)

Yep, it’s ashamed that my 12 year old son gets two more days than adults.??
 

Downeast

Twelve Pointer
When I was 12 I had a hunting license and my own gun and didn't need an adult to look over me. I hunted squirrels every chance I got and killed my first deer at 14 with a friend who was 13. It was part of growing up and feeling like a man. I was not considered a child anymore. When I got paid for delivering papers I had cash in my wallet and a hunting license in the little clear slot of my cheap wallet where one day I hoped to have my drivers license. If I was forced to hunt on a "youth day" I sure wouldn't have told my friends. They would have called me a sissy and kicked my butt. I believe that today the term would be "snowflake". :ROFLMAO:
 

coachcornbread

Ten Pointer
When I was 12 I had a hunting license and my own gun and didn't need an adult to look over me. I hunted squirrels every chance I got and killed my first deer at 14 with a friend who was 13. It was part of growing up and feeling like a man. I was not considered a child anymore. When I got paid for delivering papers I had cash in my wallet and a hunting license in the little clear slot of my cheap wallet where one day I hoped to have my drivers license. If I was forced to hunt on a "youth day" I sure wouldn't have told my friends. They would have called me a sissy and kicked my butt. I believe that today the term would be "snowflake". :ROFLMAO:
Pretty long bike ride from our house in Madison to our hunt camp in Hyde County...


Let me guess, you walked to school uphill both ways during a blizzard as well.
 

grim reaper

Ten Pointer
There are a lot of fine opportunities out there for the kids on youth days that they may not have during the normal season. There are good public places the average guy can take his kid. Birds are usually just getting down good, havent had much pressure, and have a chance at some good weather. Ive hunted on my own since i was 7, was driving my dads truck cpl miles down the road to hunt our family land by 11 but didnt feel less of a "man" for coming back from the coast spending time with my old man and shooting my limits most years on youth day
 

Dingbatter

Four Pointer
And get rid of those stupid youth days too! I see no difference in a 15 year old with a shotgun and a 17 year old. If they are mature enough to handle a firearm they are mature enough to hunt as an adult. No wonder they act like babies until they are 30, or should I say 26, which is the legal age in some matters such as insurance. :)
Amen! A lot of those "youth" that hunt youth day hunted more days than I did this year. Why should a bunch of 17 & 18 year old kids who have hunted all season with their dad War Eagle get 2 extra days ?
 

Wanchese

Twelve Pointer
I don't understand how grown ass men can get so bent out of shape over two youth days.


What bothers me about youth days is the guys that will only take their kids on the youth days. Then on youth day they plaster pics all over facebook with "This is what it's all about" and other nonsense. Apparently it's not, they don't bother take them any of the other 58 days.
 

gangrig252

Guest
I say close down the season other than youth days for two years and see if hunting really makes a difference in numbers...and every county east of 95 should have at least 3 full time agents dedicated to water quality and environmental issues because apparently it's not being taken care of accordingly now.
And open all public waters to the public
 
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gangrig252

Guest
Btw I've been seeing mallards by the thousands sitting in the middle of albermarle sound for the past two seasons. It makes no sense it all. Sitting in 20 foot of water and 3 foot seas, a mile and a half of shore. I few years ago there were geese by the tens of thousands....now there are very few. Same with swans.
 

Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
Gangrig, that is interesting about the mallards. did you hunt them out in the middle of the sound, if so, how did it go?
did they stay on that pattern for a while or was it a quick migratory thing. Do you know where they went to feed?

I saw a lot more migratory geese in a Hyde county body of water that were flying mid morning to feed in dry fields. I have not seen them use this pattern the last few years but they really did this year. They were going places hunters did not expect them and/or did not have access to hunt.

There are still a lot of birds migrating to NC every year, they seem to be going places where they are not disturbed and they have easy access to food. That can change every year. They seem better at figuring us out than we are at figuring them out.

Part pf our diver problem may be that the states that border the Chesapeake took action to restore their sub aquatic grasses. Bird like redheads blue bills and cans do not need to fly further south. We certainly have those birds here but enough of them are staying that it makes a difference. In addition a lot of redheads that we have seen in Dare and Hyde the last few years seem to have gone to Core sound in early January. Not sure why but ducks go where ducks go.

Also, it seems that for ducks other than blue wing teal and ringnecks NC is becoming the end of the migration route. Do not seem to be going to SC and Fla.
 

bigdrumnc

Ten Pointer
If you were not killing red heads or blackheads in nc last season u were in the wrong spot! They both were plentiful in numbers! That doesn’t matter though.....it seems all of the guided hunters were pleased with the ample amount of buffle heads! 2018-2019 year of the bufflehead.#bufflike#buffleasitgets
 

gangrig252

Guest
Gangrig, that is interesting about the mallards. did you hunt them out in the middle of the sound, if so, how did it go?
did they stay on that pattern for a while or was it a quick migratory thing. Do you know where they went to feed?

I saw a lot more migratory geese in a Hyde county body of water that were flying mid morning to feed in dry fields. I have not seen them use this pattern the last few years but they really did this year. They were going places hunters did not expect them and/or did not have access to hunt.

There are still a lot of birds migrating to NC every year, they seem to be going places where they are not disturbed and they have easy access to food. That can change every year. They seem better at figuring us out than we are at figuring them out.

Part pf our diver problem may be that the states that border the Chesapeake took action to restore their sub aquatic grasses. Bird like redheads blue bills and cans do not need to fly further south. We certainly have those birds here but enough of them are staying that it makes a difference. In addition a lot of redheads that we have seen in Dare and Hyde the last few years seem to have gone to Core sound in early January. Not sure why but ducks go where ducks go.

Also, it seems that for ducks other than blue wing teal and ringnecks NC is becoming the end of the migration route. Do not seem to be going to SC and Fla.
Year before last big ducks were feeding with the geese in the fields, last year they didn't seem to be feeding at all....just sitting out there lost with their heads tucked. In all the seasons prior, I cant remember seeing more than a handful all put together on big water....there were no divers at all out there. Not even a buffle head.
 

Roanoke

Eight Pointer
Problem with this season is that it was hot and wet. Birds did not fly south of the Mason Dixon. 2018/2019 season was different. We had 9 days when it never got above freezing. It has to get cold to get the mallards to use the fields around here.
 

JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
And get rid of those stupid youth days too! I see no difference in a 15 year old with a shotgun and a 17 year old. If they are mature enough to handle a firearm they are mature enough to hunt as an adult. No wonder they act like babies until they are 30, or should I say 26, which is the legal age in some matters such as insurance. :)
I have no problem giving youths an extra day or two. If it helps stoke the flames a bit, so much the better for the future of duck hunting IMO.
 

FITZH2O

Old Mossy Horns
In addition a lot of redheads that we have seen in Dare and Hyde the last few years seem to have gone to Core sound in early January. Not sure why but ducks go where ducks go.


The hunters of Core Sound have put significant investment into their SAV... after all these years though, they still haven’t figured out that corn won’t sprout under water... ???
 

woodmoose

Administrator
Staff member
Contributor
The hunters of Core Sound have put significant investment into their SAV... after all these years though, they still haven’t figured out that corn won’t sprout under water... ???


dang good one,,,,,,,
 

kahunter

Eight Pointer
Me too. What few ducks are still here in December are stale as 2 week old bread.
I also asked them to look at moving the October split to 2 weeks later.
That would be awesome. A later october season would make me very happy. Doubt it will happen though. I think they are trying to let the mountain hunters get the wood ducks before they boogie out of town.
 

Clark

Ten Pointer
This year I killed more ducks in the early Oct season than the rest of the year combined. 'Course that was like 7 birds...
 
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