Att. duck baiters!

[singleshot12]

I know you will just play dumb and say the tide washed in the cracked corn if asked by the warden,but doesn't mean that karma wont get you, I despise cheaters

[BOWHUNTER45]

  this has happened to me a few years ago ...I was driving around and seen hundreds of mallards diving into a field ..IT WAS A BLUE BIRD DAY ! I crabbed my shotgun and ran out there  I look down at the ground and there was cracked corn and wheat floating all over the water ...I crabbed my sheet and burned the heck out of there ...it was crazy how many ducks were bombing in there ! Sure think some besides me would of seen it 

[jackmaster]

Why is it legal to hunt a wheat or corn feild but you cant put out grain?just askn

[REHJWA]

It's only legal if the grain was left in the field due to a normal harvest process.

[h2ofowlr]

Why is it legal to hunt a wheat or corn feild but you cant put out grain?just askn

There honestly isn't much difference, it's a technicality.  Try hunting a spot next to someone that has standing corn.  When you have lots of standing corn, you can shift a flyway or run traffic control.  It's a huge draw especially with hundreds or thousands of acres of corn and other feed.  It will definitely draw birds like bait would. 

[Brad Harshman]

I've always wondered how our State allows Razor ranch on lower crab creek to be a hunting club.  They flood their corn fields apparantly.

[EWUEAGLESHUNTER]

There are a few hunting clubs/ guide services around the Moses lake Othello area that flood corn fields, just being able to hunt public property its extremely hard to compete with that. However, from a farmers standpoint, it is a high risk. If it is not a good season for ducks, its hard to beat between 4.25 and 4.75 dollars per bushel of corn.

[Brad Harshman]

There are a few hunting clubs/ guide services around the Moses lake Othello area that flood corn fields, just being able to hunt public property its extremely hard to compete with that. However, from a farmers standpoint, it is a high risk. If it is not a good season for ducks, its hard to beat between 425 and 475 dollars per bushel of corn.

Risk to the farmer!?
How is it a risk?  Aren't they just claiming their crop losses on their subsidised crop insurance?! I fail to see the risk in their business when they have the safety nets of farmers.  Its not like they own a small sporting goods store or a hotel that depends on the duck hunters to survive the slow months. 

[KopperBuck]

There are a few hunting clubs/ guide services around the Moses lake Othello area that flood corn fields, just being able to hunt public property its extremely hard to compete with that. However, from a farmers standpoint, it is a high risk. If it is not a good season for ducks, its hard to beat between 425 and 475 dollars per bushel of corn.

Missing decimal pts...

[EWUEAGLESHUNTER]

Brad,

 You seem like a nice guy, and im saying this in the most friendly way possible. Before you speak you need to be a little bit more informed, and maybe go visit with a few farmers about the real grind of farming. As a teenager I had to watch my dad leave a farm he loved because our family farm could no longer support 2 families. Being the proud conservative family we are, we refused to go on welfare while my dad after 20 years of farming tried to find a new profession. You want to talk the life of farming you pm me Brad and we can talk all about it. My wife and I are saving up our money to buy my uncle out so we can keep the farm in the family and be the 5th generation on our farm.

Its also important for people to understand that there Is a major difference between big corporation farms and family farms. Eastern Washington is a pretty special place in the fact that unlike a lot of other areas around the country there are still a large number of family farms, families like ours, trying to get by and keep the land in the family. So anyways, just keep that in mind, not all farmers are rich.

[KopperBuck]

Brad,

 You seem like a nice guy, and im saying this in the most friendly way possible. Before you speak you need to be a little bit more informed, and maybe go visit with a few farmers about the real grind of farming. As a teenager I had to watch my dad leave a farm he loved because our family farm could no longer support 2 families. Being the proud conservative family we are, we refused to go on welfare while my dad after 20 years of farming tried to find a new profession. You want to talk the life of farming you pm me Brad and we can talk all about it. My wife and I are saving up our money to buy my uncle out so we can keep the farm in the family and be the 5th generation on our farm.

Its also important for people to understand that there Is a major difference between big corporation farms and family farms. Eastern Washington is a pretty special place in the fact that unlike a lot of other areas around the country there are still a large number of family farms, families like ours, trying to get by and keep the land in the family. So anyways, just keep that in mind, not all farmers are rich.

 

Not only that, but how many young farmers do you see getting into the business? FEW. And far between. Grew up in a ranching family (Century Ranch), married into a farming family (damn close). It's depressing to say the least. It's a dying breed, and as a hunter it's frustrating to see the conflicts between the two groups. If I had to choose, farming/ranching all the way. I can always hunt public ground.

Easiest way to become a one millionaire in agriculture is to start with two.

[cowboydrifter]

 Afew years back i went up to welts to hunt ducks they planted barley ,wheat ,corn.well when it flooded all the food floated up to the surface,this made for outstanding hunting everyone had limits in no time,i never ever saw so many birds and it was all legal  or was it  ? This lasted for a week. I certainley try to find places that have feed to attract the birds .I have never seen it where it was baited up on purpose of crackedwheat and corn .But that time there were thousands of ducks fence post to fence post truley amazing , in the regs i think it says your supposed abandon the area  which makes no sense at all .

[Brad Harshman]

I realize my post sounded slanderous towards all farmers and I appologize for that.  My point was meant towards the duck club farms like Razor Ranch.  Last time I saw the stats Grant County has the highest harvest for ducks.  I was told by a biologist that the majority of them come from Razor Ranch.  I've spoken to guys who have hunted it.  Big $$$ and the hunt was a slaughter.  The blinds would hunt two groups a day they said.  They even advertise an average success rate of 7 ducks per hunter. 

You tell me how this isn't directly related to baiting.  Their corn isn't planted to be harvested. 

Small farmers are great.  I married into a farming family though it was lost after St. Helens blew.  I know young farmers.  They are the backbone to America and the world.  Corporate farms are buying them out though and it's becoming a problem.

Again I apologize for sounding negative to real farmers.

[EWUEAGLESHUNTER]

Brad,

No problem, as I said you seem like a nice guy you just hit a soft spot. I read an article published in the New York times a while back that talked about government subsidies and how they are just making all the rich farmers richer. A lot of people now days would like to believe that all the family farmers just packed up and left for the city and sold out to the big corporations, but that's not true. I know in our neck of the woods, the family farmers cant afford to buy more land because all these rich investment groups are coming in and buying land up for 10-25% more than its worth, just so the rich guys can hide all their money.

kopperbuck, your exactly right most kids from family farms don't want to come back because they see how hard it is for their family to get by, praying for and depending on the right weather every year so their once a year paycheck in September can last them through tell next September.

[Brad Harshman]

Looks like I unintentionally hijacked this thread.  My apologies.  My original rant was aimed at professional baiters (theme of this rant - baiters) who are creating unfair advantages for thier private club.

[REHJWA]

The question as I understand it is:
If I plant a food plot to attrack birds it is not baiting but throughing grain on the ground is.

My
Bait is a short term benifit to the hunter.
Food plots are a long term benifit to the birds.

Baiting is a short cut because someone is to lazy to scout or manage a food source. 

[hdshot]

Why is it legal to hunt a wheat or corn feild but you cant put out grain?just askn

If there was no difference between the two then there would be waterfowl no hunting.  I believe legal to bait deer but not bear.  Can use dogs for upland birds but not cougar or bear.  So there is a lot of scenarios that is ok for that but not ok for this.

[Heredoggydoggy]

No need to bait ducks.  Just set up a blind at the sewer plant.  At dusk, I've seen flocks of them go in to dive for the corn!   

[wildweeds]

Razor ranch? That has some major  Koetje influence right?Guy at work went to school with the whole works of em and talks about that every year about the time duck season is getting ready to come on.

[h2ofowlr]

No need to bait ducks.  Just set up a blind at the sewer plant.  At dusk, I've seen flocks of them go in to dive for the corn!   

They do the same thing in Everett.  They hit the s**t ponds hard and then fly straight over to French Creek Gun Club.  The guys with the money get ducks with a mix of floaters and corn.