Have corn pond complexes affected your 2018 duck season?

[vandeman17]

I am a believer that the ponds have effected bird travel habits and thus, bird hunting, in the basin. It would be different if the ducks had to walk to the ponds but considering their flight paths, it is a completely different set of circumstances.

[jackelope]

I know a guy who leases duck hunting land by my house who openly says he's changed waterfowl flight patterns with his corn ponds in the valley.
 

[Mfowl]

I know a guy who leases duck hunting land by my house who openly says he's changed waterfowl flight patterns with his corn ponds in the valley.
 

How do you feel about that?

[jackelope]

I know a guy who leases duck hunting land by my house who openly says he's changed waterfowl flight patterns with his corn ponds in the valley.
 

How do you feel about that?

I don't duck hunt much anymore, but I did in the past. Duck hunting has sucked in the valley as long as I've lived there unless you have access to private ground. Tons of people, not many birds, etc.  I'm not sure if this is anything new.  I'm not entirely opposed to baiting, but changing wildlife's flight/migration paths is another story. I guess if I had to choose how I felt about it, I'd say I'm not a supporter. The corn complexes do seem like baiting to me. It's illegal to put corn in the water but it's totally legal to put water in the corn just seems like you're finding a loophole to get around a law.

[92xj]

It seems like water is the bait. If the corn was dry and still standing would the ducks land in it?
Add water and the ducks magically like it more?
Ban water.
What about solid water in a dry field?

[cougforester]

I'll quote from the signature line of this forum's owner: "Americans are systematically advocating, legislating, and voting away each others rights. Support all user groups & quit losing opportunity!".

Don't like private property owners flooding corn? Let's ban it so everyone gets a better shot at having birds! Yay! First no corn or water manipulation. Then no planting of crops in plots over 20 acres. Then no planting of crops at all. Once you lose the right to do something, it will never come back. Just because you don't like this one thing does not mean should get to stop all landowners from operating on their land within the boundaries of the law as it's currently written.

[jackelope]

It seems like water is the bait. If the corn was dry and still standing would the ducks land in it?
Add water and the ducks magically like it more?
Ban water.
What about solid water in a dry field?

We are talking about guys growing acres and acres of corn in the field and then flooding it for no other reason then to attract ducks. It’s not just water. There is tons and tons of water in the Snoqualmie Valley but the ducks are all on the cornfields. They are not growing corn for cows or for human consumption. They are growing corn for no other purpose than to attract ducks. Like I said. I don’t duck hunt much and this doesn’t really affect me much at all. Just calling out what I see.

[h20hunter]

Spot on Coug.

[huntnfmly]

I'll quote from the signature line of this forum's owner: "Americans are systematically advocating, legislating, and voting away each others rights. Support all user groups & quit losing opportunity!".

Don't like private property owners flooding corn? Let's ban it so everyone gets a better shot at having birds! Yay! First no corn or water manipulation. Then no planting of crops in plots over 20 acres. Then no planting of crops at all. Once you lose the right to do something, it will never come back. Just because you don't like this one thing does not mean should get to stop all landowners from operating on their land within the boundaries of the law as it's currently written.

+1
We are seriously our worst enemy

[WAcoueshunter]

It cuts both ways...if you don't have a level playing field, people are discouraged and leave the sport. In a sense, flooded corn fields are not unlike auction tags, the guys that can pay the freight get better opportunities.  Need a balance. 

[jackelope]

It cuts both ways...if you don't have a level playing field, people are discouraged and leave the sport. In a sense, flooded corn fields are not unlike auction tags, the guys that can pay the freight get better opportunities.  Need a balance.

That’s a good way of putting it.

[BD1]

Yes, same Eagle Lakes...I have hunted there a handful of times over the years and agree it is not normal to get skunked. They priced me out of going but they are running a business and people will pay what they are asking. Many things have impacted the quality of hunting here on the westside over the last 30 years, no doubt about it. To be honest, if I could afford to have a private duck hunting Mecca, I would do it in a heartbeat.

[cougforester]

It cuts both ways...if you don't have a level playing field, people are discouraged and leave the sport. In a sense, flooded corn fields are not unlike auction tags, the guys that can pay the freight get better opportunities.  Need a balance.

There is a balance. There aren't many people that can afford to own land and load it up with corn to begin with. I know I'll never be able to buy a governer's tag. I also know that I don't want that option for those that can to go away. When is there ever a level playing field for anything?

[Sneaky]

I'll quote from the signature line of this forum's owner: "Americans are systematically advocating, legislating, and voting away each others rights. Support all user groups & quit losing opportunity!".

Don't like private property owners flooding corn? Let's ban it so everyone gets a better shot at having birds! Yay! First no corn or water manipulation. Then no planting of crops in plots over 20 acres. Then no planting of crops at all. Once you lose the right to do something, it will never come back. Just because you don't like this one thing does not mean should get to stop all landowners from operating on their land within the boundaries of the law as it's currently written.

how is allowing a business to concentrate and kill a migratory public resource supporting opportunity for anyone but the business? That is what is occurring here. This isn't about land rights, its about public resource abuse to MAKE MONEY and piles of it.

There is already a law against baiting waterfowl. As with any wildlife regulation, loopholes are found and abused until legislation can catch up. A good recent example is the use of drones for hunting. Technology and innovation will always outpace conservation measures because conservation can only react to current events. This is baiting waterfowl - no two ways about it - and should not be legal based on issues of fairness to public hunters and conservation of the resource

To put this in perspective, 1,064 ducks is 152 limits. Thats $53,200 at $350 a gun that can be re-invested to buy more land, more corn, more pumps...whats the limit? there is none. What started with a single pond and a really good idea to concentrate and kill ducks has grown to 40 by one outfitter alone. Public opportunity is suffering. Hunting ducks is becoming pay to play and profiteers aren't taking their foot off the gas anytime soon.


It's also worth mentioning the disaster in burbank a couple years back where one guide service artificially flooded and hunted a standing crop and had to get in the pond early to pick up all the dead ducks before his clients showed up.... Avian Cholera...in 20+ years of hunting waterfowl never heard of it until it happened down south. These operations concentrate publicly owned ducks in a manner that is both unfair and unhealthy for birds.

[huntnfmly]

Imo it benefits the public also they have great habitat for allot of ducks and they will spill over to public ponds
  I know that might not explain it well but you get what I'm saying I hope