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Reelfoot Lake Duck Hunting
West
Tennessee Duck Hunting Report
2018-19
EVERY DAY IS DIFFERENT IN A DUCK BLIND!!!
By Steve McCadams
After 42 years of sunrises observed from a duck blind with clients from
all walks of life I can tell you every day is different! Actually I’ve
been scanning the skies during waterfowl season now for 55-plus years as
my dad took me on my first early morning wake-up call when I was about
10 years old.
Fowler's Point
Guide Service
It’s
the last four decades plus that I’ve been in the blind during the lion’s
share of the statewide season which takes in a portion of November and
most all of December and January. As a professional guide I’ve had
legions of hunters from just about every state in the union and from
most every background one can imagine.
A professional hunting and fishing guide has a lot of similarities to
the coaching profession; everyone likes you when you’re winning!
Guides and coaches know you can’t win them all either. Some days the
ducks don’t fly and the fish don’t bite. Maybe they were flying for
someone else in another corner of the world but truth is, the vocation
is very challenging. It requires a tough skin. Definitely not for the
faint of heart!
Parker's
Outfitting
Mother Nature often
deals the cards. Those of us in the outdoor field just have to play the
hand that’s dealt.
When you want cold wind and falling temps you sometimes get balmy
weather and stagnant winds. Sometimes it’s too cold and ice takes over,
changing the whole duck hunting picture. And yes, it can get too cold at
times!
Clients don’t always understand the variables. The ducks don’t know (or
care) how far you’ve driven, how much you’ve spent to get here or how
early you rose from a warm, comfortable bed.
I’ll have to say the vast majority of camouflage clad duck hunters who
paraded into my blind were pretty good folks, eager to shoot some ducks
but equally appreciative of the outdoor experience and the overall
outing.
Most
marveled at those burnt orange sunrises when silhouettes of decoy
spreads formed a breath taking moment. Those short minutes when the sun
first peaks above the horizon are fragments in time you wish you could
put on hold. A quick rising sun jumping over the ridge tells us how fast
life is indeed passing.
Sort of makes most people pause and reflect. Days gone by with old
friends and family during hunts past. Perhaps their first hunt of
yesteryear with dad or grandad. Memories of old retrievers who
accompanied with whimpers of enthusiasm and a cold nose to the hand
signaling the bond of unconditional love.
There’s something special about being in the marsh as a day begins.
Quiet times shared with others as the world wakes from a winter’s nap.
Squawking great blue herons startled from their roost announce their
discontent for all the world to hear. Owls deep in the woods trade
messages with each other before their nocturnal journey ends.
It’s that
moment of the morning for all hunters in the blind to speak the same
language of silence. Listen and let the awakening world come to you!
Above the howling dogs of a distant country farmhouse and quartets of
owls comes the unique honk of a flock of geese just taking flight far
away. Which way are the going? Too dark to be seen and too far off to
speculate on their location or destination.
Ducks appear from the heavens and the sound of their wings unloading air
is quite a heart stopper. Shooting stars leave a short and fast fading
trail in a dark sky.
All these things and more are not seen or appreciated on most mornings
by most folks unless they are indeed in a duck blind. Clients often
comment about the contrast between where they are and their usual work
day schedule.
Homra Guide Service
No traffic jams encountered. Parking isn’t a problem. Telephones sleep
silently tucked away in bags.
For a few short hours the visitors deviate from their normal routine.
They often ask why they don’t do this more often both aloud and to
themselves.
Ducks blinds and marshes are places where you can be alone…but never
lonely!
While the objective is to shoot a lots of ducks it’s not the only
requirement for a successful trip, although I’ve had my fair share of
hunters who felt anything short of a limit was a bad day. Yet that type,
for the most part, are in the minority.
Some days you get the bear; some days the bear gets you! That’s part of
hunting. Thus, it’s called the hunting season and not the “killing
season”!
Still, clients have every right to expect results. They arrive expecting
to pull the trigger a few times and bag ducks that winged over the
decoys, adding yet another thrill to the outdoor adventure.
I’ve been calling ducks since I was big enough to breathe air and force
the thrust through the barrel of a call. Making the right sounds takes a
lot of time and practice. Knowing when to use this or that type call
requires experience of watching ducks and learning their responses.
Still, despite all the decades of experience from calling, setting out
decoy spreads and brushing blinds the ducks still have the element of
surprise on their side. Some days they have mood swings and nothing you
do seems to alter their stubbornness.
Both ducks and fish have kept me humble. There are times when they just
hurt your feelings. Weather is a big factor in that too and guides can’t
control the weather.
It’s not unusual to face other hurdles, namely novice hunters and
shooters who don’t really know the way things ought to work. Veteran
guides will tell you there are some days when all the experience and
preparation just won’t overcome a novice hunters and their
pie-in-the-sky expectations.
At the same time one doesn’t have to be good at it to enjoy it! The day
depends on the disposition of the sports who bring with them a positive
attitude of realistic expectations.
There are days when it all clicks and the stars are in line. Ducks fill
the skies and work in range right over the decoys like they got the
memo.
It’s those days when nothing goes quite right that seasons the real
outdoorsman, forming the mold for future hunting trips. If a person can
ride out the tough times and perhaps practice patience while learning
from the whole experience then he or she has some great days ahead with
friends and family.
Future dawns in the duck blind will pay dividends. It may not seem like
it when paying the dues but all those tough times will be paid in full
when a few good days erase the hard times.
Every day is indeed different in the duck blind, which is why I keep
getting up in the wee hours of the morning meeting new friends. The good
times far exceed the bad ones, regardless of how many ducks are dangling
on the hanger at the end of the day!
________________________
FALL FLIGHT FORECAST
Now to the fall flight forecast, which has a way of pumping up the
enthusiasm level among the ranks of waterfowlers when the news is good.
It can deflate too if things are bad.
Although the fall flight index helps waterfowlers better understand what
lies ahead and how things went on the breeding grounds this past spring,
it’s not a perfect forecast for the forthcoming season.
Weather and water conditions are always two of the big factors for
hunters in just about every state but especially those of us in the
southern states. We’ve got to have help from the weatherman at times.
Without a few cold fronts and frigid forecasts our web footed friends
have a tendency to stay up north during what should be the peak of our
migration.
Nonetheless, waterfowl biologists within the Canadian Wildlife Service
and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service along with input from Ducks
Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl help put things into perspective each
summer as the fall and winter season draw near.
This year North America’s spring duck population declined, but most
species remain above long-term averages, according to the 2018 Waterfowl
Population Status Report released in August.
The annual survey, conducted jointly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and Canadian Wildlife Service since 1955, puts the breeding duck
population at 41.19 million, a 13 percent decrease over last year’s
population of 47.27 million, but still 17 percent above the long-term
average. Overall, the 2018 survey marks the lowest total breeding duck
population estimate since 2010.
“The breeding population decreased, but remains quite strong, with most
species remaining near or above long-term averages,” said Dr. Frank
Rohwer, president and chief scientist of Delta Waterfowl. “Ducks
declined due to dry conditions in large portions of the breeding
grounds. Fortunately, we continue to benefit from ‘carryover birds’
hatched during highly productive springs over the past several years.”
Following a record high two years ago, mallards declined 12 percent to
9.26 million, but remain 17 percent above the long-term average. Wigeon
are the only index species that showed an increase, climbing 2 percent
to 2.82 million, 8 percent above the long-term average. Blue-winged teal
fell 18 percent to 6.45 million, 27 percent above the long-term average.
Gadwalls dropped 31 percent to 2.89 million, 43 percent above the
long-term average. Green-winged teal decreased 16 percent to 3.04
million, still 42 percent above the long-term average.
Northern shovelers declined 3 percent to 4.21 million, 62 percent above
the long-term average. Redheads declined 10 percent to 1.00 million, 38
percent above the long-term average. Canvasbacks dropped 6 percent to
686,000, 16 percent above the long-term average.
Only two breeding population estimates are below long-term averages.
Northern pintails declined a concerning 18 percent to 2.37 million, 40
percent below the long-term average. Scaup (lessers and greaters
combined) declined 9 percent to 3.99 million, 20 percent below the
long-term average.
“Bluebills are drifting dangerously close to a return to restrictive
harvest regulations,” Rohwer said. “And the pintail number is
disappointing. We’d hoped that good wetland conditions across Montana,
and portions of southern Alberta and southeastern Saskatchewan, would be
enough to give pintails a boost. That was clearly not the case.”
"The dip in the population for prairie-breeding puddle ducks is not
unexpected and by no means unprecedented given that conditions on the
prairies this spring were drier than last year," said Ducks Unlimited
Chief Scientist Tom Moorman. "As a result, 2018 populations dropped
accordingly. However, populations of all key species except northern
pintails and scaup remain above long-term averages.
“This year's breeding population decline is a reminder of the need to
sustain the capacity of breeding habitats, particularly in the prairies
as we go through natural variation in wetland conditions. Waterfowl
populations are adapted well to short-term swings in habitat conditions,
but we must continue to guard against the long-term loss of prairie
breeding habitat."
Meanwhile, Tennessee duck hunters are riding a typical preseason high
level of optimism. The season ahead is always the best one!
“There will be plenty of ducks in the fall flight, but unlike years when
there are plenty of easily decoyed juveniles, hunters can expect savvy,
adult birds,” Delta Waterfowl scientist Rohwer said.
Here is a phone video clip from a Reelfoot Lake youth hunt..."Smokin
Teal"
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