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Post by featherduster on Nov 28, 2020 15:59:46 GMT -5
The past 2 mornings I was at the refuge parking lot at the KANKAKEE game preserve in Starke county. This is or was once the biggest duck magnet in Indiana but not anymore. Both days I was at the property for approx.30 minutes and never heard a shot or saw the first duck flying. At one time there were at least 10 maybe more duck clubs in the area and now there are two maybe three. Posted outside the door at the office which is no longer open after the draw was this sign.(see below) This area has lost it's migration.  |
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Post by featherduster on Nov 28, 2020 16:05:17 GMT -5
These numbers are less than half of what they used to be.  |
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Post by supr87gt on Nov 28, 2020 16:13:10 GMT -5
It’s not much better here in central IL. We used to smack limits around the cooling lakes on Thanksgiving morning. Now you’re lucky to scratch 5 birds a trip.
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Post by parrothead on Nov 28, 2020 16:46:31 GMT -5
Not a duck hunter but what happen to the numbers? They must be in with the deer on leaving he state.
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Post by MuzzleLoader on Nov 28, 2020 16:51:06 GMT -5
Rarely see ducks but the geese are prospering here just fine. Probably 100 on pond today. Sent the dog out to chase them off. Must be getting shot at on the river.
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Post by featherduster on Nov 28, 2020 17:43:34 GMT -5
Not a duck hunter but what happen to the numbers? They must be in with the deer on leaving he state. We are loosing our migration route ""OR"" all the information we are being given is wrong. I along with a good group of duck hunters had a duck club kiddie-corner from the refuge at SR 8 & SR 39 for about 20 some years. This time of the year we would have several thousand ducks every evening feeding in our marsh as well as the marshes of the adjoining clubs, now all of this is dry birdless fields. Goose populations have exploded but if they keep pounding them they to will will become nonexistent. |
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Post by supr87gt on Nov 28, 2020 19:16:08 GMT -5
Do you start seeing a good push after the season? Ours closes around Christmas. Goose season goes until the end of Jan. We usually have ducks landing in the decoys for all of January. Not a duck hunter but what happen to the numbers? They must be in with the deer on leaving he state. We are loosing our migration route ""OR"" all the information we are being given is wrong. I along with a good group of duck hunters had a duck club kiddie-corner from the refuge at SR 8 & SR 39 for about 20 some years. This time of the year we would have several thousand ducks every evening feeding in our marsh as well as the marshes of the adjoining clubs, now all of this is dry birdless fields. Goose populations have exploded but if they keep pounding them they to will will become nonexistent. |
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Post by sculver7 on Dec 1, 2020 8:37:44 GMT -5
Now, I have no scientific evidence to back this up, however, I have noticed that the winter weather seems to be starting and ending later. Meaning: I remember as a kid having cold and big time snow in mid December usually but that the snow and cold would all be gone by April. Now, it seems that we don't (generally speaking) get snow and cold until first part of January, but we also almost always have snow still in April. Also, it seems to me that the summers over the past 2 or 3 years have been extremely mild compared to what they used to be. No clue if that has any truth bhind it, just my perceived observations, but it would have an impact on migration times and routes.
Forgot to say where I'm located. I live 10 minutes from Kankakee FWA. And yes, duck hunting, even just 3 or 4 years ago was absolutely insane there. It was nothing for us to go out and see 5000 ducks in a day. I haven't even hunted there in the last two years partially because duck numbers there have been horrible as of late and also because when there are only 48 spots and 125 parties show up, more times than not, you're sent home without a spot.
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Post by featherduster on Dec 1, 2020 8:57:51 GMT -5
supr87gt asked:Do you start seeing a good push after the season? Ours closes around Christmas. Goose season goes until the end of Jan. We usually have ducks landing in the decoys for all of January.
We don't see major pushes period, some trickle calendar migration but that's it.
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Post by duff on Dec 1, 2020 10:04:46 GMT -5
Do you start seeing a good push after the season? Ours closes around Christmas. Goose season goes until the end of Jan. We usually have ducks landing in the decoys for all of January. We are loosing our migration route ""OR"" all the information we are being given is wrong. I along with a good group of duck hunters had a duck club kiddie-corner from the refuge at SR 8 & SR 39 for about 20 some years. This time of the year we would have several thousand ducks every evening feeding in our marsh as well as the marshes of the adjoining clubs, now all of this is dry birdless fields. Goose populations have exploded but if they keep pounding them they to will will become nonexistent. No fips allowed here! I thought you were moving to duck mecca of Bloomington IN? Duck come in waves through goose pond. Early ducks are in October local birds with some migratory. Then a lull through November is impacted by ice or water levels. |
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Post by esshup on Dec 1, 2020 10:30:39 GMT -5
Now, I have no scientific evidence to back this up, however, I have noticed that the winter weather seems to be starting and ending later. Meaning: I remember as a kid having cold and big time snow in mid December usually but that the snow and cold would all be gone by April. Now, it seems that we don't (generally speaking) get snow and cold until first part of January, but we also almost always have snow still in April. Also, it seems to me that the summers over the past 2 or 3 years have been extremely mild compared to what they used to be. No clue if that has any truth bhind it, just my perceived observations, but it would have an impact on migration times and routes. Forgot to say where I'm located. I live 10 minutes from Kankakee FWA. And yes, duck hunting, even just 3 or 4 years ago was absolutely insane there. It was nothing for us to go out and see 5000 ducks in a day. I haven't even hunted there in the last two years partially because duck numbers there have been horrible as of late and also because when there are only 48 spots and 125 parties show up, more times than not, you're sent home without a spot. As a kid, I'd usually have to chop through the ice to set muskrat traps for the opening of trapping season 11-15. Now if you had a wetsuit you typically could still go water skiing on New Years day. |
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Post by supr87gt on Dec 1, 2020 11:53:44 GMT -5
Do you start seeing a good push after the season? Ours closes around Christmas. Goose season goes until the end of Jan. We usually have ducks landing in the decoys for all of January. No fips allowed here! I thought you were moving to duck mecca of Bloomington IN? Duck come in waves through goose pond. Early ducks are in October local birds with some migratory. Then a lull through November is impacted by ice or water levels. Brother, I thought I was too! Then the whole “2020” started and everything changed a million times. Looking hard at a couple of opportunities around Fishers again though. Still keeping the Bloomington option open even though the job changed a bit. Just sort of going with the flow! |
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Post by marshallco on Dec 2, 2020 23:07:21 GMT -5
Featherduster - when I was a lot younger, like between 14 to 18, my then step father could get us on a place near the intersection of SR 8 and SR 39, it was owned by the Gumz family back then. Ducks roosted by the thousands on their flooded cornfields, they wouldn’t even let you go out until at least an hour after sunrise. The sight of those birds flying off the roost was incredible, never seen anything like it since. It was even better when they came back late morning, even a kid like me had an easy limit. That place sold some years ago, haven’t been there for many years, but will always remember those massive flocks.
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Post by featherduster on Dec 3, 2020 5:44:24 GMT -5
Featherduster - when I was a lot younger, like between 14 to 18, my then step father could get us on a place near the intersection of SR 8 and SR 39, it was owned by the Gumz family back then. Ducks roosted by the thousands on their flooded cornfields, they wouldn’t even let you go out until at least an hour after sunrise. The sight of those birds flying off the roost was incredible, never seen anything like it since. It was even better when they came back late morning, even a kid like me had an easy limit. That place sold some years ago, haven’t been there for many years, but will always remember those massive flocks. That was the famous GUMZ duck club which was purchased by the State of Indiana and is now a part of the Kankakee game preserve. I was a member of that club in the late 60's till 1973 when I started my own club which was located on the North side of the Kankakee river and then we relocated to the farm kiddy corner from the refuge. |
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Post by parrothead on Dec 3, 2020 7:03:22 GMT -5
I was laying in bed last night about 9 I hear something out my window. I always sleep with window open. I hit mute and it was a flock of cranes flying over.
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Post by esshup on Dec 3, 2020 11:41:20 GMT -5
A buddy called, saying that there were 1,000's of geese on the lake by the lake house this morning. He tried pulling a sneak on them, but they were too far out in the lake.
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Post by marshallco on Dec 3, 2020 15:21:13 GMT -5
Featherduster (I don't know how to "copy and Paste" your reply yet, still learning) - it was the mid to late 80's when I was fortunate enough to hunt there, maybe went 12-15 times over a span of 2 to 3 years. Didn't really know that it was sold to the state. I have to guess that you had some good shooting on your club. There was another place that was just east of SR 39 owned by a farmer named Solmos (sp?). we would even sit in the parking lot of the preserve on SR 39 and watch ducks come in to that place and get whacked. Too bad they don't seem to draw the birds that they once did. I think its been around 3 or 4 years since I can say that we have had any "northern" birds in any real numbers on any of the places I hunt here in Marshall County. But when they would show up, there would just be 80-100 birds on a pond that weren't there the day before. Maybe they're wise to you now.
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Post by jman46151 on Dec 3, 2020 18:13:42 GMT -5
Featherduster (I don't know how to "copy and Paste" your reply yet, still learning) - it was the mid to late 80's when I was fortunate enough to hunt there, maybe went 12-15 times over a span of 2 to 3 years. Didn't really know that it was sold to the state. I have to guess that you had some good shooting on your club. There was another place that was just east of SR 39 owned by a farmer named Solmos (sp?). we would even sit in the parking lot of the preserve on SR 39 and watch ducks come in to that place and get whacked. Too bad they don't seem to draw the birds that they once did. I think its been around 3 or 4 years since I can say that we have had any "northern" birds in any real numbers on any of the places I hunt here in Marshall County. But when they would show up, there would just be 80-100 birds on a pond that weren't there the day before. Maybe they're wise to you now. Click the button that says "Quote" at the top right of his post. |
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Post by featherduster on Dec 3, 2020 18:33:27 GMT -5
marshallco: Art Gumz never owned the land the duck club was on so when the owner of the land ( a women ) from Florida died the land went up for sale.
Bob Solomos the farmer who owned the farm/duck club across the street from the refuge bought that farm then 2 years later he sold it to the state of Indiana.
Bob Solomos died about 15 years ago and his farm was sold to a businessman from North Judson who sold it again but retains the hunting rights on that farm and it still is a duck club.
This club is the only club that still gets some shooting.
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Post by bullseye69 on Dec 3, 2020 21:10:53 GMT -5
The only thing flying at the Kank is those stupid sandhills.
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