Sanctuaries and rest areas

We need more.

I think they really help. Sometimes it a little hard to watch them come out over your spread falling into a rest area, But it keeps the ducks in the area instead of heading on south. Of coarse the same thing happens to us up north. If there is plenty of water as there is now, there not as much a big of a deal but on dry years if we dont have them, our ducks get shot out and head south.

Should open them for hunting for youth 1st weekend in feb

Bald knob NWR is a joke. There are 15,000 acres and 3/4 of it is sanctuary. The ducks fly a mile high and wont look twice at your spread. Is it that important to have a resting areas that big? It may be easy for the guys that hunt a long way away from sanctuaries to say that they are beneficial but I hunt within 5 miles of a huge one and its a joke.

Ducks can rest in the afternoons on most public and private ground. They can also sleep at night like us. They are useless unless being hunted.

What I think they should do is alternate rest areas either by season or even certain days for hunting. It would keep the birds from hopping rest areas all the way down the flyway.

I think they serve a great purpose and help hunting in some ways but hurt in some too. Alternating them would be good for the hunting. How many sanctuaries are in Arkansas??? Anybody know?
BKOutdoorsman I have hunted BK WMA with some success in past seasons and was actually over there last week. Had one of my best hunts so far this year over there to be honest. PM me

bkoutdoorsman said:

bald knob nwr is a joke. There are 15,000 acres and 3/4 of it is sanctuary. The ducks fly a mile high and wont look twice at your spread. Is it that important to have a resting areas that big? It may be easy for the guys that hunt a long way away from sanctuaries to say that they are beneficial but i hunt within 5 miles of a huge one and its a joke.

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BKoutdoorsman said:

What is your opinion?

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My opinion is I wish Missouri did not have them

There is to many of them.

Missouri is full of them and they also have tons of food on the areas that are open to hunting. If you ever go up there you will understand why we dont have birds like we did in the early 90's. I would like to see standing corn planted on land bordering several WMA'S , to give birds something to fly out and eat in the afternoons. Still think they should be open the last few days - used to be at least one good hunt to end the season.

mr4pt said:

my opinion is i wish missouri did not have them

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Never been a big fan of them.. They've changed the flyways and the migration habits of all migratory birds and are an environmental disaster waiting to happen in my opinion..

Polywog said:

They've changed the flyways and the migration habits of all migratory birds and are an environmental disaster waiting to happen in my opinion..

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Amazing.

And you base this on what? Please enlighten me on how rest areas changed migration patterns? I can't wait to hear this.

That is the worse thing they every done to us as setting up as miney as we have.

Gindog said:

That is the worse thing they every done to us as setting up as miney as we have.

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:fit:

I am just going to leave this one to the power minds.

I really need to stay off the Waterfowl forum. lol

Bruin said:

Amazing.

And you base this on what? Please enlighten me on how rest areas changed migration patterns? I can't wait to hear this.

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I base it on 45 years of hunting Mo. and Ar. and seeing areas that were once duck hunting paradises no longer having ducks because the flyways are more North to South and the migration routes line up more now with the rest areas than they once did with the natural migration routes of the rivers in East Ar..

Polywog said:

Bruin said:

Amazing.

And you base this on what? Please enlighten me on how rest areas changed migration patterns? I can't wait to hear this.

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I base it on 45 years of hunting Mo. and Ar. and seeing areas that were once duck hunting paradises no longer having ducks because the flyways are more North to South and the migration routes line up more now with the rest areas than they once did with the natural migration routes of the rivers in East Ar..

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I second this , but we also are gonna have ducks in large . As a duck hunter it sucks as a person that dreams duck hunting 365 a year they are good and keep ducks around . I two agree we need to hunt them and alternate them . It balance out kill and conserve .

The probably with BK is food and Habitat there's so many things that need done there like in the tree fields put a lil levee around them flood them ankle deep and plant rice in strips around the trees . Plant more smart grass put corn in wood lines with levees around them this will bring them and hold them . I hate to say , but when those trees get up on the lower unit Hurricane will be a thing of the past .