01/19/2026
Well the duck season has been interesting to say the least. I am ashamed to say the first time in lots of years I did not keep a record of every hunt and every bird. Building and moving into the new house along with one if the busiest years of business consumed me and I just dropped the ball. We have had a good year and killed plenty of birds but if I had to guess we prolly are about half our normal kill numbers. We also haven’t hunted near as many days. One thing I have learned this year is quality habitat rules. Bird numbers been off overall and only the best habitat has held birds. The most odd thing about this year is the absence of “grey” ducks. On my property we have only had mallards this year easily 99% of the birds we seen and killed are mallards.
Now on this whole flooded corn crap I’ll give my 2 cents. Flooded corn has increased the amount of habitat in my area by 300% and with that increase of habitat we hold more birds in this area than ever before. Fields that were once plowed right after fall harvest and left bare with zero food or habitat are now holding hundreds of thousands of ducks and that is not arguable that is fact.
Does that short stop ducks? I honestly don’t know but I’m sure it doesn’t help. Louisiana once killed so many ducks because this Midwest was 99% non waterfowl habitat so they had to keep going. Now the Midwest is creating thousands of new acres of habitat and I believe the South is losing that much habitat due to farming practices changing and many other factors.
So this big push to outlaw hunting in flooded corn has become an a big thing even Kennedy making it known he wants it investigated.
It is not gonna matter if they outlaw hunting flooded corn. I have it and I love to watch them land in it and they do love it and flourish in it. But I hate hunting it. We kill more ducks in the little natural looking sloughs and pockets of flooded timber and little honey hole spots than the big cornfield. If they outlaw it great I will just use it as my own personal refuge as will every other duck club that’s using corn. We have only hunted our corn I think 7 or 8 times all year so it’s basically been a mini refuge for my farm.
I understand the southern guys upset about lack of ducks but think about what you’re trying to push. Taking landowner rights away from private landowners. It may sound like a harmless thing now but what will they take away next??
You can outlaw hunting flooded corn but you can’t outlaw private landowners from the ability to flood whatever crops we want. Too much money in this sport, I can see the dozers now creating “natural sloughs” in the center of a giant flooded corn fields to get around the red tape of whatever law is passed.
Sorry for the long rant but just needed to voice my opinion.
I am no scientist biologist or ecologist but how about we just all keep creating the best habitat we can and somehow try and help our nesting habitat up north to create more babies and make more ducks for all.
This was Saturday morning shoot and not in flooded corn but 1/4 mile away in my “timber hole” as they left the corn field they roosted in.
