2022 Waterfowl Reports

Hope everyone has a great season! Please keep yourself safe and always be courteous to the other Hunters.

Nice sprigs.   Haven"t got one yet.

Had one of our better days in SE Wisconsin. The  ducks were flying in the strong winds and almost everything we saw wanted to come into the decoys. After many years, we each managed to take a beautiful drake pintail. Should have had a few more ducks but enjoyed a great day. Gadwall, pintails, bluebill, mallard, and a greenwing. Missed a shot at a bluewing, which surprised us early in the morning.

Hoping to see some new birds this weekend, we will see, weather looks good. SE WI been seeing aprox: 30-100 geese and a handful of ducks on pond by me but seems like everyday is different. 

goodhuntin all! 

Waupaca area:

Hunted sat AM and yesterday AM, saturday ducky! windy , rainy, cloudy, miserable but saw well over 100 birds on a larger lake, killed only a couple but shoulda coulda woulda sat longer buddy, dog and I cold and saoking wet so left, still many divers and puddlers flying around and some up high. Monday AM  got a bill and 2 gadwall on a dif lake seen a few flocks but for most part slow, hope before the end new birds will push in. Buddys up there have been doing fairly well daily on several bodies of water.

Anybody else seeing specklebellys?  Been seeing and hearing them on 3 dif lakes this past week.

goodhuntin all and be safe!

I agree on the mud motor theory. I am a paddler. Over the years I've gotten as simple as I can and still manage to shoot birds. Slept in today do to some stranded back muscle. Did my local scouting rounds and did not see to much. This weather is just not pushing any birds yet. 

Another great fast morning.  Saw less ducks, but it was worth it.

I saw more ducks today than all year. Got my shooting in on the mallards and left right away.

I live in Price County and have had an above average year for numbers of ducks. I've been more lucky than good which helps, no skunk yet anyway. This area never sees a big migration of puddlers (a small flock here, a single or two there) but the plus side is hardly anyone duck hunts much after the opener and you usually are the only hunter for miles on any given morning this time of year. It is a special thing to watch the sun rise and the only sounds you hear are wildlife, even on weekends. Haven't seen a woody in 2 weeks and probably won't anymore. Some mallards around, teal, ringers, and a few buffies but very unpredictable. Birds move daily. Usually switch to walking for grouse this time of year but as long as my spots don't have ice yet like the last 2 years will be hard to hang it up.

Is that a Gordon MacQuarrie quote?

Either way...........

" There is great deceit in duck hunting by which men count there sport in terms of limit bags and good shooting.

Be not fooled!

These same men will greet the rising sun in season though they knew their chances of killing even a single duck were very poor in deed."  

Totally agree. I live on the Mississippi backwaters. Mud motors are going 7 days week all day long. This year there is no water. Everybody is on top of each other. What duck would ever hang out here. Even as i type this sky busters are whaling on whatever flys by.

I only duck hunted couple times this year. Having a blast deer hunting instead.

i totally agree with duckwidow.....i've hunted for over 54 years...years ago they had refuges on every body of water i hunted....then one by one they disappeared.....now guys hunt ducks on their roost....the ducks have no where to stay without being harassed.....so they move on....another thing that makes ducks and geese move on is the number of mud motors every early morning before shooting hours....they sound like a armored division....doesn't anyone paddle anymore like i do....its time the dnr does what is right for the waterfowl...not their pockets

n

I met Taylor at a bird banding outing this past spring. Nice folk. Not sure these young DNR reps have a good handle on the way it should be done. 

Not saying I know anything either. I take it how it rolls. Not a complainer whatsoever. 

Good ole' days are longgggg gone. 

Just my observations with over 50 years of experience, if you remove the majority of the refuges from the state, combined with so many people fishing/boating later in the season combined with the out break of milfoil and small cattails (allowing for less quality weeds), you are going to have less of a migration through your area or state.  I know Taylor disagrees and I agree with him that migration days can still be good.  I warned all that removing refuges would just make the birds migrate faster instead of staying but for some reason hunters could not stand seeing birds in a refuge that they could not shoot.  This is the result of mismanagement of our natural resources.  Please encourage your local reps (conservation congress) to really work on improving this state and actually walk the walk and talk the talk.  Happy hunting!

The last time I seen a really good solid season of birds was 2016 & 2017 along the Mississippi.  Everything was aligned. Good spring hatches, Stable river levels, etc.