"Diesel Fuel Ducks"
August 2006

We’re still a few weeks from the start of the rice harvest in N.E. Arkansas and it’s as dry as last year, but this year the heat index is and has been topping one hundred degrees every day for almost two weeks. Our creeks and sloughs are all but dry, except in areas where water run off from the rice fields linger and the forecast for the next week or two doesn’t look much better. For that matter, the long range forecast makes me think we’re in for another dry hunting season.

Dry and hot or not, waterfowl season is just around the corner for all of us. The forecast looks good as far as the bird numbers go, but what about tough conditions? One of my men and I have spent the last two days using a wire wheel on a six inch grinder, cleaning off rust from a pit we pulled for repairs earlier this year. That’s hard work, especially in these conditions, so I thought I would use the question “what about tough conditions” as an excuse to stay in the office and make a few phone calls.

Since my first hunt for this year is with Tim and Cody Frantz in Goodrich, North Dakota, I decided to give him a call. Cody said; “Conditions had been some of the best they had experienced in years during the crucial nesting period, but it’s tough right now.” He also told me; “Many of the smaller ponds are dry and that’s going to concentrate the birds on the larger potholes and lakes.” The good part is, he thinks they’re going to see another excellent year for dry field hunting, but I sensed concerned about what too much pressure on the potholes might do.

I had just hung up the phone after talking to Cody and a three-way call from a couple of southerners, Kevin Lawson and Mark Blake came through. Kevin is from Louisiana and Mark is from Mississippi. Great minds … or sick minds in our case, must think somewhat alike. These guys wanted to talk ducks and conditions.

Mark informed me that some of his hot spots were all but dry and the ground had started to crack in places. I understood him to say it was as tough as he had ever seen it this time of year, and this guy is far from a rookie. On the other hand, in Kevin’s area they were getting a shower about every day or two, but he informed me they were small and short lived and did little for the waterfowl habitat.

Kevin brought up another area of concern for parts of Louisiana and it was the very thing Rod Haydel had told me about a few days ago. Their levy system received a tremendous amount of damage from hurricanes last year and allowed lots of salt water to get in the marsh areas. Combined with the lack of significant rain, which helps dilute the salt base, many of those areas still have little to no vegetation for the birds. With limited vegetation and low water conditions, the hunters in that part of Louisiana are also concerned about the excessive pressure on available water.

Many of the NE Arkansas hunters are concerned about conditions on the public ground and the amount of water needed for a timely flood. When they lowered Lake Charles last winter, to flood one WMA, it was still low when the crappie spawn started and hasn’t reached full pool to date. Last year, the lake was low enough they lowered the level to the safety drain and still they didn’t have the flood they needed below. If things don’t change, we’re going to be facing problems similar to what we experienced last season.

As I have stated many times before; I’m a firm believer the migration will start at basically the same time, weather or not. Cold weather pushes the birds and/or determines how far they go at a given time, but much in the same manner as cold weather and ice … drought conditions and heavy hunting pressure can also move the birds sooner than normal. While low water conditions can be a huge advantage for hunters with water, they will have to control or limit hunting pressure or the birds aren’t going to stick around.

Low surface water is a serious problem in any flyway and if Mother Nature doesn’t bless those of us in the Mississippi Flyway with an appreciable amount of rain or off road fuel prices don’t take a plunge, there will be even less surface water in Arkansas than there was last season. The lack of water will again concentrate the birds and it could mean another year with record kill numbers, like last season. While that’s an obvious advantage for those of us running deep well pumps, do we really want the sport to get to the point where we have to hunt … Diesel Fuel Ducks?

Charles "HammerTime" Snapp

Email: snapp1@sbcglobal.net

Website: www.arkansaswaterfowl.com