"Rally Around the Flag"
June 2005
During a time when patriotism seems to be at a new high, my title may be a bit misleading, but it's fitting for the topic. I do support our troops and feel lucky to have been born an American, but this column is about a different flag than the Arkansans I know have ever rallied around before.
Detailed records are valuable to most business operations and while I'm not much of a record keeper, my wife believes in keeping details at her fingertips. She keeps records on everything else; why not chart our daily hunt activities? Years ago I asked Jackie that question, she replied: "You get the guides to write down the details of their hunts and I'll keep up with it". Years later and just prior to the 2003/04 season we decided to keep details on how much, if any, spinners were used each day and how the ducks reacted to them. During the 2003/04 season usage was approximately 60% of the time, with a noticeable decrease toward the end of the season. Last season usage fell below 30% and their effectiveness dropped way off after the first two weeks. I do believe spinners have an effective use, but if you want to read more about those thoughts, check out the next issue of Waterfowl Hunter magazine. It will feature an article I wrote called Duckology 101. Among other things, the article deals with my using spinners from Canada to Arkansas and what it taught me, but that's another story.
As most duck hunters have already heard, Arkansas passed a law banning spinning and flapping wing decoys. Without boring you with the specifics of the law, it does included battery powered and manual powered spinning or flapping blade devices. It's written in a manner that does not eliminate motion in a spread and it does not eliminate the use of battery-powered devices … unless they are dealing with "Spinning or Flapping Wing Decoys". Funny thing about this ruling, it really doesn't bother me. In fact, I'll go so far as to say ruling 12-26 09-0410-04, banning the use of such devices was a good move.
The past several years have provided me with opportunities to hunt and film with groups like The Hunters Journal and Final Approach T.V. Many of the hunts were for Canada geese and on a lot of the hunts we used goose flags. Until that point I had never seen a goose flag used, but it became obvious; flags also work for ducks. No, they don't work like a spinner but they do work and anything that will interest a duck in your spread … should be considered an advantage. Another interesting thing about the goose flags … they are legal to use during the Arkansas Duck Season!
How do I know for sure? I sent a detailed question to the Arkansas Game and Fish and I specifically ask them: "Would a goose flag, made of cloth and attached to the hand held "T" pole, be illegal to use during duck season?" A member of their legal council responded directly to the question and said use of such a flag would not be illegal.
My staff and I tried using flags on a several occasions last year, in hopes they would be legal this coming season. They do work … even on days when the ducks seemed wise to the spinners; often we would see favorable responses to flags. The main problem a flag presented was what to do with the flag when the ducks started coming. It just didn't look right having the flag lying outside the pit like a goose flat on his belly, in a shallow rice field, with his wings out in full spread and there was no way we could get the flag and the pole in a buried pit. That's when my old friend Ron Latschaw stepped up to bat. Ron is the founder of Final Approach and while Ron has more than two and a half decades working with goose hunters, he's come out with some recent innovations that will help the duck hunter … one of which is a goose flag that is camouflaged on one side. Our problem of what to do with the flag was eliminated. We simply turn it over as we lay it down! I may be wrong, but with the recent ruling on the use of goose flags in Arkansas, I think you will see a lot more duck hunters joining my staff and I as we …"Rally Around The Flag" next season. To order the Final Approach goose flag, along with several other brands of flags and kites, click here.
Charles "HammerTime" Snapp
Email: snapps@arkmo.com
Website: www.arkansaswaterfowl.com
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