Anyone been able to do any scouting in North AL during the break? Wondering if duck numbers have been building with three successive cold fronts dropping south.

We need that arctic blast up north to develop, mature and stall out for a while….and then hope it freezes all the way down the flyway to us.

Every year from Christmas to New Years I go to my in-laws who live about 60 miles south of Lake Erie. For the last 20 years and especially the last 10 I am reminded of why I don't shoot as much waterfowl as I used to.

Snow cover isn’t what it once was says my friends in Green Bay

Plus their season is already closed. Usually closes around thanksgiving so with open water and food and pressure to the south. Why risk flying south??????

I been in the woods every day . Mallards 2 weeks ago are gone.

Hunted a wood duck hole this morning here in the central part of the state that I usually see 30-40, and only had 2 in the hole at first shooting light. It was dead. Didn't even hear any. It was a strange morning that had me puzzled.

I live near the river. I heard two shots yesterday evening and that’s it so far this year. Seen very few ducks.

Lots of shooting this morning.

Went across crow creek refuge right at dark last night. Seen the most ducks coming in to roost that I have seen all year

Hunted my wood duck hole outside Hartselle/Falkville this morning and only saw 2 ducks flying. There were 30 or so in there on Saturday last weekend. Strange not to see any in this spot. Only heard two groups shoot this morning off in the distance.

We need rain bad. It’s the dryest December I’ve ever seen, in terms of pond levels for those needing rain to flood out areas.

Talk to a guy yesterday that had been on a hunt at Stevenson on a place that they manage for ducks. He said they killed a 7 man limit in 45 minutes. Not shooting ring necks either. Most places around here don't even have water. Some outfits are so big they dig wells and have a guy that works on the place year around. Maybe this rain will help everyone

All my holes in south bama bone dry..never seen it this dry . I killed a woody the other am but none coming down the creek due to lack of water

I looked up the place that guy was talking about yesterday, coon creek farms. Very impressive

If this is the place I think it is, my BIL grew up with the owner. They have an impressive operation and attract a lot of wild ducks. They also release a ton of mallards prior to the season and with all the food and water on their farm, those ducks usually stick around.

There is a place called dirt and diesel also

Apparently a small % of those released ducks get loose every year and interbreed and now there aren’t many truly wild mallards in the eastern US.

This is probably not a good thing. Pretty cool podcast I listened to talked about it. I’m a bit surprised just releasing ducks into the wild is legal, honestly.

The gamekeeper podcast had a good biologist on talking about the impact of farm ducks on the wild population. The data was quite eye opening

Several guys/clubs have been releasing thousands around here yearly They do it increase the local population for their place. I liked at doing it back in the 90s. At the time I didn’t see the harm but have been educated about n the farm mallards.

We used to have cripples, mostly broken wing ducks swim up to spring park in Tuscumbia. You could see divers and puddle ducks swimming around there. We had a speck hanging out until someone killed it with a pellet gun.

One of my duck hunting buddies is a diver and he mentions seeing local populations during the summer. I watched a flock of about 200 mallards work the drainage pond by NWSCC last summer.

I covered a lot of ground yesterday around 33 at the double bridges in Jackson County. To be honest with you I am discouraged. These big places with wells and direct creek access have changed the game completely. I been lucky to have been given the green light to plant and work for some of these guys joining me. There were mallards here 3 weeks ago but they did not hang around . I am hoping there will be more birds coming or pressure will push them here. 2 young boys stopped the other day looking for a place to hunt . I actually felt sorry for them. They asked me who owned the cornfield on the other side of the road and reckon he would let them hunt. I said yes I know him i planted the corn and I can't even hunt it. When I was their age you could get to know a man and maybe show him you would work if he needed anything done and he would let you hunt. It isn't duck dynasty that changed duck hunting its deep pockets