| ||||||||||
Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig Visit ColumbiaMagazine's Directory of Churches Addresses, times, phone numbers and more for churches in Adair County Find Great Stuff in ColumbiaMagazine's Classified Ads Antiques, Help Wanted, Autos, Real Estate, Legal Notices, More... |
KY Afield Outdoors: The Last Waterfowl Hunting of the Season By Lee McClellan Frankfort, KY - In Kentucky, the coldest weather of the year often coincides with the best waterfowl hunting. This should prove especially true this year with the unusually warm start to the waterfowl hunting season that opened Thanksgiving Day. "Late winter seems to be our best duck and goose hunting due to the lower temperatures," said Wes Little, migratory bird biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. "We should have birds moving south now with the bitter cold and snow to the north of us." Hunters have an extra luxury this year of concentrating on ducks in January and geese in February as there are now two extra weeks to pursue geese. Duck season closes statewide on Jan. 29 while goose season doesn't close until Feb. 15. "You used to wonder in January, 'Do I hunt ducks or do I hunt geese?', but now you can hold off the hunting pressure on geese until February," Little said. Ducks and geese both locate in predictable places in the late season. Food resources and open water draw birds during the stressful times of January and February. "Find a harvested crop field that is holding birds," Little said. "You can find both ducks and geese in corn fields when the ground is frozen." Little related a January goose hunt last year in a harvested corn field. "Mallard ducks were using it and we didn't even know," he said. "Five of us had our mallard limit in 45 minutes along with some black ducks. Some geese wanted to be about 100 yards from us, but we still harvested several of them. It was an awesome hunt." Hunters may take up to four mallard ducks as part of their six duck daily bag limit. "My favorite thing in the late season is using a small number of decoys. You don't need a mega spread," Little said. "If you find birds while scouting, try and mimic what you saw. Are they spread out? Are they grouped together? Then, set out your decoys accordingly." The Ohio River also draws many ducks and geese in winter. "The Ohio River is awesome for goose hunting and ducks as well," Little said. "If everything is frozen up, the Ohio really shines." The many crop fields near the river provide food for waterfowl and the river itself provides rest and loafing areas during the cold months. This draws many diving duck species not often seen by hunters in other parts of Kentucky. Hunters may harvest canvasbacks, scaup, redheads, ring-necks and occasionally a rare goldeneye. With a hard freeze to the north and a snow line, geese also flock to the Ohio, setting up potentially fantastic goose hunting. "You have to have the right equipment," Little said. "Hunting the Ohio River is no cake walk." The Ohio River is not a place for a 12-foot johnboat with a narrow beam. Wakes from barges combined with strong winds can swamp a small johnboat. Hunters pursuing waterfowl from shore must scout to find a hard bottom in the area they plan to hunt. The Ohio River drops off into deep water quickly in many places. The shoreline is often saturated with deep muck. Zac Campbell, boating education coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, cautions waterfowl hunters in boats to keep in mind some common sense principles while on the water. "Don't overload your boat with gear and people," he said. "Plan your hunt, then hunt your plan and tell someone where you are going and how long you plan to hunt. If possible, stay near shore and don't cross large expanses of water. Most importantly, always wear your lifejacket, the water is freezing." Spring-fed farm ponds that don't freeze also provide excellent late season hunting. A couple of decoys and a homemade ground blind near the pond provide all the elements for a successful hunt. "It is critical to use a jerk string from a decoy or an electric shaker to provide a ripple on the water if there is no wind," Little said. "You must have some movement or the birds won't come to your decoys." The weather outside may be frightful, but the waterfowl hunting is delightful in the late season. Get out and shake off the winter blues by putting some birds in the bag. Author Lee McClellan is a nationally award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing. This story was posted on 2017-01-12 18:44:37
Printable: this page is now automatically formatted for printing.
Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know.
More articles from topic Ky Afield Outdoors:
Shad Eradication planned for several KY lakes KY Afield Outdoors: Getting to know your new rifle KY Afield Outdoors: A look ahead KY Afield Outdoors: Old Christmas trees great fish habitat KY Afield Outdoors: 3 productive winter crappie fishing spots KY Afield Outdoors: 1967 - Kentucky's Red November KY Afield Outdoors: Landowners honored for improving habitat KY Afield Outdoors: Online survey improves HIP data KY Afield Outdoors: Waterfowl season promising KY Afield Outdoors: Modern gun deer season on tap View even more articles in topic Ky Afield Outdoors |
|
||||||||
| ||||||||||
Quick Links to Popular Features
Looking for a story or picture? Try our Photo Archive or our Stories Archive for all the information that's appeared on ColumbiaMagazine.com. | ||||||||||
Contact us: Columbia Magazine and columbiamagazine.com are published by Linda Waggener and Pen Waggener, PO Box 906, Columbia, KY 42728. Please use our contact page, or send questions about technical issues with this site to webmaster@columbiamagazine.com. All logos and trademarks used on this site are property of their respective owners. All comments remain the property and responsibility of their posters, all articles and photos remain the property of their creators, and all the rest is copyright 1995-Present by Columbia Magazine. Privacy policy: use of this site requires no sharing of information. Voluntarily shared information may be published and made available to the public on this site and/or stored electronically. Anonymous submissions will be subject to additional verification. Cookies are not required to use our site. However, if you have cookies enabled in your web browser, some of our advertisers may use cookies for interest-based advertising across multiple domains. For more information about third-party advertising, visit the NAI web privacy site.
|