By Dan Chaffin
I talked this week with duck hunter Roddy Pratt of Muskogee and his assessment of opening week was average, mostly gad walls and teals around rivers and lakes.
Hot weather up north needs to push the Mallards down but as he said, that usually does not happen until December. He said this year with the high waters around the lakes and rivers it will be a good year for duck hunters if they get out and scout.
Matt Woods of Oktaha said his group got three limits on opening day on Lake Eufaula. They harvested a few mallards in that limit. He rated opening day as average also and said the hot weather and high winds made for some challenging duck hunting. He predicts it’s going to be a good season.
Since 1999, Ducks Unlimited has been assisting with restoration activities in Oklahoma. Accomplishments to date include reforestation of bottomland hardwoods (i.e., planting of bare-root seedlings and containerized trees) on 5, 529 acres enrolled in the Wetland Reserve Program. Additionally, hydrology restoration measures have been completed on 10, 353 acres, thus providing valuable moist-soil habitats for wintering waterfowl.
This is just one of many projects Ducks Unlimited is involved in the state of Oklahoma. Without fund raisers like the banquets these projects wouldn’t happen and the future of duck hunting would suffer. Oklahoma is part of the central flyway and provides important migration and winter habitat for waterfowl that are produced in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada and the northern United States. In some years, Oklahoma has the potential to winter large numbers of mallards across the state. Ducks Unlimited’s goal is to secure the future of Oklahoma as the key migration area for migratory waterfowl in North America.
In Oklahoma there are 7,205 members currently with Ducks Unlimited. These members’ grassroots dollars raised in 2008 was $434, 277 dollars. Total acres conserved were 34, 018 acres. Those are impressive numbers and that tells me Ducks Unlimited and Oklahomans are doing their share to make sure duck hunting is preserved for future generations to come. Your support of Ducks Unlimited is a great way to help the future of duck hunting and the conservation of all wildlife. Ducks Unlimited Hunting lands also provide hunting of all species throughout Oklahoma and not just duck hunting.
The banquet will be held at the Muskogee Country Club on Nov. 19. Tickets are $40 each, $55 for couples and youth $25. Sponsorships are $250 and sponsor couples are $250. Your ticket includes a Ducks Unlimited membership, dinner and the opportunity to participate in the action, silent auction, and numerous drawings. For more information contact John Griffin, 686-2221 or David Bonds, 681-7105.
Come join the fun and support a wonderful cause and one of the premier associations for today’s sportsmen.
Dan Chaffin’s outdoors column runs every Friday. Reach him with news and comments at llc1@suddenlink.net or through the Phoenix at 684-2904.
