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"A great guide and hunting setup" -Tony Accerano, SPORTS AFIELD MAGAZINE
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Waterfowl Report Welcome to Steve McCadams' Weekly Waterfowl Report. Waterfowlers wanting to monitor activity of ducks and geese here in Tennessee's Kentucky Lake area, along with reports from elsewhere in the Mississippi flyway, will want to check in often for the latest migratory movement, state and federal refuge counts, and other interesting information for hunters. Additional information can also be found by clicking on the Waterfowl Forecast icon on your LEFT.
(Watch for updates on waterfowl counts and activity here each week to ten days. Posted below the update is good news for waterfowlers regarding the 2007-2008 Fall Flight Forecast.) Updated January 17th, 2008 DUCK NUMBERS ECLIPSE 200,000 IN LOCAL AREA...WEATHER NEEDED TO STIMULATE MOVEMENT By Steve McCadams Aerial surveys taken Wednesday (Jan 9th) here on the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge at Kentucky Lake show duck numbers have swelled above the 200,000 mark for the first time in several years. According to USFWS Wednesday's survey showed a total of 206,743 ducks and 9,179 geese on the three units of the refuge. The Duck River unit near New Johnsonville accounted for 120, 498 ducks and the Big Sandy Unit was holding a whopping 80,321 with the balance at the smaller Busseltown Unit further south. Mallards dominated the list comprising 135,499 of the total, followed by Gadwall at 23,978, Ringneck (13,312), Pintail (8,272), Greenwing Teal (8,190). When compared to the previous survey taken back on December 17th, the present total is 6 percent higher. However, the current figures are 59 percent ahead of last year at this same time and 58 percent above the 5-year average and 30 percent above the 10-year average. Colder temps and snow flurries are in the forecast as the weekend approaches. While the numbers are impressive, hunters in the area are hoping for some colder weather and north winds to stimulate movement as moderate temps have lingered for more than a week. The high numbers of Gadwall and Greenwing Teal still in the area are somewhat reflective of the mild conditions that have hung around since Christmas. Meanwhile, shooting has been spotty the last week around the public hunting areas on Kentucky Lake as Camden Bottoms, Gin Creek, Big Sandy, and West Sandy WMAs have had moderate success at best with a small percentages of blinds taking a large percentage of the ducks being killed. Further west several areas in the Obion and Forked Deer drainage, as well as Bogota, Tigrett, Horn's Bluff, and toward Dyersburg were seeing increased numbers of ducks enter the area due to the fresh water but some areas that were doing well last week at this time have fallen off. West Tennessee's other state and federal refuges are holding a lot of ducks but overall hunting success has been moderate despite the increase in duck numbers over the last week to ten days. Waterfowlers began the new year with a welcomed cold front and the first two days of 2008 offered great hunting as brisk northwest winds really stirred up ducks. A lot of blinds were scoring tallies of 25 to 30 ducks a day, getting off to a great start for '08. Relatively mild conditions have dominated the waterfowl scene earlier this week and duck hunters have seen the extremes---a low of 9 degrees on Jan 2nd to a high of 69 degrees six days later or Jan 8th---and both the ducks and hunters have been confused by it all. Last weekend we were still bagging decent numbers of ducks with a mixed bag of canvasbacks, pintails, widgeons, wood ducks, mallards, gadwall, scaup, and greenwing teal. However, ducks have not moved much along the Tennessee River the last few days. A slight increase in Canada geese in the area has seen some additional movement on clear days as the sunny or partly cloudy days have delivered the most activity. Hopefully the approaching cold front with stimulate movement from the large number of ducks in the region that have stayed close to state and federal refuges the last week to ten days due to lack of wind and moderate temps. END (See fall flight forecast posted below.) FALL FLIGHT FORECAST LOOKS GOODBy Steve McCadams Most waterfowlers want a wide window of hunting opportunity and we'll get just that. Another 60-day season and six duck bag limit will great us again this year.. In mid July the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released its preliminary report on breeding ducks and habitats, based on surveys conducted in May. It’s considered to be the report card for waterfowling and this summer it had some pretty good grades on it. Overall, duck populations climbed 14 percent to 41 million birds and mallards rose 10 percent to just over 8 million. May ponds across the surveyed area were at 7 million, a 15 percent increase from 2006 and 44 percent higher than the long-term average. "The breeding grounds got wet and five species are at or above record levels; that's great news," said Delta Waterfowl President Rob Olson after reviewing the numbers. Of the other surveyed species, gadwall rose 19 percent to 3.4 million breeding birds, widgeon jumped 29 percent to 2.8 million, green-winged teal rose 13 percent to 2.9 million, blue-winged teal were up 14 percent at 6.7 million, shovelers rose 24 percent to 4.5 million, redheads climbed 10 percent to just over 1 million, scaup bounced 6 percent from year's record low to 3.5 million and canvasbacks jumped by a surprising 25 percent to 865,000. Olson credits excellent water conditions in the parklands of Canada for the record redhead and canvasback numbers and near-record for green-wings. There are still some factors ahead that will influence season success for duck hunters, namely weather, water, and food availability on the wintering grounds in places like southern Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee but the recent report gives hunters several reasons for optimism.
One of the most important elements in duck
breeding success is the amount of water present on the prairie breeding
grounds. When the survey was conducted in May, total pond counts for the
United States and Canada combined showed 7 million ponds, a 15 percent
increase from last year’s estimate, and 44 percent higher than the
long-term average. American widgeon numbers improved to 2.8 million (7 percent above the long-term average) and lesser scaup numbers improved slightly to 3.4 million. While this slight increase is a positive mark on a 20-year decline, scaup remain 33 percent below their long-term average. Pintail numbers remained similar to last year (down 2 percent) and are still 19 percent below the long-term average. However, this year’s excellent habitat conditions could benefit pintail recruitment. "It was extremely wet
across the southern prairies and parklands in general, and the core
pintail breeding areas in Saskatchewan, in particular," said Yaich. Canvasbacks increased
by 25 percent. Now an estimated 865,000 breeding birds are on the survey
area, a healthy 53 percent above their long-term average. Northern
shovelers are at an all time high. With 4.6 million northern shovelers
on the prairies, their numbers are 106 percent above the long-term
average.
# # # GOODBYE
NOT EASY…14-YEAR OLD LABRADOR WAS FAMILY MEMBER
After some 13-years of friendship, trust, and unconditional love my old buddy Ace, a black Labrador retriever, took his last breath and headed to the big duck blind in the sky. After more than a decade of faithful service, time began to take its toll and the “old timer” fell victim to the ravages of old age where diminishing eyesight, hearing loss, and arthritis chipped away at this one-time athlete. His husky frame still reflected the stamina and physique of a veteran working dog but the years slowly robbed him of his once near perfect appearance and toned body. A graying muzzle chased away the jet black while the block head and hefty chest remained as a reminder of what once was. I retired my old pal some four years ago after a great season full of memories and long retrieves. Many a mallard was softly deposited in my hand after a jaunting swim in bone chilling water. Together we saw many sunrises and logged countless hours in the great outdoors. It seemed all he wanted to do was be with me and please me. Labradors are like that. Four-legged, web-footed bundles of joy that come into your life and command a place in your heart. Ace traveled with me to the pheasant country of South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska. Together we treaded the gumbo mud of Arkansas’ rice fields for ducks after switching over a few weeks prior from dove outings here in Tennessee. The river islands of Kentucky Lake, where I’ve hunted ducks for over 40-years, seemed to feel right at home for us. Over the years he found many cripples that attempted to get away in thick cover, only to fall victim to his desire and keen sense of smell. Sometimes he even stopped dead in his tracks and pointed, only to dive in after his prey with the thrust of a full back trying to make a first down. Thanks to his love and affection I have many memories to choose from and often wrote about him in this column and photographed him for several publications. He didn’t have any fancy titles from field trials but he was a champion in my book. My wife Linda and I have been under the spell of Labrador retrievers for many years. We’ve always treated them like members of the family. Their disposition is second to none and Ace was a gentle giant, looking deep into your soul with big brown eyes the way only a Labrador can do. A few years ago when I had a visit from an uninvited guest called cancer, my first day home from the hospital was spent pondering this hurdle in life. Helping me make the best of a bad situation was my pal whose nudges of the muzzle and wet tongues across the hand reminded me of how fortunate I was to have had his friendship. He seemed to sense something was wrong and was there to help. Prior to the surgery and bad news I had contemplated starting a pup, as he was a year or so past prime. Suddenly, the reality of the moment silently screamed the possibility that he was the one who might be there in the seasons ahead instead of me. Life has many sobering moments. Now, some seven years later I won my battle but the war goes on. Letting go has been hard. The next day after his death I was searching some of the same islands and bushes for winged mallards, just the way he and I had done for years. Every tree or willow break seemed to shout a memory. A big goose here or a pintail drake there. In-between tears I could sometimes see my old friend trotting toward me from the same spot, duck in mouth and as proud of it as a kid with a new baseball glove. After pausing on the island point and reliving some moments from yesteryear it was time for me to get back to a blind full of clients. Some have been with me long enough to have witnessed the old man and his feats, seeing first hand his mischief and talents along the sandbars of his life. Often I’d have customers call and ask about my canine companion. I suspect they knew of our bond. As breathing problems entered the picture over the last few weeks I could tell my old friend was coming to the end of life’s journey. Nothing I could do would stop the aging process, although I cut no corners over the last few years as to medications and medical attention. After all, it was the least I could do for a faithful friend. The last few years he knew when I headed out in the wee hours of the morning, shotgun case in hand, what my destination was. He often followed me to the truck door, the way he had for so many years only to be gently turned away back in the direction of his warm blanket of countless naps. His soul was willing, but the flesh was weak. Time is the best healer and it is through the young eyes of a young female black Labrador named Molly that I face each yell of an alarm clock these last few mornings. She’s a ball of joy and a chip off the old block. One of Ace’s pups from five years back, Molly has won our love and will carry the bloodline to another generation. A fitting reminder of her dad whose love helped me through good times and bad. Each retrieve she makes has a little bit of Ace there with her. And, did I mention she had brown eyes? Well, you know how it goes from here. Steve McCadams is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area. He has also contributed many outdoor oriented articles to various national publications. Steve
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"America's Best Known Crappie Fisherman" - Nick Sissley, FISHING WORLD MAGAZINE
Steve's
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Words don’t come easy this week. Last Friday night I had to say
goodbye to an old friend and here at the McCadams’ household we’re
not quite over it yet. 
