Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
desert duck
Web Member

South Fork Reservoir 10-24-2011 18:32
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Jump shooting from a canoe in the weedy West side. More Gadwall than mallards. Hunting is fair. Here’s an oddball sighting: Got out on the island to stretch my legs & let the dog take a leak. Flushed a pair of pheasant on the island!? No row crops for 50+ miles & we must be 5700 feet elevation. Go figure!!

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

N.nv, 01-07-2010 17:56
Arctic Blast – –
still in the frozen mode, the rivers are partly open and tons of geese some ducks…just need to find open water when it thaws.would a good wet warm rain be too much to ask for???

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

northern nv 12-26-2009 17:15
Arctic Blast – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
from December 6th to the 27th will be 3 weeks of frozen tundra……no time to panic as we have all of january (well till the 30th)keep looking to the sky…..

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

washoe lake 12-04-2009 20:18
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Swans 200, mallards 500, Mergansers 100,too bad theres not enough water to hunt.

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

stillwater 10-28-2009 16:14
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
tuesday was great if you were able to get out.mallard.pintail.gaddies.widgeon.red heads.water still pouring in from main canal.looking for more weather and water.best of luck.

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

stillwater 10-19-2009 16:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
opening day was warm with an abundent amount of ducks.position and knowing the area helps.day two was a lot slower but if you could hit them it was fun.Teal,Gaddies,Mallards,Spoonies,Widgeon…some red heads..some honkers…Waiting for Northern storms to deliver more birds…best of luck.

[Edited By shpfvr4 on 2009-10-19 16:51]

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

stillwater 10-05-2009 17:43
– – –
youth waterfowl hunt was crowded,but that means people want to share the expirence.water is low…but they are adding.expect a lot of people.good luck!!!!

Posted By:
huntandfish345
Web Member

northern washoe 10-18-2007 22:18
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
I ended up jump shooting five duck in the Gerlack area opener. Not very many birds. I bagged 2 mall, 2 teal, 1 spoon. I was woundering if anyone looks at this site anymore? If you do, how was you opener? I am thinking about hunting washoe lake or greenhead this weekened and wanted to know if anyone has hunted there.

Posted By:
huntandfish345
Web Member

south east reno 08-15-2007 22:17
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
I was recently out bow fishing for carp in south east Reno. I notice that there were very few if any waterfowl in the area. This area normally holds a large number of birds this time of year. While I was out bow fishing I began seeing dead and dieing ducks everywhere. By the end of the trip I saw about twenty dead birds of many species. Is there some type of disease, west Nile? Has anyone else noticed this die off? Or heard anything?

Posted By:
pskaggs
Guest

07-30-2007 16:47
– – –
I’ve hunted Mason Valley WMA since 1979. I think I’ve averaged 8-10 trips a year, every year, for 27 years. That’s a BIG bunch of time spent there. I don’t know how many hundreds of ducks and geese I’ve taken there. Up until a couple of years ago, Mason Valley could be an awesome place for a guy who wanted to get away from the crowds, and, when the conditions were right and the duck gods smiled, have a pretty good chance of getting into birds. One of the good things about Mason Valley was that, while the ponds weren’t huge, some of them were deep. You couldn’t drive a vehicle to them and therefore you couldn’t launch a boat bigger than you could drag or carry and they were too deep out in the middle for chest waders. This was a good thing, because those deeper ponds provided a safe area for the birds to sleep and rest. The birds were always there, and usually lots of them. Windy days were incredible, because–well, you know what wind does to ducks.
No more. Something has changed. Even during the high water years of 2005 & 2006, the ponds weren’t being filled. Ponds that once covered 25 acres and were 8 feet deep in the middle with extensive shallow borders that provided rich nesting/rearing/feeding habitat and deep center areas for safety during the hunting season, are now being filled to maybe a foot to 18 inches deep. I’ve asked several WMA officials why, and I was told that ducks like shallow water more than deep water, and what they’re doing is scientific management.
The scientific management has just about destroyed one of my favorite places in the world. Half the ponds have been dry for years. The ones with water (except for North Pond, NDOW’s showpiece) are shallow mudpuddles surrounded by armed crazies on opening day and every Saturday thereafter. Guys tough and serious enough to carry a float tube or Poke Boat along with all their other gear for half a mile to Upper or Lower Gadwall, or lower Pintail, or Widgeon, or Ringneck or a dozen other ponds might as well just wear rubber knee boots and forget about getting away from the crowds. Makes me wanna cry.
The point. I recently picked up a rumor that several years ago, NDOW quietly transferred about half of Mason Valley WMA’s water rights to Walker Lake. The REAL reason they don’t fill Mason Valleys’s ponds is that they’ve given away the water. SOMEBODY TELL ME–IS THIS TRUE? Did they really sacrifice an incredible wetland and duck heaven so the water could be sent to a lake that has been steadily drying up for the past 10,000 years? A lake whose continued drying–while unfortunate–is inevitable? Please–somebody tell me it isn’t so. Tell me that my duck stamp and license fees aren’t being flushed down a toilet like that.

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
duckin around
Guest

07-09-2007 12:17
– – –
Might be moving to Henderson, wondering what the duck hunting is like? Thanks for info.

Posted By:
GOOSE SLAYER22
Web Member

03-20-2007 14:23
– – –
Hey just wanting to tell ya, If you are wanting to go to manitoba ,canada and waterfowl hunt i no a real good place you can go, I you want more information , you pm and i will tell you more,

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

02-16-2007 22:41
– – –
Hugh-Carney,
Don’t know how much response you’ll get this time of year from the few Nevada duck hunters that post on this site, but from this Winnemuccan, I can tell you that the area between Lake Tahoe and Reno has some hunting opportunities in the Washoe Valley area. I have never hunted it, but have been told that it can be quite good under the right conditions. You may want to go into the past posts on this site and communicate with one of the hunters that hunt that area. I recall there being postings for Washoe Lake. From friends that I have in central and eastern Washington telling me how impressive their duck hunting is, I doubt you could duplicate that at Washoe Lake.

Posted By:
Hugh-Carney
Field Editor

02-15-2007 10:01
– – –
I took the weekend and flew into Reno and drove to South Lake Tahoe this past weekend. Saw a few geese flying around when I dropped into Carson City. I didn’t have hunting on my mind until I saw the birds. Then I drove along Tahoe and saw what I could imagine as potential good hunting areas. Is there much hunting on the lake or in the area between Reno and Tahoe?

Just curious. I live in a great hunting area in central Washington so I won’t be traveling to northern Nevada any time soon. Just looked interesting.

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

02-01-2007 22:29
– – –
HuntandFish,

The Carson Sink…

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

01-30-2007 22:03
– – –
I agree that more should post on this site, to exchange valuable information regarding where the birds are and what works to bring them into the decoys. I was a regular post until the first of December, when everything froze VERY solid in the northern third of the state. I’m glad you “southerners” around Fallon and Yerington still had some shooting. However, between Lovelock and Wells, finding less than a foot of ice, even on the Humboldt River (which was often completely frozen over), was rare. The good news is that until then, duck hunting was great, with limits most times out.

For Tahoe Teal, I’ve hunted ducks in many western states and hunt Canada every September, and Nevada duck hunting is normally as good as anywhere, if you know where to go. I talk to friends in California on a regular basis, who envy our duck hunting here.

Icing on the cake this year was that when it got cold, the chukar hunting got hot. Shot 57 chukar in December and January (and ate every one – promtly). Nonetheless, dare I say, it is only about 250 days til opening day of duck season. Until then, may our offseason depression be mild.

Posted By:
huntandfish345
Web Member

Carson River 01-29-2007 23:16
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
I Hunted a stretch of the Carson river that i had scouted the weekend before. There were many geese sleeping on the river overnight and leaving early in the morning to go feed. Me and friend got a late start saturday and decided to jump shoot instead of decoying. The birds were in the some area, were the river was not freezing over. We planned our stock and got about 25-30yds before they took off up stream. We unloaded and only knocked two down in the river. We watched the flock and two birds separated from the rest and went down in an open field. We grabbed the two in the river and found the others in the field dead 30 yds appart. Tough birds! We had a great hunt.

hunterox

Where are the sink areas of northern nevada if you dont mind me asking?

Posted By:
Miamonkey
Guest

Stillwater 01-29-2007 10:35
– – –
Well….its over. This year was a great year for ducks, yet the geese proved to be more difficult for us. Yesterday the three of us shot limits of geese by 9:00am. We set 8 dozen of the sleeper mag shells and 2 dozen bigfoots up on the ice. The birds were a little nervous but worked very nice and almost landed on one of us (exactly 6′ from his head!). Good luck on those of you who hunt turkeys, only 8 more months till’ were back at it!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Northern Nevada 01-29-2007 09:03
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Hunted 1/26 and 1/27 in the sink areas of northern nevada. 1/26 we hunted a couple of hours in the afternoon, mostly finding the birds and building our blind. Three of us shot 7 a mix of mallards and gwt and 1 honker. It was the first time behind a gun for one hunter and he actually shot 3 of the 7.
One intereting note was I tricked out my knee on the ice, which made getting around a bit difficult…

Saturday was an amazing day for the last day. It started off really slowly with the cool temps. and no wind, but then the birds began to move between 8 and 2:45. We shot mostly mallards 11, 1 bull sprig, and 5 gwt. We also had a nice flock of about 17 honkers come in (no calling) and dumped 5 of those!
The new hunter is totally hooked. We are excited for him…

It is still disappointing not to see many posting on this site. Share your information. We need more duck hunters not less of them. Every stamp purchase, conservation membership, and so forth help the ducks and ensure our hunting rights. If we don’t add to our number and pass it on to someone new, the next generation will sit around and not know how great waterfowl hunting is.

I hope all of your families have a great 2007.

God Bless you all and stay safe.

Feetdown!

Posted By:
TahoeTeal
Guest

None 01-28-2007 21:59
– – –
What’s a banner year Miamonkey? How about some details? I found duck hunting in Nevada to be kind of a joke when I moved here 5 years ago, but that was probably because of the drought conditions. I haven’t bought a Nevada license since. I imagine it was good this year because many of the wetlands have filled up again.

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Miamonkey
Guest

all over 01-26-2007 15:20
– – –
I agree with Hunterox, in regards to more of you who read this site and never post. In the past this site was a great tool to find out what others are doing and where birds were moving in and out of. This year has benn a banner year for me, it would be nice to know how everyone else is doing.

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Northern Nevada 01-21-2007 11:42
– – 35-40 Degrees
Ice, Ice and more Ice, but the birds are still around…

Two of us shot 14 GWT in a couple of hours. The shooting was fast and challenging at the same time. We had a photographer friend of ours with us, so we hope he got some great action shots. Maybe next week, he’ll be using a gun? We had a great time!

Its too bad that more of you that read this site do not post!

Feetdown!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Mason Valley 01-14-2007 20:13
Arctic Blast – 0-10 Degrees – Ice
Extremely cold! Cold enough that I had ice on my eyelashes! We drew the highest number in the draw and got an eastern field. Geese got up to the West and North. We didn’t fire our guns until 3PM, pair of mallards. About 3:30 1 honk. Around 4PM 1 drake mallard and that was it! We did have a good time, but it was freezing!

Sure would be nice if someone else was posting or hunting. Is anyone else hunting?

Feetdown!
It is our responsibility to clean up after ourselves. Please make sure you are doing your part and not littering. The blind we were in had a lot of garbage in it. This has been a disturbing trend in my travels this year to different states for hunting. Hunting is a privilege. Let’s not give any group a reason; especially one we can really control (cleanliness/garbage) to speak out against hunters. Show some respect to God’s great outdoors!

Out!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Stillwater 1/6/07 01-08-2007 10:03
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted the east side of Stillwater on Saturday, 1/6/07. There were a few birds out and quite a few swans out on the flats, but not much moving in my direction. More shooting towards the middle. Scratched out one lone drake spoonie.

There was ice here and there, but it had thawed quite a bit from last week. The warm weather Wednesday and Thursday of last week reduced the amount of ice present. There were still many places that appeared to be locked up with ice, but there was a lot more open water than last week.

Feeddown!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Stillwater 12-23-2006 13:57
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Cool temps. after the light snow…Very limited open water available…And what was open was out in the middle of the ponds. Tough hunting and no shots fired!

Merry Christmas!
God Bless you all and your families!
JESUS IS THE REASON WE CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS!!

Jeremy

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Carson Lake 12-11-2006 11:25
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
I scouted Jessup and Toulon and both seemed to be frozen solid where I was. I scouted the SW and N parts of Jessup and did find some open water and a few ducks, honkers, and Swans, but they were a long distance off. Toulon, I looked at the NW, W, and S parts and they were frozen.

So it was on to Carson Lake. I paid my fee and went out to what my dad and I call the death march! Got set up at around 1pm with a stiff south wind. Ended with 2 drake spoons, 1 beautiful bull sprig, and 1 drake widgeon. I should’ve had a limit, there were plenty of opportunities. It was a great hunt, because I don’t measure hunts by numbers of birds!

Feetdown!

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Carson Lake 12-06-2006 19:17
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
I had a great shoot yesterday in the ice. It took me about an hour and a half to break ice and get my boat out. Shot a limit in 1 1/2 hours and then took 45 minutes + to get back to the truck. Didn’t get set up until almost 2 and finished just before 3:30. Lots of ice and not much open water now.

My 28 ga. 1100 has been in the shop since before the season began, so I have been shooting my Ithaca side by side 12 ga. with 28 ga. Chambermates. I didn’t think I’d ever get to use this gun again, but it has worked great and I have killed all my ducks and swans with it this year. I may not be in any hurry to go back to the 1100 when and if it gets fixed. This is the tenth year that I have been shooting the 28 ga. using about a 1/2 oz. of 7’s or 8’s and have been extremely satified with the results. So far I have shot 11 swans with this load and never lost a single bird. Most of my ducks are stone dead and fall within 30 yards. On days were the birds don’t want to work, I have taken them at over 45 yards without any problems. I have the reloading information if anyone is interested in trying it out.

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

NONE 12-05-2006 12:43
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
shpfvr4,

I tried to PM you and it said this was restricted. Send me an email to hunterox12@yahoo.com with Washoe Lake as the subject.

Hunterx

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Stillwater NWR 12-05-2006 12:10
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
What a change from last week in the weather. This week I had some Pacific Flyway friends down from Oregon for a swan hunt. For three of the four, it was their first swans harvested. The first day out we was the first dfay the ice came in and we managed to take five swans. That day we probably had at least eight flocks of swans into the decoys. On the second day, the ice became thicker and that day we only had two flocks of swans and no duck come in. We did manage to take three birds that day before closing time. On the last day we had fair duck shooting and had one single swan ccome in which finshed out limits of nine birds and had a pretty good duck shoot that day.

The ice appears to be building at about 1/4″ per day, and it is getting hard to get my long-shaft boat out, even though it is armour plated. Guess next year I need to get the airboat ready for the ice.

Swan hunting is expected to be pretty tough until we get some relief from the ice. So far my goups have taken 13 swans this season over the decoys.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Stillwater NWR 12-05-2006 12:00
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
On the week of NOvemeber the 20th, I took some of my old Pacific Flyway friends out for some swan hunts. The weather was pretty warm, but the swan cooperated well and we managed to take four swans that week. Duck hunting where we were at was slow byu we did manage to take a few birds. The birds were responding well to the decoys and we had lots of fun. Good numbers of birds were all over the area that week.

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Jessup Flat 12-05-2006 11:57
– – –
Below are the results fo the aerial survey on Jessup Flat for Novemeber 24th. Swan numbers were high, but duck numbers remain much less than expected for this area considering the amount of feed available here. Most of the swans were observed on the south sink portion of the area. Access is still limited because of the high water, but water levels are dropping here.

Unit Jessup Flat
Water- % of Full 100%
Mallard 230
Gadwall 920
Pintail 70
G.W.Teal 50
Cinn.Teal
Widgeon 1,070
Shoveler 30
Redhead 1,270
Canvasback 2,140
Ringneck
Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck 620
Goldeneye
Total Ducks 6,400
Merganser

Canada G. 130
Snow G.
_Blue_Goose
Total Geese 130
Swan 2,050
Coot 32,700
Total Birds 41,280

Last Yr.
Ducks
Geese 70

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Stillwater NWR 12-05-2006 11:53
– – –
Below are the survey results from the Nov. 24th aerial survey for Stillwater. Heavy icing in the last week have significantly changed these numbers and I would expect that up to 80% of the ducks may have left. Feed conditions were excellent this year here. Goose numbers should increase this month and swan numbers should remain good.

Unit Stillwater NWR
Water- % of Full 132%
Mallard 7,720
Gadwall 12,860
Pintail 10,840
G.W.Teal 16,310
Cinn.Teal 70
Widgeon 2,590
Shoveler 15,520
Redhead 1,060
Canvasback 5,850
Ringneck 780
Scaup 80
Bufflehead 110
Ruddy Duck 10,000
Goldeneye –
Total Ducks 83,790
Merganser 30

Canada G. 793
Snow G. –
_Blue_Goose –
Total Geese 793
Swan 1,499
Coot 18,680
Total Birds 104,792

Last Yr.
Ducks 91,280
Geese 1565

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Humboldt WMA 12-05-2006 11:41
– – 50-60 Degrees
This is the results of the late November flight on the 24th. Sorry if I bothered some of you hunters the day after Thanksgiving, but it was the only day I could get a plane for the survey. This will be my last survey of the year and the State will take over the next two. This marks the end of my fortieth aerial waterfowl survey year – Still ten more to go.

Water levels still are dropping as inflow from Rye Patch are almost nothing. Notice an almost record number of ans on the lowere lake. I would expect that because of the good feed that they might stay here for a while.

Unit Humboldt WMA
Water- % of Full 110%
Mallard 590
Gadwall 1,390
Pintail 490
G.W.Teal 780
Cinn.Teal
Widgeon 1,260
Shoveler 140
Redhead 4,860
Canvasback 17,050
Ringneck 630
Scaup 120
Bufflehead 40
Ruddy Duck 550
Goldeneye 10
Total Ducks 27,910
Merganser 10

Canada G. 780
Snow G.
_Blue_Goose
Total Geese 780
Swan 1,620
Coot 58,380
Total Birds 88,700

Last Yr.
Ducks 26,630
Geese 520

[Edited By Norm-Saake on 2006-12-05 11:48]

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Western Nevada 12-05-2006 11:41
– – 50-60 Degrees
This is the results of the late November flight on the 24th. Sorry if I bothered some of you hunters the day after Thanksgiving, but it was the only day I could get a plane for the survey. This will be my last survey of the year and the State will take over the next two. This marks the end of my fortieth aerial waterfowl survey year – Still ten more to go.

Hope you can read the table below, although it is by now probably a mute point with the heavy freeze that came in. I had to take out a couple of areas so this would fit on the page, so the total on the last column is for the entire flight not just the areas shown. I would expect that in most cases we have lost about 80+% of the ducks since the survey was taken.

Sorry this won’t take the tables, I will try another way to list the areas.

[Edited By Norm-Saake on 2006-12-05 11:43]

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

washoe lake 11-29-2006 23:14
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
the only open pond,7 gaddies later.not one other preson around,but left before 3pm. yo hunterox pm me for some hunting conversation.

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Upper Pitt Taylor Reservoir 11-29-2006 08:52
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Set up with three snow goose FUDs for swan hunting at about 3:00. At 3:10 the first group of swans worked the decoys, and the lone cygnet in the flock filled my permit. Probably 750-1000 swans sitting on the reservoir in pockets where they have kept it ice free. The water level has risen in the past few weeks, making the food mostly out of reach for dabblers, so saw few ducks. The food is definitely not out of reach for the swans. However, with the extreme cold setting in, doubt any waterfowl will be left there by the end of the week. Might be time to try some white meat hunting.

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Washoe Lake 11-26-2006 22:49
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
There were more hunters on the lake than ducks. I have never seen so many hunters, except maybe opening day 1997. Where did everyone come from? Anyway, not many birds, at least where we were set up. I heard a few shots, but not too much. Birds I saw were staying towards the middle of the lake. Need some fresh birds, maybe this colder pattern will deliver the new birds.

Feetdown and God Bless!

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

carson sink 11-23-2006 00:02
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
perfect duck weather,ducks around but call shy.very alert to movement so spend extra time on blinds.snows,hnkrs seen none taken.just a few circus ducks for the pot.

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Franklin Lake WMA 11-20-2006 08:24
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
Got decoys set up about sunrise, which proved to be about 3 1/2 hours too early. Very slow flight into WMA in morning. Nearly all birds further north on private lands. Then, at 11:00, suddenly a great flight began into the WMA, resulting in limit of birds by 11:30 – two greenheads, four gadwall, and a baldpate.

Thanks to all who attended the Elko DU event that night. The banquet was sold out and made a lot of money for the ducks.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

KEY PITTMAN 11-15-2006 21:07
– – –
DUCKS ARE THERE FOR THE TIME BEING AS OF THE 11TH ME AND A BUDDY SHOT LIMITS MALLARDS WERE JUST REALLY STARTING TO COME IN THICK AND THATS USUALLY ABOUT 250 -350 A SEASON
PICK A SPOT OFF THE BIG WATER AROUND THE EDGES SHOULD BRING YOU SOME LUCK .SAW ABOUT 100 SHOVELOR 100 TEAL 200 MALLARDS 200 CANS AND REDHEADS 150 OTHERSBUT THEY ON THE MIGRATION SO THEY SHOULD BE THERE THIS WEEKEND IT SHOULD BE GOOD AGAIN JUST BE PATIENT WITH THEM AND LIGHT CALLING IS THE TRICK ALSO THEY HAVE BEN WORKING DECOYS WELL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY JUST AFTER THEY GET STIRRED AROUND THEY`LL SETTLE BACK IN AND THEN PUT A FEW CALLS OUT AND WAIT FOR `EM THATS BEEN WORKING FOR ME
JOTR

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
TahoeTeal
Guest

Washoe Valley 11-15-2006 19:55
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
Had to go to Reno today and saw a lot of ducks and a few geese in Washoe Valley in the small wetlands west of 395. It might be worth a try when the next storm comes through. Saw two trucks hunting the marsh on the south end, and one truck hunting further north, east of 395. I didn’t buy a Nevada license this year but have been hunting Honey Lake wildlife area near Susanville. It’s been a pretty good year so far with 20 ducks bagged in 3 days of hunting (mostly teal and wigeon and the one pintail each day). Last Wednesday, I could have shot 10-15 sprig……that sure is frustrating. But it’s always cool to watch them work. Praise the Lord, that’s for sure!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Stillwater 11-13-2006 21:48
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
Arrived before the wind really started blowing, and just after set up a hen mallard dropped in, but we let her pass…Then a drake Can., harvested! Then two drake mallards came out of nowhere, harvested, and then the wind came up! We, 3 of us, were in the wrong spot for a North wind. However, we still managed 10 birds with one gun fouled up most of the hunt only a single shot! Most of you know what it is like shooting is a high wind…it takes a few to figure it out…

Mostly drakes-2 Mallards, 2 Sprig, 1 Can, 1 Cinnamon, 1 Gad., 2 Bull spoonies, 1 hen cinnamon!

Great hunt, praise the Lord!

Feetdown!

Posted By:
sgtavina
Web Member

Key Pitmann (Nesbitt) 11-13-2006 21:05
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Lots of ducks on Nesbitt, mostly divers (Cans/Reds). Shot some puddle ducks, we had to be very patient and let them work. Most of the shots were long, +40 yards. The birds are hip to the hunters so they try to keep just out side the deekes. Good camo w/ some light calling was how we got 3 limits.

Posted By:
Toulon
Guest

Humboldt WMA 11-13-2006 14:30
– – –
nvchukar

hope there was more than one of you hunting friday? you are only allowed one can!

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Humboldt WMA 11-13-2006 09:09
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
Tried south end of Humboldt Sink Friday afternoon. Almost nothing but divers, and lots of them. Filled out with two redheads and two canvasbacks, but couldn’t find a dabbler to shoot. These are the fattest ducks I have ever shot…more fat than meat. About 700 swans now in the valley. Many are flying out of the Sink and toward Jessup, then in the evening they come back. Had several work my decoys, and three land in them.
Saturday hunted further north in Humboldt Lake area. Birds (almost all dabblers) not working same areas as in October. Many seem to now prefer the middle of the WMA, where a boat is essential. Observed thousands flying north but could not determine where they were headed. Assumed they were landing in the north end of Humboldt Lake, where a boat is essential also. One thing for sure – they weren’t interested in my decoys. Only shot one widgeon for the day.

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

stillwater 11-12-2006 20:27
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
wow what weather does,not ony for the ducks,i havent seen that many boats out in afew years.shot 1mallard drake,6gaddies,pressure is affecting the birds.

Posted By:
shpfvr4
Web Member

stillwater 11-09-2006 22:39
– – 50-60 Degrees
wednesday hunt very good ,not many hunters but good number of birds,just enough wind to keep them movin.gaddies,widgeon,fill the bag.carson sink has LARGE number of birds holding.few geese and swans.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

nesbitt lake /KEY PITTMAN 11-08-2006 23:12
– – –
DUCKS ARE THERE IN GOOD NUMBERS AND IF YOU DO A GOOD SCOUTING JOB A HUNTER CAN REALLY POUND THEM GEESE ARE THERE BUT REALLY SPOOKY DON`T KNOW IF THEY`LL STAY AREO8UND ENOUGH TO SHOOT ATY THOUGH ABOUT 200 GEESE AND 750
DUCKS ON THE LAKE FRENCHY IS GOOD BIRDS WILL WORK TO DECOYS BUT PATIENCE IS A BIG PART OF THAT GAME .BEEN GOOD THIS SEASON SO FAR HOPE THEY STICK AROUND
JOTR

Posted By:
Miamonkey
Guest

Stillwater 11-02-2006 13:02
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted this morning and was done by 8:00, with a limit of greenheads! They decoyed perfectly and showed no signs of flaring or swinging wide. There must have been a small migration in the last 3 days because there was not the same number of birds on monday as there was today, this morning was nothing short of amazing. The mallards are thick, extra thick, and they dont seem to have any education yet. I used 12 full body mallards and set up in an area with very little cover and only 1/2″-1″ of water. The finisher blind with teh neo-tub is the ticket. Heard a bunch of geese sitting in the distance but did not see any flying around. I will be going back in the morning hoping to duplicate today. Good luck!

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Northern Nevada 10-29-2006 11:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Nice Nevada Day hunt for chukars…As NVChukar said, no one around. Two limits for two hunters. Ducks next weekend, maybe Sunday afternoon. Hey, NVChukar, send me an email at hunterox12@yahoo.com, please if you would? I have a question to ask you… I don’t want your secret spots, etc. I know they are between Mallard Bay and Pintail Point…as are mine…

Did see a few birds in the Humboldt Sink and Carson Sink…

Feetdown!

[Edited By hunterox on 2006-10-29 11:41]

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Humboldt WMA 10-28-2006 09:27
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Another great shoot at Humboldt. Easy limit of seven drakes – baldpates (4), gaddies (2), and sprig (1). Large numbers of Canvasbacks from a week ago have almost entirely left the area. Swans still a no show. Goose numbers have increased, with many sitting on the alkili flats at night and flying into the marsh after sunrise. Still little hunting pressure – on this Nevada Day, a holiday for many, heard only one other hunter who was in Humboldt Lake with an airboat. Thanks to everyone for not going there to hunt – it is keeping the ducks uneducated. I guess people would rather eat white meat like chukar, but they don’t decoy quite as well.

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

10-26-2006 09:35
– – –
I hope we aren’t the only ones who know what a drake widgeon is called. Otherwise, I might be accused of shooting something illegally. A baldpate should not be confused with a bald eagle.

Posted By:
pskaggs
Guest

10-23-2006 21:52
– – –
Baldpates? NVCHUKAR, it’s been a long time since I heard anyone besides myself call wigeon that. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only old timer left…

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Toulon/Humboldt WMA 10-23-2006 00:09
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Intended to hunt Toulon, but few ducks there at first light and none worked back from Humboldt Lake. Picked up and went into Humboldt Lake from the west shore. As Norm reported, there are many thousands of birds there, and although there is little cover and duck food everywhere, the sheer number of ducks made getting a few to look at the decoys and come close enough for a shot a possibility. Of surprise was the very large number of canvasbacks, clearly the majority duck in the area hunted. Finished with 2 cans, three drake gaddies, and two baldpates. Of equal surprise was the lack of hunting pressure – I could hear shots from only four other hunters in that immense area. Saw four swans only, but in the next few weeks that will rise dramatically.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

sunnyside /hiko /paranaghat valley 10-22-2006 23:21
– – –
sunnyside bird counts are at normal capacity
ots of tea and pintail mallards are a little up from the opener last year but the hunting was great to me on the opener shot well birds died went home with limits for a lifetime 1st day 1 gadwall drake ,1 can drake ,shovelor drake , 3 mallard drakes ,greenwing drake,what a day !!!2nd day was even as good shot a can drake 1 greenhead ,2 redheads 1 gadwall, 2 teal,sweetttttt!!!hunted hiko on the 21st
another great bag and two banded honkers .
1 redhead ,3 mallards 1 teal, 1 widgeon.paranaghat looked full of teal as usuall and we took our limits home with a smile that we didn`t have to hunt .
ooked to be about 200 geese on the refuge with some big mallards pintail widgeon and redheads all together it was awesome hunting nevada, i`d like to thank the hunters that do post here with good counts and their areas ,hats off to, wfc!!
knock`er if she honks!!

bggc pro -staff
jotr

Posted By:
hunterox
Guest

Stillwater 10-15-2006 23:36
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Great Opener! I took a new hunter to his first opening day along with my veteran father and we nailed 19 birds. Dad and I limited and my buddy ended up with 5. What a great hunt, and the bag was mostly mallards, sprig, gads, and redheads, two teal, and one beautiful spoonbill hen shot by my father.

Take a friend hunting, obey the rules, and enjoy God’s creation.

Feetdown!

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Ruby Valley 10-10-2006 23:42
– – –
The September flight on Franklin Lake and the Ruby Lake NWR had to be cancelled last month because of bad weather. Both areas have abundant feed and water this year and from the ground it appeared that bird numbers were above those of last year.

Water levels are up considerably and access to Franklin Lake from the east will be impossible this fall. The State’s access road looked to be in good shape.

I plan to fly the area this Friday, just before the opener.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Washoe Lake 10-10-2006 23:37
– – –
When I flew the Washoe lake area last month, I noticed that the Nevada Department of Transportation mitigation wetlands at the south end of the lake were over 75% dry. This was a little puzzling because since they were constructed to mitigate wetlands drain for highway construction, they were suppose to be kept full.

Again, I was doing a different survey this month on this area and did not record waterfowl numbers, but did notice good numbers of birds on the main lake.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Mason Valley WMA 10-10-2006 23:37
– – –
While I didn’t count waterfowl on the Mason Valley WMA, area personnel have been busy building some new ponds this summer and the area look very good. With this year’s high water flows, I would expect that hunting conditions will be better than last year and most ponds will have water this fall.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Walker Lake 10-10-2006 23:35
– – –
Water levels on Walker Lake in September were slightly higher than last year. Bird numbers recorded in September were lower than in 2005, probably because the excellent habitat conditions on the more traditional wetlands in Nevada are holding more birds this year. Hunting condition for those of you who know how to hunt this area should be very good again this fall.

The following are the bird numbers for Walker Lake. This may be the last count for Walker Lake this fall because the number of flight days will be reduced starting in October.

Mallard 40
Gadwall 3,310
Pintail 120
G.W.Teal 240
Cinn.Teal 30
Widgeon 3,180
Shoveler 2,130
Redhead 5,520
Canvasback
Ringneck
Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck 1,700

Total Ducks 16,270
Merganser

Canada G. 70
Snow G.
__WF__Goose
Total Geese 70
Swan
Coot 42,650
Total Birds 58,990
Last Yr.
Ducks 31,420
Geese 460

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Jessup Flat 10-10-2006 23:33
– – –
The Jessup Flat area is still at flood stage and water levels are still a little deeper than the should be to attract large numbers of ducks. The count on this area last month were lower than expected, considering the large water area and good food productions this summer. High water levels are dropping fairly fast because of the uncontrolled outflow to the Carson Sink and reduced flows coming from the Humboldt WMA. There is less hunting cover this year than in the past and access is still very difficult because of the high water levels. If you hunt this area, you need to be careful because of the high percentage of redheads using the area.

The following is the September count figures for Jessup: The next flight is scheduled for Oct. 19th.

Mallard 360
Gadwall 440
Pintail 180
G.W.Teal 800
Cinn.Teal 120
Widgeon 260
Shoveler 200
Redhead 940
Canvasback 90
Ringneck
Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck

Total Ducks 3,390
Merganser 10

Canada G. 90
Snow G.
__WF__Goose
Total Geese 90
Swan
Coot 4,170
Total Birds 7,660
Last Yr.
Ducks –
Geese –

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Stillwater NWR 10-10-2006 23:30
– – –
The wetland conditions on the Stillwater NWR are some of the best that I have observed in over 10 years. With high water condition in the Fallon area this spring and summer, most of the hunting units were at aor near capacity and food production was excellent. The Refuge personnel have done an excellent job of managing the water and the area and hunting conditions should be great this fall. Even the North Nutgrass unit is full and produced a bumper crop of waterfowl food plants, unfortunately the water came to late to produce very much hunting cover. Looks like this might be a good “Pumpkinseed” boat area. Most other units will be very good with most have good hunting cover Duck production on this area was very good and lots of young ducks were produced.

The following is the September aerial population data. I will fly the area again just after the season opens.

Mallard 5,350
Gadwall 41,280
Pintail 7,680
G.W.Teal 16,390
Cinn.Teal 3,050
Widgeon 8,180
Shoveler 10,830
Redhead 3,360
Canvasback 50
Ringneck 230
Scaup –
Bufflehead –
Ruddy Duck 670

Total Ducks 97,070
Merganser –

Canada G. 1,055
Snow G. –
__WF__Goose –
Total Geese 1,055
Swan 1
Coot 46,040
Total Birds 144,166
Last Yr.
Ducks 35,430
Geese 1,190

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Humboldt- Toulon 10-10-2006 22:13
– – –
During the mid-September aerial waterfowl survey, the Humboldt WMA was still at flood stage, but water levels had dropped about two plus feet. The two Humboldt lakes covered about 15,000 acres and produced a tremendous crop of waterfowl food plants this year. The area should hold large numbers fo birds this fall. The only problem is that there will be very little hunting cover on these two areas. Notice the number of widgeon on this survey, this was one species that was down in the production surveys earlier this summer.

The Toulon Unit was about 30% dry last month and is expected to drop to 50% by the end of October. I expect that the southern half will be completely dry by the end of the month.

The following is the September bird count for the area:

Mallard 1,730
Gadwall 3,750
Pintail 1,020
G.W.Teal 1,390
Cinn.Teal 770
Widgeon 4,150
Shoveler 1,600
Redhead 5,440
Canvasback 250
Ringneck
Scaup
Bufflehead
Ruddy Duck

Total Ducks 20,100
Merganser

Canada G. 540
Snow G.
__WF__Goose
Total Geese 540
Swan
Coot 94,260
Total Birds 114,900
Last Yr.
Ducks 9,990
Geese 600

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Canada 10-10-2006 22:05
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
I just returned for two weeks of goose and crane hunting in Canada. It was a great trip and I saw more ducks and water in the country I hunted than in any year in the last eleven I have been going up there. There were large numbers of ducks on almost every pothole and almost all wetland basins were near full. It looks like the parts of Canada that I hunted must have had a phenomenal duck production year. If the moisture keeps on coming, Canada should have a wonderful production year in 2007. We saw huge flocks of mallards all over the area and it looked like gadwalls were trying to take over the world. They were literally everywhere. As always, the Canadian people we met were superb and always overly friendly and willing to help. In two weeks we had almost no problems finding places to hunt. One hunter even offered to stop chasing the ducks and gees of his swathed grain so we could hunt the field.

When we got there, the snow and white-fronted geese were just starting to come in and we almost got there too early this year. By the time we left there were several hundred thousand birds in the area and more coming in every day. I would expect that the snow goose numbers will be peaking in the next few weeks. Based upon what we saw, they had a very good production year and there were good numbers of young in the flocks.

One concern that has arisen in Alberta. This year they dropped the number of days that Americans could purchase a waterfowl hunting license for to only 6 days. I don’t know if the outfitters are behind this or what the rational is for this restriction. For those how enjoy hunting in Canada, it might be worth writing to the Minister of the Environment to express your concern. Hopefully Saskatchewan won’t follow suit with the reduce number of hunting days.

It was so much fun, that I could have turned around and driven the 25-hour trip again the next day in order to be able to hunt for another week or two. Guess I’ll just have to wait until next September.

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Humboldt River/Pitt Taylor Reservoir 09-14-2006 23:02
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
In last week, scouted areas along the Humboldt River and Upper and Lower Pitt Taylor Reservoirs adjacent to Rye Patch. The local duck production was impressive, as seeing hundreds of ducks in areas that should have relatively few this time of year. Lower Pitt Taylor is too deep to support much duck food, and so no birds there. However, Upper Pitt Taylor is a thousand acres of sago, and is full of ducks and geese. However, it is very shallow, as the farmers have been draining it, and I doubt much, if any, water will be left by opening. Second problem is lack of cover. It is a huge, shallow lake with nowhere to hide. Nonetheless, the numbers of birds for early September is confirming that early season hunting should be good.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

reno /.stillwater./humbolt ./carson/tuolon 09-03-2006 04:26
– – –
hey guys wantyed to see if mr. sakke had a swan count for the areas above and if the pintails are moving early up there yet i`ve already been up to steptoe and things look good around the elty area as far as habitat goes ,the fields in and around lund nevada are looking good for the passing geese to feed on and sunnysides local ducks are about the same as last year at this time .looks dismal towards the south of there but a few local geese have been breeding near alamo and look pretty stupid .duck numbers around hiko and railroad valley are slim but it is still good to see a few locals hanging around and making are marshes usefull .
any of you guys have seen any swans that would be nice of you top know where they are
so i can get a shot at one

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

Eastern Humboldt County 07-28-2006 14:31
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
To Deaux Spoonie:
At least in unit 051, I have not been impressed with the chukar numbers this year. I drew the same antelope tag as last year (being an archer has its advantages), and so I am scouting the same areas. Last year, I was finding multiple broods on every water hole and spring, and the brood sizes were very large, usually over 10 chicks per hen. This year, I have rarely seen more than one brood per water source, and have yet to see a hen with more than six chicks. I have always wondered if the Mormon Cricket explosion over the past few years had anything to do with the chukar explosion, since all of that protein out there must help with chick survival. This year, the April rains killed most of the crickets in Humboldt County. I still see them, but much more scattered and isolated.

On the bright side, friends of mine that work the Midas mine in Elko County say that cricket and chukar populations both remain strong there. Again, just a coincidence? It remains to be seen what the fires burning there right now will do to the birds.

As long as the king of all birds – the duck, or course – does well, I can live with any chukar population problems. That comment could get me shot in Winnemucca.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

New Swan season Proposal 07-25-2006 00:35
– – –
The Nevada Department of Wildlife is proposing a couple of changes to Nevada’s swan hunting season. One would change the swan tag to a swan permit, which would allow hunters to hunt swans with a short term license and reduce the cost of the permit significantly. It would also eliminate the predator fee requirement

The other proposal, if allowed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, would allow for a swan hunter to get a second tag after he successfully harvested a swan and had the bird validated.

Currently Nevada is only issuing about 50% of the 650 tags allowed by the FWS, and there is some concern that if we continue to issue far fewer tags than allocated that we could have that allocation reduced. Swan numbers in Nevada have remained stable and the continental population is well above the objective levels set by the FWS.

Both these proposals have been pushed for by the Nevada Waterfowl Association and several individuals for the past few years. The Board of Wildlife Commissions will act on these proposal at their August 4th and 5th meeting in Winnemucca.

Posted By:
Norm-Saake
Web Member

Western Nevada 07-25-2006 00:22
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Last week I conducted a two-day aerial survey for the Fish and Wildlife Service of the major wetlands in western Nevada. Water conditions on most wetlands are in great shape and there is an abundance of feed being produced. With at least two more months of good growing season, there should be plenty of food produced for migrating waterfowl. While conditions look good right now, these high temperatures will certainly result in some loss of habitat in the next few weeks. There are already a few migrating flocks of early pintails, green-winged teal, and a few canvasbacks starting to show up. In addition Canada geese are coming off of the moulting areas and are showing up everywhere in good numbers. While this survey was done to document pelican locations and numbers, I did observe more ducks than on the survey flown last month. Next month I will begin doing monthly waterfowl surveys for the Fish and Wildlife Service on the Stillwater NWR, Ruby Lake NWR, Franklin Lake WMA, Humboldt WMA, Jessup Flat, Canvasback Club and Carson Lake. Below are some of the conditions that I observed while on this survey.

Humboldt WMA (Toulon)

Flood waters on this area are finally beginning to decline and water levels have dropped about 12 to 18 inches from last month. Some of the roads are impassable and a levee between Toulon and the Upper Humboldt Lake was breached. Water coverage is estimated to be about 130 to 140% of normal full operating level. Food production is excellent in the form of submergent vegetation (mostly sago pondweed), but there was little hunting cover grown this year because of high water conditions. There appears to be enough feed produced here this year that it could feed every duck that comes through Nevada this fall. Toulon has plenty of water and feed but hunting conditions right now look to be a little tough. Because of the flooding that took place here, I would expect that duck production was poor.

Stillwater NWR

Right now almost every unit on this area is full and food production is the best I have observed in over a decade. Every unit appears to be wall to wall feed and projected hunting conditions appear to be great. Reports are that duck production on this area this year has been very good. One of the benefits of the West Nile Disease is that it has hit the raven population pretty hard and it appears that more nest were successful. For those of you who hunt this area this year you ought to give Bill Henry and Mike Goddard a call (775-423-5128) and thank them for a job well done. They deserve a pat on the back for this one.

Walker Lake
Water levels are up and feed conditions area look very good from the air. While this area is hard to hunt it should have lots of birds this fall.

Mason Valley
Water coverage is well above average for this time of the year and food production again looks very good. The crew down here has worked hard to make the area look good. I would expect that this area produced a bumper crop of young ducks this summer and some duck nests should still in the process of hatching for a few more weeks.

Washoe Lake
Water levels are good, but declining from where they were a month ago. Food production here appears to be just “so-so”, which is normal for this area except under very unusual conditions. Less that half of the wetlands on the NDOT mitigation wetlands on the south end of the lake have water in them right now. I’m not sure why these area are dry in a year like this when these were constructed to mitigate wetland losses in other areas and should remain full year round.

Rye Patch Reservoir
The reservoir and both Pitt-Taylor reservoir are still full. While there is much feed in the main reservoir, there is considerable feed in the Upper Pit-Taylor Reservoir and birds are already taking advantage. While I have never hunted this area, I know that in years like this, that it hold some pretty impressive numbers of both ducks and geese.

Carson Lake
Water coverage has dropped significantly as a result of high temperatures and reduced water receipts. Right now about 70 to 75% of the area is estimated to be dry or almost so, but deliveries of water should begin in the next week or so to maintain what is left. Because of the dry that took place in the last month, there was considerable loss of feed in some units. Food production in the Big Water Units still looks very good and water coverage here is about 80%. By hunting season most units should be filled back up and conditions should be okay this year. Good water levels and feed conditions in all units earlier this summer resulted very good duck and goose production. The reduced numbers of ravens due to West Nile Disease was also a contributing factor to the high production this year. Hopefully those broods that haven’t reached flight stage this month as several of the units began to dry were able to move to the Big Water unit and survive.

Posted By:
Deaux Spoonie
Guest

07-22-2006 23:05
– – –
Hey NV Chuck:

Congrats on the goat tag, how did the chuckar hatch look. DFG is giving us three day possesion limits so they must think there’s a bunch.

I think the duck hatch will be epic, not only good water in the west, but Canada is all in. The counts reflect a good hatch in all survey areas, however its the areas like the Little humboldt, ect that are uncounted and will produce the real surplus.

Nevada Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

07-20-2006 09:30
– – –
I would add to Jack on the Rocks that the local hatch in Nevada is tremendous. Duck band recovery studies show that a high percentage of our ducks here do NOT breed in Canada, but rather in the intermountain west. With plentiful water and favorable nesting habitat at Franklin Lake/Ruby Marshes, nearly the entire Humboldt River, Humboldt Sink/Jessup, and others, the local hatch should provide great early season hunting opportunities. I traveled much of the Little Humboldt River two weeks ago north of Winnemucca while scouting for antelope, and observed an average of one brood every 25 yards of waterway. Absolutely increadible density! Conservatively, saw over 500 ducklings.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

duck numbers /steptoe valley 07-09-2006 00:27
– – –
looks like we`ll be getting some good duck numbers of ducks this upcoming season.reviewsand reports say that canada had a good hatch in the spring .as far as nevada goes looks like we get to hunt steptoe this season .updates are saying that the waterfowl hatch in idaho is even good also .got some buddies in that region and they the local hatch is very good.ducks umlimited says the birds are already done breeding and pintails in some areas have had some double hatches ,this is good for us here as far as you guy that hunt the midwest flyways central east in north and south dakota should be good always after a good wheather shot as always but the pintails are up .
get ready ithink this will become agood season

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

du shoot 04-01-2006 19:44
– – –
I was supposed to make that shoot!!sounds totally great thanks for all then info wish i could have made it down this year ,but there is always next year!the basset area does sound exciting goo du

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

03-26-2006 23:40
– – –
Just returned from the DU state convention in Mesquite. Upddate on Steptoe – the project is 75% complete. The contractor went bankrupt, but the bonding company is covering him. The remaining work is currently out to bid, and completion is anticipated around the end of the summer. However, it may take a year to get the habitat where we want it.
Pahranagat – Work is nearing completion, which is expected in June 2006.
Ruby Marshes – DU will design and install 26 water control structures commencing this summer. The goal is to periodically dry portions of the marshes that have never been dry, then reflood, enhancing duck food production. Partners include WHIN, Nevada Waterfowl Assn., Placer Dome, and others. DU secured NAWCA funding of $50k to complete the project. The need for water control is obvious – although the marshes are the second largest Canvasback producers in North America (2000 pairs on average), last year’s flooding led to a total count of 8 pairs with broods.

Bassett Lake – this is an extremely exciting potential project just northwest of McGill. Kennecott is selling 6300 acres around Bassett Lake for $1.55 million. There currenly exists a large marsh in place, but no water control structures are present and much of it is choked with tules. White Pine County has secured $1.2 million in Question 2 funds, leaving a balance of $350,000 to complete the purchase. If not completed by June 2006, Kennecott can have the land reappraised and offer to sell at what will likely be a higher price. DU, in partnership with Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, is trying to find donors for the balance of the purchase price. If anyone knows of a person, business, or other source of private or public funding for this incredible opportunity, please let me know. Once the land is purchased, DU will conduct a survey and design for installation of various water control structures to enhance and restore the wetlands.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

steptoe valley du 03-15-2006 00:20
– – –
thank you for the reply ,nice to see whats going on .Sounds like the steptoe might be ready for next year ,thats good for nevada and good for hunters. gggggoooo du!

Posted By:
nvchukar
Supporting Member

03-13-2006 09:20
– – –
Steptoe update to Jack on the Rocks – The last information I had is about two or three months old, but at that time I was informed that DU’s engineer had disapproved the work performed by the general contractor. The project is now about one year behind schedule, and at least a portion of it will need to be redone. However, my information is that the contractor is cooperating, and so hopefully the project will be completed soon. I will get more information to you when it comes available to me.

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

steptoe valley 02-28-2006 04:14
– – –
anybody get a rundown on the progress ? just wondering if du finished up there so we can get em next year.henderson ducks unlimited is in april any of you guys come down leave a post i`ll meet you there .the few the proud the nevada waterfowl.com poster. have fun !

Posted By:
Jack on the rocks
Guest

overton wma 01-19-2006 23:12
– – –
went out to get em on monday and oh god did we .. sat in the blind for about 25 min and had 2 gaddies and two mallards ..and then ka boom ,at 430 i couldn`t shoot the ducks off my decoys had 15 min of shootin light left and killed 10 in ten minutes ,boy`i` ve been hunting overton for 20 yeARS and nothing i`ve ever seen was like this ,there was 400 ducks landing on our decoys every 5 minutes for the last fifteen minutes it was cool!
no less than 1500 in an adjacent field next to the blind ,today two days beforew closing day we took another shot at it ,guess what 0 ducks and a few prospers ..another day

Posted By:
honker_hunter33
Guest

green head 01-19-2006 10:39
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
has anyone been hunting greenhead?

Posted By:
Rolly99
Guest

Greenhead 01-09-2006 10:25
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Went out Sunday morning and managed one Mallard. Not many birds around compared to a couple weeks ago. Saw a few flocks of Mallards, Pintails, Gadwalls, and Honkers. Nothing really wanted to work the decoys and were call shy.(probably my calling)
Rolly