Question For All The Oldtimers

danboone

Member
What were your best years at the point as far as numbers of birds? Not necessarily birds shot but birds seen. Was it the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's or maybe now. I know a lot of you have hunted here many years or have fathers or grandfathers that have,so lets here some stories of years gone by. Personally I have been hunting Long Point since the early 90's but I wonder how it was prior to that.
Happy New Year
 
Great topic. I look forward to the responses.
I have seen some ups and downs in the last 35 years and I have not been at the Point as much the last couple of seasons but my own bird sightings and harvest have been up the last few years.

Paul
 
My Dad "The Oldest Cut LongPointer" was down on a scouting trip with his hunting buddy early September 1947 and they were looking out towards A Zone from the Causeway....his buddy says;Look at all those ducks ! My Dad asks; What ducks ? All I see are clouds of mosqiutos !That's when a cloud of "mossies" landed in the water nearby. My Dad thought he had died and gone to Duckhunters Heaven !!! Most likely he was seeing a lot of Blue Wing Teal as they wern't considered a "real" duck back then and hunting pressure on them almost minumal, with supposedly no limits on them ? They would rent a "pond" from the Township for the year for 5 bucks, which of course was a chunk of dough back then. That would be like having #22 or #27( or whatever) all to yourself ! The marsh has changed a lot since that time due to silting. It was for the most part sandy with "whips" kind of like Little Rice Bay but without the clay. Good thing as most of the hunters walked out to their ponds.

Q; As for what was the best year(s)?

A; Why next year,of course !
 
quote:
Originally posted by Old Cut LongPointer


Q; As for what was the best year(s)?

A; Why next year,of course !



Great answer! :)

Paul
 
I use to put a floating blind at the head of the bay between big creek
and Port Rowan in the late sixty,s and early seventy,s.In those years
you would see rafts of divers almost a mile wide and a couple of miles long.There was very little boat traffic at that time so the ducks roosted in the bay,but when a boat did scare them up the ducks would blacken the sky,it was an awesome sight to see.Would be nice if we could
relive those days again,but we have our memories to keep us warm.I gave
up the floating blind by the mid seventy,s and started hunting the unit full time.There were more ducks back then,then there is now,and the ducks got a lot smarter lol.
Wish everybody a Happy New Year and hope to see everyone again in the fall.
Yours in hunting
Ron
 
I would say the best years for me to see the most ducks would have been 65 to69 the morning and nite shoots were amazing and in between you could watch huge flocks of everythig trading between the lake and big creek area. There were also so many divers off big creek we hunted them out of a big red boat with only burlap hanging on it. we went thru a lot of shells for very few ducks but thats what you do when you first start.Isn,t it? And i never stopped lovin it.Dave:)
 
For me it was the 70-80's ( we had a hunting club called the cedar waxing hunting club..oh the good old days ) I hunted Turkey Point only back then. There use to be 10-15 rigs out there from the marina to bait island.We started out with a floater then rigged a boat. I use to put a shore blind out in front of the cottage for the days it was to rough. My dad and his cousin would go to the bay and I would hunt out front and some days shoot more ducks then they would.The point was always good to me .I remember we would go up to the point the only time we would ever get mallards was when the keeper would drive his boat through the marsh. Then the bald eagles arrived and when they flew over the marsh all hell would break loose something to see. Seen lots of real neat things in my day to hard for me to express them in type I'm more of a story teller...One little story to tell is my dads cousin hunted the causeway back when he said he would put his shot gun shells on the the hood of the car and the sky would be black with ducks.I still see tons of of ducks you have to be there at the right time.Happy New Year and cheers to a new season.
 
Didn't they try to tell us the duck numbers this year were the highest since 1955 or something? No doubt there were a lot of ducks, but ae they not coming through the point like they use to?

I ask because a few inland areas my grandfather, brother, and myself use to hunt just don't see many (if any) ducks anymore. For instance, Waterford use to see quite a few divers and mixed puddlers. I started hunting in 1992 and watched duck numbers through the area decrease over the years. Mostly just mallards and geese now.
 
Very interesting question; What were the best years ? I did some googling and it appears to be the 70's as far as hunter harvest and habitat go. Duck stamps peaked in 1978 just shy of 525,000 and open water to marsh was on the rise. The sixties had a 50:50 open water to marsh ratio which is suppose to be best.Check out the Long Point Wetland Waterfowl Research foundation[ Bird Studies canada} and the U.S.Corp. of Engineers Great Lake Levels for histrorical data.
 
Thanks for the replies I enjoyed reading all of them. For me 2004-2008 seemed to be my best years I think the birds were drawn to the Robo duck like steel to a magnet,now it seems to flare them more than decoy them. This year it seemed like mostly redheads were the only ducks willing to commit to my spread.
OCLP I will be sure to check out the sites you mentioned. Thanks Dan
 
Great topic, it's really hard for me to say. I started hunting at Long Point in the mid-80's. I had been a life long waterfowler but mostly in the Kawartha's and eastern Ontario so i was not prepared for the numbers of birds the first few times I hunted LP bay. It was awe inspiring. I still love to see the big flights but my jaw does not hit the bottom of the boat quite the way it did the first couple of years.

I think my best years for harveting a lot of ducks was the early '90's. However, I think that more to do with being younger and more vigerous and more job flexibility than today.

I had a couple of days this year when the whole north shore got up and did a little flight, mostly redheads. I am not sure but they might have been the biggest flights I have ever seen.
 
My first duck hunt at Long Point was in 1965 at the ripe old age of 16.Thankfully, I had several "mentor's" who gave me the opportunity to become involved in the sport, and without their time ,and effort I would have never have become a 'duck hunter '. My best year,s were from 1965 ,to 1975. I am not sure if it was because I had the time ,and youthfull enthusiasm to put into hunting ,or because the hunting was better. One thing I am sure of is that more ducks used the unit. There was simply more water for the birds to rest, and feed. The mid 60's were some of the lowest water levels recorded ,but there was a lot more water in the unit than there is now. It is silting in and growing over. Another thing I have noticed is that despite what appear's to be large numbers of divers ,the diver hunting has deteriorated. It seemed to me that when I started hunting the diver's utilized in the inner bay more ,small group's and single's etc. There were also a lot more Bluebill's . It seems to me that they raft up in the middle of the bay ,or the main lake and don't provide a lot of shooting opportunities. We used to have good diver shoot's out on little Rice Bay in a red Spingbok aluminum boat with a bunch of burlap bags for a blind ! A couple of dozen of the worst decoys ever made ,and we managed to get birds. (and it took a lot of shells because we could hardly hit anything )Having said that I have had many memorable hunt's over the year's ,and it all happens when you are in the right place ,at the right time.
 
I have heard many folks refer to the crown marsh silting in. I am wondering if this is a long term consequence of Big Creek being redirected, human intervention for flood prevention (sea walls, break walls etc, the explosion of phragmites or simply the changing dynamics of a living marsh? Just curious if anyone knows a little bit about it.

Is the same thing happening to the Long Point Company marsh?

Was wild rice once the dominant plant where phragmites and cattails now grow?

So many questions...

Obviously loss of habitat should concern us all.



Paul
 
Paul, I think you answered some of your own questions. The "redirection"( boat channel) of Big Creek has played a major role in of adding silt to the Inner Bay. Big Creek historicaly dumped into the lake (around the end of Hastings Ave.) or into the Inner Bay (approx. where Sandboy Marina is) factor in two cuts being blown open and the clearing of land in the surrounding watershed by settlers.The high water years we had during the 70's and 80's and cottage channels that were dug also play a major role in helping to silt in the marsh as it(the cattails) act as a filter and trap the suspended solids in the water which of course is flushed in and out of the marsh on a regular basis via the artificially enlarged creeks[channels]With a slightly mucky bottom the wild rice took hold and prospered as did the cattails and with areas becoming a little drier the Phargmites was also given a place to grow.

While we do need ponds for the birds to roost I think the hydrualic flow to the marsh should be looked at too.Maybe more small channels should be dug.Possibly a burning of the marsh may help or as did happen in the past a natural die off[ marsh disease] and God forbid a catostrophic storm.

The marsh is a living thing unto itself and we but mere mortals.
 
Would love if some of the real "good old boys" could post to this interesting thread. Input from some of the 1950's and early 60's hunters would be great.

The dynamics in the Bay have changed dramatically since I started hunting the bay in the late 70s. The high water years of the late 80s changed the character of the bay and marsh seamingly permanently. The introduction of exotics like phragmites...and zebra muscles have forever changed the marsh and bird populations. The warmer falls and better boating equipment have passionate fisherman out on the bay later and later each fall. That has changed how the rafts of Bay Ducks use the bay for sanctuary. Now what was on the bay now uses the Lake during the hunting hours. Silting and pollution have just about ruined the head of the bay for duck use and hunting. Club policy in the private clubs have changed even the flight patterns of birds within the Marsh areas.

My best memories come from the early November Gale of 1988. There were over 20000 bay ducks take refuge in Coletta Bay after the storm. It made for 5 days of incredible gunning. Had almost 100 Reds and Cans using our channel for several days. Cool is a understatement.

This season saw massive numbers of birds. But almost unhuntable. To see the flocks rise on the very few occations they flew in behind Potahawk took my breath away. The rafts that showed up on the bay at Christmas reminded Me of the 80s once again. But....very few gunning opportunities existed for most. The almost total lack of weather in October and early November made for very poor shooting. My season was average or below. Thank god for Redheads.

Probably the number one thing affecting our birds and populations particularly Bay Ducks is Lake St. Clair. It is like a huge salad bowl and protected for the most part. I am sure that is why the Cans have virtually stopped coming to Long Point.

Gar
 
I have hunted the Point since I was 8 or 9 (1955-56) but only a few times a season back then. In my teen years I hunted more often and then became a regular after my University days -1971. Ducks seemed more willing to decoy back then even though we hunted out of a 16 foot (50 hp) Starcraft Holiday covered in burlap. We would hunt middle of Big Rice and down past Pottohawk by Courtright Ridge for divers and have great shooting.As my brother OCLP mentioned my Dad has seen many changes to the marsh through the years but agrees that the marsh has filled in and fertilizers mixed in the Big Creek outflow have caused problems.This past season I have witnessed more divers than I have seen since my early teens flying and resting in the Bay. They arrived late for the most part (December) because of the mild weather we had this fall and sat rafted up out in the middle of the bay and seemed to refuse to fly over any marsh or even close to the marsh.Mallards were beneficiaries of all the rain this fall and fields were flooded everywhere giving them no reason to come into the marsh.In the "old days" the Unit was the ONLY place feeding thus when they would go in to feed the sky would be black with ducks and we used to make sure we stayed out in the blind until they fed as there would usually be shooting with the birds flushed .Now there are so many other feeders for the birds to choose from our feeder sees few ducks.The Long Point Company has a huge feeder then there is of course Turkey Point ,Murray Marsh , and all the others along Big Creek feeding as well . With the greatest hunting pressure on the birds in our Unit it is no wonder they choose to go elsewhere.Our continued efforts to open up the marsh will bring more birds into the Unit but maybe we should be looking at how and exactly what the other Clubs are feeding and maybe we can improve our own methods for higher success.We can't change the hunting pressure because it's a public marsh but we can change the marsh and either improve or increase our feeding methods or both to have ducks in the marsh .As mentioned when we were the only place feeding I remember not too long ago regular flights of mallards from Turkey Point in the afternoon across the Bay and into our Marsh and being able to call and bring some into your decoys but of course no more .
I think that while duck hunter numbers are down as far as licences etc go there has been a steady increase in the hunters that use Long Point especially the last few years thanks in a large part to the Internet and information availability.Todays hunters are better equipped and dedicated than the "old days "hunters who and I was one of them had frozen feet and hands and got wet and cold and didn't stay out in real bad weather .Nowadays with clothing ,neoprene waders, mud motors and GPS hunters go to places we only could get to if we wanted a "cardiac arrest" and hunt for hours staying warm and dry with "robo ducks " helping them out .
I guess the bottom line is yes this year there were lots of ducks but we (hunters) at Long Point didn't have much of them to shoot at and I believe mostly due to weather this year but there is always next year God willing and the creek don't rise !!
 
I think the "litoral drift" ie; sediment deposits, you speak of is more meant for the beach on the lakeside[southside of Long Point, west to east drift] or the northshore of the Outer Bay which has a counter clockwise spin to it thus depositing on Turkey Point and possibly Pottahawk PT. and/or even Bluff Bar ?

Big Creek has a pretty large watershed to drain and through mostly agricultural land [settled appro. 1800's] and only recently[past 10-20 years] have farmers adapted better techniques to conserve land erosion.So I believe Big Creek to be the main source of the marsh silting problem but would not rule out that that whatever solids are in suspension from the Outer and/or Inner Bays and of course the seiches that occur may factor into the equation also.

But that's just my laymans opinion. Sorry about the hijack !

Now back to the original question;
What were your best years hunting at long Point ?
 
Don't forget Big Creeks little sister draining into the head of the Bay. Dedrick Creek. It not only deposits it's fair share of silt and muck....It gets to pick up the over flow products of the Port Rowan sewage treatment (or non treatment) plant. The head of the Bay is dying very rapidly. Probably the fastest changing part of the bay and has really become much more evident since the Population of Port Rowan has grown with the Villages and the new Subdivision.

I so remember the number of Cans I used to kill in there every year. The just don't seem interested in eating rotting cellery with **** covering. But...JMHO
 
Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Advertising is what keeps Channel 6-8 on the air. To this end, please take a moment to disable your AdBlocker. If you would prefer an ad-free experience, but would still like to help support site operations, please consider making a donation.

I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks