More Pintails

2740 Views 13 Replies 8 Participants Last post by fish-n-fool, Jan 4, 2016

Fowlmouth

Discussion Starter · Dec 31, 2015 (Edited)

I haven't shot a pintail in 3 weeks. It was nice to see a few today. This has been by far my ****tiest season in years. October sucked, November was okay and December has been a bust for the most part. I have racked my brain to try and figure out what has changed, and the biggest factor I can guess is the GSL is so low. I don't think the birds have a lot of options right now except to leave.

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1 - 14 of 14 Posts

duckilla

· #2 · Dec 31, 2015

Couldn't agree more!!

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fish-n-fool

· #3 · Dec 31, 2015

Love late season Buck Pinnies. Great picture!!!!

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Dunkem

· #4 · Dec 31, 2015

I heard the GSL is as low as it has been since the 60s

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fish-n-fool

· #5 · Dec 31, 2015

This is true but hopefully we keep getting the snow. It will take historic snow fall to get the lake back up a bit but I am hoping for some flooding this spring.

LET IT SNOW!!!!

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Fowlmouth

Discussion Starter · #6 · Dec 31, 2015

The water has to get to the lake first, and I don't see that happening any time soon with 3 million residents now living in Utah, most of them on the front. Until people realize we live in a desert, I believe we are screwed.

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utahbigbull

· #7 · Dec 31, 2015

It would take a biblical amount of snowpack to bring it back up I am affraid. Like early 80's snowpack. It has happened before, keep the fingers crossed it happens again this year. We really need the lake level to rise back up and fill in all of the areas the birds used to be able to rest, roost, and not be pressured.

I have heard we have already received more snowpack than all of last winter. It is a start....

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king eider

· #8 · Dec 31, 2015

Been a fantastic season all the way so far. You must be hunting where birds are not...

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JerryH

· #9 · Jan 1, 2016

Nice sprigs.

I had a interesting conversation with a retired Biologist earlier this fall. He was telling me that the bird numbers have not reached the records that we had before the floods of 1983. His theory is that birds bypassed or changed their migration routes around the GSL. His thoughts were there is generations of birds that may not know the GSL exists. With the lake level we have now birds are moving through quicker or just bypassing the GSL all together.

How depressing

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Gee LeDouche

· #10 · Jan 1, 2016

king eider said:
Been a fantastic season all the way so far.

Agreed. I've had a record year this year.

JerryH said:
Nice sprigs.

I had a interesting conversation with a retired Biologist earlier this fall. He was telling me that the bird numbers have not reached the records that we had before the floods of 1983. His theory is that birds bypassed or changed their migration routes around the GSL. His thoughts were there is generations of birds that may not know the GSL exists. With the lake level we have now birds are moving through quicker or just bypassing the GSL all together.

How depressing

That is depressing. but it makes sense.

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Fowlmouth

Discussion Starter · #11 · Jan 2, 2016 (Edited)

JerryH said:
Nice sprigs.
With the lake level we have now birds are moving through quicker or just bypassing the GSL all together.

Couldn't agree more.

I have hunted this same spot for late season ducks for the past 15 years. We had one good day on it late last season and zero good days this season. Yes, we will shoot a few, but nothing like years past. The lake was a lot closer back then.
Here's some of the shoots I/we had back then.

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king eider

· #12 · Jan 3, 2016

Fowlmouth said:
I have hunted this samespot for late season ducks for the past 15 years. We had one good day on it late last season and zero good days this season.

Perhaps you should try broadening your late season hunting area?