Mutton Creek 10-20

[Walcrabass]

Waterpossum,

!. The Hawks?? You are right ...... way too many of them. Why they are protected eludes me. Some Federal law I think. Quail wouldn't stand a chance crossing the road. Same for a Rabbit even though they might be a little faster. Hawks eat a ton of mice and rats. These critters are a menace to grain crops. Back to the money thing.

2. Trapping?? Went out the window with the Fur Embargo put on by Europe. Kind of ironic as the Europeans were the ones that came to America for it's fur trade. Used to go with people that trapped on the rivers. It is almost a lost art. Also the reason we have 8 billion skunks, 10 billion Possums, 20 billion Armidillos, 40 billion Musk Rats, tons of Beaver/Mink, 800 Ka-Trillion KaBillion Coyotes, and oh yeah now the River Otters. If you have ever know anyone that has one of these critters in their pond then you know they can kiss their fish good-bye.

3. Bulldozing?? Our conservation lands are regularly leased to farmers. No Farmer wants 500 Deer and 500 turkeys eating their wheat, soybeans, etc. Bulldozing stops a lot of that problem. Doesn't do a lot of good for Quail. If you are familiar with Bushwhacker think back to how many fence rows have been dozed on that site.

4. Consider the amount of money brought in by Deer and Turkey tags. I am guessing that the money from regular hunting licenses that would permit you to take Quail never even approached this figure.

5. I guess I am just getting too old. I see things in a different light than the college educated biologists. They are way smarter than me.

6. So while I am looking at the side of things that may not strike most people. Have you ever considered the difference between commercial fishing licenses and personal fishing licenses? When an individual catches fish he can take them home and eat them. Done deal. The fish do not generate any money. On the other hand if a commercial fisherman sells a catch it generates income tax on his part. Then maybe they are processed and sold at a store. This creates jobs for grocers and thus wages and thus more income taxes. Then they are sold at the stores. This creates sales tax. More revenue. It is not hard for me to understand why the daily limits in our ocean waters are being reduced. The fish will bring in far more money if they are caught by the business people.

7. Before a lot of the readers of this I have written fly off the handle and think I am just a crazy old man....... let this soak in for a few days..... I believe that some of it will make a little sense. Don't take it like I am ranting and raving. I am simply pointing out some things that have occurred to me over the years.

8. Lowe's, join them both. They are great about planting habitat and improving things for the Quail.

Wally

[waterpossum]

Wally, well done. Count me with you about being old and seeing things in a different light. As a kid raised in NW Ark around Harrison Christmas morning mom would fry up some quail to have for the Christmas dinner. Local enthusiasts would argue the fact that a pointer was better than a setter or vice versa. Missouri quail season would open about two weeks before Arkansas and men and boys would plan an early hunt by traveling to Missouri farms. Deer season paled in comparison to quail season. I spent time on my grandfathers farm on the outskirts of town and never had trouble identifying from year to year where I could go to find a covey. Creating quail habitat wasn't even in the discussion. Of course there were numerous small family farms as opposed to the giant farms of today. When I moved to Pittsburg, Kansas in 1972 for a short time there was still good quail hunting. Deer season was very restricted in Kansas and not as popular as today. The one thing very noticeable was the smaller size of quail in Kansas and Missouri as opposed to the Arkansas Ozark population. In 1982 our land in the panhandle of Texas had an unbelievable quail population. Last year I jumped one covey on the whole section. The habitat there has not changed and there is no way you can help create habitat in that semi arid region. What happened to change it from prime quail country to what it is today? Air pollution? Oil exploration? I guess I shouldn't belabor the quail discussion, it just depresses me that no one has figured it out, but can put a man on the moon, locate a fish from a boat at 100' and zoom in on my typing this to you at any time. 

[Walcrabass]

Waterpossum,

  Funny how us old guys see things huh? We have a very studied look at things from the years we have been around.

Where your land in Texas is concerned........ even though you may have habitat still on your land maybe the land around you has changed??

Also remember the predators. There is billions and billions of nest raiding and Quail killing machines out there now that did not exist in years past. For example on the coyotes. I have read where they did not even exist in Barton County , Mo. in the early sixties. I know from having relatives in that area that this is an accurate account. This predator thing is much bigger than most people take into account.

When we were little everyone still had chickens. Most people let them run in the yard in the daytime and put them up at night. Because of this ANYTHING that could harm a chicken, the chicks, or get the eggs was severely eradicated. I have went with family members to put gunny sacks soaked with Diesel in holes in the ground. We lit them to kill whatever was in them. And Hawks? Really never saw one.... very rare.

Then remember all those boys growing up in the country that set traps to earn some spending money. Thing of the past.

One other thing is that as the population dwindled people who had traditionally hunted Quail continued to hunt. When a species is declining and the hunting pressure stays the same as when it was thriving things are bound to suffer. I remember very well some people I know killing out the remaining Quail in a certain spot in Missouri. I tried to shame them but it did no good.

From all of these things we are talking about I think it is probably very evident why I write the things I write. It is why I am so adamant about taking the Kentuckies out of the picture in our lakes. They have and will continue to take over. It is just a bad management practice for the larger species of Bass. Other states have already proved it. I feel the same about the four point rule for our Deer. I was pushing for this thirty something years ago and had written letters asking for it in Missouri. I was told it would not work. Other states had already proved it. We finally woke up to it. I personally feel that Quail season should have been cut by 2/3 when the decline started. That did not happen. I believe we could have gotten on top of the problem better if the population was not racing to the bottom of the pit so fast. I am not saying that I am a genius on these matters and those that are educated are dummies. I am however saying that common sense, experience, looking in the past, and a good old Farmer type thinking process goes a long ways where formulas and studies cannot give us the answers.

SO this is what it boils down to...... imagine that tomorrow morning you wake up and all the predators in Missouri have died in their sleep. Can you see the Quail population going up after that? Even with the existing habitat? Of course you can !!!!

And what if Every Kentucky Bass died in the same night??? Do you think the overall size of the Bass in the lakes would go up?? Absolutely !!!!

And what if we had the four point rule for our Deer starting back in the sixties. Do you think our average Buck that is killed would be bigger?? Of Course !!

The same is true for the Crappie. If we have good numbers in a lake and the lake has enough food. Then RAISE THE LENGTH LIMIT !!!

And what if we had stocked Elk way back when we first started talking about it. Do you think maybe we would be rivaling states like Arkansas in population ??? Absolutely!!!!

Don't procrastinate guys. When you see something that is wrong write your Conservation people, Congressmen, etc.

Our Missouri Conservation department has done many, many great things for our Wildlife. I simply believe that we have put things off that should have been taken care of sooner.

On a happier note..... we had our Quail dinners at Thanksgiving. I remember well helping to make the butter from the cow we had milked the same morning. I don't believe I have ever had better Thanksgiving meals !!!

Walcrabass

[LoweSTX175]

Just an FYI for everyone.  Quail Unlimited no longer exists.  Evidently they shut the door in 2013.  Sort of shows how long it has been since I have had Quail on my mind.  Former members were encouraged to join Quail Forever.  I just paid my membership as well as Pheasants forever.

[waterpossum]

Another factor not discussed much is in most areas where a person would hunt there was usually at least two coveys and depending on the acreage maybe more. Toward the end of season as the individual coveys decreased in size they would intermingle and form a larger covey, thus there was a constantly evolving good gene pool of birds. Wally makes a very valid point about the out of control predator population. It's simple for anyone to understand when you travel anywhere and count the road kill of possums, skunks, raccoons, coyotes, and an occasional hawk.

[1xshot]

I agree it's very sad. I hunted quail in the sixties with with my grand dad who owned an orchard in Greenfield. He always had a great pair of pointers and knew where every covey in Dade county lived. I always planned on buying a pair of bird dogs when I retired. Well, I retired this past June and with so few birds it seems pointless (pun intended).

[1xshot]

Also, I know that the conservation dept down plays it, but I believe there are a great many more predators now than there were back then. Back then you didn't see two feral cats in every field and a hawk on every other fence post. There were alot more hunters back then and they knew how to deal with competition from predators.

[Walcrabass]

1Xshot and others,

  OK this one is way out there but it could have been done if implemented early enough. I hope I don't make a lot of farmers mad but here goes. In California and maybe other places they have land development laws. Just because you own 40 acres does not mean you can develop all of it. There are laws that cause you to leave a portion of that land undeveloped. The same thing could have been done with farming. A certain portion of the land you owned would not be able to be dozed or cultivated in a manner to destroy the natural plants, brush, etc. If all farmers and land owners in the U. S .A. would have had to do this then they would have all been pretty much on an even plane as far as production and crops were concerned.

Just another one of my outside the box thoughts. I know I will hear about this one.

Walcrabass

[Hammer time]

Hey guys, don't be to negative. Times are always changing.

Bird hunting is a traditional for me and will always own a birddog and hunt all season. It's just a whole lot tuffer than the past as is bass fishing.

I love the great outdoors and regardless of the results you'll see me hunting and fishing forever

Try your best to stay positive and enjoy "Gods Country"

[waterpossum]

Hammer time: here is a positive forecast for this year- numbers are up in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. There is an especially good forecast for Texas.