Hunting Updates for September 2004

29 Sep

Dove and goose hunters. The dove are flocking up as much as they will in NC Kansas and should make for a quick morning hunt. Goose hunters my farm is 40 minutes drive from the refuge and the geese have been on irregular and erratic flight schedule with flocks from 100 to 200.

A jackrabbit from a recent land run.

A picture and text spread from a recent Kansas land run.

28 Sep

We had a productive weekend covering blinds in Linn County. Four volunteers showed up Saturday and two showed up Sunday. Thanks Jim, Ed, Allen, Doug and Pedro. It was a pleasure visiting and working at the same time. The extra bodies really make a difference of what's been accomplished at the end of each day.

On Saturday we covered all of the blinds on the east marsh. We added flip tops to blinds 1 and 2 because they are out in open. By doing this, the cover should stay in tact until the very end of the season when we need it most.

The water level on the east marsh is as high as we've ever seen it and there is plenty of vegetation for the ducks to feed on. A week or two before the season we will drop about 6 inches of water from the pool where blinds 1 and 2 stand to the pool of blind #3, which has a good stand of volunteer smart weed and millet. We anticipated planting this pool in milo but the ground never dried enough to work. (Note on the east marsh access to the blinds will require chest waders. The detail map notes the SW corner of the pool with blind 1 and 2 has deep water. This is especially true this year. When accessing blind 2 stay parallel to the blind or a little to the east from the south levee. The first 30 feet are close to the top of chest waders so walk slowly.)

Saturday we worked on the west marsh and moved blind 7 to a deck with floaters and placed it real close to where it was before '03 in the middle of the marsh. We covered the old pit blind which is a little rough, but it's in a good location. The pit blind will now be blind 8. We left last years blind 8 on the levee and plan to move it to another location after the season. Blind 5 and 6 are covered and the marsh is full to capacity. There is good vegetation around blind 6 and a lot of flooded oak trees to the north and south of blind 5. (Also note while accessing blind 5 from the north levee, stay at least 30 yards west of the east levee because the water is too deep to wade. The irrigation lake where blind 10 sits is also completely full. There is 1 to 2 feet of water standing in the blind. We left 5 bundles of rippy grass on top of the blind for the first person that hunts it to cover. Geese were using the irrigation lake while we were working on the blinds, so right now, it appears the irrigation lake will be a good spot to set up for geese. Since there are no other blinds on the lake, members are free to set up wherever they want, but each party needs to stay together while doing so.)

We'll keep everyone informed of the next time we need duck blind volunteers. Right now, it looks like Bruce and Jon will be doing a few odd jobs in Henry County next weekend and don't need any help. Most likely, the next time we will need some help with be the weekend of October 9 and 10 in Henry County.

It was really nice to see some new faces helping last weekend. Everyone had a good attitude and seemed to appreciate what is involved to manage such a wide range of wetlands. Sharing the work and sharing the hunts together is what it's all about. Hopefully, everyone will have a safe and enjoyable season.
 

27 Sep

Want to see a great archery harvest? Check out what Reggie did. Thank you Reggie for sharing your deer with all of us. I once heard it is equally hard to get people to go to the dentist as it is to get them to write letters. Your time and effort to send in the pictures and write a letter is certainly enjoyed by all that comment on this update page. Good luck on your next hunt.

24 Sep

Big Bass Andrew does it again and again and again. For those of you that do not know him he is a big guy and that bass is slightly dwarfed by him even at 7 1/2 pounds. That bass was also CPR'd to grow bigger and while it was the biggest on the scale that day it accounts for only one of the many that were caught and too small to qualify for Andrew's wall. Thank you for the picture spread and once we have the fishing section updated all will see the second page of fishing success with Big Bass Andrew as described by his fishing partner.

Robby also had a great day on the water with many caught and released making for a fine afternoon. Robby didn't tell us much, but his picture certainly shows a lot. Thanks Robby for taking the time to take a picture to share with the rest of us.

Buddy hunt list members the paper copy of the buddy hunt list is being sent out by snail mail to all that are listed on it today. The way it works is that anyone on the list should feel free to call any other on the list with similar hunting interest and schedule their own teaming up for a hunt. Two topics all should cover when planning to hunt with a new buddy is to review hunting safety procedures and methods to be employed. It is always better to discuss this before the hunt than to be coordinating while a dog is on point, when a flight is called in or walking out to deer stand.

23 Sep

Fishing continues as folks prepare for the fall hunting seasons. The ponds are as full as they will get with water and vegetation making for some fishing opportunities different than early spring. This pond on a long time land lease has not seen much pressure at all this summer as has been the case for the majority of Association waters. Part of this is due to the Association not offering fishing only memberships. If we were to do so a minority of fisherman would over pressure a select number of ponds and ruin the opportunity for a good day to many others.

Jeff and Erik from Oklahoma came up for a day of fishing and found a good time of it with their fly rods.

Also notice that Jeff and Erik practice CPR thereby ensuring they will have many more great days on the water. This shows us we screened the right members that spend the day in the field for the experience and not to keep score with limits. Try having this kind of success on public fishing waters!

Thank you Jeff and Erik for showing there is more than one way to catch fish.

22 Sep

Bryan and Sharon do it again this past spring filling turkey tags with the regularity of the seasons. They are the most prolific deer and turkey hunting couple in the Association. Thank you two for showing us again what a great hunting spouse relationship is all about.

Lynn Y., a long time hunter and now a sage adds to the turkey hunting gallery with two fine self composed picture showing how easy it is to fill some tags. Thank you Lynn for the pictures and showing us that we too can continue to hunt long after others may believe it is better to stay at home.

21 Sep

See what Andy was able to achieve opening day! Congratulations Andy, a fine looking rack.

20 Sep

Brittany pups for sale. Call Mark Williams 205-556-9564. Two males, 2 females whelped September 15. Will let them go at 8 weeks for $300.

Duck hunters - the rippy grass is cut, barn stored with a load ready to get to the wetlands with the Association staff and volunteer member work force scheduled to start covering the first blinds this Saturday (Linn A, east side meet at the parking area between blinds 1 & 3 at 9 AM) and Sunday (Linn again this time the west side parking area link up at 9 AM). For those wanting to participate please give us a call, 816-761-3636, as we would like at least 4 and not more than 6 workers as the optimum number. Any more and we will have folks standing around unemployed. Bring something to drink, chest waders as well as shorts and above the ankle boots if wading wet, strong backs and motivation to slosh around. Every year on every weekend the work and the fellowship amongst the duck hunters seems to make the day go fast.

17 Sep

We're in the process of converting the maps to being available online and should have things going by this time next week. A newsletter explaining how to access the maps will be in the mail shortly.

We ordered new signs for lease land posting and changed the background color to white instead of yellow. They are the same signs but the color is different. We did this to confuse people that enjoy tearing down sign. For the record, we have signs in the field with three different colors, red, yellow and now white.

We have been on the road non stop for the past three months renewing leases and talking to prospective landowners. He wants to apologize for not being in the office to talk to everyone in person but it's for the best of the members to have us on the road making land contacts.

For those that forget to post their vehicle markers on their interior re-view mirror when parked on the MAHA leased land be aware that the Association through membership dues pays landowners’ a bounty ($50 general or $100 for specific names) to find trespassers. The landowner’s motivation to look for trespassers is when they see a vehicle without a serial numbered marker parked on their land they go to look for the trespasser so as to collect a bounty (we have controls and requirements that prevent fraudulent claims). This is one means by which the Association members protect what they have paid for i.e., exclusive access. What has happened in the past has been legitimate members on legitimate reservations fail to place out their serial numbered marker and are found by the landowner and the others we hire to patrol. To keep our landowners and hired hands motivated to continue looking for trespassers we have paid the bounty for these legitimate members who forgot to post their vehicle marker. From now on those legitimate members that fall into this circumstance will be required to pay the $50 bounty.

And, it is not just the maps we are late on. The buddy hunt list is late as well and we are making one last check to gather in any last minute additions. If any one (members only) wants to team up with another member please supply your name, telephone number, hunting preference and if a dog applies or not. Email Shaun or call it in. Thanks.

9 Sep

During a recent southern Kansas land run we started to see the beginning of the fall crop harvest. Southern Kansas always leads the rest of the MAHA region in terms of spring turkey season green up, summer wheat cutting and fall harvest by a week to three ahead of the northern Missouri, Kansas and the southern Iowa ground.

Read a general topic newspaper article written about your hunting Association and published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, authored by Eric Bruce.

Bennie, a hunter and taxidermist, traveling from out of state makes it three consecutive successful spring turkey seasons and was kind enough each time to send in a letter and picture spread. Thank you Bennie and we look forward to your continued success that we are sure you will be able to achieve.

8 Sep

Camping requires a separate reservation to ensure that piece of ground has been cleared for camping. There is not any camping in all cases on any property that has a structure due to fire hazard. We have several very productive leases that we do not allow camping due to not wanting that additional pressure on the land. Camping is not permitted on a property someone else has reserved before hand for hunting. We also have acreage where the landowner has deleted the camping option from the lease. For the most part campers will find plenty of land available to pitch a tent or park a slide in pick up camper. Those with trailers and self contained RVs are best suited for blacktop access campground to avoid getting stuck in the mud when off road parking.

We have had our second request for the type of bird dog beeper collar we most prefer for our own dogs and offer this one as what we use. T. E. Scotts four in one beeper available from a number of online dog supply websites. Its advantages should be readily observable to those that compare varying manufacturers and their collars.

Those who have left reservation requests on the answering machine during non-office hours do not have reserved land. Reservations are only accepted Monday through Friday, 9 AM through 5:30 PM. The office answering machine is in operation to collect landowner messages.

Scouting requires a reservation just as hunting does. When pre-season scouting the entire map sheet unit of property may be reserved for a day or days scouting. During season scouting is to the individual numbered property. Hunting reservations are only accepted from up to 30 days before the hunt or as late as the day of the hunt, IAW with above limitations. Deer hunting reservations are to an individually numbered/lettered property. One individually numbered/lettered property per hunter per day may be reserved.

Those planning a hunting or scouting trip are best advised to work with us well before the trip rather than call just a couple of days ahead of the departure day. Both John's spend a lot of time on the road and are not always available to quickly respond to telephone inquiries. Your land managers do the best work for the Association hunters when on the road looking over potential land for contracting. We are actually the least productive for the hunter when we occupy the office.