This past year in GA the drought hit harder than I can remember all through the fall and into the winter there was very little rain, alot of flooded timber and frog ponds where I have hunted for years are gone (literally, bone dry)along with the puddlers that have been going year after year. Some of the water has just now started to come back. Does anyone think it may take awhile for the ducks too come back and has anyone had the same problem this past year?

Nope, the ducks will come right back next year. At least the migratory ones will. Your resident swamp ducks, your woodies and hooded mergansers,may take a while to find it again, but they'll come back too. Also, with all the rain yall are getting now your holes should fill back up. I am basing this on a study I read a while back that was conducted over several years that tracked a few mallards, pintails, etc., and they found thatin a year of varying temperatures during the migratory season (like we had this year), some ducks would travel almost the entire flyway 6 - 10 times. Each trip, the ducks studiedwould make pit stops at the same fields, timber, and other water sources along the way. So I wouldn't be too worried. Those ducks have a homing instinct.

By the way, what part of GA are you from? My parents live in Brazelton and we used to live in Fayetteville. I wantedto hunt Lake Hartwell last year, but I got too hung up on hunting here in Tennessee.

Had same problem. My favorite secluded 10+ acre swamp that was anywhere from knee deep to over 6ft. deepwas reduced to a small pool about ankle deep. I went back on the first weekend in March and it already had alot of water in it and I jumped 25-30 GW teal and over a dozen Canada geese. If it has water, they'll be back! We have gotten a fair amount of rain in the last couple of weeks so I am hoping it is back to normal levels. Maybe this summer will not be a repeat[:@]

Also
With the lack of water in the holes and swamps
The weeds will have had a chance to grow up

I have had my best sucess in swamp holes that have had a chance to weed up

John