# Duck Clubs



## Zack Holdaway

i was wondering if anyone has any info on duck clubs and how to join them? thanks


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## lucky goose

duck clubs are easy to join if you have really deep pockets and want all other waterfowling to be ruined forever. other than that they are great. most are around 30 grand to join plus yearly dues. if you join you should take me along for a hitchhiker hunt.


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## deadicated1

from what i hear you better get your name on a waiting list now while youre still young...


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## Gee LeDouche

I have a friend who has a club down in north salt lake. (so he says) it was 20K to enroll, then its about 1K a year for membership dues. I'm not 100% convinced its worth it, unless you have an extra 20K+ kicking around


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## High Desert

I suggest you do a search on duckhunter.net in the Utah Forum for duck club threads. The pros/cons of club membership and descriptions of the south shore clubs has been posted there.


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## gunrunner

lucky goose said:


> join if you have really deep pockets and want all other waterfowling to be ruined forever.


Please explain to me how the clubs are ruining all other waterfowling forever???? :roll: 
So have a wetland and a place for all waterfowl is a bad thing? :roll: 
Not a club member myself and think they are actually a good thing for the waterfowl in our state...


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## Fowl habits

don't waste your time man, i have a few friends that are members and i can out hunt them on a consistent basis, they supposedly offer prime hunting spots, but the funny thing is, is most of them are in the same bodies of water as the public, I know the pintail club last time i heard was about 5K to get in and anywhere from 500-1000 per year based on club voting. what kills me is they offer specific boxes, but anyone in an airboat can legally pull up and hunt the boxes(althought they will tell you otherwise) so other than your own cheafeur(club airboat) i can't really see what it is they offer. There are some clubs that offer exclusive land rights(even those are being challenged in federal court) these are the ones that are very expensive. The millionaire club in corrine didn't get its name cause it cheap there is only one native utah member the rest of the members are out-of-staters, you can see the lear jets coming in all the time to brigham airport, i guess it cost so much cause they have to plant all that corn during the off season(sorry did i say that out loud-sorry that was supposed to be a secret) The club out the end of 5600w in slc it $20,000+ i guess it's nice so that you don't have to deal with a bunch of kazoo playing wanna bees, but honestly 20k, i can do just as good as they can on public, not to mention i can hunt when ever i want and i don't have to wait for box assignments, i know the club in bountiful only allows there members to hunt 3 days a week and they choose the days. All said i would rather keep my money and buy an nice airboat then to waste it on trying to maintain a status and keep up with the jones. I think it's pretty clear how i feel, but then again i never been a member myself, i guess i'm pretty biased, it's all just here-say from talking with close friends that are members- I like to know what everyone else thinks


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## dubob

There are clubs; and then there are CLUBS.

There are probably not two clubs in the whole state that are run exactly alike. There are clubs that require 6 figures to buy a share, but most can be had for 5 figures. Some clubs, but certainly not all, have lease memberships that are purchased on an annual basis. I am a lessee in such a club and have been for 4 years now. My lease fee each year is 3 figures.

I have the honor of rubbing elbows with some of the finest folks I've ever met. We hunt the club 4 days a week and draw for blinds each and every day at exactly one hour before legal shooting time. The club has over 80 blinds on just under 3,000 acres on some of the best marshes in the state. I can and do start a lot of my hunts mid morning or early afternoon and shoot limits much of the time.

I never have to worry about another person getting to close or setting up in the approach path to my deeks and waylaying birds as they decoy into my spread.

We have very comfortable 2 and 4 person blinds placed such that they never interfere with another blind. Almost all of the water blinds have dog platforms attached for mans best friend.

I do hunt public marshes on some of the club off days, but almost NEVER on a weekend. I'll keep my membership in my club as long as they'll have me. It is worth every penny it costs and I have yet to take a guest that didn't ask for a return hunt. In fact, three of my guests are now on the waiting list for a lease spot to open up so they can also join.

Trust me when I tell you there are very bad clubs out there as well. I was a member of one 5 years ago near Corinne. It cost me $2,000 for the year and I shot a total of 7 ducks for the season. That, my friends, was a very expensive rip off.

I do not own an airboat, but I do and have owned several water fowling boats over the years. And I've hunted almost all of the public marshes north of Salt Lake City. I've had fantastic hunts on all of them at one time or another. I've also had some hunts completely destroyed by very inconsiderate actions by other hunters. As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a public area north of Salt Lake City that will produce quality hunts as consistently as my club does.


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## lucky goose

gunrunner said:


> lucky goose said:
> 
> 
> 
> join if you have really deep pockets and want all other waterfowling to be ruined forever.
> 
> 
> 
> Please explain to me how the clubs are ruining all other waterfowling forever???? :roll:
> So have a wetland and a place for all waterfowl is a bad thing? :roll:
> Not a club member myself and think they are actually a good thing for the waterfowl in our state...
Click to expand...

The clubs arent bad its when you have to go back to farmington with the skybusters that you realize that duck hunting at clubs makes everything else suck. if i had the cash i would be there in a heartbeat, are you kidding i would love to hunt unpressured birds that decoy well and actually respond to my poopy duck calling sorry if i wasnt clear before any money that protects habitat is money well spent unfortunately i just havent made it to that tax bracket yet. until i do i will just keep going out and being frustrated like everyone els as i watch people shoot at ducks that are a quarter mile high :roll: are they seriously shooting at that bird? we all say it every time we are out good luck out in the mud.


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## Kevin D

5 figure buy-ins, annual fees, plus a long waiting list?? 

Geezz! So what's the fine for trespassing??


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## Riverrat77

Kevin D said:


> 5 figure buy-ins, annual fees, plus a long waiting list??
> 
> Geezz! So what's the fine for trespassing??


 :twisted: Nothing if you don't get caught. JUST KIDDING!!! Just not a good idea... the fine is not real high I'm sure but I'm not sure I'd want the label that comes with a fine from doing that. Besides, like other folks have said.... you can have good hunts elsewhere without trespassing and I take a lot of pride in that. When I hunted the Harrison last year, it was cool.... just a bunch of guys hanging out, drawing a blind and then the place we hunted, there was nobody else around to shoot at our birds, etc. But.... knowing what I can do on public ground in spite of all the bad things, its more money that I'd be willing to pay.


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## High Desert

To answer your question, here is the info on the main south shore clubs. Consider everything an estimate and should be verified with an actual club member.
Ambassador: Equity ownership. About 100 shares for about 2,400 acres. Don't know if they allow leases. Close to lake so susceptible to flooding in high water years. Not sure of annual dues or cost of a share. Well managed with good habitat.
Lake Front: Also close to the lake so prone to flooding if water comes up high. Equity owned except for some leased land. I don't know if they sell annual leases for shooting privileges. About 2,000 acres.
Harrison: About 1,350 acres. Twenty equity shares plus around 100 leases. Lessees shoot four days a week (Tues, Thurs, Sat and Sunday). Shares don't often sell but leases come available almost every year though you need to get on a waiting list. About the only south shore club that didn't completely flood in the 1980's. Pay to take guests.
Northpoint: Sixty shares for 1,850 acres. Equity only, no leases. Annual dues about $800. Good hunting. Club open every day but Monday. Can take one guest each day.
Rudy: Sixty shares (though a number of members own two shares) for 1,850 acres. Lightly hunted. Close to the airport. Equity only. Shares rarely sell. Open seven days/week. Annual dues similar to the Northpoint. Limited guest privileges.
New State: 100 shares for 3,300 acres. A number of members own two shares. Open only three days/week (Wed., Fri. and Sunday). Restrictive guest privileges. Very well managed and generally excellent duck hunting. You can lease your share's hunting rights but there is a long waiting list. Annual dues around $1,400. 
Burnham: Similar to the New State but on a smaller scale (about 20 shares for 600 acres).
The main advantages of a club should be controlled access (no encroachment), good habitat management and, to a lesser extent, convenience. If the club doesn't provide the first two, don't consider it. The third is a bonus.
Share price: I believe shares likely start around $25,000 and go up to about $75,000 for south share clubs.


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## 357bob

****, and I sit home today on my day off 'cause I don't have an extra 20.00 for the drive out. :shock:


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