Choosing your hunting spot, how do you.....

Derek Z please do not laugh, we have some area's in my hometown that the guy's fight over. Your discription is so dead on I have to ask....... are you from Salisbury MD??????

Wow, that is sad, if that was the case for me, i would give up hunting in a heartbeat. We are lucky here in CA - lots of public and private land, lots of birds, generous seasons.
 
In MN, there are a fwe more rules than Nick stated above. You have to be so far from any structures for one (can't recall exacly how far but 500 ft sounds right). You can also open water hunt on two "lakes" in MN - Lake Pepin (actually the Mississippi) and one other lake.

For instance, on certain bodies of water, even if it is surrounded by provate land, can be accessed without the landowners permission.
Mark W
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I was shocked last year to find out that the 500' rule doesn't apply over water. There was an article in the Outdoor News about some jokers that set up in the weeds outside some fancy shack by Detroit Lakes. When the shooting started, the homeowner went berzerk and wound up with a hunter harassment ticket. Like I said, I was shocked because I thought the 500' rule was probably written for lakeshore homeowners, but I guess not.

I didn't know a guy could layout on Pepin - haven't spent any time in SE MN or on the Mighty Miss. Would you PM me the name of the other lake that is legal for laying out?

I would like to know the legal circumstances that allowed people to cross private land in order to hunt the slough you mentioned. Please PM me . . . sounds very interesting and even if the CO said it was legal, I doubt it.
 
What do the terms "meandered" and "non-meandered" mean? Here in Vt, we can drop anchor pretty much anywhere we please and still be legal.

John Bourbon
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When the original surveyors came through, if they shot the survey straight across the water - generally smaller sloughs - it's non-meandered. If they surveyed around the water - larger water bodies - it is meandered. This especially comes into play in SoDak due to the huge expansion of water bodies in the 1990s. Only the "original" meandered parts of those lakes are public in terms of hunting. The flooding of private land does not permit the public to hunt over it.
 
PM sent.

Upon looking for the rules on layout hunting on Lake Pepin, and not finding this information in the MN regs, I checked the WI regs and this is where it is listed. Since it is a border "lake", I got mixed up. This brings up a question for the wisdom of this board.

If you put in on the MN side of Lake Pepin and open water hunt and then take out on the MN side, are you in violation of any MN regulations as they do not allow hunting in open water?

Mark W
 
BillS and David,

I've been doing the lottery for about 7 years now... last year was the first time that I ever got a number low enough (23) to actually pick 2 spots at 1:30pm. Yesterday, I took off of work with 3 friends and tried again. We drew 140,124,80 and 60. So no spots for us. Oh well.

Hopefully you did better.
 
I think you better have a WI license, and maybe a GPS to verify your position while open water hunting. I hunt Lake Champlain (NY and VT) and carry both licenses. When we hunt the lower end of the lake, we usually put in on the VT side and hunt the NY side. Though NY and VT share the same regulations in the Lake Champlain Zone so one size fits all on the regs.

Dave
 
I picked #27 in dorchestor which with the poor turnout was really like #11, but I had never hunted the area I wanted sites in, so its a real mystery what I will see this there. My selection process was, open shoreline and grass beds. :) One was inbetween two RSA's, so maybe a couple dumb park ducks will fly around. We will see. My buddy did pick a single digit number here in Anne Arundel this year, so he was happy with his selections. But I agree with David first come first serve should be the process. There is to many times without blind sites I am 100-200 yards off the X, let me move to were I want to be and still stay legal distance from house and other hunters. Problem is too much money and power tied up into the huges leases and clubs who think they own the water in front of them and can keep poeple off it.
 
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no becuase you have a WI license and will be certain your on the wisconsin side so you are legal. No different than driving across the border launching and hunting the WI side and coming back to your house in MN. Your boat is just your vehicle.

Mark, you may know better but don't must of the ducks that use lake Pepin raft on the MN side? If I remember right thats why I never layout hunted up there.
 
Yeah, I always have a Wisconsin license as most of my hunting is over there and not over here.

I've only been on the MN side when the divers raft up and this is where I have seen them. If you know the area, Long Point (a little north of Hanson Harbor) holds many ducks. Go to the north side of Long point and towards Frontenac might be an interesting place to hunt as there are some weeds to hide in. Otherwise, I don't know where you would hunt on Lake Pepin (on the MN side) and be legal.

I'd be afrain to layout hunt anywhere on Lake Pepin with all those uscle boats that fly up and down the lake at that time of the year.

Mark W
 
Bill, you're not kidding. The Maryland regs are out of control. I took part in the Harford County, MD draw yesterday for the first time. Let's just say that I was number 12 and had to take a spot between a train bridge and overhead power lines. Anyone who drew number 15 or higher stood up and walked out the door...there weren't 30 spots left to license in Harford County. You should look at the DNR maps for this area...duck blind spot every 250 yards. I'm really starting to feel like it's time to move.

We're actually planning to body boot the Flats this winter for the first time, just to have a little freedom...even if it kills us!

I enviously read about all you guys who go out and scout where the birds are and try to hunt accordingly. Keep posting pics so I can live vicariously through you!
 
hehe I think know your spot.... I have looked at it before. You can still scout and hunt you just have to do it on public lands or be 400 yards off shore on the flats and Potomac.

Flats are looking good for grass this year I hear. Cans and redheads just need to find it again, been so long with little or no grass it will take them a bit to come back in good numbers. We hunted the Flats in layout boats last couple of years and did ok on Greater scaup but the place is a zoo on weekends and the birds wise up real quick.
 
One thing to consider...."port of entry, port of return".
i.e. if fishing, you put in at a Michigan Port and fish Canadian or OH waters..........you must have licenses for that country or State as well as Michigan which is your port of return. You can not be in Michigan with a limit that is not consistent with Michigan laws......regardless of where you fish.
If hunting Canada, you must enter through Canada customs and register your birds for border crossings.

We used to scull a river that meandered (always liked that word) that covered Michigan and into Indiana. We had to have a license in both States. Technically, we should pull out in Michigan and relaunch in Indiana though we never did that.

As advised........check with your local CO. Do not expect the police department to know though. Interesting stories with folks who have .... checked with the police. I've gone round and round with a chief of police and every officer in Mt. Clemens.........stood my ground......and won. They did not know or understand the laws.
Lou
 
Yup. We did the Sand Islands last year. There was decent gunning the first week. After that, hardly a bird came west. I've been tracking the bay reports, and this is about the only year i ever remember seeing anything positive.

We're focusing on geese and hoping to catch a few blackheads, buffs, and mallards—anything else will be a bonus. We've got to stop pulling the trigger on mergansers...although I'm determined that there must be a way to eat those things!
 
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