Legality of planned activity?

[Huntindave McCann]

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An officer trying to state such would have to be working REALLY hard to bust chops over that one as an violation of "used in taking game" rules.

This sounds right up Mark's alley...shall we start another "Mark W Legal Defense Fund" fundraiser?

There was a fundraiser for the first and last time I got into a healthy discussion with the CO that ended up in court? I missed the check from DBHF.

That was an episode I don't want to go through again. Must be 6 years ago or so by now.

Mark W [/quote]





I'm guessing you were sent all monies raised. :>) :>)

 

[MLBob Furia]

"That was an episode I don't want to go through again. Must be 6 years ago or so by now.

Mark W"

Got to be longer than that. But you are a shining example of the rehabilitative power of the criminal justice system. Either that or you've learned to ID hens. Has the governor expunged that one from your record???? ;-) ;-)

 

[Mark W]

"That was an episode I don't want to go through again. Must be 6 years ago or so by now.

Mark W"

Got to be longer than that. But you are a shining example of the rehabilitative power of the criminal justice system. Either that or you've learned to ID hens. Has the governor expunged that one from your record???? ;-) ;-)

2008 season. Same year my job was eliminated. "Either that or you've learned to ID hens" - Jeez, now you sound like the CO. I am certain it was a mixed duck. Anyway, water over the bridge. I believe, but am not sure, these are pictures of the ducks in question. View attachment duck1.jpg View attachment duck2.jpg View attachment duck3.jpg Mark W

 

[Rob_F]

By the pics, both birds seem to have their challenges.... but that bottom one looks like a pintail/mallard cross.... sorry if it's sale in the wound. Advanced in DNA testing could get you exonerated...

 

[tod osier]

Hey Mark, Thanks for finally putting those pics up. It is always sobering to think about how close to breaking the law we are every time we pull the trigger. Really absurd when you think about it how the laws are written and how easy it is to break them. A simple mistake of ID, a pellet into a bird you don't want, etc... I know that was a painful experience for you, but it is easy enough to get in that situation.
Because the laws are so complex, it does take away from my enjoyment overall. Lot of guys will say... the laws are the laws and just read them and you are OK, but I've seen enough and done enough in my life to know it isn't near that simple.

 

[Chris Finch]

This is why i wouldnt shoot a black after shooting a hybrid with a little white on the speculum. If it was a clown duck that is different. i shot a similar looking pair of hens and even though it was obvious to me it was a hybrid. to a co im sure it would be a mallard hen. I wouldnt trust any of them knowing the laws most co's around here were cops that were lucky enough to get in with the state, not a kid who loved to hunt and fish who wanted to protect the environment. I get checked more for life jackets than birds.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

"We have more problems with duck hunting (not enough hunters) than we do with duck population" John Devney, Senior VP Delta Waterfowl

"The bottom line is the U.S. government doesn't have to be so strict about duck hunting. I my opinion, it only needs to educate people about what you can shoot and what you can't shoot. It's a great sport, but it would be even greater if there weren't so many rules and regulations." Phil Robertson

 

[Jeff Reardon]

I don't know about other states, but the duck hunting regulations here are pretty straightforward. I recall some discussion here regarding hunting from boats in the mid-west (Minnesota?) and how much of the boat had to be covered by vegetation, and about complex rules about "private" blinds on tidewater in the mid-Atlantic, and those would drive me crazy.

But here, so long as I'm 100 yards from a house or a boat launch, have less than 4 no-lead shells in the gun, am not shooting ducks while the boat's under power, and I only kill what I'm allowed, there aren't many ways to cross the line.

I suppose I could knock down two blacks out of a flock with a single shot, or take a Barrows goldeneye hen (Barrows are protected here). We see a lot of black/mallard hybrids, and they're always tricky to identify, especially on the wing. When I've run into wardens and our party had both blacks and hybrids in our bag, they've been incredibly helpful about showing us how to ID the hybrids, and in fact told us we could have been less conservative in the calls we made. We always count all the hybrids as mallards in our bag limit to be safe, although I am told it's OK here to call them an "other" duck.

As for the "conservation" quotes above, I'll just say that some of today's sportsmen may not be living up to the standard of our predecessors. I'll take Ding Darling's advocacy for refuges, strict bag limits, and declaring endangered species over Phil Robertson bitching about regulations any day.
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What Does Mere Man Know
about the Perils of Non-Stop Flying?[/font]

[font=Arial,Helvetica,Geneva]What a Few More Seasons Will Do to the Ducks[/font]

 

[tod osier]

"I suppose I could knock down two blacks out of a flock with a single shot, or take a Barrows goldeneye hen (Barrows are protected here). We see a lot of black/mallard hybrids, and they're always tricky to identify, especially on the wing. When I've run into wardens and our party had both blacks and hybrids in our bag, they've been incredibly helpful about showing us how to ID the hybrids, and in fact told us we could have been less conservative in the calls we made. We always count all the hybrids as mallards in our bag limit to be safe, although I am told it's OK here to call them an "other" duck. "


The Barrows hen is a perfect example on one shot away from a criminal. Also don't forget about hunting on Sunday if you are talking weird regs.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

I actually like that I can't hunt on Sunday. It extends my season and helps maintain my marriage to have a day off every weekend. I fully understand why others feel differently.

I don't know what other states do, but in Maine, if you shoot a Barrows "by accident", there is no penalty so long as you self-report and turn the bird in. Unfortunately, despite the fact that this is well advertised in our waterfowl regs, some hunters just dump the carcasses instead. I found one last year. That will get you a ticket--and rightly so. FWIW, I;m not sure it makes sense that Maine protects the Barrows. It would make sense to me if they were protected up and down the east coast, but I believe they are legal game in all of the Canadian provinces and the rest of New England. On the other hand, they are rare and perhaps declining, and due to their rarity and concentration in a handful of well-known Maine locations, they were being targeted by trophy hunters. Although this was legal, it gave hunters a black eye with birders who were also trophy "hunting" the same areas. IMHO, it would have made more sense to close the known areas of concentration to diver hunting rather than a statewide ESA listing. Another option would have been what at least one of the Canadian provinces does, which is to have a bag limit (3?) on whistlers, but to not allow you to shoot any more once you have a Barrows in the bag.

But the rules are easy enough to live with. Of course, my sense of this is strongly influenced by my experience with Maine's warden service, who in my experience have been both highly knowledgeable about ducks and duck hunting, and fair in their dealings with me and with other hunters. In particular, they have been outstanding in dealing with conflicts with non-hunters who complained about legal hunting.

I'm sure I'd feel differently if they were not so professional.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

The Old lead shot "Duck Hunters" of days gone by were a helluva lot worse than ANY modern day waterfowler's, therefore guys like Dig Darling and all the regs. If ya want the Good Old days you can have em. I remember them well, the plus was ALL THOSE HUNTERS bought duck stamps, that bought all the refuges. Today we lack enough waterfowl hunters to even maintain all the refuges we have. Facts are facts no matter who states them. Waterfowling IS in decline, and without the duck stamp increase, and new hunters the future will be interesting for all North American waterfowlers.

At our local refuges they are conducting all day meetings with waterfowl hunters to help increase use of the refuges. As after first day there are more open slots, than hunters to fill them, and most of the hunters that do, are over 50 and 60 years old - now there's a bright future...

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Vince, I hear you on the need to recruit new hunters. I don't think simplifying the regulations is the way to do it. Kids deal with complicated rules a lot better than us adults do.

 

[Mark W]

While hunting rules may be somewhat difficult to understand, try reading the fishing rules around here, It has gotten to the point that you can almost be certain you will break one of the rules just cause you don't know about. Different lakes all have - 1. Different fining hours, 2. different slot lengths, 3. Different limits, 3. Different region how close you can be to docks etc… 4. And so on and so on. It gets to be really messy real quick.

Mark W

 

[Jeff Reardon]

How close you can be to docks??????

Let me get this straight. Somebody gets a permit to stick their dock out into a lake or river, which is a public resource. Now that it's there, I can't fish near it?

 

[Tom L]

I received a christmas present once that was a tree stand light. never used it, but you put it up in a tree. when you get in the woods you use a small push button device to turn the light on to locate your tree in the woods.

some thing like this may be better, this way it is not on all the time, being noticed by everybody who walks or drives by. you just turn it on when you are hunting and find your way to it in the dark, I wouldn't want to advertise my good spot with a light every day on and off at a certain time.

 

[Mark W]

How close you can be to docks??????

Let me get this straight. Somebody gets a permit to stick their dock out into a lake or river, which is a public resource. Now that it's there, I can't fish near it?

Ye, some lakes have restrictions on how close you can be to docks. Wouldn't want to cast a lure and land on the persons dock or boat is the thinking.

We also have rules on transporting of any water or weeds from one lake to the other. No fish in the live well, no minnows can br brought from one lake to the next (might have exchanged the water in the bucket with the lake water you are fishing on thus transporting bad water from one lake to the next), gated public landings (controlled by home owner associations around that lake) that you can't get past except for very limited hours (you must pass through an inspection point run by the DNR before being cleared to go through the gate, plug must be removed from the boat anytime you are driving on MN roads, etc...

I understand the reasoning for some of these rules but not all.

Mark W

 

[Jeff Reardon]

I understand all the restrictions on transporting fish, plants and water from lake to lake. But the "close to dock" rule has me stumped. I especially don't understand why it would be different from lake to lake, unless this is an example of "private and special laws" that got pushed by various legislators and home-owners associations.

Here in Maine we have the advantage that the public owns the bottom of any "great pond"--basically any pond over 10 acres. We still have struggles over trailered boat access to some waters, but the right to carry a boat in is well-established.