New Jackson County WMA Regs

Eric Patterson

Eric Patterson

Moderator
Staff member
1. Hunters limited to 25 shells on person or in boat
2. No hunting/activity on Mondays and Wednesdays at Mud Creek in Wannville or the Raccoon Creek dewatering sloughs, i.e. DU Phases 1 and 2.

http://www.outdooralabama.com/...n%20County%20WMA.pdf

The older I get the more distaste I have for public access restrictions. Give me the freedom to roam and hunt when and where I choose and I'm satisfied. Regulate me into crowds and I can find more rewarding and less aggravating ways to spend my time. The above simply isn't enough to reduce hunting pressure. If that is their goal they will have to become even more restrictive, like fewer days, or even worse no afternoon hunting. I don't like where this is headed.

If anyone knows of a good club in MS or Ark with openings for Thomas and I please let me know. I think it's time to weigh options.

Eric
 
Last edited:
I'm not a big fan of shell restrictions either. One of the places here in FL says no more than 25 shells on person, boat or in your truck. I forgot about the boxes I had in my truck one day and was VERY glad that the wardens didn't feel like checking trucks that day because I'da been in some BIIIIIIIIIG trouble since I was down south for four or five days to hunt with Steve and I made sure to bring enough.
 
According to these regs they do allow you to have more in your vehicle. So I guess I can motor back to the truck if I get low. Trust me, when the wind is whipping and ringnecks are buzzing the decoys I'll run low.
 
One thing that is ok about CT Is first come first serve. The ct river has few no-hunting zones (other areas have more). Anything tidal is owned by the people and under fish and fowl, it can be hunted/walked on up to high tide mark.

We dont have many ducks so you have to earn the ones you get, i like being able to hunt where the ducks are (usualy they are in the thickest nastiest part of the marsh so only a few people share these spots)
 
Seems I heard about changes at swan too. The blind draw will be redone so that th draw comes out in order. In other words number one pick gets number one spot not their pick of the fifty. I have not heard about closed days in the unit, but I will pick up a copy of this years regs tomorrow and check that out.
 
Shawn

I'd be surprised if they restricted shooting hours/days at Swan Creek. At one time Jackson County WMAs had no afternoon hunting Tuesday through Thursday before Judd took over. He did away with it, thankfully. Based on that I'd expect he wouldn't take away hunting hours/days now that he's at Swan.

I firmly believe the ducks per man hour hunted could go up if they restricted access. However I also believe they'd really have to clamp down on the hours/days, to the point of denying far too many hours of recreation, to make a difference. I for one don't want limited access. I want freedom, not restriction. Even more so I don't want to be elbow to elbow with hunters on the "open" times.

Just my point of view.

Eric
 
I don't see the issue Eric. 6 ducks = 6 shells. Right?

They have some pretty dumb rules up here as well. Opener used to start at noon until a few years back. Then it went to 9:00. Now it is 1/2 hour before sunrise. This was done to save hunters lives (can't be motoring around the first day in the dark for goodness sakes)

Then, no hunting after 4:pm the first 25% of the season. This is to protect the roosting ducks. And so on and so on.....

How could they not allow more than one box in your truck? Sometimes we go for 3-4 days hunts. What am I suppose to do? Buy 1 box/day? Dumb dumb dumb.....

Mark W
 
Mark

Your rules seem crazy to me.

According to the new rules one can have more shells in their vehicle so a guy could drive back to the truck and get more. That might be a simple thing or difficult if one is way back in the swamp. There are some place we hunt that are over 30 minutes one way through timber and vegetation.

I understand a shell limit in flooded timber to keep guys from skybusting ducks when they have opportunity for timber hole feet down gunning and to prevent them from messing up other hunters working ducks. However down here we sometimes have good ringneck flights and on windy days if you factor in a cripples you go through a box in a hurry. What if I am unsure if ducks will decoy or I'm going to pass shoot. I carry different loads and choose from them based on the shooting opportunity. Now I can't do that. After 30+ years of hunting I resent being told how much ammo I can carry into the field.
 
Last edited:
A little legal nit picking here. What happens if you wound a duck on your 25th shell? You can't chase it down with a motor and smack it with an oar, you can't let it go (wanton waste). Could you be ticketed?

Had a real blow a couple years back on the opener. Winds of 40 plus. Teal were buzzing everywhere. 1 box of shells was nowhere near enough. Not to disclose too much but I don't think 2 boxes of shells were enough, uh, for some of the folks hunting with me that is. 6 ducks - 6 shells for me. Yep, 6 shells alright......

Mark W
 
Good hypothetical question Mark on the cripple but scenarios like that never enter their thought process when conceiving new regulations.
 
I know I say this every year when these discussions come up, but, again, thank goodness I live in a big rural state with a lot of water and a modest number of ducks, where things like private leases, blind draws, privatized blind locations, bans on shooting from boats, complicated rules for hunting public land and the like are not a factor in my duck hunting.

Some of our best public land areas see a lot of pressure, especially close to the road and boat launch, but really only on openers and weekends.

I generally like the one box of shells as a personal limit, and I frequently wish the skybusters I encounter had a similar limit. That mostly reflects that my hunts are typically fairly short, duck densities here are generally low, and a lot of my hunting is walk in or via canoe or kayak, so I like to avoid the weight of multiple boxes of shells. (One of my hunting buddies routinely carries a shell bag that must weigh 25 pounds. Yuck!)

Still, early season buzzing teal, days with big flocks of ringnecks, and sea-duck, bufflehead or whistler hunts where cripples often require multiple water swats after they are knocked down are all situations where more than one box makes sense.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top