“On the Ebb” - Black duck hunting film by Field & Stream

[Steve Sanford]

What Steve has said above is absolutely correct. As a NY resident (but not a LI resident) it has been somewhat infuriating learning how/where to hunt LI. LI has a late season that lasts almost an entire month past when my local season has closed. The variety and number of ducks is also remarkable. Trying to figure out how to access places is frustrating beyond words. I've spent many, many hours driving all over LI, searching Google Earth, and looking through various Town regulations, as well as calling DEC officers.

I want to be legal at all times. Unfortunately, information on where to legally duck hunt on LI is very challenging to locate. There are several areas such as Captree where the boat ramp and access is fully legal and well known. Unfortunately it is often not the greatest hunting. I did locate one new-to-me legal access this past season and will continue attempting to navigate LI access in the years to come. It's the only place I know of that is so, so restrictive on a Town by Town basis.

And even at Captree - State owned and open to all - they add restrictions that preclude my gunning boats: No craft under 14-feet LOA (my Sneakbox is 13'5" - as are South Bays and the classic 13' Whalers) and no manually-propelled craft (my Great South Bay Scooter is 15'9").

As I have often observed, regulation (of a wide variety of activities) is absolutely necessary in our society - BUT good regulation is very, very difficult to achieve. The Law of Unintended Consequences is always lurking nearby. State Parks set their launching regs at Captree with the wrong people/experience/knowledge on the team.

All the best,

SJS