Opening day Musings

[Polarisx54r]

Empty skies for me this morning. Hunting a small private slough NE of Pelican, did really good last year on the overflow from Pelican lake (Wright Co) limits both days after 2 hours. Once the shooting started on Pel. last year, teal and mallards came buzzing right in.

Got one teal, missed a small flock of woodies at sunrise (came in at cattail height blindside, never got a shot). At least Loki got to retrieve his first duck at 5 months old. Wish I'd gotten him more work. Less shooting on Pelican than last year, slowed down earlier in the morning too. Didn't see much flying even in the distance. I think the early killing frost a week or so ago and the windy cold a couple days ago skeedaddled most of the teal and local mallards which are my bread and butter in this loonschitt country I hunt. Might try the big water and crowds tomorrow, might sleep in. Well see.

[poutpro]

The teal and local mallards aren't gone, you just weren't where they were. Get out and look around and you'll find them. Just because a spot was good last year, does not mean it will be any good this year.

[rich4walleyes]

Our group of 3 guys are hunting out near Granite Falls and we limited out by 9 am this morning. We had green and blue wing teal mallards, gadwall and spoonbills. Could have been done earlier but lost a couple. Even got 1 goose and missed 3 others. Best open for us in many years.

[Polarisx54r]

Did some afternoon scouting/glassing of a few ponds that are closed to hunting in the area. Very few teal. We've had 4 hard freezes here now. Wish I could've gone west. Got private access to a large slough near Atwater. Sounds like better action out that way. Had to fix brakes yesterday so I hunted the backyard. Vikes game today. Good to hear on another post the spoonies are back in W central MN. That bodes well for Atwater later season in past years, means we're getting Dakota birds. Better luck for me next time I guess. Just wish I could've gotten Loki on some more retrieves. The darn things were there Thurs. Got an "in" for Williston ND next year, need to have him up to speed by then. At least a 5 month GR pup is pretty entertaining in the blind. He was growling at the distant gunshots.

[RuddyDuck]

I was out on Pelican Sat. and it was pretty bad. Not many birds in the air by us. Ended up with one wood duck. My daughter got it so she was happy to at least get one. Like you said, not much for teal. Think I saw less than 10 BW teal the whole weekend.

Went out on Sun and there was only one other group out when I got there. I new everyone else must of had a bad Sat also. Usually its a lot busier than that on Pelican. A few more boats did come by shooting time. Ended up with a woody and gw teal. Maybe a few more flying, but still not much. Kind of a dissapointing opener. Guess we'll hit em again next weekend and hope for more birds.

[BrdHunter01]

Better opener than last year for us.... So much for the early opener! Out of 12 birds not 1 was a teal. Mostly spoonies in our bag. A cpl mallards and a few woodies.

[walleyeman1]

rich4 walleyes, lost ducks are counted in your bag limit, this would make you over the limit if you shot more to fill your limit.

[JustLOVEit]

Where we were at on opener we had limit on both days. Everyone we talked to either had their limits or had ran out of ammo.

The best Opener i have ever had!

[Superduty]

rich4 walleyes, lost ducks are counted in your bag limit, this would make you over the limit if you shot more to fill your limit.

Ethically yes. Legally no.

[jblabsnduck]

Not trying to be a smart arse here but I think legally YES.( If I remeber right)

You must make an effort to retrieve the bird and if not found you are supposed to count it towards your limit.

I could be wrong. I will check the regs.

[jblabsnduck]

Right from the regs

Retrieval

A person may not kill or wound any migratory game bird without making a

reasonable effort to retrieve the bird and include it in the daily bag limit.

There you go, so YES

[jblabsnduck]

So rich4walleys may want to edit his post.

Nothing like telling us he was over the limit.

[H0LE HOPPER]

Got some land kinda by pelican didnt hunt it this weekend did awesome in the aitken county first time for me in minnesota to get a limit of ducks in a half hour for seven guys but called my cousin to check out some of my ponds and he mentioned there is still a few ! but i have hunted pelican before have had the same results...

[bloc004]

"A person may not kill or wound any migratory game bird without making a

reasonable effort to retrieve the bird and include it in the daily bag limit."

If you have to include an un-retrieved bird in your daily limit, then this sentence is worded wrong. This statement implies that you only need to make a reasonable effort to include it in you daily bag limit by trying to retrieve it. It does not state that you need to include it in your limit if you do not find it. Very confusing.

These things need to be written in black and white, so there are no questions.

[jblabsnduck]

Well I agree 100% that the wording could be better BUT the lost bird must be included into your bag limit.

I remembered why I thought this to be true.

I talked with a CO last year that wrote a guy a ticket for that exact reason.

He watched the guy sail a bird, they guy went to look for it for about 5 minutes the CO said but did not recover it.

CO confronted the guy at the landing to check him and the guy was good on everything BUT he had a limit of birds.

CO told him he was over by one bird. They guy asked him how he was over and the CO told him he had 6 birds here BUT he sailed one and did not recover it.

CO informed him that the sailed bird was included in his daily bag.

The guy was non to happy.

[LightningBG]

"A person may not kill or wound any migratory game bird without making a

reasonable effort to retrieve the bird and include it in the daily bag limit."

If you have to include an un-retrieved bird in your daily limit, then this sentence is worded wrong. This statement implies that you only need to make a reasonable effort to include it in you daily bag limit by trying to retrieve it. It does not state that you need to include it in your limit if you do not find it. Very confusing.

These things need to be written in black and white, so there are no questions.

+1. I read that as you have to make an effort to retrieve and count it. Not that you have to count it.

Just think if you had to tag a ghost deer that you thought you hit, but couldn't track nor find...

[lawdog]

Just because one CO said so and wrote a ticket doesn't mean it is right. Did the guy fight the ticket? Courts interpret the law, not a lone wolf CO. The synopsis language is not clear enough to prosecute under for this, that's pretty clear, did anybody bother to look at the actual regulation? Here is what the actual rule on small game says:

6234.0100 GENERAL RESTRICTIONS FOR TAKING SMALL GAME.

Subp. 3.Wounded game included in bag limit. Wounded or captured game reduced to possession must be killed before being removed from the site where taken, and once reduced to possession must be included in a person's daily bag limit.

So, unless reduced to posession it is not legally counted in the posession limit, there is no language like this section in the specific waterfowl section, however I think waterfowl is really just a subset of small game.

[jblabsnduck]

Page 9 of the WATERFOWL regulations.

That is why I said right from the regs.

Don't know if the guy fought it or not.

Didn't care, it wasn't me.

[slabchaser]

How would a lost bird count against your limit? What was it? How would anyone else know what it was? You have to make an attempt to find the bird, it doesnt automatically count in your limit. Ill have to remember to tell the CO about the ghosties in my bag limit next time...

[jblabsnduck]

The honor system I guess.

I read the regs (and was told by CO) that a lost bird must count against your daily limit.

I will call my local CO to get an answer for you guys.

Let me guess, just because he says that is correct doesn't make it right??????

P.S. If he tells me that is wrong I will be the first to eat crow.

[Superduty]

There is too much power of interpretation given to the CO's. The law is also vague when it comes to open water hunting regs. It states something like a person must be hunting from a growth of natural vegetation sufficient to partially conceal the hunter. I have heard of guys getting ticketed for hunting from a boat while tied up to trees. What part of a tree (dead or alive) is not natural vegetation? I think it would be great if some of these vague rules be clarified for all to see in the regulation book.

[Stringerless!]

I agree superduty. I would love clarification on that one. You would think a lawyer could argue that 1 blade of grass is " partial concealment " ! A few years ago I got threatened with a ticket for taking in open water. Had the jon boat in some cattails but about 20 feet in front was a bog with various sedges and weeds that were about 2 feet high. I had set a couple full body geese dekes here because birds were using this spot as a loafing area. A snipe came in and landed on the end of the bog and my son (wanted to take a shot at it. I told him no but a little later one of the goose dekes tipped over so we had to go fix it anyway. Told him to get ready as I push poled out of the cattails and up onto the bog. Not an easy task. The snipe never flushed as we fixed the deke. Finally I took a shot in the air to scare the snipe and the kid took a poke at it but missed. Keep in mind the boat is on top of a bog that has 2 foot high weeds all over it. Had we been sitting we would easily been safe.few minutes later Ranger Rick is yelling from the dike road. Checks our guns and says he is gonna give us a ticket for taking in open water. After much arguement he lets us off with a warning. ????

[B. Amish]

i've always thought that a lost bird counts in your bag limit. never thought twice about it.

[BrdHunter01]

i've always thought that a lost bird counts in your bag limit. never thought twice about it.

Same here! These ppl are just trying to bend the rules because it's poorly worded.

[Superduty]

I'm a pretty straight shooter. I go out of my way to play by all the rules when it comes to hunting and fishing. I also applaud all of you that count lost birds in your bag limit. Ultimately, we are our own judge and jury in the field 99% of the time. That being said, I don't understand how a reasonably intelligent person can read the regs and deduce that a lost bird counts in your bag limit legally. It simply does not say that.

[bloc004]

"Same here! These ppl are just trying to bend the rules because it's poorly worded."

[Ray Esboldt]

I too wish this one would be clarified. I have always went with counting lost birds in my bag. I know the rule says otherwise, but that's just the way I do it.

Seems kind of funny that waterfowlers as a group would take such pride in not shooting hen mallards and still be so insistent on having a limit worth of carcasses in hand. I am guessing the vast majority of us count lost cripples in the bag. Right?

[jblabsnduck]

Just got off the phone with the DNR office.

You MUST include non retrieved ducks/geese as part of your daily bag limit.

Feel free to call them and ask yourself.

(651) 296-6157

(888) 646-6367

Like a buddy said, you going to let some poor shot stay out there and cripple birds all day long? crappie shot could cripple 50 birds in a day with out picking ONE up.

[mwal]

I was hunting a controlled goose zone and wounded a bird that made it back to the refuge. 5 minutes later a state and a federal game warden come check my gun license. I asked permission to cross the line to go get the bird and they said I could not. Neither could they unless a crime was being committed. I then said I would stop hunting as the goose limit was 1 and I could not

retrieve it and would count as my limit. They told told me to walk to the fence and look for the bird. Then then told me to continue hunting and shoot another goose as every effort was made to retrieve and reduce it to bag. Ever since if you can't find after a reasonable effort then I shoot another one. They said you have to make an effort to retrieve or recover the animal. If you do not make an effort then that when the wanton waste law goes into effect.

Mwal

[jblabsnduck]

I am just posting what I was told by the DNR.

I guess it comes down to if you want to roll the dice and see what kind of mood the CO is in.

Good luck to whatever you choose to do.

I will stick with counting it in my bag limit.

And NO I don't think I am any better than anyone else. We ALL make our own decisions.