Michigan and Ohio agree on duck hunts
9/4/2005Similar duck hunting seasons are in store overall for Ohio and Michigan, though Canada goose rules and opening dates vary between the states.
Both states will have 60-day split general duck seasons, including restoration of a full 60-day season for pintails and daily bags of six ducks in continuation of the liberal harvest strategy.
Waterfowl production in the prime nesting areas has been good this year, said Steve Gray, chief of the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
The daily duck bag may include no more than four mallards of which one may be a hen one black duck, one pintail, two wood ducks, two readheds, one canvasback and two scaup. Ohio s bag also may include three mottled ducks, though it is a southern species not usually seen here.
In both states the scaup or bluebill bag is down from three a year ago, and a 30-day canvasback season will be held in the latter splits.
Dave Risley, Ohio s executive administrator of wildlife management, noted that the scaup population has been in decline and that the decline is complex. Hunting, he noted, is not the problem, having been shown only to crop off a percentage of birds that would otherwise die of natural causes.
It s a habitat issue that you can t do much with to address by a [reduced] bag limit. [But] it s a federal thing. The layout guys are going to be kind of upset with it.
The Ohio general duck and goose seasons open Oct. 15 in the North Zone, and Oct. 22 in the South Zone.
The North Zone season runs through Dec. 4 and resumes Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. Canvasbacks may be hunted only Nov. 14 through Dec. 4 and Dec. 24 through Jan. 1. A special statewide youth waterfowl season for ages 15 and under is set for Oct. 8 and 9.
The statewide special early Canada goose season is under way through Sept. 15. The general season in the Lake Erie Canada Goose Zone has been expanded five days, Oct. 15 through 31 and Dec. 10 through Jan. 1, and the daily bag limit has been increased to two. The rest of the North Goose Zone will have a season running Oct. 15 through Nov. 27 and Dec. 17 through Jan. 1, along with the two-Canada limit. A special late Canada season is set for Jan. 14 through Feb. 4 in select northern counties and portions thereof, generally away from Lake Erie.
In Michigan, the duck season in the South Zone will run Oct. 15 to Dec. 11 and Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Canvasback season will be the last 30 days of the general season. A special federal youth hunt is set for Sept. 17 and 18.
For Canada geese in the lower peninsula, the season is set for Oct. 1 through 16 and Nov. 4 through Dec. 5. A special late season is set for Dec. 31 through Jan. 29 in the South Zone. The early goose season, under way, generally continues through Sept. 15.
Early and late seasons in Michigan have a reduced bag limit from five birds to three to help maintain goose numbers within the desired spring population of 175,000 to 225,000 birds, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said.
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The annual Pointe Mouillee Waterfowl Festival is set for Saturday and Sunday at Pointe Mouillee State Game Area east of I-75 at Rockwood, northeast of Monroe, Mich. Activities are planned from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The weekend includes the 58th Michigan Duck Hunters Tournament, where hunters compete in sneak-boat shooting, layout-boat shooting, and marsh shooting events. Punt-boat and rowboat races are included in events on the Huron River at the game area.
The Midwest Decoy Contest at the festival includes decoy and bird carvers from the United States and Canada, and a wildlife art show hosts artists and suppliers from both countries as well. An outdoor trading post will have more than 190 booths of hunting, fishing and camping gear.
Kids games include a BB-gun shoot, archery shoot, face painting, clowns and waterfowl-related games. Chain saw carving, fly-tying, and small-boat building demonstrations are featured daily, along with dog retriever trials.
The Midwest goose calling championship is set for noon Saturday and the Midwest duck calling championship is set for noon Sunday. For other details contact Dick Whitwam, festival executive director, 734-379-4292, or visit the event Web site www.miwaterfowlfest.org.
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The Fort Meigs Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, has set its annual fund-raising dinner and auction for Thursday at the clubhouse at Fallen Timbers Fairways Golf Course in Waterville, a new location this year. Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30 p.m. For tickets call Chuck Hoecherl, 419-385-6416.
The Fremont Chapter, Ducks Unlimited, has set its fund-raising dinner and auction for Sept. 14 at the American Legion Hall, 2000 Buckland Ave., Fremont. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For tickets call Todd Williams, 419-355-8771.
The Hancock County Chapter, National Wild Turkey Federation, has set its sixth annual hunting heritage dinner for Saturday at The Lighthouse, U.S. 224 West, Findlay. For tickets call Carl Stuard, 419-365-5567.
The annual Lake CountyPerchFest is set for Friday through Sunday at the Lake Metroparks Lakefront Park in Fairport Harbor, just east of Headlands Beach State Park. For details call the Lake County Visitors Bureau, 1-800-368-LAKE, or visit www.perchfest.net.
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A monarch butterfly festival is set for noon Sunday at the nature center at Maumee Bay State Park, near Quilter Lodge. Festivities include games, a slide show, butterfly crafts, cookie decorating and a monarch tagging demonstration as hundreds of butterflies are released for their migration to wintering grounds in central Mexico. For other details call the park nature center, 419-836-9117.
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Russell Lamp, who collects stinging insects for use in vaccine manufacturing by the pharmaceutical industry, is offering free removal of nests of bald-faced hornets and in-ground nests of yellow jackets, plus nests of paper wasps on farms where large collections of nests are concentrated. For details call Lamp at Integrated Pest Control, 419-243-1212.