Long Live the Sawbill Derby W LINK TO FULL SCOOP

[duckboy]

Stolen from another Hunting Forum::::

I think that we should lobby the WDFG to ask the Flyway Council for a seperate Merganser limit. This is an option and in past years, like in the 60's anyway, they were a seperate limit. I believe that some of the other flyways have a seperate Merg limit as allowed by the Fed. Regs. Here is my rational.

#1. They are fish eaters and even though the sport take of Mergansers would probably have little or no effect on the fish populations such as Salmon and Steelhead smolts in the coastal rivers and Walleyes - Trout inland the fact is that for every Merg. taken a bunch of little fish would be saved. This would make a bunch of fisherman happy even if the result was not statistically seen. It would give me a warm and fuzzy feeling all over when I posted up a picture of a limit of 5 Common Merg drakes.

#2. They really are a sporting bird and very beautiful in hand. There are people in other flyways that target them with decoys spreads, etc and consider then a worthy bird to harvest.

#3.Despite what Coho and Sully (plus others) say they are edible. I take a few every year just for fun and they go into my dinners along with the other ducks bagged that day. Also the salt hunters on the wet side that shoot a few each year already add them to the duck that they process into pepperoni, etc. So if a hunter chose to shoot the Merg. limit they would have a legitimate use and not be wasted.

#4 The addition of this seperate limit would in no way impact the harvest of the traditional ducks taken in our state. This means that you would still get to shoot whatever the Feds and State determine as a bag limit for the traditional ducks in our normal season. The Mergs would be additional birds to be taken if you chose to shoot them.

I only see plusses for some of the hunters if the seperate Merg limit was brought back.

So if you have followed this so far what do you honestly think. I'm serious about this.

My undertsanding is we have to lobby the WDFG individually, as organizations and through the WAG so that they ,the WDFG, would ask the Flyway Council (meets in July I think) to consider the Merganser season for Washington State. So all you waterfowler/fisherman out there, join me in requesting that this season be brought back.
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Boy,

That is a great idea.

I love hunting sawbills, and they are good eating too..

Anyone who wants some education on how to prepare them, please contact me... My wife is thai, and she could make an old shoe taste good, and she is willing to share her knowledge.

they decoy readily, and they are easily identified, so i think it would be something that is worth pursuing and that a lot of folks could get some good hunting out of.

We could start a Columbia river slogan (shoot a sawbill and save a salmon).

Let em know what I can do to help.

I am going to put this post up on another forum and see what kind of response we drum up over there.

We can put our heads together and see if the regs can be updated.

Long live the sawbill derby!

[QH's Paw]

Decoy readily, for real? I never really noticed them decoy up. Mostly the ones we've shot have been flybys or overhead pass shots. I'm for anything that lets me stay out longer as long as it doesn't cause long term problems. I never really considered them ducks so we should be able to get a longer season on them right.

[duckboy]

Actually,

this Is going to be on the agenda of
discussion at the next WAG meeting in April. We could test the waters at the meeting and see where it goes.

[waterfowlin101]

Decoy readily, for real?

I was thinking the same thing....never seen a sawbill lock up on the dekes :whazzup:.

(maybe hoodies occasionally)

Jon

[QH's Paw]

Excuse my ignorance...WAG? Still don't have all the jargon down. What is WAG?

[duckboy]

Re WAG, it is a secret acronym from another forum where this very topic is being seriously SERIOUSLY put to the paper.


I believe that WAG Is a component of the Agencies that make the rules and regulations in Washington regarding Game limits and seasons.

This is a post that was brought over from another hunting online forum. As was the WAG refrence.

I am waiting for the official Aok from The powers that be on ifish to post a link to that site from this site, but i can not do it as of yet, because i do not know if the powers that be have had a chance to aok it or even look into it.

[STGRule]

Duckboy, thanks for asking first. We decided that in this case the link would be fine. Here it is. Click here.

[duckboy]

Thanks for posting the link STGRule, Hope you folks will spread the word and get people excited about the possibility of Wa following suit with the regs for most of the other states in the union.

[Quackhead]

Commons decoy extremely well on the river. They almost look like a mallard when they have their big orange feet down gliding into your spread. (Not quite the same rush though)

[duckboy]

When i say they decoy readily, it does not mean cupped wings.


With a merganser (non hooded variety) they do decoy in very well, but rather than cupped wings, it is more like a sail plane landing... with a splash and a crash and then of course the death roll with feet and belly up.

[waterfowlin101]

Commons decoy extremely well on the river. They almost look like a mallard when they have their big orange feet down gliding into your spread. (Not quite the same rush though)

Now that is funny I don't care who you are.

Here is my take on the whole merganser thing....if I just want to shoot my gun, I got plenty of other things to shoot at.

A sawbill is kind of like a coot. You can wack the crap outta them and it doesn't affect your duck limit....but do ya?:grin:

I didn't think so .

I don't think there is anthing wrong with killing mergs...I just don't see myself doing it.

Now if you put a bunch of bands on them......

Jon

[duckboy]

[A sawbill is kind of like a coot. You can wack the crap outta them and it doesn't affect your duck limit....but do ya?:grin:
\Now if you put a bunch of bands on them......

Jon

Actually, they DO affect your limit. they are a duck. limit is 7 ducks.

We want to have a seperate limit for mergansers like the states in the other flyways do. So they will NOT affect the limit of ducks we are shooting.

But more importantly, to help the salmonids

[Quackhead]

I think what jon meant was that mergansers are like coots. (garbage or what not). Coots do not affect your duck limit and we don't wack the crap out of them so why would it matter if the limit was seperate for mergs. We won't shoot them anyway.
That is what I think he meant.
:whazzup:

[duckboy]

I'd shoot the tar out of em.

I'd shoot vast stringers of em...

It would be a daily barrage of Sawbill slaughter on the big river.

[waterfowlin101]

Thanks Chris :grin:...I was a little ambiguious the way I said that ...you are right...what I meant was that you could whack the crap outta the coot, and most guys don't kill them. If mergs got the same treatment legally, would we really go around killing them??

Jon

[waterfowlin101]

By the way...duckboy, Quavkhead....shouldn't you guys be getting ready foe a cold day on the river :shocked:.

Be safe out there...and good luck!!!

Jon

[duckboy]

yep..

I can never sleep the night before.. too excited


If only those honkers had saw bills on them... man, that would be a sawbill of grand scale

[Eric Strand]

For all the guys who are gonna put the hammer on em. How do they taste??

" Shoot em with their feet down "
Eric Strand

[BrotherWolf]

I was thinking the same thing....never seen a sawbill lock up on the dekes :whazzup:.

(maybe hoodies occasionally)

Jon

Ummm did ya forget about this one Jon....LOL