mergansers, whats your opinion?

willametteriveroutlaw · 01-08-2002, 06:26 PM

I grew up in the school that you eat what you shoot, but lately most of the guys I hunt with shoot mergansers on sight and don't count them in their limit, Basically just stomp them into them mud. The logic behind this is that they hammer the salmon and steelhead smolts pretty hard. I have killed a few of them and even attempted to eat one. They taste terrible, horrid infact. I know guys who kill cormornants as well, I won't just because of the risk. Bottom line is I would like to know how the rest of you guys feel about the whole issue.

BuKuBass · 01-08-2002, 08:43 PM

In the "Grand Scheme" I imagine that those birds have thier place. But if I could legally do it, I'd nuke'em.

rcl187 · 01-08-2002, 09:13 PM

Not all mergansers are bad eating. Infact 2 of the 3 I mainly see are fine. They taste the same as most divers or widgeon. I don't specifically hunt them or anything but if I bag one I make sure to eat it. Making gumbo, stew or jerky works best or anything involving lots of flavoring.

Bob Barthlow · 01-08-2002, 09:49 PM

GREAT TARGET PRACTICE ,they crash realy hard. :shocked:

Bounty Hunter · 01-09-2002, 07:22 AM

I enjoy hunting and fishing for all kinds of things, but I would rather not kill any of them if I wasn't going to eat them. WRO, I doubt they make a dent in the amount of salmon that you or I are ever going to see. In the "grand scheme" of things they are pretty insignificant salmon harvesters.

RR, I don't think anything's life should be wasted for target practice either. They make clay pigeons for that.

Just my $.02

fish forever · 01-09-2002, 07:59 AM

I'm with BH and RCL. If you shoot it, you take it home and eat it. Also, I think you count it in your Bag, in fact at least in Oregon, its the law. Mergansers are counted in your Duck bag limit of 7 birds(see p. 10 or Oregon bird regs). Also, discarding the bird would make you liable for wastage of game which is a pretty hefty fine and possibly loss of your gun. Since they are a federal migratory waterfowl, i would think other states would have the same rule. If you dont want to eat or keep them, you dont have to shoot them - they are pretty easy to identify.

Besides being in the regulations, you owe it to your sport to take the bird home - shooting for fun with out retaining the meat is just the kind of ammunition the anti's need to further restrict our sport. We dont need to give the anti's any more ammo to sway public sentiment.

Dogfish · 01-09-2002, 12:35 PM

Merganser = sausage meat.

Do I tenderly prepare a fine sauce to go along with it? No!

I shoot it, and I eat it.

Beer Waggin · 01-09-2002, 03:01 PM

I'm with the shoot and eat club, but I pass on the merg's.
A bit off the topic, but about a month ago I saw a wounded goose flapping it's wings on the side of the river (Willamette river near Buena Vista). I went over to investigate and discovered that it was a Dusky. Seeing that the bird couldn't fly, and could barely swim I went ahead and killed him. Now we were way on the wrong side of I-5 to be doing that, but I figured he was going to die soon enough anyway. I just buried him in the boat blind and took him home. While cleaning him I discovered that the shot in his breast was lead and not steel. Must still be a few guys around that haven't read the reg book lately. I could have cared less about someone shooting a Dusky, to many of them around anyways, but still using lead shot? :whazzup:

Baldpate Basher · 01-09-2002, 07:32 PM

I'd like to think I'd use all of the birds taken while hunting but the facts are otherwise.

Many have been the times I've stomped a bird into the mud. Mostly this was due to taking a bird dubbed illegal by the state of Maryland.
(Stupid Canvasbacks don�t even know not to fly with a flock of Baldpates) :whazzup:

However I�ve also shot divers, here and in Maryland, that I dumped into a Dumpster later. (I should have at least taxied the poor bird.)
But I did count them in my bag limit.

So reality is not what we want it to be. It�s what we make it. Doesn�t that suck?
:tongue:

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Zen Leecher aka Bill W · 01-10-2002, 10:37 AM

Back in the 80's WA state had a special extra 5 bird limit on mergies. This was in addition to the regular duck limit. I think their intent was to keep the mergie population cropped down.

Now while I follow the rules and regs very closely, somehow I don't feel the same way when mergies fly close.

They're brush ducks, plain and simple. We need less of them. Cormorants too. I do draw the line on popping cormorants. They're protected, but shouldn't be.

willametteriveroutlaw · 01-10-2002, 12:26 PM

I did a little research on the internet. Mergansers eat about 6 to 8 oz of fish and other marine life a day. Figure a family group in a single season could realistically eat a couple thousand smolts along with our trout. Plus they are on a huge population upswing right now. Those smolts could potentily equal 50 or sixty salmon or steelhead returning. But cormorants are even worse, they eat almost a kilogram of fish a day per bird!!!! And there population has risen 632% in oregeon since 1978!! I got that off and washington goverment sight. Just some food for thought.

Jim · 01-10-2002, 03:35 PM

Accidentally shot a Merg in the fog last year...my dog would not retrieve it! Swam right to it full charge...grabbed on...let go...anybody expereince anything like this??

Only bird she has ever done that to...and it was completely dead.

Jim

Tilla · 01-10-2002, 04:50 PM

Those dogs are pretty smart, some birds are downright unpleasant to them. I can't explain it. The young pup I got wouldn't touch a merganser, loves the ducks though.

Hoosier Daddy · 01-11-2002, 07:28 AM

I have to say that I don't believe mergansers are a huge problem for salmon, cormorants and terns are another story. Anyway, I always stayed away from Hairy-heads, though my buddy shot one in the fog a few years back. He was unpleasantly surprised, but he took it home. I seem to recall his dog wasn't fond of the darned thing either, I think he got it, but he didn't enjoy it.

Baldpate Basher · 01-11-2002, 02:05 PM

That's right. And we should all run right out this very second and shoot all those fisheating #&%*!^$ and mount them on our walls ....
And those @#*%!^# Canvasbacks too!!!!!!!

:whazzup:
OK. I'll go take my Prozac. :depressed:
Again.

[ 01-11-2002: Message edited by: Baldpate Basher ]</p>