Public water hunts

[Northern_Edge]

Okay guys, so I'll let you all weigh in on this one and be the judges for yourselves. Please do not PM me looking for an argument. This is just my opinion. So, we hunt public waters between Duluth, MN, and Superior, WI. There are permenant box blinds on pretty much every good point there is. Almost none of them have names and numbers and most of them see no work at all put into them before the season. My buddies and I hunted near one such blind that did not have any identification on 5 different weekends last year, and the only change made to the blind from the year before was that it had one pine branch tacked on the front. We decided that it was where we were going to go on opener this year and we got there plenty early because there are a lot of hunters where we go. We set our dekes at 8:00 and were done by 8:20. Another group of guys with two adults and two kids rolled up in a fishing boat at 8:25. They asked if it was our blind and I told him that it is public waters and that there is no name on the blind and that we are using our boat blind anyway. He starts telling me that they put all of this work into the blind and that they are hunting there. He pulls his boat in and the kids go into the blind. Then he says that we need to leave. I told him that we didn't need to leave and he starts talking about sportsmans ethics. I just about lost it. We picked up and left because it was obvious that these guys would've been the type to shoot my decoys once it was time to hunt. I am really tired of this type of thing going on in public waters. We had a talk with the DNR about this last year and they said that it is unacceptable behavior to kick someone out of a blind on public waters. The only reason I left was because it was opener and I didn't want to wait for the DNR to come and sort it out and lose the day of hunting. Is this what you would teach your kids? Would you teach them that it is okay to roll in a half an hour before shooting time and claim something that does not belong to you? This is an area with lots of water and lots of spots and that's what is going on. We talked to 3 other groups of hunters about it and they were outraged at the behavior of the other group. I'm sick and tired of the I own the world mentality out there.

[Darrin Lynn]

I have to agree with you. Some people think they own the world. I would go hunt there again and I would contact the DNR and let them know the situation. I believe you did the right thing by leaving, but this person need to be brought under control. You wouldn't happen to have a friend in law enforcement? If you do bring him along some people. People like that are why we have problem in the world. Good luck.

[LILDIG]

As Stated Call The Dnr And Ask If He Would Like To Hunt For A Morning. If It Is The Same There As Here Those Type People Only Hunt Opening Day Or Opening Weekend So They Should Not Be A Problem Past That Anyway.

[kundog331]

We have had a simular issue hunting in Missuri. We got to the spot on the water and we noticed that there was a blind on the other point across the cove. So we didn't set up almost until shooting time incase someone was going to show up and tell us to leave. No one showed up until about hour and a half after shooting time, and they complained about us being about 100 yards away. We told them that we were there before shooting ours, so it just turned into a calling mess. They were calling birds that were working our spread, and shooting at them when they were swinging around. They also shot a goose we were calling in, and they wounded it and it landed about 300 yards out in the lake. They had a boat and didn't even try to go get it. That really set us off, so we packed up and headed to the lakes main office to turn them in. Since we walked in with all our decoys it took us a little while to walk out. They knew were made and packed up the boat and they were gone. They were loaded and gone before we got to our truck. We ended up telling the DNR, and all they could do was watch that blind location.

Public Blinds are such a pain to me. The rules are differant at most of the lakes we hunt at. Some are draw at the officce for blinds, some are register for a date. Weekends suck, but week day hunting can be great. I always check with the main office a couple days before for the regulations before making the trip.

[yelladog]

[SIZE="7"]BURN THE BLIND DOWN......[SIZE="2"]

If the blind has been unocupied and no one wants to fix it up or claim it just burn it down or tear it down and hunt the spot in your boat blind ...


I can not understand where anyone even thinks they own or can hold public land.This in my opinion is the worst problem duckhunters face...I quit hunting major crowd drawing lakes and went to a hunting places that no one else hunts or can get to just for that reason.public land blinds should be outlawed and people who leave decoys out should get what the deserve......just my 2 cents sorry to rant but it makes me mad when i hear about people like that esp. with kids......:mad:

[tornadochaser]

sounds about as bad as people getting into brawls over permanent blinds built on public land for deer in the minnesota north woods. i would have sacrificed the day of hunting to wait for the warden to get his personal upclose opinion on the matter. its a situation somewhat similar to yours that has caused me to have the contact numbers for wardens in the 3 counties i hunt in minnesota, as well as the dispatch and tip numbers as well. if these guys dont learn it will just happen to somebody else down the road.

[Zach Byron]

I think you did the right thing by leaving, but I would have definitely contacted the DNR. Another option would be to have stuck it out, and if he DID shoot your decoys or ruin your hunt, that would be one more thing that the DNR could nail him on, and then you would have that spot to yourself all season. I know the type of people your talking about, it drives me crazy too man!

[Take-m]

I would have picked up my decoys to only go into the bush's a keep an eye on then until the CO got there. Public land is a pain but atleast in the great state of Minnesota we have it!

[duckin82]

i havent ever had that exact issue but i agree with you, one of our diver blinds is an awesome spot but if the guy on the other point hunts the same day we do, we is screwed

[calling4life]

I thought it was illegal to build a blind on public land in MN?????

I would have told them if they feel like hunting with me I would be glad to teach his kids a thing or two. But if he felt he was going to kick me off, then he was sorely mistaken.

[Big Honkers]

this is just another example of why i "hate" opening weekend. odds are you will not have this problem the rest of the season.

[quackaddict]

I would have stood right there and not backed down, not the right thing to do but people are such morons come opening day I just love to rattle the cages of the weekend warriors.

what you are describing is hunter harassment, it is illegal in MN. A CO would have easily sorted that mess out.

[Northern_Edge]

I appreciate all of your input guys. I knew I was in the right, and your feedback just backs that up. Good to know that the guys on here have a clue because there sure are a bunch of guys out in the marsh that make the rest of us look bad.

[mlrdklr]

I can't stand guys like that we where hunting last weekend adn had a guy walk in way past shooting hours and he sets up 50 yards from us. I could have seriously shot is mojos right off there stand....this guy starts to set up and i look at him and said what the he!! dude.... He just looks at me like i don't care its public....it just really rubs me the wrong way when people are like this becuase its those kind of guys that are relying on public ground becuase they are such jackass's that no one is going to give them permission on their ground...i just can't stand guys like this i belive there needs to be state regulations that there needs to be atleast a 150 yard gap between hunting groups...If that happend it would calm alot of these guy down and you would start to see alot more respect...

[waterfowlwizard]

I had the same problem with a spot that you have to walk a few miles to get back to. its a riverbottom that has several small backwater ponds and I had patterned the ducks and put my time in to find the best one and I got out there at six A.M. to make sure that no one else would try and set up there. I set the dekes up once it was legal to and my friends and I waited for legal and about ten minutes before legal, a guy and his son come floating by in the main channel, pull their boat up twenty yards down stream, and proceed to walk to the same eighth of an acre pond that I am set up on. they then proceeed to sit TEN yards downwind of my decoys. I stood up and asked him what he thought he was doing and explained all my scouting and how I had arrived early, and that it was public land, and all he said was "ive been hunting this area for twenty years and this is the same spot I have been hunting for every opener" I then told him that he was directly in our line of fire and that if he didnt move, it would not be safe for us to shoot at all. he replied,"I dont care, this is my spot" We ended up staying there and only being able to shoot upwind of our decoys taking pass shots because he was shooting every duck that i called into the decoys right out from under us. after we had enough of it, we left and never went back because its not worth risking someone getting hurt over a tiny chunk of ground. I will never hunt public land in minnesota again if I can avoid it.

[nvr8884]

wow....some guys out there are d*#$!... I have never encountered any people like that........Thank GOD I have a mouth on me and try to NOT back down from an argument..but when it comes to hunting...its best to let it go and not regret anything later....its sucks too, that just allows those kind of people to keep taking advantage..:(

[Chris Swanson]

good job keeping your cool

[xdasher19]

pretty sure he was hunting wisconsin

[Rollie]

I thought it was illegal to build a blind on public land in MN?????

I would have told them if they feel like hunting with me I would be glad to teach his kids a thing or two. But if he felt he was going to kick me off, then he was sorely mistaken.

I thought it was illegal too. Actually I think a blind can be erectected but has to be taken down each day. And cannot cause any damage to the place. I agree sometimes the best thing to do is just avoid the conflict I mean think about it the guys going hunting. He's got a gun. But at the very least I would have called the CO officer and told him about it. Maybe he could have met them at the parking lot. I know you said you had to walk a ways away maybe you should keep the number programmed into your cell phone. I know I do. You never know when you might need it.

[Dallas W Branch]

On public lands, unless they are drawn blinds...you snooze you loose. Sportsman just need to be respectful of one another. Treat those like you want to be treated.

If I have to crowd someone to get my limit and anger someone or vise versa it ruins the hunt for me. Find another spot. (I never scout without having at least a second place to go.) I would much rather sit and enjoy a hunt and shoot just a few birds than deal with people yelling and screaming at each other over this or that just to get a limit.

It's just not worth it to me.

Good luck this season to everyone, I hope you all have some great shoots and expierences. Remember to get up early because "early bird gets the worm!"

[Travis Lyle]

I agree with ya Dal!

[GooseBusterz]

In ohio it is legal to construct a permanent blind. You have to put your name an number on it. BUT its first come first serve. No questions asked.

[Mike Adams]

I agree If there is no ID on the blind then basicly its a free blind to the public! oone of our public lakes there are islands and most off them are owned by people so we have to hunt on non-posted land :(

[goosetalk]

Missouri has a fairly good law for public draw blinds on the Mississippi River and some of the lakes. They have a drawing every 2 years for these blinds. Each blind that is drawn must first pass a brush and safety inspection around the middle of Sept. and if it does not pass its thrown back into a drawing in the first week of Oct. For the ones that do pass, a laminated card is issued with the names and conservation #s of the blind members, which is posted in the blind. If none of these members show up by 6:00 a.m., then the blind is open to first come basis. If you set up in a blind and a blind member shows up after 6:00 a.m. they can't kick you out.

There are also other blinds not included in the drawing, but they follow the same rules. Names must be posted in the blinds and I beleive they can be occupied by others after 6:00 a.m.

[Hunter Haynes]

Hunting out of permanent blinds just got banned on the lakes around here. To many fights.
The original rule was the blind was yours opening day then after that its public, but people would get into fights in the mornings about whos blind it was and if it was too close to their blind and all that mess. Alot of people hunt around here and it gets very competitve.
One of my buddies saw a blind being burned opening morning last year.