# How many days you hunt waterfowl in Michigan



## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

I'm posting this poll for a couple of reasons. 1) I've seen the DNR's latest statistics on this issue (2014) from their random survey of waterfowl hunters. I'm trying to get similar input from you who use this forum, who I GENERALLY think are some of the more active waterfowl hunters. 2) I'm in the process of drafting a proposal for the CWAC and DNR to consider, and knowing this information will help steer it in one direction or the other. 

We all know we have 60 days, and we know we COULD start hunting with the UP opener, and keep working our way down, hunting every corner of the state to the bitter end. But DO YOU? So PLEASE BE HONEST. And remember....I'm only talking about your hunting in Michigan, not other states/provinces.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Is this for your pick your own dates you talked about? If so I'll do whatever I can to personally do to support it!


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

craigrh13 said:


> Is this for your pick your own dates you talked about? If so I'll do whatever I can to personally do to support it!


kind of...yeah. I'll say this...the DNR's statistics from 2014 survey show an average number of days hunted in Michigan of about 8. I think that's low. But that may be due to the fact their numbers also show a VAST majority of those surveyed hunt mainly the first 2 - 3 weeks, which leads me to believe the "tennis shoe" sector is skewing the numbers a lot. We've all talked about this before...the majority of those who hunt ducks are not really that active. I would guess that AVID hunters like many of you on here would average 15-30 days in Michigan, but it's just my guess.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

This is obviously not a scientific survey folks...I'm just trying to get a feel. So PLEASE BE HONEST. I know for a fact you don't all hunt 59 days in Michigan


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## UplandnWaterfowl (Jan 3, 2010)

just ducky said:


> would guess that AVID hunters like many of you on here would average 15-30 days in Michigan, but it's just my guess.


Think you are right with 15-30 average for *avid* duck hunters. If you only hunt one zone there are 9 weekends (10 with split) so if you are out every weekend that is 18/20 days, add in the week vacation and that gets it up to 25, add in the 2 teal weekends and your up to 29. Deduct the couple days that for what ever reason you didn't make it out and your back in the mid 20's

Would be difficult if your still working to get more than 30 days without hitting multiple zones or burning more than a weeks vacation.


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## Dahmer (Jan 22, 2007)

On avg. for me is 25 to 35 days


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Have they thought about doing some sort of survey at the draws? It's a way to survey a mass amount of hunters and perhaps some more avid hunters. Maybe on your first draw you just fill out a couple short questions then you get your card. Mostly average days a field and time period of the season you hunt the most?


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## John Singer (Aug 20, 2004)

UplandnWaterfowl said:


> Think you are right with 15-30 average for *avid* duck hunters. If you only hunt one zone there are 9 weekends (10 with split) so if you are out every weekend that is 18/20 days, add in the week vacation and that gets it up to 25, add in the 2 teal weekends and your up to 29. Deduct the couple days that for what ever reason you didn't make it out and your back in the mid 20's
> 
> Would be difficult if your still working to get more than 30 days without hitting multiple zones or burning more than a weeks vacation.


I think that you are right on with this assessment. I have kept a detailed waterfowl hunting journal for more than 30 years. I hunt waterfowl somewhere between 15 and 30 days per year most seasons. (IE: Last three seasons (18, 26, 25)


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## jwinks (Mar 20, 2014)

Around 20 this year, including geese, probably 14 during duck season. If you could get a hold of the dnr survey results, you could cross reference the results with the answer to the "did you hunt at a managed area" question.


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## stackemup (Oct 31, 2011)

25 is about average for me. Some years more some less.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

I hunted with some guides in Ypsilanti that said they had clients everyday of the entire season. Goose and duck. I've never met a guide in MI for the other marsh birds.

I would think $ "invested." LOL, is a closer measure of avidness.
Please don't encourage the people at DNR or USFWS to send out more surveys. 

Got another one a couple days back.


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## The Doob (Mar 4, 2007)

Just checked the log - 22 days afield for me. But that was without my UP and NLP trip this year. I think I average @ 25 per year.


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## Wolverine423 (Dec 3, 2013)

I'm embarrassed to say how many days....hahaha


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## walter sniper (Jan 21, 2010)

Not enough so that's why I am hunting southern states in January. 
I am intrigued by sea duck thing, it would be nice to have .


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

craigrh13 said:


> Have they thought about doing some sort of survey at the draws? It's a way to survey a mass amount of hunters and perhaps some more avid hunters. Maybe on your first draw you just fill out a couple short questions then you get your card. Mostly average days a field and time period of the season you hunt the most?


But that would only get the input of bingo hunters. Actually the survey they do is a good representation. It's random, of all hunters (not just bingo/not bingo or whatever) and scientifically based as far as statistically significant. I just happen to disagree with what they came up with (8 days).

The people that typically hang on this board are more avid than most (IMO), and the numbers all of you are saying are right in line with what I was thinking.


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## CougarHunter (Oct 2, 2008)

2014-2015 I went on 29 hunts in Michigan. This season was only 15 due to school, work, and other things that get in the way of important things such as shooting ducks


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

my guess is less than 1% of those who purchase waterfowl licenses hunt 45 or more days in Michigan. Just my two cents


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

FWIW, I voted 11-20. I believe I did 18 in Michigan this year...down a bit for me...normally maybe 25 or so? But I also do a week in Nodak, which is where I really get my fix


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

If you can concoct a proposal that overcomes the overwhelming concentration of duck hunters in the Z3 east, I'll salute you. They've got the bodies, the license fees, and they don't like ice.

I can't see any support for any proposal that even hints at the loss of a single revenue penny from that group.
Now a separate "Sqwaa stamp" could maybe get some traction. Sea duck zone with a separate "Sqwaa stamp" for habitat. Maybe close off a breeding island or something. I'd buy one.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

I'll just say this about a sea duck season...it took us almost a decade to get an early teal season again. And there was a LOT of support for that from a LOT of hunters in multiple states in the flyway. Sea ducks? Very little support in comparison to teal...just way too specialized. So even if we had a proposal for a special sea duck season, it would take years to get the feds to buy in. Just my two cents.

HOWEVER...in lieu of a special season carved out just for sea ducks, we CAN get creative with our current seasons and provide for some later opportunities (i.e. sea duck opportunities for those who care). Stay tuned


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## Lurker (Jan 25, 2009)

just ducky said:


> So even with a job/shift that allows more flexibility than many, you said you hunt 35-45 days. My theory that very few people hunt 60 days in Michigan is ringing true. We scream whenever we discuss a less than 60 day framework, and my belief is we scream because what a 60 day season DOES do is give us each more flexibility on WHEN we hunt. If we had a 45 day season, or even a 30 day season, we are a lot more restricted on WHEN we hunt, but my belief is we probably still average about the same number of days hunting.


 shorter season means less days afield for me. I take unpaid days off from work to hunt.


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## lasalleman (Jan 27, 2011)

First year really getting into it good and hunted at least 12 days, most likely closer to 15+. Mostly in the UP with some late season stuff in the south zone. If only we could count the days spent shopping for gear and watching duck videos... haha


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> punched my ticket 7 times in michigan this season. 7 times in nodak. i gave my 10 year average when choosing from the options as i've been down on attempts the last few years....average attempts for me should be around 25-30+


yeah I asked for "average" because we all vary from year to year. Heck when I was in my 20's I probably did close to the max, which back then was not nearly what we get nowadays.


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## lasalleman (Jan 27, 2011)

Very good pole BTW. Love to see people doing some personal research.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

JD, it's true, more days equal more options. More days to choose from.
For the other guests, please recognize that there are all kinds of ways to duck hunt.
If you expand your techniques, it's less of a grind to go more.
I found maintaining a bay rig very restricting.

If I was getting up at 2:00 to hit a bingo, I wouldn't go much.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Tavor said:


> ...Seems to me that if there were a lot of guys hunting a third or a half of all available days, I would see more of them at the ramps on weekdays.


Fact is we sportsmen and women in Michigan have a ton of opportunities, both fishing and hunting, and a good share of us do multiple things that compete for our time. Think about it...most of us do a lot of different things rather than simply duck hunting. There's the obvious ones like bow and/or gun hunting for deer, and the not so obvious ones like steelhead fishing.


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## Tavor (Sep 10, 2011)

There's another thing I'd like to bring up. These polls always ask about "days afield". So what really counts as a day afield? In the last few years, I have been really surprised at the number of guys who are picked up and heading back to the ramp at 10:00 or 11:00 in the morning. At 10:00 I am still feeling like the day is just getting started. For us, hunting is a big production. Lots of prep, lots of setup. There's no way I would bother going out to hunt for a couple of hours. Actually, we don't even go out onto the lake until it is starting to get light; right around legal shooting time. We generally get setup by about 8:30, and we hunt until at least 1:00, but usually until 2:00 or 3:00; sometimes 4:00. We rarely limit out due to species restrictions, plus the fact that we don't shoot buffleheads or teal, just because they are so small. I think a lot of other guys go for a quicker, smaller setup, so they can just give it an hour or two and still be home in time to go to work/school/whatever. So what's your idea of "hunter days" or a "day afield"?


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

If I left the house with the intention of killing a duck.


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## Outdoor Gal (Sep 9, 2008)

just ducky said:


> If we had a 45 day season, or even a 30 day season, we are a lot more restricted on WHEN we hunt, but my belief is we probably still average about the same number of days hunting.


I disagree. I would say that if the season was shortened the general hunters days afield (including those of us here) would lessen. Work, family obligations, etc. happen and if you have a shorter window available to hunt, it gets harder to balance all of the above.


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## Tavor (Sep 10, 2011)

just ducky said:


> Fact is we sportsmen and women in Michigan have a ton of opportunities, both fishing and hunting, and a good share of us do multiple things that compete for our time. Think about it...most of us do a lot of different things rather than simply duck hunting. There's the obvious ones like bow and/or gun hunting for deer, and the not so obvious ones like steelhead fishing.


Yes, and life gets in the way. That's sorta what I was trying to get at. I think the few guys that get out 40 times in a season are statistical outliers, barely even a significant number (well, except on this site!). Remember, a huge percentage of people, even duck hunters, work full time jobs. That alone precludes the weekday hunting for most. Two years ago I was working a full time job with lots of overtime, plus I was sent to China for a week. I think I hunted 8 times that year. Not because I wasn't interested.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

The survey distribution bands are looking typical for a waterfowler's site.
The casual duck hunter group 0-10 days is the biggest, and most price sensitive group. They are also the beginners. So changing fee structures inordinately effects them.

$50.00 before your first duck is a mistake. A cheaper, shorter license would be even worse.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Outdoor Gal said:


> I disagree. I would say that if the season was shortened the general hunters days afield (including those of us here) would lessen. Work, family obligations, etc. happen and if you have a shorter window available to hunt, it gets harder to balance all of the above.


yeah i kinda agree and this is also the thinking behind bag limits vs. length of season matrix the feds use. More days = more ducks killed....than increasing bag limits per say.

whats ironic is when we had a 30 day season, i hunted all 30 days. Now we have 60 day season and I hunted 14. go figure. haha.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Gamekeeper said:


> The survey distribution bands are looking typical for a waterfowler's site.
> The casual duck hunter group 0-10 days is the biggest, and most price sensitive group. They are also the beginners. So changing fee structures inordinately effects them.
> 
> $50.00 before your first duck is a mistake. A cheaper, shorter license would be even worse.


who said anything about changing the fee structure? I know I didn't. I'm looking only at dates/season length, which yes could affect INCOME to the DNR. But not if you do it right


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> yeah i kinda agree and this is also the thinking behind bag limits vs. length of season matrix the feds use. More days = more ducks killed....than increasing bag limits per say.
> 
> whats ironic is when we had a 30 day season, i hunted all 30 days. Now we have 60 day season and I hunted 14. go figure. haha.


From my perspective, when we have a shorter season, I feel more pressure to get out as much as possible. It just seems a lot more laid back when we have 60 day seasons. Just my feeling


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## population control (Apr 18, 2009)

41 days hunted. And I still had vacation days to use to kill a stupid deer. 
Make it a thirty day season doesn't matter to me, I will fish the rest of the fall. I hunt whenever the season says I can. Teal, goose, duck. I am in the minority for sure


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## gooseboy (Jul 11, 2008)

12 days this year Down from an average of 25-30. Time in the blind was lower as well. Lack of birds wrongful forecasts by weathermen El Niño years for me are never great and I wish the season dates would reflect expected El Niño weather. Like a later opener and a later split weekend. Mallards in my waters showed up after Christmas. I am below the yellow line.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

just ducky said:


> So even with a job/shift that allows more flexibility than many, you said you hunt 35-45 days. My theory that very few people hunt 60 days in Michigan is ringing true. We scream whenever we discuss a less than 60 day framework, and my belief is we scream because what a 60 day season DOES do is give us each more flexibility on WHEN we hunt. If we had a 45 day season, or even a 30 day season, we are a lot more restricted on WHEN we hunt, but my belief is we probably still average about the same number of days hunting.


Yep...very few will hunt everyday of the season. I don't squander the days away waiting for ducky weather by any means either. I hunt whenever I have the opportunity. Idc what the weather is. I can't kill them from the couch. I would hunt a few more days if life's responsibilities didn't exist. Meaning my lovely lady, keeping up the house and property, grocery shopping, vet appointments, OT etc etc...I'm also in a good location. Within 30 minutes or less I can hit some prime real estate on either side of Saginaw Bay including 2 WMA. So I can go hunt an hour, a few hours a half or whole day. No question I get more hints in because of my schedule and location. Doesn't matter if it's a 30,45, or 60 day season I'm gonna hunt as much as I possibly can. It's a marathon and I'm always ready to run.


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## nighttime (Nov 25, 2007)

15 last year and 17 this year.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

my original guesstimation a few days ago that the majority of the people who are regulars here would average 15-30 days is ringing true. Good info folks. Thanks for the honest thoughts.


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## Gamekeeper (Oct 9, 2015)

JD. I mentioned fee stuff because there's essentially a list of weighted considerations that policy makers use when considering proposals. Money is one. Unexpected consequences is another. So are any of the other listed imperatives that are part of various mission statements. Access, Future, Enjoyment, Opportunity, Sustainability, etc. all the usual buzz words. They get equated for measurement purposes (like "hunter days" or "revenue neutral").
And generate endless surveys to support actions.
I swear waterfowlin' has become like staying in a chain hotel.

When ideas expand to include flyway level stuff, you are starting to tread on the economies of southern governors. They are well armed, and bite.


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