# 2010 Proposed Waterfowl Season Regs



## November Sunrise (Jan 12, 2006)

The NRC will be finalizing and voting on this proposal on August 12th:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/d...igratory_BirdHunting_Regulations_328074_7.pdf

*Ducks:*

North zone: September 25 - November 19 and November 25 - November 28

Middle zone: October 2 - November 28 and December 4-5

South zone: October 9 - December 5 and January 1-2

*Geese:*

*Early season:* September 1-15 LP, September 1-10 UP

*Regular season:*

North zone: September 15 - October 29

Middle zone: October 2 - November 8 and November 25 - December 1

South zone: October 9 - November 11 and November 25 - December 5

*Late season:* January 1-31


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

What about the limits the dates never change


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## November Sunrise (Jan 12, 2006)

raisinrat said:


> What about the limits the dates never change


Sure seems to me like dates have changed often over the years. For example, just a few years ago in the area we hunt there was only 10 days of goose hunting available in October.

I didn't look closely at the proposed limits but it appears to me that they are essentially the same as last year. The specifics are detailed on the link that I provided on one of the last few pages of the document.


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## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

If this proposal passes, that will be cool. I'm still not a fan of the Jan 1/2
late two day hunt. But over all I like it. I've got to make some popcorn cause this will be a long one.........


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## GoldenRetiever (Jun 14, 2010)

hell yea my pre deployment leave starts oct. 8th i get to go duck hunting i am soo excited illl be home for opening weekend. that is if the dates remain the same.


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## lang49 (Aug 1, 2005)

CWAC: Tell me again, what is the point of having the middle zone take a week off (Nov 29th through Dec 3rd)? If you're going to make a split, you might as well make it a substantial split, say 2 weeks or better. 

Its not like 5 days makes a damn bit of a difference.


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## Ieatantlers (Oct 7, 2008)

No matter where you are in the south zone, the Jan 1/2 split is the best chance to limit 2 days in a row. No doubt about it. You couldn't have a better 2 days to hunt.


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## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

Ieatantlers said:


> No matter where you are in the south zone, the Jan 1/2 split is the best chance to limit 2 days in a row. No doubt about it. You couldn't have a better 2 days to hunt.


Maybe in the southern part of the south zone I'll agree, but not up by the 
bay. We are pretty much froze out by that time of the year, and the
majority of the birds are gone. It's a waste for us up here.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

And.....they're off! :evilsmile


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

I'll keep stirring the pot a little. 

Guess my opinion on a 2 week split in Oct. that I mentioned on the waterfowl survey this spring didn't matter. And I thought they cared about what I thought.:lol:


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## Mike L (Sep 8, 2003)

just ducky said:


> And.....they're off! :evilsmile


....................lol


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## UplandnWaterfowl (Jan 3, 2010)

Has anybody seen anything official on the Youth weekend, if like previous years it should be Sept 18-19 for all areas (the week before the North opener).


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## November Sunrise (Jan 12, 2006)

UplandnWaterfowl said:


> Has anybody seen anything official on the Youth weekend, if like previous years it should be Sept 18-19 for all areas (the week before the North opener).


By statute the youth waterfowl hunt always occurs on the 3rd Saturday and Sunday in September. It's always the 3rd weekend so that it won't overlap with the youth deer hunt, which is on the 4th Saturday and Sunday.


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## highcaliberconsecrator (Oct 16, 2009)

UplandnWaterfowl said:


> Has anybody seen anything official on the Youth weekend, if like previous years it should be Sept 18-19 for all areas (the week before the North opener).


I believe this to be true....


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## UKLABMAN (Dec 6, 2003)

I'm liking the Jan 2 day split less and less. I'd rather have a week longer in December with a week off back in late October. The chances of good hunts are great in mid-December and when you put all your eggs in one basket for the 2 day split it is a big gamble. I have had some dandy hunts then but more often than not it is impossible to get to some of the best area, and if it's clear and cold the field hunting is less than great. Get after the geese in January but give me the ducks in December.


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## field-n-feathers (Oct 20, 2008)

Yippy Skippy!!!! Nothing has changed in the South Zone. What a fabulous waste of time asking what our opinion was on the season dates. Maybe if we had an official title to our name such as Michigan South Zone Duck Hunters Association we could get things done. (NOTE: This is not a slam on the recent "Spinning Wing" changes either. I'm extremely happy that one organization or another could elicit a change in something!!). Carry on.


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

field-n-feathers said:


> Yippy Skippy!!!! Nothing has changed in the South Zone. What a fabulous waste of time asking what our opinion was on the season dates. Maybe if we had an official title to our name such as Michigan South Zone Duck Hunters Association we could get things done. (NOTE: This is not a slam on the recent "Spinning Wing" changes either. I'm extremely happy that one organization or another could elicit a change in something!!). Carry on.



What changed?


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

field-n-feathers said:


> Yippy Skippy!!!! Nothing has changed in the South Zone. What a fabulous waste of time asking what our opinion was on the season dates. Maybe if we had an official title to our name such as Michigan South Zone Duck Hunters Association we could get things done. (NOTE: This is not a slam on the recent "Spinning Wing" changes either. I'm extremely happy that one organization or another could elicit a change in something!!). Carry on.


FnF, i think this is your calling. Find a group that thinks like you, join up and push it forward. Thats literally what it takes to get a change done nowadays.


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## field-n-feathers (Oct 20, 2008)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> FnF, i think this is your calling. Find a group that thinks like you, join up and push it forward. Thats literally what it takes to get a change done nowadays.


Dan, I wouldn't go so far to say as this is my calling. LOL! Although, I'm sure as much as I've commented on the subject....it could be assumed that it is.


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## highcaliberconsecrator (Oct 16, 2009)

field-n-feathers said:


> Yippy Skippy!!!! Nothing has changed in the South Zone. What a fabulous waste of time asking what our opinion was on the season dates. Maybe if we had an official title to our name such as Michigan South Zone Duck Hunters Association we could get things done. (NOTE: This is not a slam on the recent "Spinning Wing" changes either. I'm extremely happy that one organization or another could elicit a change in something!!). Carry on.





raisinrat said:


> What changed?


 
Oh boy.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

TSS Caddis said:


> I thought the survey on the Mdha website asking about the robo ban at the flats showed the majority didn't want a total ban yet Mdha backed it?


[ame="http://www.midha.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3357"]spinners or robo ducks - to ban or not to ban on managed waterfowl areas - Michigan Duck Hunters Association Forums[/ame]

this only poll i can find on mdha and are you reading it correctly?

or this one

[ame="http://www.midha.org/forums/showthread.php?t=2689"]would you support a ban on robo ducks? - Michigan Duck Hunters Association Forums[/ame]

neither poll had much participation on these 2 above...but there was some comments worthy of listening to.


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## Big Honkers (Dec 20, 2008)

Grayphase said:


> NEWSFLASH. SOUTHERN ZONE III WATERFOWL HUNTERS $#*%! AGAIN. DNR is killing us down here. The january split is a joke. We will LOSE A MAJORITY OF BIRDS down here BEFORE the SEASON OPENS AGAIN like most years. Find someone to oversee Michigan Waterfowl Hunting that has a clue. Forget the groups.





Grayphase said:


> 60/6 has been ridiculous for several years. We are going to pay for it now




I do not agree with either of your statements.






Water_Hazard said:


> Season dates were fine last year where I hunt. Glad to see them the same.



I tend to agree with WH's view. Sure, as a SW MI hunter I would like to hunt an extra week sometime in Dec (insert sidebar on 2 day split here) but considering all the give/take on the hunter related issues that go into formulating regs I think the current format is a good balancing point for everyone.


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## GoldenRetiever (Jun 14, 2010)

Why dont we all just face no matter what the state or feds do you cant please everyone. No matter what they decide their will always be people for the idea and of course against it.


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

I am thankful for the 60 days. 

Yet as a SW MI waterfowler...5 days in December is not enough as far as I am concerned. :sad:

I know this dead horse has its ar$e kicked every year. :corkysm55


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

TSS Caddis said:


> I thought the survey on the Mdha website asking about the robo ban at the flats showed the majority didn't want a total ban yet Mdha backed it?


Majority of those surveyed on the web, phone, email, etc. either approved, OR stayed neutral on it. And of those staying neutral, most said "off the record" they agreed, but couldn't get their members to vote on it for a number of reasons, and had to stay neutral. Only a small percentage, like 10%, went on record disapproving of the proposal.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> spinners or robo ducks - to ban or not to ban on managed waterfowl areas - Michigan Duck Hunters Association Forums
> 
> this only poll i can find on mdha and are you reading it correctly?
> 
> ...


2nd poll.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

just ducky said:


> Majority of those surveyed on the web, phone, email, etc. either approved, OR stayed neutral on it. And of those staying neutral, most said "off the record" they agreed, but couldn't get their members to vote on it for a number of reasons, and had to stay neutral. Only a small percentage, like 10%, went on record disapproving of the proposal.


IMO, for any reg to be changed, it should have more than a slim majority. By in large, most people that are happy with the status quo do not vote, mostly those that want change vote.

I don't want to rehash the whole robo debate, since I respectfully disagree with how it was done, but wanted to point out that internet polls to support a change, are not the end all be all. Heck, I have friends that belong to the flats org that only keep up with things via your Facebook page that claim they didn't read anything about the ban until after it was passed. Just pointing out that orgs you may belong to, do not necessarily represent the interests of their majority. If you polled all members and the majority were in favor, my apologies, just repeating what was relayed to me by members.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

TSS Caddis said:


> 2nd poll.





TSS Caddis said:


> I thought the survey on the Mdha website asking about the robo ban at the flats showed the majority didn't want a total ban yet Mdha backed it?


not many voters which i pointed out in poll post.....still not a majority.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

TSS Caddis said:


> IMO, for any reg to be changed, it should have more than a slim majority. By in large, most people that are happy with the status quo do not vote, mostly those that want change vote.


You weren't at shiawassee meetings...we had 95% majority. Read thru the minutes on shiawassee forums. This was done many times...not just one little backdoor meeting. It's been discussed for over a year before we even pushed forward with it.

if we even had a slight fight against it we would have never had gone forward. We didn't. Last 3 seasons have been plagued with spinner problems..not just the last season. Enough people had enough....even some of the guys that were against the ban in previous years came forward and said.....ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 

i know you think you have been robbed of a right...but to be honest, you haven't hunted there in years and really have no educated opinion on it except you think you lost something when in reality you didnt. sorry.


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

Let's keep this thread focused on the Proposed Waterfowl SEASON regs.

The Shia Spinner thing is no longer proposed nor directly related to season (as it relates to bag/length) regulations for all of Michigan.

open a new thread for specific gma issues.

thanks


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> You weren't at shiawassee meetings...we had 95% majority.


Do the majority of members attend meetings? If you sent something out to the membership that there was going to be a vote at X meeting, then no flats members should have anything to complain about.


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## Grayphase (May 11, 2010)

Big Honkers said:


> I do not agree with either of your statements.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 You obviously dont hunt ducks in SE MI. East and west zone III should open and close on different dates. I'd like to see a spreadsheet of license sales in the Free Press that shows where the concentration of hunters are in real numbers. The best that can happen to SE MI is Zone II include western zone III, Sag Bay, Detroit River and the open waters of Lakes St Clair and Erie with a later close in dec. As far as season lengths and limits think what you want. Michigan has had seasons with 1,2 and 3 bird limits in the past. Anyone that thinks it cant happen again is an idiot.


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## Big Honkers (Dec 20, 2008)

Grayphase said:


> You obviously dont hunt ducks in SE MI. East and west zone III should open and close on different dates. I'd like to see a spreadsheet of license sales in the Free Press that shows where the concentration of hunters are in real numbers. The best that can happen to SE MI is Zone II include western zone III, Sag Bay, Detroit River and the open waters of Lakes St Clair and Erie with a later close in dec. As far as season lengths and limits think what you want. Michigan has had seasons with 1,2 and 3 bird limits in the past. Anyone that thinks it cant happen again is an idiot.





you are right, i am not a SE MI waterfowler. as i stated in the previous post i am a SW MI waterfowler. it sounds like you want a later close. if you take a moment and read a little you will find that many SW MI waterfowlers would like to hunt later into december. i'd like it too, just look at my previous post. generally speaking its the east side guys that do not want to hunt far into dec due to freeze out. putting the bay in zone II MIGHT help the equation but i would not get too hopeful. again, as i stated in my previous post given the circumstances i think the current regs are a good balancing act of interests of all hunters.

and finally, you are right on a couple things - lower bird limits and huntable days can happen again. also, i agree with sag bay in zone II, however the rest of the locations you listed should be in zone III.


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## goosemanrdk (Jan 14, 2003)

This is great. Doesn't anybody remember from year to year how things work. This is how the season setting has worked for quite some time. This proposal gets drafted and needs to have season dates included in it, so they use the previous seasons dates, adjusting to have a Saturday opener. From there, everything gets sent out and works through the work groups starting with CWAC and heading up the line from there.

So, everyone is all bent out of shape about the initial draft, and CWAC doesn't even meet to talk about season dates until *SATURDAY AUGUST 7*. So, nothing to get excited about as of right now.

Also, please remeber that the seasons are not about each of us individually, but about the entire 40-60,000 waterfowl hunters in Michigan. There are also guidelines(federal) that must be followed in setting dates, zones, bag limits etc.

Being a SW CWAC member at large, I am willing to start a seperate thread to hear ideas, concerns and most importantly answer questions that some of you may have. I do not have all of the answers but will try my best to answer questions, provided everyone remains civil. 

Robert Kobel
SW CWAC.


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## Grayphase (May 11, 2010)

No the marsh hunters (majority) over here need an earlier opener not a later close. We lose alot of birds before the season opens. Then we have the lull into late oct. By mid-late nov its all over but the shoutin. Y/Y SE Mi best opportunity is late sept for ten days then around halloween through nov. 10 The river and lakes thats a different story. Lake shooting gets going around Nov 15th over here and some years last up until mid dec. Thus keep the river and lakes in zone II. That or someone else try to convince the fed to give MI more zones. One for open water hunters for sure. Its really not that complicated


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

TSS Caddis said:


> IMO, for any reg to be changed, it should have more than a slim majority. By in large, most people that are happy with the status quo do not vote, mostly those that want change vote.
> 
> I don't want to rehash the whole robo debate, since I respectfully disagree with how it was done, but wanted to point out that internet polls to support a change, are not the end all be all. Heck, I have friends that belong to the flats org that only keep up with things via your Facebook page that claim they didn't read anything about the ban until after it was passed. Just pointing out that orgs you may belong to, do not necessarily represent the interests of their majority. If you polled all members and the majority were in favor, my apologies, just repeating what was relayed to me by members.


As Branta said, this has been hashed, and re-hashed, already. Not going back over it. If anyone wants more information on the steps that were taken, and some of the statistics, I'll gladly share them by PM or EM.

But I think what stirred this up was me suggesting getting groups to support the idea of season proposals. It's a fact that the regulators (DNRE, NRC, or legislators) listen to numbers, and it's a fact that a single voice calling for a change doesn't have nearly the power that a large collection of voices has. Not even going to argue whether that's fair...My first professional boss told me something many moons ago that I'll never forget...he said _*"life isn't fair, and whoever told you it was when you were in grade school lied!"*_ How true! So my point was that in order to effect a change, you need numbers, NO MATTER HOW SOUND YOUR ARGUMENT MAY BE. Just the way of the world folks.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

goosemanrdk said:


> This is great. Doesn't anybody remember from year to year how things work. This is how the season setting has worked for quite some time. This proposal gets drafted and needs to have season dates included in it, so they use the previous seasons dates, adjusting to have a Saturday opener. From there, everything gets sent out and works through the work groups starting with CWAC and heading up the line from there.
> 
> So, everyone is all bent out of shape about the initial draft, and CWAC doesn't even meet to talk about season dates until *SATURDAY AUGUST 7*. So, nothing to get excited about as of right now.
> 
> ...


I did call you and express my concerns, and you did a very good job explaining issues and how to over come them. Thank You. Remember, this is not personal, the CWAC as you explained to me, can only suggest, and not set dates. 

I would be curious to see a Poll where everyone participated that purchased a waterfowl license gave their vote on Season open dates. Kind of like they make us fill out those Harvest Surveys when we buy the license..... If the DNR did this, they would have a more accurate poll of true waterfowlers and their wish lists. And with the survey, they have their exact address too, so they will know exactly what zone they really belong to.....


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## KLR (Sep 2, 2006)

just ducky said:


> So my point was that in order to effect a change, you need numbers.


 
Or you need to create the perception that you speak for the majority - that works too.

Feel free to forward any and all information that you have regarding the SWD ban and the research your group has done. I couldn't care any less that SWD's are banned at the flats - but I have serious reservations about how that was accomplished. Change my mind.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

KLR said:


> Or you need to create the perception that you speak for the majority - that works too.
> 
> Feel free to forward any and all information that you have regarding the SWD ban and the research your group has done. I couldn't care any less that SWD's are banned at the flats - but I have serious reservations about how that was accomplished. Change my mind.


Re read my post...PM or EM me your specific questions, and I'll be glad to answer them. Not my job to change anyone's mind. Now back to the topic of this thread...


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## goosemanrdk (Jan 14, 2003)

Didn't take anything personal. Just found it ironic that every year for the last 5 years, this first proposal has come out, been found and posted by someone and everyone has taken it as what is going to be and started screamin that the sky was falling. 

Was just trying to let everyone know that they had almost a month before they needed to get worked up. This maybe what the season is, it may not be, only time will tell.


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