Waterfowl seasons will see some big changes
There are some big changes for this year’s waterfowl hunt. The DNR released the fall 2021 Waterfowl Season Structure about a month ago, but we had other fish to fry and turkeys to hunt.
The creation of a new Open Water Zone for the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan— and the former Mississippi River Zone being absorbed into the Southern Zone — should make hunters sit up. The open water hunting rules will make quite a few adjustments to what is allowed currently. If you are going to hunt those waters, I recommend studying the regulations.
The Northern Zone and the Southern Zones will have separate opening dates again. Sept. 25 will be opener for the Northern Opener, and that season will run until Nov. 23. The Southern Zone will open Oct. 2 until Oct. 10. It will reopen on Oct. 16 and close down on Dec. 5. The new Open Water Zone will open on Oct. 16 and run until Dec. 14. It’s a 60 day season, but if you are willing to travel with the different openers and splits, you could extend that season a bit.
There will be a statewide Early Teal Season, Sept. 1-9. The daily bag limit is six teal per day. The Early Goose season also starts Sept. 1 and runs until Sept. 15, with a bag limit of five geese per day.
The Regular Goose season starts on Sept. 16 statewide and, in the Northern Zone, it runs until Dec. 16 with a three goose daily bag limit. The Southern Zone will shut down from Oct. 11 and open on the 16th again. It will then close on Dec. 4, but reopen again on Dec. 20 to Jan. 4 for a holiday hunt. They will have a three-goose per day limit, except the holiday hunt will have a five-goose per day limit.
Come on, you knew we couldn’t have a waterfowl season without the regs being the equivalent of a three credit college course.
The bag limit on ducks will once again be six ducks per day. Four can be mallards and you can shoot two mallard hens and three wood ducks. Black ducks, canvasbacks, and redheads are all two per day. The pintail bag is set at one per day and that brings us to scaup or bluebill. Read the regs for the date and bags for bluebill. The bag starts with one per day and then, on Oct. 10, for the Northern Zone bumps up to two bluebills per day until the end of the season. The Southern Zone — well, read the regs. Mergansers are five per day but only two can be hooded mergansers. All other ducks are six per day. There will be a Statewide Youth Hunt on Sept. 18 and 19. All the rules and bag limits apply. The hunters must be under 16 years of age. Only the youth hunters may hunt ducks, but the adult mentor may hunt geese as the regular goose season is open. In her press release, Taylor Finger, the DNR migratory bird ecologist said: “The 2021 season frameworks are based on the most current scientific data, as well as on input from the public, conservation and hunting groups and results from a waterfowl hunter survey.” The release went on to say that they received 1,500 comments during the comment period.
If Northern Zone hunters want to see a common opener ever again, they will have to make their voices heard. I’m willing to bet 90 percent of those comments came from primarily Southern Zone hunters who want a split opener.
I am looking forward to a few things. The three-goose per day limit, coupled with the Horicon Zone being absorbed into the Southern Zone for geese a few years ago, will open up some wonderful opportunity. The three wood duck limit means that setting up just for wood ducks will be worthwhile. And it’s duck hunting!
Doves and woodcock fall under migratory species like ducks. Doves will open on Sept. 1 and run until Nov. 29. The daily bag for doves is 15 per day. Woodcock will open on Sept. 25 and run until Nov. 8 and the bag limit is three per day.
And, after plowing through all this, I’m telling you dear reader that I can’t wait to try and slosh through the new structure for bear hunting. Hopefully this will help you start filling in your calendar.
THROUGH A
DECOY’S
E
YE
CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN
