2015 Spring Hearings

Looks like there is a question regarding opening day start time in the spring hearing questionnaire. I think most of us "Lake Linkers" would be in favor of a half hour before sunrise start time opening day.

Just some food for thought. We have an entire generation of duck hunters who have never seen anything but 60 day seasons. If you go back and look at the highest mallard counts in the state they fall during the times we had sunrise openers. The counts have fallen since we went back to 30 min. before sunrise. Now there is a question if we are overshooting our wood ducks because of the extra bird in the bag. Now i'm not talking about you hunters who can pick drake mallards out of the flock, or a drake ringneck out of a flock of bluebills on a cloudy and raining/ snowing morning at 0 dark 30 but the majority who can tell they are ducks and not crows or seagulls. We push for earlier opening days and earlier opening hours but are we trading the present for the future. As long as there are species and sex specific bag limits i have and will always support a sunrise opener for the entire season. And by the way for those of you who are fortunate enough to own waterfront property but live 301 feet from shore you just voted to have a duck blind in your front yard enjoy your new alarm clock.

Results posted. Concealment requirement and opening time both passed.

Special thanks to everyone who came and voted at tonight's hearing.

Good point Madforlabs. I do not like the 9 a.m. opener but with the amount of people out that do not hunt regularly and the fact that opening shooting is right at light I also am afraid that a lot of birds would be crippled and lost. With the seasons and splits offered statewide we are given 72 days to hunt. If only 2 days open at 9:00 a.m. I am fine with that.

I'm all for the 9 am opener. One reason being that the opening flurry of shooting can be pretty intense. I would anticipate much higher crippling losses as birds are not marked accurately in the predawn light and many hunters keep banging as long as there are birds in the air thinking they'll look later. Does this happen on day 2? Sure. Doing a later opener, I'm convinced, saves birds and promotes better conduct in the marshes.

Dear Mr. Snot Rocket, What day of the duck hunting season is the most crowded with the most people that make questionable decisions? Thanksgiving morning? The last day before ice up? Or the first day of the season? Giving people a few hours of sun light on the busiest day of the duck hunting season goes a long way to making sure EVERYONE knows how crowded the marsh is and how close others are set up. From my vantage point, that is a good thing. I have hunted the opener and the day after for 30 years now. Not once have I seen more people on the water on the second day of the season than the first. Did knowing my reasons change your mind? I'm betting not. That's why I rarely bother with stuff like that in a forum like this because most people don't come here to develop an opinion - they already have one. Take care. Off to look for a bargain buy and another project for next season.

M could open at 3pm and there would still be guys out fighting for spots at 3am. I'm all for it opening as early as possible.

Exactly, how many duck hunters are shot 1/2 hour before sunrise? None. Thus no reason for a 9am opening day start time. If everyone can handle sunday morning just fine, why not saturday? Everything else other than pheasant opens 30 min before sunrise, why can't bird hunting? Yes, entitled to an opinion but why not back it up with something?

Have to go with Brad on this one. Things get awful crazy at the launch and in the marsh on opening day.Moving the opener to an earlier time would be good. I'm not sure what state you gun-deer hunt in but here in Wisconsin gun deer doesn't open in the dark. Unless you're one of those hunters that shoot 1/2 hour early cause they thought they "heard" a deer or something moved. Besides, how many duck hunters have been shot because someone heard them walking or thought they were a bear up in the tree? Open it up 1/2 hour after sunrise.

I'm entitled to my opinion, just like you.

I'm the one who wrote the 30 min before sunrise opener question. For the safety comment, explain how deer hunting can open in the dark but duck cant? How is everything suddenly safe on day 2?

I got an explination from Kent on this years resolution. It's the final step in the process. We need to make sure this passes. Here it is. Actually, what you are seeing the spring hearings is a final DNR rule proposal which was generated by your efforts and the efforts of others. The agency received suggestions to revisions to the concealment language. These suggestions were reviewed by our rules, law enforcement and legal folks and they proposed the language that will appear on the 2015 spring hearings. If this language passes then DNR staff will present it to the Natural Resources Board for approval and the process would be completed this year. If I recall your concerns they related to being able to hunt in a boat near the water's edge without vegetation to provide concealment. That is exactly what this revised language would provide. http://dnr.wi.gov/About/WCC/Document...stionnaire.pdf Let me know you have further questions. Thanks, Kent

It passed in my county and the following year it passed state wide. If forget the actual wording it's been that long that it's been in the works. It eliminates the need for any type of vegitarion you just have to be against a shoreline except for open hunting lakes and the Mississippi where they have the 100 foot rule. Many of the flowages up north at draw down become unhuntable with the current regulations because you cant get into the weeds due to them being high and dry.

Working Retrievers: What was your resolution...how was it structured? If it passed at state level, does that mean it passed at a previous spring hearing? Duxup

Guys I had a concealment resolution that passed at the local and state level and was told by Kent VanHorn that it is now in the hands of law enforcement where it's seemed to have stalled. Please call or email the head of the wardens and tell them to get the ball rolling on it and to Kent also to follow up on it and force it through. With this new one it would take another 4/5 years again before it could become law. With pressure mine could be law by fall if they would move on it. Thanks!