Scaup

Thats kind of weird, since their limit is the same as canvasback and redheads, and the pintail limit is one. Are many scaup even down here in the first days of the season?
 
Feds set limits they have deemed a decline in.population....back east up in the great lakes area lots of scaup hunters......and no I dont see many early here but they do back east...limit was 4 just few years back
 
I've always said it was so the DFW could get their new Wardens dialed in to ticket writing during the first two weeks of the season, LOL. It does seem strange though. Why not just make the limit 1 instead of 2 but open all season? Then, at least for your first bird in the dim light of start time, you wouldn't have to worry about it. Am I wrong or wasn't their limit 3 not too long ago? Like in 2019 or maybe 2018? Since they haven't done bird surveys to set the limits the last couple of years due to COVID how could they justify setting a lower limit?
 
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Using population numbers available from prior surveys, Scaup numbers gave us a ‘restrictive’ bag limit regulation for that species.

For us in CA, that means you get 86 days and max 2 per day.

As far as splitting those days up, I believe a straight 86 days is better, later…. And perhaps less confusing than splitting it up.

Other flyaways have even more restrictions.
 
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It is interesting that the pintail limit is 1 and they’re open all season, but the scaup limit is 2 and they open slightly later. Maybe someone at the fish and game department would know the reasoning.
 
There have always been discussions of trying to get to the 2 pintail limit, but the amount of days would be severely cut - perhaps to a 30 day season). In order to allow everyone an opportunity to harvest a pintail each time out, they went with a longer season and 1 bird limit.

Trade offs

I believe those hunting the rice would prefer 1 per day all season than deal with a much shorter season. What would they do the rest of the season? ;)
 

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