Kayak duck hunting question.

TeamRoper

Well-Known Member
Oct 24, 2018
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Am i misinterpreting this?​

So i see motorized u have to have the motor out. Do u have to be anchored?
I seen a guy chasing coots and ruddys ina kayak. Is that legal to paddle around and shoot bird? .i thought u had to be not moving?

§251. Prohibition on Pursuing or Shooting Birds and Mammals from Motor-Driven Air or Land Vehicles, Motorboats, Airboats, Sailboats or Snowmobiles.​

(a) General Prohibition: No person shall pursue, drive, herd, or take any bird or mammal from any type of motor-driven air or land vehicles, motorboat, airboat, sailboat, or snowmobile. Additionally, no person shall use any motorized, hot-air, or unpowered aircraft or other device capable of flight or any earth orbiting imaging device to locate or assist in locating big game mammals beginning 48 hours before and continuing until 48 hours after any big game hunting season in the same area. No person shall use at any time or place, without Department approval, any computer, telemetry device or other equipment to locate a big game mammal to which a tracking device is attached. For purposes of this subsection "use" includes but is not limited to personal use or intent by another to obtain information from such personal use. Evidence of an act constituting a violation of this section includes but is not limited to flying slowly at low altitudes, hovering, circling or repeatedly flying over any area where big game may be found. Exceptions to this subsection are:

  • (1) When the motor of such motorboat, airboat, or sailboat has been shut off and/or the sails furled and its progress therefrom has ceased, and it is drifting, beached, moored, resting at anchor, or is being propelled by paddle, oar or pole.
 
The idea is to prevent you from running down birds and shooting them or jumping them.
 
No motor and you can paddle right up to a bunch of ducks and blast away. Have you heard of sneak boats and sculling boats?
They are designed to conceal the hunter and sneak up on rafted groups of ducks. They are legal in most all the states including California. I have used one a couple times around Grizzly bay, Honker bay and San Pablo bay. It’s great fun. You mostly see them used in big water for divers. I’ve never tried it for puddle ducks. You‘ll be fine using a kayak and you don’t need to be anchored.
I once saw someone on the bay stirring up rafted ducks with his boat in the hopes they’d fly over his buddies on shore. A warden saw this and wrote him up. I hope it was an expensive ticket.
Shooting from a kayak takes some practice and getting use to. If you can, practice somewhere. The bottom line when hunting from a boat is that you cannot be under power while hunting.
 

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