# Fish ducks?



## Mr Warren (Dec 17, 2016)

Hey Guys,
  Having never hunted ducks in the southland, and having grown up hunting the Great Lakes area & mid west. I have a question. It is a legit question & not meant to start any big Hoo - Haw. Why do people down here, shoot Mergansers and include them in their limit.
  Back in the day - we only shot big ducks - Mallards - Blacks - Widgeon - Sprig - Cans - Red Heads - Greater Scaup. We only ever killed Teal real early in the season when nothing much else was around. Once the flight birds got there, we only shot the big ducks. We just simply never - ever shot fish ducks or (pencil bills) as we called them.  Just wonderin. Thanks!


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## DRBugman85 (Dec 17, 2016)

Because it a DUCK!!! I'm with you on trash ducks,Now a coot eats great. Teal too  I like hunting any puddle duck.Most DC hunterse this day don't care its a DUCK.Ruddy,Sawbill and Blue bills can live without my expense of steel shot killing them.


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## Mr Warren (Dec 17, 2016)

Thanks for the reply. I can understand that reasoning. We didn't have shells to waste on trash ducks back then. 
  Yes - coots eat real good. One of my buddies loved to eat mud hen stew and he would give us one shotgun shell for every Coot we brought him. That stew was actually a mix of mud hens and muskrats and was to die for delish.


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## g0nef1sshn (Dec 17, 2016)

It flys it dies down here. At least try to make it die. Not much to choose from dependin where you are at in ga. I havnt had a merg yet that tasted so bad i couldnt eat it. Granted they are not the best. But smoked and cooled down next to smoked wood ducks it was actually pretty close. Right off the smoker and warm was little more gamey tasting though.


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## wray912 (Dec 17, 2016)

aint nothing wrong with a little surf and turf


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## Mr Warren (Dec 17, 2016)

WOW -  Just aint no acountin for some peoples' taste I reckon. Thanks guys - this is fun!


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## g0nef1sshn (Dec 17, 2016)

Mr Warren said:


> WOW -  Just aint no acountin for some peoples' taste I reckon. Thanks guys - this is fun!


 

Yep i should add my taste buds are shot because im a smoker. That may have something to do with it!


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

DRBugman85 said:


> Because it a DUCK!!! I'm with you on trash ducks,Now a coot eats great. Teal too  I like hunting any puddle duck.Most DC hunterse this day don't care its a DUCK.Ruddy,Sawbill and Blue bills can live without my expense of steel shot killing them.



I saw you kill a blue bill one time with lead


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

First off merges don't count towards your limit of other ducks or am Iwrong


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## Kawaliga (Dec 17, 2016)

You guys serious about Coots tasting good? I always heard they were not fit to eat.


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## rnelson5 (Dec 17, 2016)

Kawaliga said:


> You guys serious about Coots tasting good? I always heard they were not fit to eat.



That Is what the cajuns use to make duck gumbo.


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## watermedic (Dec 17, 2016)

king killer delete said:


> First off merges don't count towards your limit of other ducks or am Iwrong



You are wrong.

Coots don't count though!


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

So a merge count towards your total duck limit?
Why does it have them broken down in seperate sections


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

Where does it say that in the regulations


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

watermedic said:


> You are wrong.
> 
> Coots don't count though!



Show me in the regd


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## rnelson5 (Dec 17, 2016)

You can kill 5 mergansers of which no more than two may be hooded.


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## g0nef1sshn (Dec 17, 2016)

If i recall right right. Florida used to be coots and ducks were seperate. Just a few years ago it changed. Had to look it up one day. Dropped a coot by accident. Im pretty sure they count in same total now.


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## g0nef1sshn (Dec 17, 2016)

king killer delete said:


> First off merges don't count towards your limit of other ducks or am Iwrong



You drinkin outa the water fountains in public places?


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## DRBugman85 (Dec 17, 2016)

king killer delete said:


> I saw you kill a blue bill one time with lead



Now that was about time most folks on the forum were born.In a galaxy far far away and a LONG time ago.and I was reloading lead shot back then for $ .95 @ box...


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## rnelson5 (Dec 17, 2016)

In GA ducks, coots, and mergansers all have separate limits. You can kill 6 ducks total ( many species have individual limits), 15 coots, and 5 mergansers  (only 2 can be hooded), and 5 geese. Folks really need to read those regs a little closer.


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

Sea ducks killed one mile off shore do not count towards your duck limit. No if you kill sea ducks inshore they count towards your duck limit


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## king killer delete (Dec 17, 2016)

Save a wood ducks life kill all the hen hooded mergansers that your 2 a day limit will stand. They roll the unhatched wood duck eggs out of the nest and replace them with there own.


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## krazybronco2 (Dec 17, 2016)

king killer delete said:


> Save a wood ducks life kill all the hen hooded mergansers that your 2 a day limit will stand. They roll the unhatched wood duck eggs out of the nest and replace them with there own.



the don't roll the eggs out they just lay on top of the eggs that are already there. but i don't mind killing a merganser because they just become training birds for the dog.


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## king killer delete (Dec 18, 2016)

I saw a special on Nat Geo and the hen rolled the wood duck eggs out of the nest. They do the same to golden eye nest


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## Mr Warren (Dec 18, 2016)

king killer delete said:


> I saw a special on Nat Geo and the hen rolled the wood duck eggs out of the nest. They do the same to golden eye nest


 If I had known that, I'd have shot a bunch more of them. Just good to know. Thanks.
  Don't remember exactly when it was - but the Michigan DNR said that there were large numbers of Mergs on the Ausable river which is a Premier trout stream - and they were making huge inroads on trout fingerlings. I personally saw some real big flocks of them at times when I was fishing. Back then - they were begging for hunters to kill more of them from what I remember. Never could understand why they put a limit on them for heaven sake. Just another genius move - like having a season and limits for crows. Jeez!!!!


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## little rascal (Dec 18, 2016)

*Coots*

if you'll fix coots like you fix ducks for eating, you'll throw you ducks away!! Coots eat wonderful, and are easier to skin(like a rabbit) and have bigger gizzards!
If I had coots on our places to hunt, I wouldn't shoot a duck unless it was a Ringneck, they eat as good as the coot.


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## king killer delete (Dec 18, 2016)

Mr Warren said:


> If I had known that, I'd have shot a bunch more of them. Just good to know. Thanks.
> Don't remember exactly when it was - but the Michigan DNR said that there were large numbers of Mergs on the Ausable river which is a Premier trout stream - and they were making huge inroads on trout fingerlings. I personally saw some real big flocks of them at times when I was fishing. Back then - they were begging for hunters to kill more of them from what I remember. Never could understand why they put a limit on them for heaven sake. Just another genius move - like having a season and limits for crows. Jeez!!!!


always ask your DNR ranger


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## andyparm (Dec 19, 2016)

Mr. Warren, if you would be so kind as to take me to your mallard/sprig/can/wigeon/black duck/teal are for losers hole I would be very happy to not kill mergs...at least for that hunt...I don't always kill mergs...only when they fly within range.


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## Mr Warren (Dec 19, 2016)

andyparm said:


> Mr. Warren, if you would be so kind as to take me to your mallard/sprig/can/wigeon/black duck/teal are for losers hole I would be very happy to not kill mergs...at least for that hunt...I don't always kill mergs...only when they fly within range.


 If I was younger I would be happy to take you on a hunt there - but - I aint younger ( almost 80 now) and the places I used to hunt are no longer there. The Lake Erie marsh we hunted was owned by the city, and the city filled it in and sold it all off as an industrial site and in the best old spots - There is a huge Detroit Edison power plant now. I still can't even look at it when I go back there. It makes me want to cry. 
  By the way - I never said Teal were for losers. Just - why would you use up a limit and shells on them when there are plenty of big birds around? 
  I'm kind of a ornery old guy and set in my ways. I quit waterfowl hunting the day the XXXXXXX's outlawed lead shot and aint fired a shot since. That was the final straw for me.


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## andyparm (Dec 19, 2016)

Mr Warren said:


> If I was younger I would be happy to take you on a hunt there - but - I aint younger ( almost 80 now) and the places I used to hunt are no longer there. The Lake Erie marsh we hunted was owned by the city, and the city filled it in and sold it all off as an industrial site and in the best old spots - There is a huge Detroit Edison power plant now. I still can't even look at it when I go back there. It makes me want to cry.
> By the way - I never said Teal were for losers. Just - why would you use up a limit and shells on them when there are plenty of big birds around?
> I'm kind of a ornery old guy and set in my ways. I quit waterfowl hunting the day the XXXXXXX's outlawed lead shot and aint fired a shot since. That was the final straw for me.



I'm with you. I wish I could waste shells on better ducks! My wife's family is from Erie, PA. Presque Isle is a pretty cool set up. Haven't been able to get a hunt in up there though...yet.


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## Mr Warren (Dec 19, 2016)

andyparm said:


> I'm with you. I wish I could waste shells on better ducks! My wife's family is from Erie, PA. Presque Isle is a pretty cool set up. Haven't been able to get a hunt in up there though...yet.


  Never hunted in PA but I hope you are able to make it some day.
  I've been real fortunate, in that I've hunted ducks in interior Alaska (lived in Fairbanks for 19 yrs). Lots of good shooting there but all the puddle ducks are real skinny - not much meat on them at all, only weed seeds for them to eat and no grain. Just enough food to keep them alive till the young are raised and can head south again to the grain fields in Canada. The divers were fat though, plenty of food for them! The all time best shooting I ever had though - was when I met my Brother out in Alberta Canada, and we hunted the Prarie places he knew from when he went to college there. It was a duck hunters heaven.


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