The popularity of bagging ducks on the open ocean is rising.
With deer season over and ice-fishing season dependent on cold temperatures for making ice, the anxious outdoors-person can still get in on an exciting cold-weather sport; sea duck hunting.
A sport formerly enjoyed by a few hardy souls, such as lobstermen and others who made their living on the water, the popularity of sea-duck hunting has risen steadily, with Maine being one of the top sea-duck hunting destinations in the world.
Open until Jan. 31, the sea-duck season provides hunters with ample opportunity to take advantage of mild winter days and abundant bag limits. Sea-duck hunters are allowed to bag a daily limit of seven birds. Of the seven birds, no more than four can be scoters, nor can hunters bag more than five eiders.
Capital idea
Harvest records show that during 2004, Maine hunters took a total of 14,736 eiders and 4,210 scoters. In comparison, New Hampshire hunters bagged 162 eiders and 92 scoters. Massachusetts hunters, who have been targeting sea ducks for quite some time, took 5,717 eiders and 3,344 scoters. Clearly, Maine has earned the bragging rights to be the sea-duck capital of New England.
Although the title is well-deserved, Maine is tailor-made for sea-duck hunting. Including all of the state’s bays, inlets and coastal islands, Maine has more than 3,500 miles of coastline that serves as shelter for ducks and hunters alike.
According to Brad Allen, a biologist for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, there are so many potential hot spots that if you picked almost any spot on the map from Castine down to Casco Bay, you would be in prime sea-duck habitat for a variety of species.
With Maine taking more than half the national harvest of sea ducks, it’s no wonder that hunters are flocking here to get in on the action.
Places to go
Allen was quick to point out that for sea-duck hunters, the southern portion of the state is the best place to go, particularly the Casco Bay region.
“Casco Bay is very popular among waterfowlers for three reasons: You have great access to the water, there are plenty of local accommodations and the resource in that part of the state is doing quite well,” Allen said.
Novices are best advised to seek the services of a guide or go with an experienced sea-duck hunter before venturing out alone. Although the waters around the Maine coastline are typically calmer than the open ocean, tides, swells, ledge and other hazards do exist that make this sport more demanding than inland duck hunting.
Look for stability
Hunters should be in a stable craft, preferably 16-feet long or greater. A deep-vee boat is preferred for its ability to cut through waves and handle rough water.
My hunting partner uses a 16-foot deep-vee boat with a 35-horsepower outboard. He also carries along a small outboard, just in case the big one quits.
Hunting equipment can be as simple as a string of bleach bottles for decoys or as sophisticated as several strings of cork decoys representing eiders or scoters.
A 12- or 10-gauge shotgun with plenty of steel shot (I take four boxes on each hunt) is necessary because the heavy down of these hardy birds can absorb a lot of shot.
My hunting partner and I anchor on the lee-side of a small island and set out two strings of six decoys each and wait for the action. Ducks will often circle back after you have shot at the flock. Two anchors are necessary to keep the boat in position when the swells are heavy, and a camouflage net to cover the boat helps to conceal your location. Waiting for a flock to come in is as much fun as waiting out a circling mallard when hunting inland, with one difference. Instead of dropping in from a high flight pattern, sea-ducks come in hard, fast and just off the surface of the water. Keeping your head down and peering over the rail of the boat helps locate incoming ducks, but these kamikazes of the ocean buzz in fast, requiring a healthy lead and follow-through.
If you have the desire to get in some late-season shooting in one of the most picturesque settings the state has to offer, a Maine coast sea-duck hunt should satisfy your desire.
Exercise caution because the winter sea is as dangerous as it is beautiful, and no bird is worth one’s life. Watch the weather forecast and choose a day with calm winds and light seas. If you play it safe and plan your trip accordingly, you can usher in the New Year by enjoying some of the best hunting that Maine has to offer.
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