Call it catch and release DIF&W sets dates for annual waterfowl seasons

It seemed that the sprawling thoroughfare between Eddington and Holbrook ponds was simmering in the humid heat of the mid-August evening. So you can imagine my surprise when the bass and pickerel therein boiled for a No.4 Muddler Minnow. That is, as soon as the sun got off the water. I can’t say I caught so many fish that my canoe became sequined with fish scales. But I can say I caught a limit of material for a late-season fishing column. Or so I thought.

As it turned out, though, I got foul-hooked by the adage, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go asunder.” After fishing my final cast I paused to watch the dusk shooing the shadows off the thoroughfare. In the interim a loon laughed at the yodeling of its mate and the belching of bullfrogs arose from sprawls of pickerel weed and spatterdock. “Plenty of stuff for sticking a column together,” I thought while turning the bow of the canoe toward Eddington Pond.

My mental notes were erased, though, when moments later a flock of five black ducks appeared above the silhouetted tree line to my left. With the afterglow of a fiery sunset reflecting on their white under wings, the ducks scaled into the thoroughfare. Small wonder I was reminded that the dates and regulations for Maine’s 2005 waterfowl seasons had been set by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Accordingly, my intended fishing column was caught and released.

Although a few volleys of discontent have been fired regarding the daily limits attendant to this year’s waterfowl seasons, it’s safe to say the majority of Maine’s duck hunters are satisfied with being able to rig decoys for 60 days. Obviously they haven’t forgotten the 30-day duck seasons that took wing in the mid-1980s and flew through the early 1990s. Here I’m reminded that the late Owen Osborne, a former BDN sports editor and die-hard duck hunter, described the sport as “silly season.” Referring, of course, to shuddering out of a warm bed in the wee hours and shivering in a blind anchored in mud, snow and slush-ice. You have to love it.

Assuming, then, that your autumn attire includes hip boots and “camo” clothing, draw a bead on the dates and regulations that will affect your forthcoming blind dates:

Ducks, not including mergansers: North Zone: Oct. 3 – Dec. 10. South Zone: split season, Oct. 3 – Oct. 29; Nov. 14 – Dec. 24. Daily limit 4, possession limit 8, with the following exceptions: 1. Closed season on harlequin ducks. 2. Daily limit 1, possession limit 2 for black ducks, pintail (60-day season offered), canvasback (30-day season offered, Oct. 3 – Oct. 29), mottled ducks and fulvous tree ducks.

I’m curious to know if anyone has ever shot a mottled duck or fulvous tree duck hereabouts. I’ve shot mottled ducks in Texas and fulvous tree ducks in Mexico but I’ve yet to snap a cap at either species in this neck of the woods.

3. Daily limit 2, possession limit 4 for hen mallard, wood ducks, scaup and redhead ducks.

Any thoughts, anyone, on what happened to the populations of scaup that once provided fast shooting in the areas of Mount Desert Narrows and Stockton Springs? Likewise, ring neck ducks aren’t as abundant as they were a few years ago. Sporty shooting, ring necks, when they pitch and roll across the decoys with the rush of air through their wings sounding like a train running through a tunnel.

4. In addition to the daily limit of 4, two additional teal – green-winged or blue-winged – may be taken per day. Note: A possession limit of 12 is permitted providing it includes four or more teal.

I’m not alone in wondering what has become of the flocks of teal that tumbled down to decoys like falling leaves back along. Especially on Down East gunning grounds. Is the decline attributable to loss or degradation of nesting habitats? Or poor reproduction owing to consecutive years of cold, wet spring weather? Considering that duck hunting on the Atlantic Flyway has declined in the past three decades, it can’t be said that hunting pressure is the culprit.

Mergansers and American coots: Seasons same as ducks. Mergansers: Daily limit 5 in the aggregate, possession limit 10, with the following exceptions: Hooded Merganser: Daily limit 1, possession limit 2. American coot, a.k.a. marsh hen: Daily limit 5, possession limit 10.

Primarily fish-eaters, the American merganser and the red-breasted merganser often are described disdainfully as “fish with feathers.” In other words those species are not sought after for cooking and serving with wild rice and a robust red wine. Conversely, the hooded merganser is palatable in that it regularly feeds on vegetation. To me a “hoodie” doesn’t taste much different than a whistler or a ring neck.

Canada geese (Special Early Season): Sept. 6 – Sept. 24. Daily limit 4, possession limit 8.

Times have changed. It wasn’t so long ago when, if a hunter shot a goose around these parts, it was the talk of the town. Nowadays the resident “golf course geese” are getting to be nuisances. Thus the special season, proving again the importance of controlled hunting to wildlife management.

Regular Goose Season: North Zone: Oct. 3 – Dec. 10. South Zone, split season: Oct. 3 – Oct. 29; Nov. 14 – Dec. 24. Daily limit 2, possession limit 4. Snow geese: Oct. 3 – Jan. 31, 2006. Daily limit 15. No possession limit. Brant: Oct. 3 – Oct. 29. Daily limit 2, possession limit 4.

Special Falconry Season: In addition to the regular season on ducks, mergansers and American coots: North Zone: Dec. 9 – Jan. 31, 2006. South Zone: Jan. 6, 2006 – Feb. 28, 2006. Falconry season daily bag and possession limits for all permitted migratory game birds shall not exceed 3 and 6, respectively, singly or in the aggregate.

Sea Ducks: Scoters (colloquially known as “coots”) eiders and old-squaws: Oct. 1 – Jan. 31, 2006. Daily limit 7, possession limit 14, with the following exceptions: Scoters: Daily limit 4, possession limit 8. Common eider: Daily limit 5, possession limit 10.

Regarding eider hunting, wildlife biologist Brad Allen, the head guide of DIF&W’s bird group, says a five-year scientific study aimed at eider-duck management is now in its fourth year but, contrary to rumors, there is no plan for a reduction in eider-hunting limits. In spite of the predation of sea gulls on eider eggs and broods – typically, hens lay only four eggs – the breeding population of eiders is stable. There’s no denying that black-backed gulls devour eider ducklings, but in defense of the gulls I’ll say they eat what they kill. Unfortunately, that can’t be said of all sea-duck hunters.

Woodcock: Split season: Oct. 1 – Oct. 29 and Oct. 31. Daily limit 3, possession limit 6.

Thanks to a birdy springer spaniel and a smile from Lady Luck, I shot my first woodcock before I bagged my high school diploma. So it is that after hanging bells on bird dogs ever since, I’m not bashful about saying there’s a lot more ground between the long-billed birds now than there was, say, 25 years ago. Hereabouts, at least. I’m told, however, that woodcock are plentiful on the Canadian side of the St. Croix River. Prime habitat has to be the reason. Many of the productive covers – abandoned farmlands claimed by alder and poplar – common to eastern Maine a few decades ago have either grown up and gone by or been obliterated by development. Not to mention posted land. Given my druthers, I’d like to see Maine’s woodcock season open a week later and extend through the first week in November; when migrating flights of the nocturnal travelers are stopping here to rest and refuel.

Youth Waterfowl Hunt: Sept. 24. Special regulations applying to the hunt are: participating youths must be 10 years old and not more than 16 years old. They do not need duck stamps but are required to have a junior hunting license – and may hunt only under supervision of parents or guardians at least 18 years of age who are either licensed hunters or who have completed a Hunter Safety Course. The regular daily limit of four ducks applies to the one-day hunt. Note: One black duck and the aforementioned sea ducks may be taken as part of the daily limit. The legal shooting hours for the Youth Waterfowl Hunt are the same as in all of Maine’s migratory bird-hunting seasons: from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.

In addition to introducing youngsters to one of the grandest of all hunting traditions, the Youth Waterfowl Hunt provides opportunity for veteran wildfowlers to teach fledgling hunters the importance of wetlands to environmental stability and human health. According to Ducks Unlimited, the world’s largest and most effective wetland and waterfowl-conservation organization, the United States has lost more than half of its original wetlands. Moreover, what’s left of Mother Earth’s most productive ecosystems is being eradicated at the rate of more than 100,000 acres per year. Consequently, DU recently requested Congress to approve emergency funding for the protection of wetlands.

So there you have it, Sport. Make sure your duck stamps are signed, your shotgun is plugged and don’t forget to bring a biscuit for the dog that fetches your ducks. After all, it’s his silly season, too.

Paddling silently, I watched a muskrat towing a wake toward an aquatic garden of arrowhead. It reminded me that in recent years I had seen very few of the amphibious furbearers while hunting and fishing in bogs, marshes and ponds. The workings of muskrats – cutting channels that provide habitats for other marsh dwellers – are essential to the existence of productive wetlands. When I mentioned the absence of muskrats to wildlife biologist Wally Jakubas, DIF&W’s mammal group leader, he agreed, saying the decline of the animals warranted study. Dan McAllister, a veteran trapper camped in Hampden also concurred, pointing out that muskrats were scarce in spite of years of reduced trapping pressure. Tell me there isn’t more to fishing than catching fish.

By the time I reached the landing contained in a small cove, a moon feeling full of itself was admiring its reflection in the mirror of the pond and stars were rising like sparks from the dying embers of the day. There may be better ways of letting a fishing column get off the hook, but offhand I can’t think of one. Feel the fall.

Tom Hennessey’s columns and artwork can be accessed on the BDN internet page at www.bangornews.com. Tom’s e-mail address is: thennessey@bangordailynews.net.; Web site: www.tomhennessey.com.