duck hunting at the NB SB raritan river confluence

[tycomps]

Last fall I was fishing at the confluence of the NB and SB at #1 on the map. I looked up the SB and saw what looked like a bunch of pinwheels spinning in the middle of the river at #3. since my #1 spot was dead I decided to walk up around the bridge, thru the launch lot and check out a hole I knew near #3. as soon as I approached #3 I heard whistling from a duck blind and realized the pinwheels where decoys. I turned around, went back to my truck and left. This year I'm running my boat up the SB past #3 as I did in the spring. I understand they're probably shooting straight across the river with low velocity bird shot but I still don't want to catch bird shot in the ass from a ricochet. does anyone know if duck hunting is legal there?

[acabtp]

Generally speaking, it is legal to hunt waterfowl anywhere that is not posted no trespassing and is 450' or more from buildings. There are sometimes local no discharge laws or other restrictions, but those are the exception and not the rule. The land you indicated seems to be owned by NJ DEP, so chances are the hunters were 100% legit. On their behalf, thank you for not walking through that day.

Since we're on the subject, something that fishermen may not know... next week (from 10/14 to 10/21) is early duck season in North NJ and the week after (10/21 to 10/28) for south jersey. This will be the first chance that duck hunters have been able to be out since January. Makes the wait between our three trout seasons really not seem so bad by comparison. Anyway, if you see pickup trucks down by the river, or decoys out on the water, if at all possible please be courteous and give them a wide berth. There is nothing worse than setting up (which can take hours) before dawn and then have someone walk through your spread ten minutes into shooting time. Of course I think most fishermen understand this and can relate to being set up on the honey hole and then having people walk their dogs right through it etc. We've all got to share our public spaces, I just think that the more you know about what other people might be doing the better we all work together. As far as safety, I wouldn't really be too worried, birdshot slows down reaaaally fast... you can't even kill a duck past a hundred yards, plus anybody set up for hunting will hear you coming from a mile away and know you aren't a duck.

[logs22]

I have seen that duck blind while fishing from the bank but never seen anyone actually using it. I am pretty sure that is public land, at least there are not any signs to indicate otherwise. I am guessing whether duck hunting is allowed in that particular spot would depend on who owns the land and also when you go. I think the general season actually opens this Sat.

[acabtp]

i re-read what i wrote and just want to be clear, i'm def not saying hunters get priority over fishermen or anything. first come first served. just that it's been a really long wait since their season was open too, and that next week they will probably be set up on the rivers many hours earlier in the day than fishermen start heading out.

[tycomps]

Generally speaking, it is legal to hunt waterfowl anywhere that is not posted no trespassing and is 450' or more from buildings. There are sometimes local no discharge laws or other restrictions, but those are the exception and not the rule. The land you indicated seems to be owned by NJ DEP, so chances are the hunters were 100% legit. On their behalf, thank you for not walking through that day.

Since we're on the subject, something that fishermen may not know... next week (from 10/14 to 10/21) is early duck season in North NJ and the week after (10/21 to 10/28) for south jersey. This will be the first chance that duck hunters have been able to be out since January. Makes the wait between our three trout seasons really not seem so bad by comparison. Anyway, if you see pickup trucks down by the river, or decoys out on the water, if at all possible please be courteous and give them a wide berth. There is nothing worse than setting up (which can take hours) before dawn and then have someone walk through your spread ten minutes into shooting time. Of course I think most fishermen understand this and can relate to being set up on the honey hole and then having people walk their dogs right through it etc. We've all got to share our public spaces, I just think that the more you know about what other people might be doing the better we all work together. As far as safety, I wouldn't really be too worried, birdshot slows down reaaaally fast... you can't even kill a duck past a hundred yards, plus anybody set up for hunting will hear you coming from a mile away and know you aren't a duck.

definitely respect sportsmen's rights but also wondering if that's the safest spot to duck hunt. the blind might be close to 100 yards from the confluence where there's a lot of kayak and foot activity. not walking thru wasn't a big deal but not passing thru the decoy field in a boat cuts off SB access for those launching at the confluence.

[Heronimo42]

And wear orange if you're going to go out fishing.

[thmyorke1]

Im not going to bring a fishing rod to a gun fight. :D

Ill be on the lookout for hunting equipment and stay away.

[tycomps]

Im not going to bring a fishing rod to a gun fight. :D

Ill be on the lookout for hunting equipment and stay away.

450' or more away, if you're a building! :D

[tycomps]

I have seen that duck blind while fishing from the bank but never seen anyone actually using it. I am pretty sure that is public land, at least there are not any signs to indicate otherwise. I am guessing whether duck hunting is allowed in that particular spot would depend on who owns the land and also when you go. I think the general season actually opens this Sat.

I remember a post a while back with a link to a map showing NJ property ownership, anybody have that link?

found the tax map (Branchburg Township block 67 lot 3)- http://njgin.state.nj.us/oit/gis/NJ_TaxListSearch/

[acabtp]

definitely respect sportsmen's rights but also wondering if that's the safest spot to duck hunt. the blind might be close to 100 yards from the confluence where there's a lot of kayak and foot activity. not walking thru wasn't a big deal but not passing thru the decoy field in a boat cuts off SB access for those launching at the confluence.

yeah it's all a tradeoff... just like fishing, it's ease of access vs # of people you may potentially encounter. if they're using the whole width of the river and you're in a boat and you need to get through, well then they didn't leave you many choices and you just gotta do what you just gotta do. boats are usually a lot quieter and faster through the area than a person crashing through the brush though so typically not as minded by hunters, plus like you pointed out they can't expect to hinder travel on a river.

[tycomps]

yeah it's all a tradeoff... just like fishing, it's ease of access vs # of people you may potentially encounter. if they're using the whole width of the river and you're in a boat and you need to get through, well then they didn't leave you many choices and you just gotta do what you just gotta do. boats are usually a lot quieter and faster through the area than a person crashing through the brush though so typically not as minded by hunters, plus like you pointed out they can't expect to hinder travel on a river.

well put!

planning to head out Monday, (is duck hunting an early morning/late afternoon thing?) unfortunately going up river with a trolling motor isn't nearly as fast as coming back down so if I'm not posting next week you'll know what happened! :p

[tycomps]

launched at the confluence today, talked to a duck guy in the lot, good dude. came back down the SB and another guy was at the blind with decoys in the water. talked with him a while, nice guy, all cool! :)