Hello! I am the recreation warden stationed in Green Bay.\u00a0 In fact, I have worked most of my 21-plus year career at the Green Bay Station.<\/p>\n
Over the years I have talked to duck hunters with the big trailers setting up at 3 a.m. in rural fields, the shore hunters who lug their decoys and gear through the cattail lined shorelines, open water hunters with the layout boats ratchet strapped to their chase boats, and the hunters jump shooting out of their leaky canoes.<\/p>\n
I think I have seen it all: \u00a0the good, the bad, the legal, the illegal, the ethical and not so much.<\/p>\n
I also thoroughly love to duck hunt.\u00a0 My job doesn\u2019t allow as much time in the marsh as I would like. But, working out of Green Bay offers me some excellent duck hunting opportunities.\u00a0 I also like to use my vacation time to hunt South Dakota and Manitoba.<\/p>\n
With all, in this column I will talk about some of the boating situations that I have seen; the boating safety risks that some hunters take and how these risks can be mitigated.<\/p>\n
Boating risks (unbelievably) still happening!<\/strong><\/p>\n The No. 1 risk \u2013 and I can\u2019t believe that this still happens \u2013 are hunters going out without any personal flotation devices (life jackets<\/em>).\u00a0 State statute requires one wearable type life jacket for each person on board the boat and a throwable type, like a seat cushion, for all boats greater than 16 feet in length.<\/p>\n Every season I encounter hunters without any life jackets in their boats.\u00a0 The excuse is almost always the same: \u201cI was excited to get out hunting and forgot them at home.\u201d\u00a0 Please start treating your life jackets like your license, blind bag or your shotgun.\u00a0 <\/strong>Don\u2019t go out hunting without it.<\/p>\n To stay on the topic of life jackets, state statute requires the life jackets be on board and be readily accessible. \u00a0We strongly encourage wearing it. However, you don\u2019t legally have to wear it; but, it has to be available in the instant that you might need it.\u00a0 Let\u2019s delve into that a little bit.<\/p>\n Can you find your life jacket as your boat is capsizing? Doubtful<\/strong><\/p>\n A hunter goes out in his\/her duck boat that might be a bit tippy due to the smaller size, construction or age.\u00a0 This boat is now loaded to the hilt with decoys and the hunter\u2019s trusty Labrador. That dog wants nothing more than to get into the ice-cold water to retrieve a limit of ducks; and, therefore, is bouncing all around the boat with excitement.\u00a0 It is pre-dawn hours because the hunter wants to get to their spot first.\u00a0\u00a0 Since duck hunting is inherently a wet sport, the hunter is wearing waders.\u00a0 In this scenario, where are the life jackets?\u00a0 What I have seen in my career is that about 8 out of 10 times the life jackets are stuffed in a compartment under the decoys and the excited dog \u2014 or stuffed so far up under the bow everything must be moved to get to them.\u00a0 Is this readily accessible?\u00a0 How much time is it going to take to get the life jackets if needed in an emergency?\u00a0 How long will it take for hypothermia to set in if a hunter goes into the water?\u00a0 How fast will the hunter stay afloat once the waders fill with water?\u00a0 Why not wear your life jacket?<\/p>\n Life jackets come in all shapes, sizes and colors \u2013 including camouflage.\u00a0 There are inflatable types that you wouldn\u2019t even know you are wearing, or float coats that double as your hunting jacket.\u00a0 I have personally talked to hunters who have been in this same situation.\u00a0 Lucky for them they lived.\u00a0 They almost always say something to the effect of, I will never go out without a life jacket again<\/em>.\u00a0 I also have talked to hunters whose boats capsized and they were wearing their life jackets and their answers are almost all the same \u2013 I would have died if I wasn\u2019t wearing my life jacket<\/em>.<\/p>\n The law in Wisconsin does not mandate that duck hunters wear their life jackets.\u00a0 It simply requires that there is at least one wearable life jacket for each person on board and that they are readily accessible.\u00a0 Since that is the case, from one hunter to another, would you please consider wearing your life jacket when you head out on the water?\u00a0 There are way too many near death experiences where a hunter simply got lucky and, tragically, some where the hunter did not.\u00a0 In these situations, wearing a life jacket might have been the answer.<\/strong><\/p>\n Boat lights: LED light bars do not replace required lights<\/strong><\/p>\n Now I want to switch gears and talk about boat lights.<\/p>\n Over the last few years I have seen a lot more duck boats hitting the water with these big LED light bars to help hunters find their way in the dark.\u00a0 These light bars can\u2019t be used in place of your required boat lights.<\/p>\n State statute requires that when a motorboat is operated between sunset and sunrise the boat must display red\/green navigation lights on the bow and a white light visible 360 degrees around the boat.\u00a0 These lights are not designed to assist the hunter in seeing in the dark, but rather to let others on the water know which direction your boat is travelling so that the rules of the road, or in this case the water, are followed to avoid a collision.\u00a0 We all know once the word gets out that the ducks are down the marshes, shore lines and favorite sloughs are going to fill with hunters all with the same goal of getting to their spot first.\u00a0 More hunters mean an increased risk of a boat crash.\u00a0 Using your boat lights as designed can reduce this risk.<\/p>\n
![\"Boat](\"https:\/\/atomiccoffee.com\/WWA\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/violations-3.jpg\")
<\/a>A duck boat returning to the landing after hunting hours should not look like this one, above, but none the less this is exactly what this is.\u00a0 I took this picture at the Green Bay Metro Boat Landing.\u00a0 Blinding on coming boaters creates an unnecessary hazard on the water.\u00a0 This is not any different than driving with your high beams on when there is oncoming traffic on the highway.\u00a0 There is nothing wrong with using these extra lights to tuck into your favorite spot, but they are not to be used for navigation.<\/p>\n