Waterfowl Hunters In Boats Must Use Navigation Lights
An article from WWA’s Words From The Wardens.
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s October, 2021 eNewsletter.
By DNR Boating Law Administrator Darren Kuhn; Darren.kuhn@wisconsin.gov
Summer is great, but I’m into autumn when the air gets crisp, the colors ignite the landscape and waterfowl hunting season arrives.
Wisconsin has more than 74,000 waterfowl hunters who will be in the fields and marshes, on the shores and on rivers in pursuit of their harvests.
By the time you read this, hunters in our northern waterfowl zones will have started their season on Sept. 25. Southern waterfowl zone starts Oct. 2 and the new Green Bay and Lake Michigan open water zone starts Oct. 16.
Many of you will use your boats to get into your favorite sloughs, pools, backwaters and wherever the ducks are rafting up. This means you likely will go out before sunrise and call it a day after sunset. This requires lights.
Using navigational lights to stay safe among waterfowl hunters is becoming a problem. The use of these lights is for your safety, so you can get home and brag about your day.
THE LIGHT REGS: LEGAL AND ILLEGAL
- LEGAL:
- Anytime a motorboat is in operation from sunset to sunrise, the required navigation lights are needed.
- These include red/green bow navigations lights and a white light visible for 360˚.
- For paddle craft (skiffs, kayaks, canoes) on the water between sunset and sunrise a white light must be available and at the ready to avoid a collision.
- ILLEGAL:
- Additional lights (handheld spotlights or aftermarket white LEDs on the bow) that overpower the required navigation lights are illegal and shouldn’t be used for navigation.
- Boat lights are designed for other boats to see what direction you are going to ensure the rules of navigation are observed, not to help you see where you are going.
The after-market boat lights are becoming a big problem with their availability and affordability. While it’s true they help you see where you are going; it’s also true that they blind any oncoming boats. This makes it impossible to see the red and green navigation lights which serve a specific purpose telling other boats who has the right of way.
This situation isn’t specific to waterfowl hunters and is present with different boating groups but also needs to be addressed with the waterfowl hunting community.
BOAT LOADS, WADERS, LIFE JACKETS & DOGS
Unlike typical recreational boaters, waterfowl hunters often load their boats dangerously close to the weight capacity limit with decoys, equipment and often time a hunting dog. As a result, the life jackets are often buried at the bottom of the pile.
One wearable life jacket is required for each person on board the boat. These life jackets must be readily accessible for immediate use in the event of an emergency. The jackets also must be the proper size. It is recommended that hunters wear their life jackets whenever they are on the water. Having to dig out a life jacket in an emergency is going to be too late.
In addition to the wearable life jackets, for every boat 16 feet or greater, a throwable type personal flotation device is required. The two most common types of throwables are the ring buoy like what you would see at a beach or pool or the standard seat cushion.
Hunting dogs can get excited and start jumping all over the boat or shaking on the kayak platform. Or, our four-legged partners can get rambunctious, increasing the risk for capsizing.
Boats used for waterfowl hunting also tend to be smaller to allow the hunter to get back into places larger boats can’t go and are often less stable. These two factors alone significantly increase the risk of capsizing and illustrate the reason waterfowl hunters should wear their life jackets.
Waterfowl hunters often travel on the water wearing their chest waders, so they don’t have to change their footwear in the blind. Waders are very effective at keeping the hunters warm and dry but can also be very dangerous on the open water.
If a hunter’s boat was to capsize and the hunter was ejected, the waders would fill with water, creating a suction effect around the hunter’s legs and feet, making it almost impossible to take the waders off. This added water weight, along with the effort exerted to stay afloat and/or to remove the waders, greatly increases the risk of drowning. Wearing a life jacket would reduce this drowning risk and is just another reason to wear your life jacket, not just tuck it away.
Hunters are very good at checking to make sure they have all their licenses, shells, shotguns, camo clothes, face paint, lunch and anything else they might need for a day of hunting. Amazingly enough, life jackets are not on the priority list.
During field contacts, wardens often encounter waterfowl hunters who either don’t have any life jackets or don’t have enough life jackets. The two most common excuses given are that the hunter simply forgot them in the truck, at home or in the other boat or were running late and didn’t want to take the time to go get them and lose their spot.
Life jackets should be on the top of the list right there with making sure you have your shotgun.
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Inflatable life jackets even come in camo!
Life jackets come in all shapes and sizes and every color of the rainbow, including camouflage. There are inflatable life jackets that you won’t even know that you’re wearing until its needed and saves your life.
- You can get insulated float coats that can replace your old worn out hunting parka. These keep you warm in the blind and save your life on the way to and from.
- Don’t forget about the dog. There are life jackets for the dog as well. While the law doesn’t require life jackets for your dog, it’s a good idea. They provide additional warmth for those cold-water hunts as well as additional buoyancy for the long retrieves.
Always remember to check the most recent version of the Wisconsin hunting regulations to refresh your memory and to check for law changes.
The hunting regulations are now one single publication, and include the waterfowl hunting specific regulations. The hunting regulations can be found on the DNR website here: https://bit.ly/DNRHuntingRegs. Hard copies are available most places licenses are sold.
As always stay safe, wear your life jacket, have fun and take a new hunter hunting.
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DNR Violation Hotline: Confidentially report suspected wildlife, recreational and environmental violations at: 1-800-TIP-WDNR or 1-800-847-9367.