Contributors to this thread:
Sorry for all the post but its summertime and I'm relatively bored.
I know you can't shoot from a canoe but has any of us ever used a canoe to get into some really deep areas?
I have idealistic dreams of being able to canoe into an area to camp hunt and fish for a week but not sure if that's even possible here in WI.
Looking for good stories. GO!
Why can't you shoot from a canoe? I've shot ducks from canoes many times...
well I have a canoe, but its great for hauling a deer out, but at 15 feet square stern, its still too big....It is very light for its size, its a Raddison..... If I had an extra 500.00 I would buy a Solo canoe, by Old Town, or they may call it a Discovery, anyway, that would be a 10 footer, perfect for one guy, and for trapping.........
I have hunted areas of the Ottawa National Forest, via using the canoe, to get across small lakes, to hunt deeper areas, that are hard to get around.....
I just bought a 11 foot jon boat, with wheels at a rummage sale, to be used for hunting, off of small lakes,,,,,
I will send you a pm, on spots that I know......
Cheesehead- I thought I read somewhere that it was against regulation but I just did a quick search and didn't find anything. Has shot a deer from a canoe/boat around here?
Razor- as always a great resource! How heavy is the john boat? I just picked up a cheap 15' canoe the other night. There's some great deals out there if you have patience.
Look up Ron LaClair out of Mich. He has hunted and shot from the canoe a bunch. He has Shrew Bows.
I got used to hunting from a raft or canoe when we fist moved out of state. When we moved back to the midwest I continued to do so. I ended up hunting alone a lot so unless a ride was arranged I paddled upstream in the morning, before first light and downstream at night after dark. It was easier to go out with a deer that way. I hunt where the river will take me through areas that are behind the spots where people access their spots from the road. The theory being deer may be pushed towards me.
The last time I checked it was not illegal to shoot from a canoe or a boat if it not still under power from any motor. I called the WI DNR at the time to get the info.
good advice.... Ron is a great guy, hunts off of Armstrong creek....... its in MI You can shoot out of your canoe, as long as you are not under the motor being used, same as duck hunting//////
Armstrong Creek isn't far from our place up there. Goodman/Dunbar. I was mapping it out the last time I was up there looking for a good place to put in.
I wanted to add that it is easy to paddle upstream on a river that is relatively slow and deep enough to get the blade of the paddle in all of the way. You can stay out of the faster current by switching back and forth across the river. Sometimes you will get a little "push" upstream from the water current in an eddy. I also leave fifteen feet of rope attached to the bow and stern to make it easier to pull it through any areas I can't paddle through. Some canoes are easier to paddle solo by turning them 180 degrees around and sitting in the front which would then become the back.
Love float hunting . Phil's picture tells it all .
I have not duck hunted in many years but last I knew it was not legal to shoot a duck from a boat unless it was totally or partially concealed by natural vegetation. (except in some specific open water areas like Lake Michigan) Don't know if that has any bearing on archery deer hunting.
You can hunt ducks from a canoe in open water when you are jump shooting. You have to be in vegetation when hunting and stationary.
You can deer hunt from a boat without any restrictions other than using a motor. Really the only thing to pay attention to is the fact that you have to have permission to hunt the property adjacent to whatever body of water you are on.
OK - Boat under power (motor) Cannot shoot...
Boat under your own power (paddle) shoot all day!
Applies to firearms and bows/arrows.
Now skookumjt - Besides being tagged as unethical - can I shoot a whitetail as it swims across a creek/river? Hmmmm?
No but you could lasso it, drag it to shore, tie it to a tree then shoot it but only with your dominant eye closed...dont want to make it too easy #fairchase
Speaking of swimming deer. How often has anyone seen a deer swimming in a river or lake? (not talking about crossing a narrow river or creek)
have always spent a lot of time on water and I have only seen it twice that I can remember.
Once when I was young on the West Twin River in Two Rivers WI. Buck and doe swimming about 50 yards across the river, I think it was during the rut as I was headed up river to duck hunt.
Once about 5 years ago two doe were swimming across a bay on Round Lake in Sawyer county. They came off a long narrow point, I think dogs may have pushed them to and off the point.
About a month ago a doe and fawm jumped into the Flambeau River at Tee Away golf course in Ladysmith and started swimming across. Then the bear that was after them went in and caught the fawn and killed it.
Two weeks ago a buck jumped off the Hwy I bridge over the Dairyland Flowage.
I've seen both deer and bear swimming across lakes on the Chippewa Flowage.
In the Ottawa, I have seen a lot of deer and bear in the water, swimming and playing around..... saw a nice buck, one day, just go out, and swim around in circles, than go back in the woods,,,,, saw that from a tree stand.... guess he just likes the water,,,, that was in early October......
Here's the skinny - yes, one may shot a deer or game animal in the water. Ethical - perhaps not - but legal. Cannot see doing such a thing!
Waterways have a host of laws, such as "keep your feet wet" and riparian landowner laws...not to mention the "high water mark"
To avoid conflict - potential... I would suggest floating water that is surrounded by Sate, Federal, County or municipality lands to avoid a problem...
