Duckhunting South Jersey

[Hip]

This is my second season of waterfowling. Im usually at the Maurice River or down the shore. looking forward to learning from more experienced waterfowl hunters.

[jcoastie]

I was planning on trying the maurice river myself but not sure where to go. I have seen a lot of posted signs out there. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought all tidal water was fair game, as long as you weren't on land.

[Margaritaville]

I was planning on trying the maurice river myself but not sure where to go. I have seen a lot of posted signs out there. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought all tidal water was fair game, as long as you weren't on land.

Please see my response about the maurice river in the early goose season thread.

Not all tidal land is "fair game"
Alot of the deeds on the river are very old and were deeded with the rights to the marsh. They are still paying taxes on the "tidal land" .

There is very little land on the northern side of the manumuskin creek that is open to public hunting. We have been very aggressive with charging people with criminal tresspass to keep them out.

When we are spending 20K dollars a year in taxes for wetlands, I will be darned if I am sharing it.

[swab1985]

Hold on here, some of the marshes are owned by people, but the little creeks and tributaries in those marshes are legal to fish and hunt, right? As long as your not on the actual marsh or land, its ok, right? I'm not sure of this, this is why I am asking....I would imagine, if you came by boat on the maurice, a public river, you can hunt or fish it, as long as your hunting per guidelines.

[Margaritaville]

Hold on here, some of the marshes are owned by people, but the little creeks and tributaries in those marshes are legal to fish and hunt, right? As long as your not on the actual marsh or land, its ok, right? I'm not sure of this, this is why I am asking....I would imagine, if you came by boat on the maurice, a public river, you can hunt or fish it, as long as your hunting per guidelines.

Many of those tributaries are man-made when those now so called meadows where corn fields.

I know this is a sticky situation and I am sure there are alot of people that will call me a liar. I am fine with that. I can just tell you that the law has never sided against me. Including Monday.

Typically, when you ask a person to leave and they tell you know, they you ask to see their hunting license, which they deny you the right, they get hit with tresspassing and failure to display documentation.

One is a criminal charge and the other is a Fish and Game Violation. Makes for a miserable day for everyone involved.

[swab1985]

So you cant legally hunt some of those ditchs and creeks, even though they are part of the river?

[jcoastie]

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/cmp/access/public_access_handbook.pdf
this link has some good information on public land use

[Margaritaville]

So you cant legally hunt some of those ditchs and creeks, even though they are part of the river?
Some areas are not riperian rights. It is best to check first before going to someplace new.

[jcoastie]

For the record I have no interest in tresspassing but I would like to be able to hunt the river. I will be hunting out of a boat and staying in my boat the whole time. I am not sure where your land is so this might not even be an issue. Are you saying the water is off limits or the land is off limits? People put up no tresspassing signs all the time on property that is actually public property. Someone was posting the WMA near my house last year so you can't always go by the signs. Also where would you check to see if riperian rights apply. From what I have read almost all of the tidal waters in New Jersey are considered public.

[Hip]

M'Ville is right. Look for signs. I dont hunt in anyones area so I never worry about it.

[Margaritaville]

So you cant legally hunt some of those ditchs and creeks, even though they are part of the river?
Some areas are not riperian rights. It is best to check first before going to someplace new.

[Margaritaville]

For the record I have no interest in tresspassing but I would like to be able to hunt the river. I will be hunting out of a boat and staying in my boat the whole time. I am not sure where your land is so this might not even be an issue. Are you saying the water is off limits or the land is off limits? People put up no tresspassing signs all the time on property that is actually public property. Someone was posting the WMA near my house last year so you can't always go by the signs. Also where would you check to see if riperian rights apply. From what I have read almost all of the tidal waters in New Jersey are considered public.

You are right, you can't always go by the signs
and almost all tidal waters are Riperian rights, but not all, I can only speak for the land that I tend to.

[salt-hay]

Most tidal water is open from the high tide line down, but there ARE a few notable exceptions.

Most are area's that used to be farmland where the dikes have washed out and it now looks like any other strech of river, except it's deeded. Mannington Meadows, Upper Maurice river and upper cohansey all have area's like this.

The bottom line is if you are heading out to gun Know darn well where you are going, and if someone nicely inform you that you are trespassing, don't get all up in arm until you know all the facts.

There are PLENTY of open public land area's to hunt, but you need to put in your scouting time and get up early.

[avasea]

Like salt hay said, there are plenty of places to hunt on delaware bay from the Del memorial bridge all the way to cape may. If it's posted, why bother? Don't assume the posted property is better than the public access land. There has to be 200,000 acres of marsh, between the wma's and the pseg land, that you can hunt along the bay. The bayfront can be hunted virtually anywhere there isn't a town, in addition to the marshes.

[jcoastie]

I am not trying to hunt private land. My question was more if the grass islands are posted and private can you still hunt from a boat staying in the water the whole time. Also if the water is off limits in some places how can you find out so that I don't make a mistake. Hunting the maurice river is just a lot closer for me than some of my other waterfowl spots. I have seen people try to claim portions of the ICW and try to stop people from fishing because the didn't like fishing and the boat was blocking their view. I have seen posted signs at WMAs where poeple were trying to discourage other hunters from hunting near them. Just because a piece of land is posted does not make it off limits. Again I have no interest at all in tresspassing.

[Margaritaville]

Jcoastie,
Like salt-hay said, for the exceptions to the rule, NO you can't legally hunt from a boat in those areas.

I really don't know where you can go to check for each piece of land, I can only speak for the land that we hunt.

[salt-hay]

Two suggestions.....One talk to your local CO. They know of problem area's and can tell you where to avoid.

Otherwise go to the municipal building of the twp. you want to hunt and look at ownership on the tax map....................

[River Rat]

I just went through a situation like this recently on a creek in off the Delaware river.I was the Hunter and the Marsh i was hunting has no riparian rights.I Hunted and Fished the marsh for 25yrs and the property surrounding it was sold.The new owner busted my stones and called the CO.The CO asked if he had riparian rights.There are none on the deed.Owner is informed he own to the Mean High water mark which is actually the average High tide mark.The Trash line in the woods surrounding the marsh is not the high tide mark its the Flood Tide Mark.Dont get the two confused.

If the Owner has Riparian Rights He does not own the water.You can still drive a boat there you just cannot touch bottom with anything.If you throw out a Decoy with a weight you are trespassing.If you touch Grass in a floating boat you are Trespassing ,Etc.Know the Rules before you enter the Marsh.:)

Jason I still have those Lacrosse waders that you were interested in last year.If ya stii want them shoot me an e-mail,HRL

[wall hanger]

We all need to remember as part of our hunter education that ethical and responsible hunters are responsible to ensure that the areas that the are using are open to public use. It isn't worth taking a chance.....check out the thousands of open huntable wetlands in New Jersey....they aren't that far away!

[avasea]

there is really no reason to get in to trouble in that area. heislerville wma is right along the maurice river and there are several thousand acres right there. I have been waterfowl hunting in nj for 30 years and have never had an issue. there is so much public land that you are not trying hard enough if you can't find it, and you don't have to try very hard. get the wma map from the dfgw, it's about $10 and you will know where to go and never have a problem.

[Darrin Greene]

Honestly, I know there are those who will argue with this but more or less...

If it's posted someone paid money for it and pays taxes on it so even if they don't have riparian rights I usually leave it alone.

There are something like 20 public acres for every waterfowl hunter in NJ, and that doesn't include the land owned by companies like PSEG that is actually open for you to hunt.

On Delaware Bay alone there is something like 20,000 acreas of state and another 20,000 of PSEG property, not to mention the entire coast like and ICW is pretty much open public land.

There's no reason to have to screw with someone who has a piece of land they bought and pay taxes for to kill a duck. You might have to do some homework and put in some time, but they are readily accessable on public land.

17 birds died this first week for me and not a single one was killed on land where I had to tresspass to hunt.

[flatlander]

I would like to know more about hunting duck down their like to have some help??:wave::wave:

[R & R]

I'm not tring to stir anymore up but I have an honest question...
What about posted marsh right on the del. Bay? At low tide there is black mud for a couple of feet (no Beach). Can I set up in a boat along the bank as long as i don't go into the marsh?

[Darrin Greene]

Couldn't tell you without the deed to the property unfortunately.

That's the problem...

Does the land owner have riparian rights or not? In certain circumstances they do, in many they don't, so technically you could park there, however...

You don't know without researching it and...

You may be screwing them up partking there so better to contact the local tax office and establish a few things...

1. That someone does in fact have a right to post the property down to the water's edge
2. If so WHO?
3. Landowner's name and address
4. Any other pertinent facts you can gather

You then have to go to the county and pull the deed if you want to know about the riparian rights issues before speaking to the land owner.

You may find a miriad of circumstances and then you have to act accordingly.

For the most part though you should go talk to the guy and see what you can find out. Also, take a ride into the marsh at high tide and see if there are any blinds near where you want to hunt that you might be cutting off.

This is the RIGHT way. Most guys would simply pull up and park then argue with the landowner and screw up a days hunt for him... and more importantly... themselves...

["String Music"]

I'm not tring to stir anymore up but I have an honest question...
What about posted marsh right on the del. Bay? At low tide there is black mud for a couple of feet (no Beach). Can I set up in a boat along the bank as long as i don't go into the marsh?

You know when you usually start every thread with "I am not trying to stir the pot!"...You are usually guilty of stirring the pot! Do you ever egree with anyone or do you love turmoil?

[R & R]

You know when you usually start every thread with "I am not trying to stir the pot!"...You are usually guilty of stirring the pot! Do you ever egree with anyone or do you love turmoil?
I had an honest question but I can see from your tude you just like hyjacking post.

The question could go either way but there seems to be a couple of guys with a tom of knowledge on the subject in this thread.


I have seen marsh right on the bay posted by west creek & wonder if they had rights to the low tide mark.. Thats it.

[Darrin Greene]

if they have rights it's tot mean HIGH tide line, not the low tide.

[avasea]

I just did a quick count of WMA's in Salem and Cumberland counties-44,000 acres, that is just the marshes only, not including areas that are slightly inland(and most of those have some duck hunting also). That also does not include South Zone areas that are in Burlington, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties. Additionally, the PSEG land is at least as much as the aforementioned number. Again, if you can't find a place to hunt on public land in South Jersey you aren't even trying. I think it would be safe to say that there is nowhere along the bayfront that you can't hunt, except in the middle of a town. There is also state forest in the south zone that has some duck hunting. Most of the best duck hunting in the state is on public land. If you are looking for someone to give you their spots, then good luck. It has taken me years of scouting and hunting to find the area's that I hunt. You are welcome to them if you can find them, but I'm not giving up coordinates. Go have fun and forget the areas near posted property, they are insignificant.

[crazy horse]

Margaritaville is correct about posted meadows on maurice river pretty much if you see asign you should move on i have meadow on the river and unfortunely have had to have people charged with the same offenses there is an awful lot of public wetlands to hunt