More interest, more hunters specifically interested in diver duck hunting. More participation and more hours of effort. We need to push for a change in how diver duck limits are proposed. •
bent over in front of you so you can shoot.
A big part of the history of duck hunting is diver duck hunting. I worry that interest in diver ducks is diminishing. While it seems like there are all kinds of young hunters in the mix today, the diver duck crowd seems to dwindle each season. I don’ t have hard evidence or statistics in front of me, just an acute observation. The hard-core diver duck hunter is getting older and there are fewer of them. What’ s surprising is that diver duck hunting is perhaps one of the easiest hunting opportunities to access providing you have basic boating equipment. Why has diver duck hunting diminished? Diver duck hunting isn’ t promoted in the mainstream hunting media as much today. I’ d also argue that limit restrictions have diminished diver duck hunting interest. Of course limits conserve the resource and every hunter I know supports conservation. But I think it’ s time that we as a hunting community have a frank discussion regarding diver duck regulations.
We used to have an active diver duck community of hunters who came to Devils Lake primarily to hunt bluebills. When the bluebill limit was knocked down to one bird, that type of hunter quit. The one bluebill per day limit baffles me because there seems to be so many bluebills compared to other diver duck species. I understand there are people who count ducks for a living, who know more than I do. What some of these federal duck counters and biologists don’ t understand is that there isn’ t much for employment options if people don’ t buy duck stamps.
There needs to be a conversation in the waterfowl hunting community regarding revamping diver duck limits. For the life of me … why do we have mallard limits for example that restrict hens to provide more hunting opportunities and not do the same thing for diver duck limits? By restricting mallard hen limits to two or one, depending on the year, it allows hunters to harvest more mallards by focusing on drakes. Identifying hens vs. drakes is much easier with diver ducks than mallards in early October. Why can’ t we do the same thing with diver ducks and create more opportunity.
Many hunters can’ t tell the difference between a hen ringbill and a hen bluebill. A hen redhead can be mistaken for a hen bluebill. Telling the difference between hens and drakes however, is manageable. Instead of having a bluebill limit of one, a canvasback limit of one or two, a redhead limit of one or two, let hunters shoot four diver ducks with one hen. That means way more opportunity and interest, more hunters buying duck stamps and contributing to the Pittman Robertson tax and not impact on the resource. If we don’ t make these changes, we’ ll lose the diver duck hunting community.
These conversations have to happen at the federal level. The state doesn’ t get much jurisdiction with limit and season frameworks. Here’ s the reality: The location or region will dictate what kind of diver ducks you’ ll see. The Mississippi River might be predominately canvasbacks. Lake of the Woods might be predominately ringbills. In the Dakotas, we’ re going to see a majority of bluebills, with a few redheads and canvasbacks. You will see very few ringbills. If 90 percent of the diver ducks you see are bluebills and you can only harvest one bird, you won’ t drive very far to hunt.
With limits in recent years in North Dakota, you could technically kill a hen bluebill, two hen canvasbacks, two hen redheads and a hen bufflehead for a six duck limit. That’ s plenty of ducks, but it would make a lot more sense with a 6-duck limit to have a limit of 4 diver ducks which would include canvasbacks, redheads, bluebill, ringbill and buffleheads with a hen limit of one bird. This would revitalize a segment of the waterfowl hunting community that’ s diminished over time. Easy to identify, easy to enforce, as the potential for fewer hens harvested and nesting success rates determining the population.
More interest, more hunters specifically interested in diver duck hunting. More participation and more hours of effort. We need to push for a change in how diver duck limits are proposed. •
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Convenient Locations!
• Lakota“ Pizza Hotline” 701-247-2575
• Devils Lake“ Pizza Hotline” 701-662-3435
• Devils Lake West Hwy 2 701-662-3555
• DL Travel Plaza E. Hwy 2 701-662-4014
• Devils Lake Cenex One-Stop 701-662-4182
• McVille, ND 701-322-4326
• Munich, ND 701-682-5198
Lakota 701-247-2212
www. dakotacountrymagazine. com Dakota Country, September 2025, Page 13