# River Hunting in Utah



## MallardFlew (Feb 22, 2012)

I know this topic has been brought up before but want to get opinions and general ideas from you all.

I have been hunting on the Bear River but not any others. I have heard of guys floating and hunting the Weber and Provo rivers but not many others.

How many of you all hunt the rivers? which ones? primarily floating? or do you set up on the banks and set out decoys? what kinds of ducks do you shoot?


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## middlefork (Nov 2, 2008)

Better hope those ducks and geese you shoot land in the river. Lots of trouble to be had trespassing on the banks to retrieve downed birds.
There may be a few spots that are public but for the most part most of the land adjacent to rivers in Utah was claimed a long time ago.


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## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

A few things about hunting rivers


- A lot of times it is a roost, I find it harder to decoy ducks on a river unless you know where they want to be. I have had better success jump shooting rivers than setting out decoys. It is also generally better when the lakes and ponds start to freeze. 



- Bird Retrieval - I have lost a fair amount of cripples in a river. Due to the current and places to hide. I've had birds dive under and never come back up. I've had birds find a piece of shoreline on the other side and disappear. I've had birds raft down the river so fast that you cannot keep up on foot. Current is also difficult on dogs trying to make retrieves. 



- Access issues - Sevier, Weber, Provo, Bear, Green, etc all have access issues. You need to understand the trespass laws of the areas that you are hunting. It is very easy to trespass on the river. Sometimes you may have to make a decision whether to violate game wasting laws or to trespass. 



- Kinds of ducks - A majority of the ducks are going to be of the diving variety. Mergansers seem to be the king of the rivers for the most part. Goldeneyes are the king of the winter on the river. Puddle ducks will be on the shallower rivers and will be eating mussels, which makes them more or less of a diver duck in flavor if you keep the skin on. Generally speaking orange skin on a river duck means they have been eating crustaceans, which will make them fishy. In bigger rivers, puddle ducks will use them as a roost and will probably be fine to pluck with white skin. Ducks I have shot on rivers - Green Wing Teal, Widgeon, Gadwall, Ringneck Ducks, Buffleheads, Mallards, Common Goldeneye, Barrows Goldeneyes, and Common Mergansers.


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