# Early Teal Season in Utah



## toasty (May 15, 2008)

So by the time opener rolls around the majority of the cinnamon and blue wing teal are already through northern Utah. We usually get quite a few in the first week of the season, but I've scouted a couple spots and the number of blue wing teal is unreal in mid September. I see on the latest survey, teal numbers continue to explode to record highs.

Anybody know of anything that would stop Utah from doing an early teal season for a couple weeks in early or mid September?

If it would be legal is there any support for this idea? I for one want to get out as soon as possible even if it would mean a teal closure for a week or two at the end of the season.

Thoughts or opinions?


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Since they are a federally managed species, I would assume it would require a fair amount of cooperation with the feds. But in all reality, I dont foresee it going well because that would mean you would need to make a lot of changes such as keeping the regular season open for all other species and then somehow expect hunters to know that teal season ended early. And my experience is that just enough hunters cant identify bird species in flight. So that would run the risk of people shooting teal "out of season" in that particular instance.

Good new is: teal are around all season. So you should still get some good hunting in!


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## Swaner (Sep 10, 2007)

Bax* said:


> that would mean you would need to make a lot of changes such as keeping the regular season open for all other species and then somehow expect hunters to know that teal season ended early.


They already do that with Scaup and the split dark goose season. I'm not sure why it would be that much harder to do it with teal also. It is the responsibility of the hunter to read the proc and know the rules.

Personally, I don't know that I'd like to see an early teal season. Last year we had a good number of cinnies come back at the end of the season and they were full plumed and gorgeous.


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## Donttreadonme (Sep 11, 2007)

I may be wrong here, but I think that we are allowed 107 (typically) days to hunt no matter how we split those days up. If we do a week long Teal season that means we loose one week later on in the season necessitating either a split in the season or an earlier closer. Myself, I would much rather have the last week to hunt in mid Jan than one week of teal killing in September.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Swaner you do make a good point. I suppose my point was a bit generalized. Just seems to me that this would be more headache than it is worth.

Seems that there are just too many uneducated hunters out there that wont take the time to learn species so that makes it difficult to justify the change for that reason in my eye. Not because I dont want to protect the ignorant, but because I dont want the ignorant to ruin it for the rest of us


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## Swaner (Sep 10, 2007)

Point taken Bax. I don't think it would be worth the headache either. We have it pretty good now.
I'm sure there are a lot of Scaup shot out of season right now because people don't read the rules or can't identify them.
It seems like every year we have somebody post a picture on here of a bluebill they've shot after the season closed.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

If I could make one change, it would be to buy a boat. Im sick of hoofin it everywhere with a bag of dekes on my back and hot waders on


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## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Bax* said:


> If I could make one change, it would be to buy a boat. Im sick of hoofin it everywhere with a bag of dekes on my back and hot waders on


I got a boat, you are more than welcome anytime.
I prefer to hunt later in the season when it's not so hot outside. I don't want to lose a week in January just to hunt in September.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Fowlmouth said:


> Bax* said:
> 
> 
> > If I could make one change, it would be to buy a boat. Im sick of hoofin it everywhere with a bag of dekes on my back and hot waders on
> ...


Thanks for the invite! I actually prefer to hunt in late Dec early Jan as well. Less people out and it just feels right to be out there when there is ice.


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

I don't think we'd have to have special permission by the feds. As long as the hunt starts after Sep 1 and we have the total of 107 hunting days, I think that would work. You also wouldn't have to have the week or two of closure at the end of the season.

As far as identifying birds, several other states have an early teal season and it seems to work for them. They also rely on everyone to not shoot Cans or scaup when they are closed. I don't think argument has merit. 

I too have shot a nice beautiful cinne in January. I also take a handful of greenwings late season as well. After thinking about it, I would swap a week at the end for the opportunity to get out for a week in early or mid sept.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Fowlmouth said:


> I got a boat, you are more than welcome anytime.
> I prefer to hunt later in the season when it's not so hot outside. I don't want to lose a week in January just to hunt in September.


+1


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## woollybugger (Oct 13, 2007)

They do have an early teal season in Utah. It lasts one day and is usually one or two weeks before the regular hunt. Oh, and you must be 15 years old or younger to participate.


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## shaun larsen (Aug 5, 2011)

i absolutely LOVE to hunt waterfowl. its what i live for. but i dont support an early season for teal. not saying i wouldnt participate if we had one, but i dont think its what we need. id much rather shoot birds well into january than start early and end early. 1, its hot in mid september. hotter than it is usually the first part of october. 2, shooting teal in the early season will smarten up the other birds. by the time the real opener rolls around, they will be a mile high before the first guys open up. 3, no matter how much faith you have in the common "ethical" hunter, you are going to have a very disappointing amount of hunters who either fail to ID a bird correctly, just get bored sitting there with no legal action, or just flat out dont care and shoot illegal birds....

i just dont see a need for a early teal season in utah. theres enough hunting to be done in the middle of sept as it is (elk, deer, upland birds, sandhills, etc...). just be patient. the first saturday in oct. will come fast enough.

91 days and counting... -/O\- *(())* -()/>- :O--O: OOO°)OO -()/-


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I was just thinking about how miserable it would be to hunt ducks in hot September. Mosquitos everywhere, humid too


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## duckhunter1096 (Sep 25, 2007)

Joel & Toasty hit it on the head... An early season specifically for Teal would eat away from the 107 day season for all of the other birds. Closing the season down for Scaup & Cans doesn't affect the 107 days.

Here's the other thing that I'm looking at... Why are you so concerned about getting a BWT or Cinny in September? Please don't say taxidermy purposes, cuz they won't be colorful enough to be worth a crap. If you say meat... I can sort of go along with that. But if that's your concern, just hunt the regular 107 days with the rest of us, and shoot BIGGER birds... Which equals more meat. 

I guess the short version of a long post is that I don't think you'll get the support on this one. It's kind of the "If it's not broke, don't fix it" mentality. Sure there are a ton of hunters that don't do January (I am one of those), but at the same time... I wouldn't do September either.


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## chuck harsin (May 1, 2011)

Joel Draxler said:


> I may be wrong here, but I think that we are allowed 107 (typically) days to hunt no matter how we split those days up. If we do a week long Teal season that means we loose one week later on in the season necessitating either a split in the season or an earlier closer. Myself, I would much rather have the last week to hunt in mid Jan than one week of teal killing in September.


CORRECT AND AGREED!


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## Greenhead_Slayer (Oct 16, 2007)

I'd much rather shoot a fully colored cinny teal in January than have to end the season sooner. Everyone hates dealing with all the fair weather hunters, we'd be dealing with them for longer with an early teal season. On top of that, most the species are not colored out well and I'd have to think a decent number of ducks out of season would fall victim to an early teal season due to poor judgement from hunters. The mosquitos would make that hunt miserable, the heat would be brutal on both the hunter and on dogs, I don't see any pros to having an early teal season in Utah. You can always make a quick run out of the state for the early goose season in some of the neighboring states if you want to be able to hunt fowl sooner.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I start to get really stir crazy after waterfowl season, id hate to add another month to it


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## gander311 (Dec 23, 2008)

I have to jump on the bandwagon and agree with not having an early season for teal. I just love shooting them in January on the ice, when the drakes are in thick numbers, and fully plumaged. 

I would participate if a season happened, but would prefer for it to stay the way it is. I would like to experience an early season teal hunt once in my hunting career, just to add the experience to my journal, but don't have a desire to do it on a regular basis, so I am willing to travel some day to another state to cross that one off my "bucket list".

I would like to see Utah consider an early season goose hunt though. I would give up more time during the mid-season split in a heartbeat for a week in September to hunt the young and dumb local birds!


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## trouthunter1 (Sep 12, 2007)

I asked that question to a waterfowl official one time and was told that there would be to many violations during that early season and Utah officials basically didn't trust hunters to correctly identify and shoot just teal. I guess I can see his or her point. Too many brown ducks that time of year.


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## InvaderZim (Sep 7, 2007)

FWIW, if I remember correctly Cinnamon Teal males are actually at their most colorful during the summer. So your best bet at a beautiful taxidermy specimen would be Sep 1st. They go through a far later "eclipse"

It's been some time since I've been "into" waterfowl so I could be mistaken. But I don't think so.


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