Safely hunting rivers from a drift boat

[jamesfromseattle]

The best camo for duck hunting must be dressing like a fisherman....seems like the most ducks I ever see are while fishing from a drift boat.

I've heard of people doing cast n' blast trips from their drift boats, but it seems like most of our western WA river are relatively close to roads and houses.

Was hoping for some guidance from the regs/safety gurus. How much space do you need to safely shoot a shotgun?  And is hunting from a non-motorized drift boat fair game?

I've Google earthed it and found a handful of areas where you can get a few hundred yards of clear shooting over public land in the river bottom, but that seems a little tight to me.

Only duck hunting I've ever done is over the salt water or on private land, so I've never put much thought into it and am pretty ignorant on the issue.

[moocher97]

I've done it before on the coastal rivers but there are a lot less houses there. As long as your at least 200 yards (not required ) but its a good buffer you should be good. Can't be under power either when shooting. Plunking for salmon and pass shooting ducks is a load of fun.

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[h2ofowlr]

It can be lots of fun.  I have done it multiple times as well.

[CP]

I see mostly mergansers when I try that.

[7mmfan]

If I'm on the river during duck season, I always have my shotgun. Just be aware of where the roads and houses are around you, use common sense when it comes to other boaters and bank anglers, and have a blast. 200 yards is a good rule of thumb for shot travel, even though most of the time it won't get that far.

[7mmfan]

I see mostly mergansers when I try that.

Nothing wrong with that, take a few smolt eaters out of the mix! They make good crab bait!

[jamesfromseattle]

Sounds good, thanks guys.

Excited to give it a shot next time out on the river. Unfortunately, though, it looks like we may not have a ton of time before our steelhead/duck rivers become just duck rivers...but that's a rant for a different thread. Going print out a map and mark the houses and roads and such, and bring it in the boat.