Hello All,
during a recent tournament we had a member idle by duck hunters at lake palastine. was ball park 500ft away from them and was just idle to a shallow creek. Hunters were upset. Just curious if there is a law for boaters when in this situation. Also yes not to get in the way and possibly get shot.

Regular birdshot...prolly 60 yards and it should just bounce off the boat without leaving any damage...

No there is no law if the boater just moves past them. If the boats is constantly interfering with the hunt then yes that's against the law. But they did stake out on a public body of water. They can't expect people to not go near them if they are not dead nuts in the back of a pocket or creek.

You should give them the respect that you would like .
They are usually gone by 10 .

I fish and hunt. Duck hunters get possessive of the area they set up in big time and are mad at any other hunter or fisherman that might mess up their opportunity to kill ducks. Rightfully so, by the time the ducks get to Texas they have been called at and shot at a bunch and are easily spooked. Best to stay as far away as possible if they were there first, magnum duck loads will travel a ways.

On public waters such as Palestine. Whatever the tournament rules are about distance between boats, especially since an entry fee was paid. Last time I fished the duck blinds, on the Red River, they held fish... so the hunters may just be sitting in the best fishing area.

They’re not using regular birdshot, if they’re staying legal. They would have to be shooting steel shot and for big ducks, most guys use 2-4 shot size. Also, 60 yards is close enough to knock down a duck (although not generally advised to take shots that far). I wouldn’t want to take a chance and be “peppered” by any shotgun shot at 60 yards.

There is more to it than just being at a safe distance, most of it is about respect.

You can be 100 yards away and not be in harms way, but you WILL disrupt their hunt and cause birds to flare before they get into range.

If I am aware someone is duck hunting on public waters, I will give them at least 200-300 yards. I've had all spring and summer to fish, I'm not gonna intentionally mess up their hunt.

I fight with the duck hunters on FB all the time. They will shoot at you down here, while they are up in the brush hiding and the fisherman has no clue where they are. I asked them “what they felt was far enough away”. I had a clown tell me “I needed to stay 500 YARDS away, not ft, but yards. I told the guy that’s over 1/4 of a mile and he’s a moron. If I see them, I’ll give them 100-150 yards, but if they have nothing marking their location, that’s on them.

It’s not a distance thing… it’s where you are in relation to how their birds are flying in. Had some fire a few warning shots, had others signal me with a mirror. If I see duck hunters I give them the area, the whole area. As mentioned before they usually bug out mid morning anyway. If you wanna have some fun go the THF in the duck section and ask what time they get done… made that mistake once. Lmao!

Hee-hee... was just being silly... first I wouldn't mess with someones hunt because I used to hunt when i was young, but I have been "peppered" a few times when i was young, pushing rabbits through the briers and grouse hunting with my cousins, nothing intentional mind you and nothing that went through our clothing, shooting 7.5 shot, but no I wouldn't be so silly to want to get within 60yds of bismuth or tungsten loads...

As a rule I make sure and stay out of range of #4 shot. A lot of times they are hard to see unless they have those dumb mojo ducks.

I quit hunting years ago, i refuse to pay someone to hunt, and public land is a non-starter for me, so I don't know the "public" laws/regs...
interesting... just did a quick search for reg's on what the duck hunters have to abide by, and using Palestine it's up to the lake authority to issue lake regs and of course state/federal laws apply, but this is all I could find to answer the OP's question...

HUNTING
The only hunting allowed on Authority property and the surface of the Lake is duck hunting. Authorized duck hunting shall be in accordance with current Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) statutes and regulations, as well as applicable federal regulations. No hunting is allowed in the cleared areas of Lake Palestine (south of the State Highway 155 bridge(s)) on land owned by the Authority, or from the water. There shall be no hunting within 1000 feet of the shoreline, 1000 feet of other duck blinds or other hunters, and within 2000 feet of a residence or other habitable structure.
DUCK BLINDS
Duck blinds may only be erected at sites approved by the Authority. Floating duck blinds are prohibited. A permit is required for each duck blind, and is issued for one (1) year. An application for the construction of a duck blind shall be filed with the Authority, and the annual fee for the same shall be paid prior to issuing the permit. The Permittee’s tag shall be permanently attached to each respective duck blind in an easily visible location somewhere on the structure. Duck blinds must be located a minimum of 1000 feet from the shoreline, a minimum of 1000 feet from any other duck blind, and a minimum of 2000 feet from a residence, a park, boatramp, marina, or other public or commercial structure.
Non-permitted duck blinds erected on Lake Palestine will be destroyed by the Authority.
FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES
Rifles, shotguns, pistols, firearms and explosives of any kind are prohibited on the waters of Lake Palestine and on Authority property except as permitted by the Texas Concealed Weapons Law, and except for shotguns during duck hunting season (as allowed by these regulations). This provision however shall not apply to law enforcement officers of the State of Texas or peace officers of the Authority.

Depends if you ask the fisherman or the duck hunter lol. My bud doesnt fish much but he is a duck hunter and he swears its illegal to be anywhere near them. He gets pretty upset just talking about it. I just go by the rule of what i would like if i was the one hunting. They have a season and we can fish year around so i dont mind moving to give them space

got peppered hard on sooner lake in Okieland, then the game warden peppered their wallets.

power generating lake, was on my way to the dam in a tournament and no decoys in sight. dam goose hunters fired 3 rounds when I slowed to graph a point real quick. you could not see them from the water till they stood up, hunting laydowns behind a log.

gw happened to be at our tournament hanging out, he did check 3 or 4 pre launch but cool guy. busted all 3 for harassing a fisherman, no damage done or it would have been jail.

if I know they are hunting an area I can avoid it, hide yourself so we can't tell you are there and you lose the right to complain imo.