does any one duck/goose hunt the white river near indy

[mms]

so i would really like to do this waterfowl are some of my favorite things to hunt. I bought a truck and moved to greenwood so now i can pull a boat . but i have never river hunted before let alone on the white rive. is it worth it? has any one does it?

i would love to know your experience and recommendations.

 

[DocIndy]

One of my hunting buddies hunts white river, but down south around Linton. His wife's family leases some property and has hunted it for years. They have had quite a few great days of shooting their limit... Just depends on the birds. I'm not sure how feasible it is to hunt around the Indy area though.

 

[z0mb13_m0nk3y]

I live just off the river on the north side. There are a few people that hunt the river up here. I hear them blasting away every opening weekend.

 

[AGarbers]

I keep thinking about it at the low-head damn just north of Martinsville, but I haven't figured out a way to retrieve birds from the river without a canoe.

 

[mms]

yea i would think since no dog that you woudl have to launch boat to retrive the birds...i really want to try to do this. maybe some more experiance people will chime in.

 

[z0mb13_m0nk3y]

I'm definitely curious about this also. I have a kayak that I use to hunt some of the rivers in Texas. I've always wanted to find a place around here to do that. Speaking to a CO a few years ago I was told that almost anywhere on the river is ok to hunt. Just has to be out of city limits and if the area is considered a greenway you cannot set foot on land even if to retrieve a bird.

 

[Trigger Time]

One of my hunting buddies hunts white river, but down south around Linton. His wife's family leases some property and has hunted it for years. They have had quite a few great days of shooting their limit... Just depends on the birds. I'm not sure how feasible it is to hunt around the Indy area though.

I believe hunting inside of the city limits is a no no and maybe all of Marion county by now. (They were trying for it).

for me the hassle and cost of the stamp and the license and calling of the hip (?) number and the questionnaire via phone isn't worth it for the few spots i had to hunt.

 

[mms]

I'm definitely curious about this also. I have a kayak that I use to hunt some of the rivers in Texas. I've always wanted to find a place around here to do that. Speaking to a CO a few years ago I was told that almost anywhere on the river is ok to hunt. Just has to be out of city limits and if the area is considered a greenway you cannot set foot on land even if to retrieve a bird.

yea i think birds that fall out of the water might be an issue but not sure i know what "greenway" means. my understanding also is that most area on the river is good to go also( assuming out side of city).

 

[z0mb13_m0nk3y]

http://www.indy.gov/eGov/City/DPR/Greenways/Pages/home.aspx
They have a .pdf map on the site. Looks like a pretty decent portion of the river south of 465 would have a "greenway". Basically a portion of land owned by Indy parks as far as I can tell.

 

[Zoub]

We still own a house not far from that park, I assume you mean southwest way park and the golf course. I have not duck hunted in 30 years but I use to go to that park a lot in winter to train my Lab, she is pheasant and quail. I didn't let her get in the river, we stuck to trails and the ridge line above the river. Just a way to let her work the woods and get some sniff time in. I rarely saw ducks on that stretch of river but the place to access it with a boat you can drag would be where Southport rd crosses the river.

i think you might do better to go explore where 144 crosses the river a bit farther south.

 

[SAILORGOLF46]

I believe there is a public access ramp at Waverly off of ST. RD. 144 and also N. of Martinsville off of Henderson Ford Rd. and Hi way 37. Its been a while but I think these are DNR sites.

 

[Wheezy50]

I have been known to hunt the Waverly area some from time to time, however its been several years since there were enough birds using it to make it worthwhile. I probably have only hunted White river 6-8 times in the past 5 years (and I average somewhere around 30 days in the duck blind per yr.) We have much better luck setting up in fields near the river or sometimes nowhere close to the water, but where the birds want to feed. In which case you'd need permission from property owner, this is where I get lucky, a good childhood friend has family that farms several hundred acres in Morgan co and a couple hundred more in Greene co. In general the river is larger/deeper in southern IN, we tend to do better down there. The birds will never really use the river in the central part of the state because of all the apartment and neighborhood retention ponds, unless we get a long cold spell that freezes all ponds and lakes up.

The decieving part is the water. Right now in the summer the water is way down, everthing is like a slow "lazy" river. But get a couple winter rains and/or snow melts and the water gets raging. You better be sure the boat and motor are in sound working order. A trolling motor will get you around some but don't count on it to go up stream, for long. I just sold my duck boat this summer, it had a 30hp outboard that did fine in the river, but if the water is not up you will run into some gravel and have to pull the boat. I will not mess with another duck boat until I can afford a nice mud motor for it. Its the only way to go, you can drive those things in less than a foot of water, jumping beaver dams and all.

Another thing to keep in mind is navigating the twists and bends of the river in the dark. Can be done with a good helper and a spotlight, it will just take some practice. NUMBER 1 RULE : WEAR YOUR LIFE JACKET!!!

 

[mms]

thanks for the info... i wish that i had some friends in the area... as the cornfield hunting you descibe is exactly what i was used to in college where we had access to land... since moving to greenwood i have not found any place to go yet. that is why i have been contemplaing the river so much