I just want to double check on what the youth hunt age is so that I dont get a ticket. Clarification would be great

Thanks

15 and younger.

I thought it was 17

Nope had to pay full price for my 17 year old daughter hunting licences this year.
waterfowl youth hunt is 15 and under.
Deer youth hunt is 16 and under.

Youth waterfowl is 16 also, unless it changed this year.

Same as last year 15.
Just go to the TPWD website.

There is a sticky thread in this forum with helpful links, one is the Texas Waterfowl Digest. Page 10, it says in regard to waterfowl youth season “15 years of age or younger. Regular season bag limits apply for all legal species of geese, ducks, mergansers and coots. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age. Adults may not hunt ducks, mergansers, geese or coots (except for falconry) but may participate in other open seasons.”

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_bk_k0700_1014.pdf

nope 15 and younger....same as last year

OK, so if they are 15 and younger Do they need a duck stamp?

16 needs fed stamp I believe?

Thanks for posting that Guy! Reading the TPWD website "Goose" section it doesn't look like honkers are legal during youth only. It only lists it under the "Duck" section.

Now I gotta mix in a few Canadas in the spread. There are some locals hangin' around.

It use to be confusing, last year it read "15 years of age or younger. Regular season bag limits apply. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age. Adults may not hunt ducks, mergansers, geese or coots (except for falconry) but may participate in other open seasons."

As it read before, it never said you youth could take geese, so I see they reworded it, it was discussed on the forum this past summer and I think John and Kyotee got it changed..

Ok, I still don't see where yall are getting 15 & not 16. Page 5 clearly says youth hunters under 17 don't need an APH to hunt, youth hunters under 17 don't need a migratory stamp, but hunters 16 & up do need a fed stamp. That doesn't mean your 16 yr old can't hunt youth w/e, it just means he needs a fed duck stamp. This is the same way it's been. Unless the TPWD WMA we hunt at has been doing it wrong. Can a GW please clarify?

FTR, I'm not trying to argue about it, I need to know also if we've been doing it wrong the past few years.

Yes it does mean your 16 may not hunt Youth Only Waterfowl - you are not reading the correct area for Statewide Youth Seasons or within the Waterfowl Digest. Might want to get a little more familiar with them.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/youth_hunting/seasons/

Waterfowl Youth Only:
SPECIAL DUCK, MERGANSER AND COOT SEASON FOR YOUTH HUNTERS: 2 additional days per zone for youth hunters 15 years of age or younger. Regular season bag limits apply. Youth hunters who are not Hunter Education certified must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 18 years of age who meets the Hunter Education requirements. Adults may not hunt ducks, mergansers or coots (except for falconry) but may participate in other open seasons.


YOUTH WATERFOWL**

** 15 years of age or younger. Regular season bag limits apply for all legal species of geese, ducks, mergansers
and coots. Youth hunters must be accompanied by an adult at least 18 years of age. Adults may not hunt ducks,
mergansers, geese or coots (except for falconry) but may participate in other open seasons.

The Youth Only Seasons have nothing to do with the APH permit since all youth do not require one (16 and under).

Youth Deer, Turkey and Squirrel are 16 and under

Youth Waterfowl has ALWAYS been 15 and under since they do not require ANY stamps.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/hunt/youth_hunting/seasons/

Waterfowl Youth Only:
•SPECIAL DUCK, MERGANSER AND COOT SEASON FOR YOUTH HUNTERS: 2 additional days per zone for youth hunters 15 years of age or younger. Regular season bag limits apply. Youth hunters who are not Hunter Education certified must be accompanied by a licensed adult at least 18 years of age who meets the Hunter Education requirements. Adults may not hunt ducks, mergansers or coots (except for falconry) but may participate in other open seasons.
HIGH PLAINS MALLARD MANAGEMENT UNIT: Oct. 22-23, 2011
NORTH ZONE: Oct. 29-30, 2011
SOUTH ZONE: Oct. 29-30, 2011
Please refer to your Outdoor Annual for more information.

Aw, I see. We only bird hunt, so we only look at the regular Outdoor Annual to check fish limits. Thank you.
Now, this brings up another question. The Waterfowl Digest, which is the link Guy posted, & what most waterfowl hunters that I know abide by says different ages than the Outdoor Annual. If you click on the link & scroll down to page 5, it supports what I was saying in 3 different sections (License requirements, Public Hunting, & Stamp Endorsement Requirements).

I guess a safe bet would be to say 15 is the cut off, but if it's actually 16, then you'd be cheating the child. And aint that what it's supposed to be about anyhow, the kids & not us?

For me this isn't about I'm right, your wrong or I'm wrong, your right. If the books are giving us 2 different rulings, it could cause someone to be cited for a violation when he isn't in the wrong.

15 years old is the cut off. I would trust anything Kyote1 says, he works for TPWD and wouldn't lead you wrong.

After speaking with local GW & going over all of it with him, I found out that I was misunderstanding the way the rule is, but with due cause. I just wanted to let y'all know & apologize for any confusion I may have caused. I sure hope they have a new interpretation @ the check station in the morning & nobody gets a ticket.

Page 5 is correct, but page 5 does not talk about Youth Waterfowl Season, that is page 10 per my post above, reposted below..

That is correct. There is an error in TPWD Administrative Code where it only says limits and zones per paragraph (1) which is the part related to ducks. It does not include paragraph (2) related to geese, but the intent was to include it. TAC will be corrected before next season hopefully. There originally was some wording in the outdoor annual and/or waterfowl digest that was not clear on it probably due to the error in TAC. Sounds like they may have changed some of that wording already. So for the record, all waterfowl including Geese and Dusky Ducks are legal game for youth season.

----------------------------------------



John,



Yes, geese may be taken by a youth hunter during the Special Youth-Only Season.

TAC §65.318 (4) should read:



...Bag and possession limits in any given zone during the season established by this paragraph shall be as provided for that zone by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this section...



Also, dusky ducks may be taken by a youth hunter. Hopefully it will be clearer in next year's publications and we are planning to 'clean up' the language in TAC. Let me know if you have any additional questions. Thanks.



Scott Vaca

Assistant Chief of Wildlife Enforcement