Huntin Coots ???

[kopper_bass]

I was up fishing the Ca Bass Fed on New Melones last week and a weird thing happened to us on Day 2 (Saturday).

At about 11am on Saturday, my partner and i were in a big cove fishing an island top, when a metal boat came into the cove with 2 men and a very young little girl. Well, there were 3 bass boats in the cove, and i assumed the metal boat was coming in to fish too.

They headed past us and went towards the back of the cove behind us and straight for the flock of "coots" laying on the water. As they approached the front edge of the birds, a loud gunshot rang out. It was very loud, as it was a high powered handgun (not a shotgun).

Well, we both ducked down, not knowing where it came from, and i was ready to jump on the big engine and RUN!

Sure as Sh*t, the gunshot came from that little metal boat. they just motored over to the bird and picked it up and put it in their boat and headed away. i assume they intended to eat it. huh?

So:
1) Is it legal to shoot from a moving boat?
2) Are coots a gamebird? dont think so.....
3) Are coots legal to hunt if they are not a gamebird? not sure........


Just a weird thing on the water.

Kopper_Bass

[RougeBass]

Don't know about the shooting from a moving boat, but I do know coots are considered waterfoul and there is a seaon and the limit is 25. I know this because I saw someone get booked by fish & game for shooting them off a pond.

[rickd]

No you can't shoot from a moving boat unless there is no motor, skull boat.

Motor has to be out of the water and the boat has to be anchored.

You can't use lead when shooting on the water.

Coots are a game bird but I sure wouldn't eat one.

What they did was very illegal.

[Steve]

You can shoot coots, and you can shoot one or many from a boat with a motor. However, all forward progress created by said motor must cease prior to shooting. If the boat was still moving when they shot that is illegal. If they used a handgun, thats illegal on two counts (cant shoot coots with a handgun and you cant shoot lead). I cant believe they would do that in front of several other boats. Hope you got their CF number and reported them.

Cook correctly coots are pretty good. But they are best in a dish like Gumbo where the seasonings and other ingredients would make even a tire taste good

[Marty]

You can shoot foul (Coots fall in this category) from a boat as long it is anchored and the motor is out of the water (this includes TM).
If there were 3 in the boat they could have taken 75 coots but you have to use non-lead ammo (I don’t know if a hand gun is ok).

The way to cook coots is after breasting them soak from 24 to 36 hours in butter mike – it takes the gamey taste out of the meat. Then put some onions , carrots, and potatoes. Cook in a good size pan of water (low heat) for about 6 hours, add salt, pepper, celery, and garlic. After about 6 hours let cool then take to the back yard and feed to the dogs – No one eats coots.

[Jeff C.]

The way to cook coots is after breasting them soak from 24 to 36 hours in butter mike – it takes the gamey taste out of the meat. Then put some onions , carrots, and potatoes. Cook in a good size pan of water (low heat) for about 6 hours, add salt, pepper, celery, and garlic. After about 6 hours let cool then take to the back yard and feed to the dogs – No one eats coots.

Hah! Good one Marty.

[Steve]

No one eats coots.

Marty, boat doesnt need to be anchored. Its the forward motion thing that counts. Also, you never spent much time in the Southeast have you? Plenty of coots being eaten there.

[Marty]

Did not know about the motion thing, I always tie off to the tulles and call that anchored.

As for living in the Southeast (Maryland, Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee) is where I pick up the recipe (it was a big joke back there). Yes I know there are some that eat coots but they are one nasty bird.

Steve, do you eat them, do you?

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

OK, Joe we were both right, sort of.. Great post..

mac

[Ringer]

My old man ate coons and possums during the Depression in OK so I suppose coots could be on the menu. I will look for a duck or goose for my table though.

[speedo]

I think their taste depends on what they eat. When I was in college, I had a roommate who was a duck and goose huntin' fool. He'd hunt in the morning and again in the evening. When the refuge had a coot depredation shoot he was in hog heaven. These coots had lived on a diet of rice and other grains, so they tasted fine. Once in awhile you'd get a "fish duck" that had spent too much time on the river, and they were inedible. You could tell if they were a fishduck from the smell.

Damndest thing to "clean" these. You'd place the bird breast down on the ground, step on its legs and then just pull up on the shoulders and the entire breast would come right out with the wings. Snip snip into a bowl and on to the next. We made stew with them and they were tasty.

[185vsfrog]

If you guys like eating coots, I have an easy way for you to get a limit without even shooting a gun. Just run full throttle in your bass boat across franks tract in the Winter months (or even now). You will almost definitely hit one or more if you dont take evasive action. I have had plenty of green poop on my consoles and carpet and that was "with" trying to avoid them.

[speedo]

I think their taste depends on what they eat. When I was in college, I had a roommate who was a duck and goose huntin' fool. He'd hunt in the morning and again in the evening. When the refuge had a coot depredation shoot he was in hog heaven. These coots had lived on a diet of rice and other grains, so they tasted fine. Once in awhile you'd get a "fish duck" that had spent too much time on the river, and they were inedible. You could tell if they were a fishduck from the smell.

Damndest thing to "clean" these. You'd place the bird breast down on the ground, step on its legs and then just pull up on the shoulders and the entire breast would come right out with the wings. Snip snip into a bowl and on to the next. We made stew with them and they were tasty.

Oh, P.S. Only a moron would shoot a handgun at a duck on the water.

[Greg_Cornish]

Best way to cook them is to soak a cedar shingle in water for a half hour. The roast them in the BBQ letting the cedar smoke the meat. Then throw the coot away and eat the cedar shingle. They taste just like penguins

[Tin Can]

Is it even legal at all to hunt on New Melones?

[kopper_bass]

yeah, i was wondering that too, but then again, i have heard of guys hunting birds on Shasta, so guess its legal. hmmmm...


Thanks guys for all the feedback. i figured they had to be doing something wrong. I am positive it was a handgun because i saw no rifle/or shotgun, and the echo it made was clearly a distinct sound, unlike the pop of a shotgun.

But since i wasnt packing myself, i surely wasnt going to chase them down and get their CF numbers as they may just mistake my black and white Skeeter for a very LARGE coot! oops!

Kopper_Bass