Chesapeake Bay Permanent Blinds

[dwilcox15]

If you are familiar with the Chesapeake Bay and its many tributaries, you will have noticed the large amount of permanent blinds that have been built along shorelines as well as many further into the water. Can someone please explain how these blinds work? I understand how offshore blind sites work, according to the DNR. But, I cannt find any information on how the permanent blinds work. Obviously some are owned by the nearest landowner, but there are many that are located in public and commercial land areas.

Are permanent blinds first come, first serve? Please explain.

Thanks.

[capt1972]

What state r u from?

























Please be Maryland! Please be Maryland! Please be Maryland!

[Steele22]

I'd say VA

[Bufflehead]

I'm pretty sure that in most areas of VA and MD, blind locations are licensed to a specific person. If your not that person, you can't hunt it.

Here in NC, it's the same way in Dare and Currituck Counties.

[Willie]

Bufflehead is right. Those blinds you see are licensed blinds, meaning they have owners and are not public property. If you're in va, check out vdgif.com to learn the blind laws. They are not difficult to understand, although those that don't have a licensed blind seem to have a hard time understanding them...due to being butthurt about not being able to hunt those blinds, or float hunt near them.
There's specific laws too about using a float blind. Be sure to read up on that too.
Learn about riparian rights, non-riparian rights, etc. It might help save you a ticket. The man doesn't play in va, not sure about md.

I'm not familiar with the Md laws, but that state is worse than va.

[dwilcox15]

I'm from Maryland and I'm talking about the blinds in Maryland. For example, there are blinds on the Eastern Shore off of Rt. 50 and also in the South and Severn Rivers, amongst many other areas, that are in front of publicly owned shoreline. I have obtained 2 offshore blind licenses at two locations within Anne Arundel County and I understand how licensed shorelines and offshore blind licenses work in the state of MD. What I am unsure about, is how these permanent blinds, built on pilings in the rivers, bays, and creeks are managed and hunted. Obviously, a fair number of them are privately owned, however, there are quite a few that are not in front of private shoreline.

This is an example: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Patux ... 5ddfa45ec6

Also, an example are the blinds at the following coordinates:
38.940150, -76.522794
(2) at 38.974595, -76.234934
(3) at 38.960464, -76.226728

[Bufflehead]

Private property doesn't really have anything to with the way licensed blinds work in most areas, because property rights end at the high water mark. So who owns the property around them doesn't really matter. If your in a area that licenses open water blinds, they are likely to be in front of both private and public property.

[Laguna Madre]

It is a foreign concept to me to have to license a duck blind. In Texas you can hunt any coastline you want and any blind built on public property is considered public property. I built two blinds down on the lower laguna madre and one day I show up and somebody was already set up in the blind I built. Kind of irratating but I'd rather have that than certain people being able to claim the best hunting shorelines. I'd have a huge problem if some rich guy was able to buy the best public land hunting spots.

[Bufflehead]

It is a foreign concept to me to have to license a duck blind. In Texas you can hunt any coastline you want and any blind built on public property is considered public property. I built two blinds down on the lower laguna madre and one day I show up and somebody was already set up in the blind I built. Kind of irratating but I'd rather have that than certain people being able to claim the best hunting shorelines. I'd have a huge problem if some rich guy was able to buy the best public land hunting spots.

Rich or poor doesn't really matter, at least not here in NC. Here the adjacent landowner has no more ability to license a location than anyone else. And it only cost $25-$30 a year for a blind license. No one can buy the best spot but once they license a location, as long as they maintain a blind there and renew the license, no one else can hunt within 500 yards of it.


I like the way it is set up.

[Willie]

It is a foreign concept to me to have to license a duck blind. In Texas you can hunt any coastline you want and any blind built on public property is considered public property. I built two blinds down on the lower laguna madre and one day I show up and somebody was already set up in the blind I built. Kind of irratating but I'd rather have that than certain people being able to claim the best hunting shorelines. I'd have a huge problem if some rich guy was able to buy the best public land hunting spots.

Rich or poor doesn't really matter, at least not here in NC. Here the adjacent landowner has no more ability to license a location than anyone else. And it only cost $25-$30 a year for a blind license. No one can buy the best spot but once they license a location, as long as they maintain a blind there and renew the license, no one else can hunt within 500 yards of it.


I like the way it is set up.

Not accurate in pamlico county. A very large portion of the marsh is owned by one guy.

[Bufflehead]

It is a foreign concept to me to have to license a duck blind. In Texas you can hunt any coastline you want and any blind built on public property is considered public property. I built two blinds down on the lower laguna madre and one day I show up and somebody was already set up in the blind I built. Kind of irratating but I'd rather have that than certain people being able to claim the best hunting shorelines. I'd have a huge problem if some rich guy was able to buy the best public land hunting spots.

Rich or poor doesn't really matter, at least not here in NC. Here the adjacent landowner has no more ability to license a location than anyone else. And it only cost $25-$30 a year for a blind license. No one can buy the best spot but once they license a location, as long as they maintain a blind there and renew the license, no one else can hunt within 500 yards of it.


I like the way it is set up.

Not accurate in pamlico county. A very large portion of the marsh is owned by one guy.

I should have said "this area of NC" like I did in my first post. I was talking about areas with licensed blinds and I don't think the ones down there are licensed, they are just on private property but the laws there definitely allow a landowner to lock up public waters.

[Willie]

It is a foreign concept to me to have to license a duck blind. In Texas you can hunt any coastline you want and any blind built on public property is considered public property. I built two blinds down on the lower laguna madre and one day I show up and somebody was already set up in the blind I built. Kind of irratating but I'd rather have that than certain people being able to claim the best hunting shorelines. I'd have a huge problem if some rich guy was able to buy the best public land hunting spots.

Rich or poor doesn't really matter, at least not here in NC. Here the adjacent landowner has no more ability to license a location than anyone else. And it only cost $25-$30 a year for a blind license. No one can buy the best spot but once they license a location, as long as they maintain a blind there and renew the license, no one else can hunt within 500 yards of it.


I like the way it is set up.

Not accurate in pamlico county. A very large portion of the marsh is owned by one guy.

I should have said "this area of NC" like I did in my first post. I was talking about areas with licensed blinds and I don't think the ones down there are licensed, they are just on private property but the laws there definitely allow a landowner to lock up public waters.

Yeah, it's bs. I grew up in Suffolk and am in favor of the blind laws up there too.