It's official. No special canvasback shooting season is planned for this year. Hatching success was off appreciably, so the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service played it safe, as well it should for our flyway. No other big changes are coming in the waterfowl regs for this year. However, snow goose shooting could see some revisions if the feds decide to relax regulations designed to curtail the prevalence of these pesky fowl that are gobbling up our marsh vegetation.

We'll get to the hunting scene in a moment. But first, here's a rundown on angling prospects for the holiday weekend that will also mark the opening of dove and railbird...