Three hunters will appear in court for killing nine ring-neck ducks outside of shooting hours on Emeralda Marsh.
An officer patrolling Emeralda Marsh in Leesburg heard the sound of gunfire coming from an area southwest of the boat ramp at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, according to a resource citation from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He proceeded to investigate and saw a duck boat occupied by 21-year-old Taylor Wayne Holley of Georgia, 17-year-old Wheeler Blitch of Madison and 19-year-old Palmer Todd Harrell of Georgia.
The group was positioned in a hunting blind with decloys deployed around their vessel, meaning they were actively duck hunting. Seeing this, the officer asked someone at the boat ramp for permission to borrow their boat to address this violation. The owner consented, and the officer went onto the water to confront the duck hunters, the citation said.
The officer advised the group that hunting after noon was prohibited in the Emeralda Marsh Public Small Game Hunting Area, and the time was currently 2:15 p.m. During a license and resource inspection, he learned the trio had harvested nine ring-neck ducks, the citation said…