Snohomish Duvall advice

[steelehead13]

Hey i am a second year addict "duck hunter". I hunt with a friend most of the year in Skagit valley on leased land. I want to start scouting for when he is out of town as i am only allowed to go with him.  Is cherrey valley or cresent lake a decent place to start or should i be looking else where?

Thanks for the advice.

[krout81]

They can be crowded so get there early

[Bill W]

Are you a boot hunter or do you have a boat?   I hunted the skagit flats and mouths of the Snohomish and Stilly back in the lead shot days.   There weren't as many people in the state then.   Now there's less area to hunt and the hunters seemed to me to be concentrated in those areas, due less areas to hunt.

My favorite back then was the mouth of the Snohomish as it was close to Kirkland, a short boat ride down to the hunting area and a pancake place close to the launch.  We might not have shot limits of ducks every trip out but did limit on pancakes as it was a good place to warm up after the morning out.

I wouldn't hunt any of the mouths without a motor on my boat.  When the tide is running out the rowing is hard.

[steelehead13]

Boat and  gun just no dog yet. I will need to take a trip down the Snohomish to check it out. I am just looking to diversify my hunting oppritunitys as i really only hunt one area now.

[Bill W]

When the water is high I also launched at Duvall and boated down to where the river bends to the west.  I had good duck hunting down there also.  When the farm land floods it attracts ducks.  A motor is recommended.

[CP]

Both Cherry V and Crescent Lake are pheasant release sites -  there is no admittance before 8:00am so getting there early is no help.  Duck hunting on release sites isn’t the best choice – my advice is to find somewhere else or wait until pheasant season is over.

[Whitenuckles]

Both Cherry V and Crescent Lake are pheasant release sites -  there is no admittance before 8:00am so getting there early is no help.  Duck hunting on release sites isn’t the best choice – my advice is to find somewhere else or wait until pheasant season is over.

It's only no addmitance for pheasant Hunters till 8. Duck Hunters can come and go as they please.

[CP]

Both Cherry V and Crescent Lake are pheasant release sites -  there is no admittance before 8:00am so getting there early is no help.  Duck hunting on release sites isn’t the best choice – my advice is to find somewhere else or wait until pheasant season is over.

It's only no addmitance for pheasant Hunters till 8. Duck Hunters can come and go as they please.

No, they can't.

Check with the WDFW -

[Whitenuckles]

Both Cherry V and Crescent Lake are pheasant release sites -  there is no admittance before 8:00am so getting there early is no help.  Duck hunting on release sites isn’t the best choice – my advice is to find somewhere else or wait until pheasant season is over.

It's only no addmitance for pheasant Hunters till 8. Duck Hunters can come and go as they please.

No, they can't.

Check with the WDFW -

I have. Call Lance Stevens, the local LEO for WDFW, he'll let you know.

[CP]

or look here:

Snoqualmie Wildlife Area Hunting Hours Reinstated
Hunting hours from 8am to 4pm have been reinstated for all hunters on the following units: Stillwater, Cherry Valley, Crescent Lake. This will be in effect during the Western Washington Pheasant Season. For the rest of the hunting season normal hunting hours, half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, will apply. For more information, contact WDFW's Mill Creek Regional Office at (425) 775-1311.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/snoqualmie/Cherry%20Valley/

[Whitenuckles]

My bad, guess he's got to wait a week.

[Whitenuckles]

My property is just west of that site. Those guys shoot every weekend at shooting time over there

[jackelope]

or look here:

Snoqualmie Wildlife Area Hunting Hours Reinstated
Hunting hours from 8am to 4pm have been reinstated for all hunters on the following units: Stillwater, Cherry Valley, Crescent Lake. This will be in effect during the Western Washington Pheasant Season. For the rest of the hunting season normal hunting hours, half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, will apply. For more information, contact WDFW's Mill Creek Regional Office at (425) 775-1311.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/snoqualmie/Cherry%20Valley/

There are hunters in Cherry Valley shooting at first light. Guarantee you that. I can see and hear them from my house. I'm not sure what the laws are, but the hunters are there and there are always game wardens rolling through the valley this time of year. I have little to no interest in waterfowl hunting, especially in the valley on public land. Saturday morning I went to Monroe about 11am and there was a dozen or so trucks parked in the lot at Cherry Valley and it was a giant lake. Pretty sure there was no pheasant hunting going on there that day. I can tell you there is usually a hail of gunfire at first light then pretty much nothing for the rest of the day. You'll need a boat to hunt either place right now as Duvall and the surrounding valley area  is pretty much a gigantic lake. I would not consider it safe to be wandering around the fields in all that water. There are canals throughout that are deep. If you inadvertently walked into one, you'd be in trouble.
Which brings me to my next point. With so much water in the valley, the birds are everywhere. Hard to get them in any specific areas. When I did hunt the valley a little bit, I never had much success with birds/water everywhere. So many options for them to go.
Crescent Lake is usually equally as crowded. I've not tried to hunt there in ~10 years.

[h2ofowlr]

or look here:

Snoqualmie Wildlife Area Hunting Hours Reinstated
Hunting hours from 8am to 4pm have been reinstated for all hunters on the following units: Stillwater, Cherry Valley, Crescent Lake. This will be in effect during the Western Washington Pheasant Season. For the rest of the hunting season normal hunting hours, half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, will apply. For more information, contact WDFW's Mill Creek Regional Office at (425) 775-1311.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/snoqualmie/Cherry%20Valley/

It does say for Western Washington Pheasant Season.  I would call to get clarification.  If your not a Pheasant hunter, than it may not apply.  Gives the duck hunters an opportunity to shoot some birds before the army of Neon Orange come trotting around.

[Whitenuckles]

or look here:

Snoqualmie Wildlife Area Hunting Hours Reinstated
Hunting hours from 8am to 4pm have been reinstated for all hunters on the following units: Stillwater, Cherry Valley, Crescent Lake. This will be in effect during the Western Washington Pheasant Season. For the rest of the hunting season normal hunting hours, half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset, will apply. For more information, contact WDFW's Mill Creek Regional Office at (425) 775-1311.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/lands/wildlife_areas/snoqualmie/Cherry%20Valley/

It does say for Western Washington Pheasant Season.  I would call to get clarification.  If your not a Pheasant hunter, than it may not apply.  Gives the duck hunters an opportunity to shoot some birds before the army of Neon Orange come trotting around.

I pretty sure your right.

[CP]

This issue comes up every year.  The 8:00am limit is for “all hunters” in fact it’s for everyone, even non-hunters. – I’ve seen citations written, I’ve also seen a fist fight over the issue.   It isn’t worth it.

I’ll never understand why anyone would risk a citation to sneak into a release site early, or why they would even want to hunt ducks there.  After 8:00am you can expect an army of orange clad hunters and their dogs beating the brush around and amongst your decoys.  And then there are the safety aspects; duck hunters are camoed up and hiding in the grass, the pheasants are hiding in the same grass - recipe for a bad day in the making.

[CP]

.

[jackelope]

Maybe the guys I'm hearing are on private ground.
 

[Goldeneye]

The Ebey Island gates to the parking lot are locked in the evenings now and opened in the morning by the area manager for the release sites.  I think he opens them around 7:00.  I guess there has been a citation written to a duck hunter that ignored the signs.

[LndShrk]

Maybe the guys I'm hearing are on private ground.
 

No they are in Cherry Valley.
When it is flooded they do not release the Pheasants and therefore do not enforce the 8AM Rules.

[jackelope]

Maybe the guys I'm hearing are on private ground.
 

No they are in Cherry Valley.
When it is flooded they do not release the Pheasants and therefore do not enforce the 8AM Rules.

I've been listening to shooting all season before 8am.

[constructeur]

it's all fun and games until you get caught and have to pay the piper...

[addicted2hunting]

it's all fun and games until you get caught and have to pay the piper...

She ain't getting any money from me....