2007 and 2008 Cougar harvest reports are out. FINALLY!

[Kain]

http://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/harvest/2008/reports/cougar.php

[carpsniperg2]

yeah saw it last night check out my county klick wow like 12 if i member right the unit i hunt is 382 only 1 dam cat they didnt even let the hound guys who drew the tag last year run they said the female quote was full    f o rover went out deer hunting in 2 days seen 14 coyotes also i tell you if the dam fish and wildlife  dont start doin somthin about pred populations we aint goin to have any game to hunt  o yeah and nuke the wolves

[Kain]

Yea really make me wonder what the hell they were talking about when they told us cougar population are declining.  I think they are full of it after looking at the harvest report.  Only 188 cougars total for the whole state?

[WAcoyotehunter]

106 females...the whole program is srewed up.  DFW let sets a female harvest quota that is low, then closes the season for the hound guys when its filled...which might be before hound season even opens.  Now, non hound owners have tags and are trying to kill a lion, which will likely make the 'rat race' even worse.  We could have taken a few more cats had people been more selective on what they kill.  Instead of waiting on a tom, they take the first cat becasue they worry the next guy will get one and fill the quota... the whole system sucks.

Let biology take a back seat to money and emotions.  DFW sells more tags than ever...what a deal. 

[WildlifeAssassin]

Why are hound hunters taking more females than males? Isn't being able to determine the sex of the cat supposed to be one of the benefits of using hounds? Not looking to instigate I really am just curious...

And why in the hell does it take so long for the harvest report? They have the numbers with in 3 days of the season closing for hunters, and I hope the department knows how many they kill fairly quickly.

[Machias]

They take them because they get worried the season will close before they get their cat.  Both years I drew a tag I treed three females before I treed a nice tom.  Problem was, by the time I treed my tom both seasons the harvest was closed.  If we could sit all the houndsmen down in a room and say look fellas don't kill the first thing you tree.  Wait for the toms, season would run MUCH longer.  But that doesn't happen.  They have turned it into a race under the current system.

[WildlifeAssassin]

Thanks for the reply, do they count the general season harvest and "other take" in the female quotas?

[Machias]

Yes, even road kill and all other forms of dead cats figure into the quota.

[carpsniperg2]

  i talked to a biologist and they said that they flew our unit in helicopters and didn't see any what gomer pile sh+++ and you wonder why the system is so messed up.

[mulehunter]

That's why I made a huge mistake for living in this stupid state of Washington.

Mulehunter