Dear Snow Goose Hunter:

[Snowgoose1]

Snowman, yes, I wouldn't mind a pay to play as long as people played correctly when it was inacted. CP, I too would like the guys who park early be told to leave and that they can't use the field for the day, it would be hard to enforce, but more than understood from your perception. I also like your idea about about serious skybusters get a visit and thourough check by the Game agent and maybe a comment or two about shooting distances. I know there are guys that shoot at some pretty good distances, but for the guy who dumps box after box not hitting anything. Weazle, I like the idea of a split season or maybe even like eastern Washington Wed/Sat/Sun. Then maybe our season could be longer or they could increase the limit. When I decoy and get birds, it seems like I can get a bunch to come in early in the season. In the early season we often get limits of good quality decoying geese, but then we have to stop. Maybe move the limit up a few with less days. I know not everybody would be happy about three days only, but the guys public and private in eastern Washington have learned to deal with. They could then include holidays and special times being open for a week like they do for eastern Washington. I think it would produce better decoying Snowgeese longer into the season. Some of these ideas that you are all making comments on are great, lets keep it up and maybe a solution can be found.  Yes, I know some farmers really hate them and we have to come up with a solution because we all know what the problems are.

[Snowman]

The less people quality an opprotunity goes up. Easier to manage. I know the wardens up there an they hunt but won't hunt there for all the reason being stated. There is a comprise to be had here and Snowgoose1 do like your idea about making it the same as the eastern side. I know at the rate it is going it will be closed and that would be a great loss to all of us and are children. My son loves to hunt snows, but every time we go up there he comes home crying and calling every one jerks there. I don't blame. It shouldn't be this way an sending those cards out is a joke, I laughed when I got mine, thinking I've not been up there since before thanksgiving. That is not going to stop the unethical hunting that goes on there.

[The Weazle]

Snowman,
Your words are very true, and make much sense...I would love to see quality vs. quantity, ie:  less hunters, maybe a draw...I do not like to pay to play, and have less and less to play with every year, but in this instance, I think your right.

Snowgoose,
I dont think the days of the week would make as much of a difference as a one month off split season...maybe even both, 3 days a week for two months, one month off, maybe from monday after turkey day to Christmas eve or so, and increase the bag limit to 6 or even 7 birds...I know when the birds are decoying well, you can limit on 4 birds in one or two hours.

I think the slobs will get tired of spending money for nothing and eventually figure out that waterfowl isnt their thing...maybe we can hope anyways.

I know enforcement isnt enough though...ever been to welts ponds?  there is a 15 shell limit there, and I have counted 40+ shots from two man groups, and I have never seen a game warden close to that place...its like speeding, if you never see a cop on the road your on, your never gonna slow down...

I hope the snow goose never gets shut down, hopefully the landowners and state can come up with some reasonable approaches to this...

Anyways, good discussion!

[h2ofowlr]

There are more gamies that patrol the island then I have scene anywhere.  I think they all hang out there as thats where all the excitement is.  Besides they get the best show and the most opportunity to write tickets with the huge crowd.
They should just start pulling individuals cards if they break the laws.  As you can't hunt them without a snowgoose permit.

[Snowman]

Yeah well don't count on them pulling cards. The year that they shot across the tops of rigs in the parking acroos the road leading in an flock shooting them on the ground, in the skagit gun club land, We had pictures of them shooting across the rigs an etc. The fact of the matter that my son was right in their line fire, I caught their movement out of the corner of my eye an as soon as I got my son coming back to me they fired. An when asked if they had seen him when my buddies, me and the rest of the guys there cornered one of them, the answer was no, he didn't know he was standing there looking at the geese. Would have blown his head. He was also the first one to shot. They were back out the following week. Got slap on the wrist. They should have been charged with child endangerment an much more.

[The Weazle]

I agree, I have seen many gamewardens on Fir Island, but I have been hunting there for years, and have only been checked when back at the truck, and that was for steel shells and plug inserted in gun...maybe if they got out of their trucks and walked down the dikes, and out into the fields, they could deter some of the slob action...until they do that, they are watching a show and getting paid for it.  I for one can think of many instances where I saw them at the end of the road, and checked people as they walked back to their trucks instead of walking the dyke/field and writing tickets for littering, over limit, skybusting, ground slucing, etc...

[singleshot12]

[quote author=The Weazle link  I think the answer is a split season...say october 15th-december 15th, then january 15th-feb 15th...the days in the field would increase, but the birds would settle down, and maybe decoy better again, and more would be shot, lessening the overall numbers...I will say I havent hunted the dike this year, as I said I would never go back after last year, and from what I hear, its even worse this year!
[/quote]

A split season would be nice,,but there is only one person who would not let that happen and that is the farmer.

[Dustin07]

too bad I missed this exciting thread while I was out of town   I haven't spent much time on the Quality Hunt areas, i've hunted private/permit land and a lot of open public land this year though and I have a few thoughts.

a. I have not seen the gamies enforcing just regular laws. Watching guys in stanwood throw 150 garbage bags in a field and sit on orange buckets LITERALLY not more than 10 yards away from their truck/main road blasting away at geese is rediculous and dangerous.

b. I think that the minimum "2 snow goose look-alike" decoy rule that the Quality hunt fields is good. I have seen a lot of guys who just set up on the dike and blast the geese when they get up in the morning. however, they weren't doing it on Quality Hunt fields, so not sure how you could enforce it.

c. If you wanted to limit who hunted the snows to a more mature, trustworth bunch, you could start with testing, or requiring a little community service time to get your snow goose card each year. I think the pay to play thing is wrong. I think that when it starts to get too expensive for the average guy to enjoy a tradition like hunting, we are going the wrong direction. However, anyone can and probably should volunteer some service time to the WDFW.


also, what is the deal with the guys coming and parking early like CP mentioned? I'm in the dark on that one. I usually get to my snow goose fields almost as early as I would a duck field. Not quite, but close. I did notice that most snow goose hunters seem to show up with their 10ga guns and orange buckets around 9-10am though.