Post by: bornforhorns on October 20, 2008, 04:45:33 PM
Post by: WDFW-SUX on October 20, 2008, 04:55:43 PM
Then there are the additional numbers of late tags that have been doled out over the last couple of years that are 100% success.
There are so many reasons OTC tags.......Where does a guy start :dunno:
Post by: firefighter4607 on October 20, 2008, 05:00:35 PM
Post by: high country on October 20, 2008, 05:08:14 PM
Post by: 270Shooter on October 20, 2008, 05:49:58 PM
We saw 3 legal bucks but they weren't moving after 8am. With the moon out all night and without cloud cover they were feeding all night and bedded all day. :'(
Post by: huntnphool on October 20, 2008, 05:52:33 PM
Post by: swanny on October 20, 2008, 08:47:10 PM
If I had a doe tag, there would be meat in the freezer, so I don't think the moon had much to do with my hunt.
Post by: Slider on October 20, 2008, 08:51:55 PM
Post by: blacktailer on October 21, 2008, 08:45:06 AM
Post by: JBar on October 21, 2008, 09:03:10 AM
I really wish they would jack the price up on the hunt applications to say $50.00 per application per species.
Are you frickin kidding me??? You must be independtly wealthy or single. It's bad enough for a guy like me with 2 kids and a wife that hunt and fish to pay around $700 ( this is close I'm afraid to figure out an exact figure) in state license fees already. But to add close to $1000 for my family to put in for resident special permits is crazy :yike:. The idea of getting more young people recruited into hunting would fly right out the window with that idea! Sorry for the rant!
I too am with Huntnphool, the 3 days taken away.
Post by: huntnphool on October 21, 2008, 09:28:39 AM
the 3 days taken away.
Unfortunatly most hunters don't realize its not the fact that the season is only 8 or 9 days, the problem is which 8 or 9 days they open it for. I can see F$W adding in those extra 3 days and then patting themselves on the back, only problem is they would add them to the beggining of the season and hope most would not notice. For most hunters its okay, they are just meat hunting and are out there for the vacation time or family time etc. but for anyone that is looking for a mature buck, that will burn a tag unless they find one its a waist of time. For someone like me its permit or not even hunt. I understand that according to them the heards need a little help. I just have a hard time knowing when we used to hunt, knowing there were a lot more hunters then, knowing there are more deer than there were then and yet our season gets pushed back to the middle of the month. :twocents:
Post by: Ridgerunner on October 21, 2008, 09:39:24 AM
Quote
I just have a hard time knowing when we used to hunt, knowing there were a lot more hunters then, knowing there are more deer than there were then and yet our season gets pushed back to the middle of the month.
I agree 100%. Same with elk, used to be many many more elk hunters, later seasons and no spike only hunting, what gives.
Post by: hogsniper on October 21, 2008, 09:40:09 AM
Post by: huntnphool on October 21, 2008, 09:46:02 AM
Then you have the elk seasons here in this state that just freakin blow....Im ready to move to montana!!!!
100,000 acre HuntWa compound, everyone has their own little log cabin, I'm in. Now we just have to figure out a way to make some money :chuckle:
Post by: CP on October 21, 2008, 10:18:24 AM
I had scouted the areas that I hunted very thoroughly before the season and there just weren’t many deer there, so my vote is low numbers.
Post by: hunterofelk on October 21, 2008, 10:22:48 AM
Post by: bucksnort on October 21, 2008, 10:30:06 AM
Post by: dreamingbig on October 21, 2008, 10:55:04 AM
the 3 days taken away.
Unfortunatly most hunters don't realize its not the fact that the season is only 8 or 9 days, the problem is which 8 or 9 days they open it for. I can see F$W adding in those extra 3 days and then patting themselves on the back, only problem is they would add them to the beggining of the season and hope most would not notice. For most hunters its okay, they are just meat hunting and are out there for the vacation time or family time etc. but for anyone that is looking for a mature buck, that will burn a tag unless they find one its a waist of time. For someone like me its permit or not even hunt. I understand that according to them the heards need a little help. I just have a hard time knowing when we used to hunt, knowing there were a lot more hunters then, knowing there are more deer than there were then and yet our season gets pushed back to the middle of the month. :twocents:
I agree totally. That is why early archery elk should be the 15th thru the end of the month!
Post by: grizzlygibbs on October 21, 2008, 03:39:52 PM
I voted for other reasons. The lack of great winter range. I haven't seen the numbers of deer, on the east slopes of the Cascades, rebound since the winter of 1996. More and more land is being eaten up by human development. Also, road kill and poaching have more impact during the low cycle years.
x2 exactly what i was thinking
Post by: HuntingFanatic on October 21, 2008, 04:01:26 PM
Post by: bornforhorns on October 21, 2008, 08:52:40 PM
I think they could reduce the number of late permits since there basically 100% success (or get rid of it), and keep the general season the way it is. AND.....
AND my grand addition to the current system would be to include a draw that's basically a 70% to 30% split, where if you were drawn you not only get to hunt the first nine days (70%) like everybody else(if you want), but you also get to hunt an additional 7-10 days beyond that where only 30% of the license holders are out there than. Other advantages would be the possible weather systems, etc. too many to count. It's not a November hunt but the turnover on getting drawn would be excellent, and you might enjoy a quality hunt every 3 or 4 years. The draw could be operated like the multi-season draw so you knew whether or not it would be worth it to even apply for a special late tag, or collect "ghost" points if you were drawn. This would further reduce the number of applicants for special permits. Yeah!
I don't know what the exact percentage would be to split them, maybe you could even go 60% to 40% almost reducing hunters in the field by half, it would make a MAJOR difference in the number of hunters in the field and the quality of the hunt because the lucky drawing hunters would probably wait and take their time off during their ten days. So....basically two seasons. Harvest would obviously increase, so you would need to tinker with either the current late permit system or even antler restrictions for the later hunt so as not to over target the mature bucks.
Good idea!
Post by: Nash on October 22, 2008, 10:17:48 AM
Post by: huntnphool on October 22, 2008, 10:37:34 AM
Post by: WDFW-SUX on October 22, 2008, 10:39:43 AM
Post by: huntnphool on October 22, 2008, 10:42:28 AM
The current number of late tags is a total joke IMO.
:yeah:
Post by: Wahoo on October 22, 2008, 12:55:37 PM
Dave Ware is a state Fish and Wildlife game manager.
East of the Cascade Mountains, hunter turnout was modest compared to the 10-year average, and success declined about 35 percent compared to last year, when about 14 percent of the hunters in the Chewuch Unit in Okanogan County bagged a deer.
"The decline was due to a lack of 3 ½ year old bucks, which occurred because of poor fawn recruitment in 2005 and 2006, and so we predicted that outcome would happen on this opener," Ware said.
Post by: bornforhorns on October 22, 2008, 04:04:18 PM
Post by: big_bucks on October 22, 2008, 09:14:24 PM
I know we always had the best hunting during the last few days of the season when it was a wek later. We used to see tons of quality bucks Okanogan county when the season was longer. It was awesome. Swakane late archery was legit too. HUGE bucks up there made it so fun to go hunt in the snow with a bow.
IMO the early season dates blow and are a waste of time for anyone hunting for quality. Risk of forest fires is way higher. Honestly can't say one good thing about having the modern season that early. Maybe it's a good time to get a little exercise before the late hunts or out of state hunts.
Somebody at F$W needs to figure it out. How do we get them out, and replace them with ppl who give a crap about something other than money?
Post by: Malottguy on October 22, 2008, 11:34:13 PM
I live in Malott and my wife works in Brewster and she has seen a huge increase in deer along the Old Highway since they stopped it.
Part of our license fees is supposed to go to feed programs. What has happened to make them stop?? :twocents: