Hunting Washington Forum
Other Hunting => Upland Birds => Topic started by: 509 on October 16, 2010, 04:17:09 PM
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Ever since the department split pheasant and other upland birds opener I have found pheasants much more jumpy than previous to the change.
I suspected the reason is pressure. I keep finding people hunting pheasants prior to opener. This morning another proud hunter with a pheasant tail in his hunter orange vest. Just because pheasants are open in western Washington does not mean season is open eastern Washington!!
Yes, I know that everybody on this forum probably knows the rules. So make it a point to remind your friends and family that pheasant season is still CLOSED in eastern Washington.
I know the Yakima Rez opens a week early and I was not hunting there. Alarm did not go off and got to the blind at 9:00 am. Maybe that's why I am cranky.
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I am a little jumpy myself, I saw a guy with 2 roosters last Saturday while quail hunting. I let him know East side Pheasant was not open,he argued with me and said he had just showed a gamey the weekend before at a west side release site the 2 birds he had killed. I told him that the East and West sides open on different dates, and got no where with the guy.
Then I get on this site and mis read a totally innocent post and send the poster a PM saying that pheasant is not open on the East side.
I then re read his post (carefully) and see that he states he is at a private shooting preserve. I had to re send a PM and eat some crow, hope he is not pissed at me (I wouldn't blame him if he was).
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My incidents were all on state land.
I carry a copy of the regs with me. As soon as I told him that I had a copy of the regs. He said "oh, I remember now".
One guy was so proud he showed me the pheasants! Unfortunately, it was only the 2nd of October. I had the hardest time convincing him that he shot his pheasants three weeks early!! So I started carrying the regs with me.
We all make mistakes. I have fished closed water twice. You know when you think WOW am I a great fisherman. Then you think, hey I might be good but there is something wrong here. Ran into town to check the regs and sure enough that was the reason I was a great fisherman. The current fishing regs are always in my vest now. Make sure you vest has room in the back for them!!
I think we just need to remind people and not assume they know the regulatiions all the time.