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Who thinks pacific flyway season dates are a joke?

6K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  phutch30 
#1 ·
I'm curious if the majority would trade the first two weeks of October for the last two weeks of January.

I'd trade shooting greenheads in January over sorting through the brown in October every season.
 
#2 ·
I would even go 3 weeks. This stupid split sure took the
wind out of my sails. I didn't even go back out because of it.
I was also very busy with work and lack of places to go and
not seeing any birds.... you get the idea.

No matter how you slice it, some people are going to
be butt hurt over it. Instead of shutting down for
5 days at the end of the season. They can have random shut downs
during the season. Example: Shut down from 1pm to 3pm every
Wed. that falls on an odd day that the moon is full.
 
#3 ·
Not me man! I love the way the seasons are. Im trying for scoters and a bean goose and most of us know they leaved MT pretty early so....

I would like a later opener OR a split the end of Oct
 
#4 ·
Paul this discussion is for people who actually waterfowl hunt. Hell I live in central flyway and I think I hunted more days in pacific flyway then you did.
Oh wait maybe that's the way it always is, those that don't use a resource setting up the regulations for those that do.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
Im an internet hunter now! way cheaper, less effort and more success

prob still have more days in the field over the last 5 to 10 years than most
 
#7 ·
I'd support a mid-October split but I admit I enjoy seeing the blue-wings and woodies on the early opener despite the possible impacts of the youth hunt. Late Oct and early Nov usually provide the first decent push of divers on my waters (sorry Hutch, no harlis or eiders) so I'm not interested in a split then.

Whatever your preference, the Commission's final review of the upcoming season's proposed regs is NOT the time to submit a proposal for the first time. Get 'em in early and repeat them on meeting day. I forget which commissioner it was this past year but the whole last-week-of-the-season-split proposal was a last-second decision during the meeting met with a kind of "whatever" response rather than much discussion.
 
#8 ·
I dont know about the pacific but here in the Central I would kill for two weeks in Jan.
I won't shoot a bunch of brown birds in Oct, its a waist of what could be a trophy bird in another month.
I hunt the river and it is always open , and the colder the better.
I would love to put the first two weeks of our season on to the end in Jan.
 
#9 ·
I'm one of the only hardcore guys who likes things they way they are and like the early season. A lot of areas in the state have good hunting in the early season and poor hunting later in the year. Personally, I like things the way they are adn I think the current structures provide more overall hunter days that if we eliminated parts of Oct. Sure some of the hardcore guys would benefit from a longer late season, but a lot of more casual hunters would get out less...we have to think of everyone, imo. Overall, we have it pretty good.
 
#10 ·
What about a punch card system? 105 days to hunt. You call in everyday your going out. You can hunt anytime during the allotted federal season. 1st no call fine... big. 2nd... no hunting next year. Poachers are poachers so regs don't matter to them anyway. As for the extra stress on fish and game, I haven't talked to one of them in 4 years while hunting, and I get out a lot typically. Not wanting to get hated on here, but I'd like to hear some pros and cons on this.
Also what about a spring snow goose season? The biologist said he wasn't for it because there weren't that many geese in the spring coming through the central flyway, and he didn't want sportsman paying for nothing. Pretty sure we sell a ton of big game tags even though there is a 90% unsuccessful rate. I'd like the option myself.
 
#11 ·
I am going to hunt waterfowl even if they give us an only between 1 and 2 am season. Saying that I like to shoot a few teal so why not open the season for them in mid Sept. close it after two weeks then open the regular season 1 Nov and run it through the end of January. There is as much reason and science in my logic as the crap they are puking out.
 
#12 ·
I like it the way it is, in January it is a crap shoot, a week of below zero weather and everything is gone. The few birds around have been shot at for 3 months and find private unhuntable land. It goes till the 21 of January that is the latest I can ever remember. I will take October ducks, we are really lucky to have such a long season.
 
#15 ·
I do. I could easily go out an shoot limits of green right now. History tells me we will get a warm spell that will melt the snow. Besides for every year like this theres 5 when we would kill for 2 more weeks in Jan
 
#17 ·
I don't doubt there is more greenhead and honker chasing to come but the majority of the other new arrivals (snow geese, swans, divers, wimpier puddlers...) departed within about a 48-hour period. A warm-up here won't mean much to the birds already south of us. Glad I hunted as much as I did in October this year.
 
#18 ·
I saw mallards, widgeon, gaddy, common and barrows, honkers, greenwings, a ringer and swans today but wasnt waterfowl hunting. The numbers of non mallards is for sure higher before it gets cold.
 
#19 ·
Leakydecoy said:
I don't doubt there is more greenhead and honker chasing to come but the majority of the other new arrivals (snow geese, swans, divers, wimpier puddlers...) departed within about a 48-hour period. A warm-up here won't mean much to the birds already south of us. Glad I hunted as much as I did in October this year.
I'm in the same boat. Early season can be fantastic if you put some work in. Some parts of the state have better early seasons than later seasons. Heck, we've got 3 months of cold weather hunting this year, that's 3/4 of the season. The current season structure is fair for all and I like it that way.
 
#21 ·
unclenorm said:
I do, the only reason there is a split season is so weekend warriors can get one last chance to hunt for the year. If you can't get the last two days of the season off of work, you're not a true duck hunter.
:lol3: :lol3: Uhhh, this might be the dumbest post I"ve ever seen on here and that is saying a lot :bow: :help: Shouldn't the regs provide the fairest and best ways to get the most people into the field? Regs shouldn't be made just to cater to the "true duckhunters". There is absolutely nothing wrong with "weekend warriors", many of whom don't have the flexibility to adjust their work schedules like other people can.

I'll let the debate rage on what "a true duckhunter" means, but for the most part, it's an ego-inflating term :fingerhead:
 
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