[h2ofowlr]

OLYMPIA - Brant goose numbers in Skagit County are high enough to allow an eight-day hunt later this month, according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).

Brant hunting is scheduled Jan. 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 27, 30 and 31 with a bag limit of two geese per day.

The hunting season was adopted after 6,002 brant were counted Thursday during an aerial survey of Fidalgo, Padilla and Samish bays, said Don Kraege, waterfowl section manager for WDFW. At least 6,000 brant must be counted in Skagit County before hunting is allowed.

"Numbers of brant wintering in Skagit County are down this year, but expected harvest rates during the eight-day season are still within our management objectives," said Kraege.

Last year, WDFW wildlife biologists counted about 16,200 brant - the largest count in 14 years. About 9,200 brant, which is slightly above the long-term average, were counted during aerial surveys in 2008 and about 6,100 the previous year.

"The drop in the number of birds in Skagit County from last year is likely the result of a shift in winter distribution," Kraege said. "Significant numbers of brant have been seen elsewhere in northern Puget Sound, including nearby Whatcom County, where we counted an additional 4,000 birds during the aerial survey."

To participate in the Skagit County brant season, hunters must have prior written authorization and a harvest information card from WDFW. After taking a brant, hunters are required to record their harvest information immediately, and report their harvest to WDFW by Feb. 15. Hunters who fail to report by Feb. 15 will be ineligible to hunt brant in the 2010-2011 season.

 

[FeatherFanatic]

Whats Brant huntin like ?

 

[h2ofowlr]

Whats Brant huntin like ?

Time consuming and lots of work. Lots of scouting and then trying to set up in the bays where they are flying to still have them squirt the outsides of your decoys and not get shots. Pretty much stuck to hunting out of boats unless you own tidal property where you can place brant blinds. It does take some work to get them. If you get everything in order they usually come in pretty good and can be fun to shoot. But still a lot of work for 2 per person.

 

[Jhaze1812]

how do u get the authorization letter from WDFW?

 

[Tealer]

Is it only open in Skagit? I was hoping for a Pacific County season.

 

[killmaster]

Pacific is never a question, its always open each year. They waver son Skagit till the check of the population is done.

 

[Tealer]

GAME ON!

 

[Dustin07]

I got my brant card a couple months ago. The 16th is likely the only day I'd have dedicated to em so we'll have to get lucky to bag one.

 

[Jhaze1812]

Anyone in Skagit County want to go? PM me

 

[h2ofowlr]

It should be a zoo out there on Saturday. If they come into our decoys like they did on Friday it should be a quick shoot. Unfortunately it's not the best tides for hunting them. As the real low is late at night.

Sa 16 High 6:50 AM 9.1 7:56 AM Rise 8:33 AM 0
16 Low 12:24 PM 6.3 4:44 PM Set 6:32 PM
16 High 4:20 PM 7.5
16 Low 11:54 PM -0.4

 

[Dustin07]

It should be a zoo out there on Saturday. If they come into our decoys like they did on Friday it should be a quick shoot. Unfortunately it's not the best tides for hunting them. As the real low is late at night.

Sa 16 High 6:50 AM 9.1 7:56 AM Rise 8:33 AM 0
16 Low 12:24 PM 6.3 4:44 PM Set 6:32 PM
16 High 4:20 PM 7.5
16 Low 11:54 PM -0.4

that's an unlucky coincidence. I'll be out chasing sea ducks finally. didn't really think about how it was going to land on the Brant opener. oh well, we'll see what happens. Michael and I saw a brant or two a couple weeks ago that buzzed our deeks. If I get lucky with a fly by I'll take a mounter.

What do you have for decoys?

 

[h2ofowlr]

Dustin07
Which bay are you targeting as you can only hunt the brant in the certain area. Expect there to be 25 plus boats in Padilla, maybe more and a bunch in Samish Bay as well. If you hunt Samish you have to hunt outside the bay quite a ways past the brant blinds or they will nail you for tresspassing as you have to anchor up to shoot any birds. Once the anchor is sitting on the ground your tresspassing. All the club hit the brant openner especially with it being on a Saturday.

 

[Dustin07]

I'm not sure yet, but thanks- I will let you know where we end up going. I think we will be a bit further south, so we may miss it altogether depending on how things go. I'm going up with NSW but like i mentioned, sea ducks are really the name of the game, not the brant. so we may avoid some of the ruckus.

 

[h2ofowlr]

We will be shooting both sea ducks and brant as the set up I am throwing out with offer both on both sides of the boat. Should be good. Painting up some make shift longtails as well. They have been consisten fliers the last two outtings.

 

[goosegetter79]

Good luck with the brant! Post some pics after the hunt!

 

[h2ofowlr]

Here is one of the pics from last season.

 

[Jhaze1812]

if anyone wants another guy to come along up in Skagit County, I would like to go!

 

[FeatherFanatic]

Ive never seen brant other then in Magazines, but if you would have told me those where geese i would have beleaved you, at first glance i thought they were the brest color looked similer to me. .. H20, do you call brant like you do ducks and geese or what do you use to get em in ?

 

[h2ofowlr]

Ive never seen brant other then in Magazines, but if you would have told me those where geese i would have beleaved you, at first glance i thought they were the brest color looked similer to me. .. H20, do you call brant like you do ducks and geese or what do you use to get em in ?

I use the goose call with single clucks then a growl through the call. They sound weird with a lot of chatter pretty much. They will honk or cluck, then it's kind of a growl or murmur out of them. In large rafts they become very vocal. Guys I have taken out always wonder what the hell kind of noise they are hearing and it is usually brant being heard across the water. I typically have used goose decoys and painted in the cheek patches. This year I painted up some brant decoys. I will mix in some regular floater goose decoys, after painting in the cheek patches and adding a broken up white neck ring on them.

 

[Dustin07]

i don't know why, with those bland colors, but I think Brants are really a pretty bird. Maybe it's because they arent' too common that I like them. Have you bothered to get one mounted? I'd like to put one on the wall next to my blue phase snow.