Posted By:
mike-schireman
Field Editor
Fir Island 10-28-2008 14:24
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
I finally got to hunt with my Uncle Frank this weekend, the one responsible for introducing me to this sport and exposing me to some amazing days in the field. We more or less scouted since the weather has not made the change to “ducky”. We headed to Fir Island to find an amazing number of Snows and a few Canadians. They were moving nicely between the refuge areas and the bay from around 8:30 on. There was very little duck activity along the shoreline with doubles and foursomes but no large groups. The season is early and the weather is good for scouting and enjoying being out there and the conversations with good hunting buddies. As waterfowlers we are not the norm. We wait and hope for rain, wind, and snow…and we wake up early to greet it!!! The weather will come, it always does and so do the birds. Enjoy each day in your pursuit and remember that sometimes it is not about how many birds you get but about the people you get to be with that make for the greatest memories.
Posted By:
Hugh-Carney
Field Editor
Columbia Basin 10-24-2008 10:51
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
We seem to currently be sitting in between the shell shocked locals sitting tight and the fresh birds influx. With this nice weather extending into the foreseeable future (7-10 days), we will have to wait our turn. There are some areas with short morning flights and others with almost none. Birds seem to be sitting on small water enjoying the sun…can’t blame em.
Yakima Valley reports sound to be the same. I’m sure in a few weeks we’ll be cussing the cold, but we dearly need the jet stream to turn south to force birds into the region.
Watch for changing water levels in ponds and streams now that irrigation has been shut off in most areas.
-Hugh
Posted By:
mike-schireman
Field Editor
Skagit 10-20-2008 21:23
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Hit the South Fork of the Stilly again this Saturday. I am seeing a good variety of birds including teal, mallards and widgeon. There was very little pintail activity which is normal for this time in the season, but was glad to see some larger groups of widgeon working in the latter part of the morning. Tides were better this weekend but want to remind people new to boating in the Skagit area that the tides move quickly there and there are many shallow areas well out in the bay…don’t get caught napping, or pack a lunch.
Fairly good number of snows however they have only begun to arrive. Some people have had success hunting off the river. Rumor has it that the snow hatch was down by almost 20% but a good return on veterans who made the full trip last year. Fewer juveniles and greater numbers of crafty season two flyers means larger spreads and better calling…they have issued their challenge. As is being reported on the east-side, we need a change in the weather. Today was ducky with wind and rain which is better than nothing…but nothing major in the area of temps for the foreseeable future.
Watching a bird dog work is one of life’s greatest gifts…so give’m a job!!!!
Posted By:
Hugh-Carney
Field Editor
Columbia Basin 10-20-2008 09:37
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Weather isn’t much help. Indian summer and no cold or jet stream to push birds down to speak of. Mostly locals hanging on, but there may be some new birds trickling in. There seems to be a slight increase in Wigeon activity in the region. The Moses Lake area seems to be very bird active, particularly on the western region.
Hard to tell when birds are willing to decoy or just flying through any more. I have seen a lot of wishful shooting in the first two weeks of the season. Guys shooting at 100 yds or more. Back in the day….if you heard a lot of shooting it meant that birds were decoying and the shots were reasonably close. Any more it seems that a lot of shooting only means birds are flying…who knows how close. As the weather gets colder and the roads get worse and the days get shorted, the knucklehead hunters tend to drop off. Looking forward to that time. The long range forecast, however, doesn’t indicate that poor weather will get to E. Wa. any time soon. The beautiful fall with its mild temps is expected to continue through next weekend. Highs in the 60’s and lows in the mid to upper 30’s.
Travelers should take advantage of the great harvest going on in E. Wa. Apples are coming down now and road side stands are busting with earths bounty. Take 10 min. and getcha some.
Also, beware the Indian John Hill rest stop will be closed in the near future for repair. Refer to the DOT web site for detail. Maybe Indian John is enjoying the Indian Summer.
Chin up and carry on….and would it hurt to let em get a little closer?
-Hugh
Posted By:
John-Kruse
Field Editor
North Columbia Basin 10-18-2008 22:48
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Rolled the dice and hit the firing line above Stratford, hoping to get lucky on some Lesser Canada Geese.
Things looked good early on. There are over 30,000 geese stacked at Stratford Reserve, to include a 100 or more snow geese an a few specklebellies.
Unfortunately, there are few places to shoot from. There is public access north of the reserve and south of it on hills above the lake. If the geese go over you on the way to feed – or back – you are in for shooting. If not, you get to enjoy the sight of lots of geese flocking and flying to places other than over you.
Only a few scattered flocks flew over hunters this morning. I was on the south firing line with 10 other hunters and my son. I only got one shot at a goose some 50 yards off and only one hunter on the line scored, tagging two geese. Most of the birds that did fly our way seemed educated, flying out of range.
A nice way to spend a morning – though it would have been nice if there would have been a few more geese flying our way.
If you can do some scouting and find out which wheatfields the birds are flying too – get permission from the owners – and be there the next morning – it could be some good hunting for the next few weeks until these birds scatter throughout the basin and to points further south.
John Kruse
www.northwesternoutdoors.com
Posted By:
John-Kruse
Field Editor
Columbia Basin 10-15-2008 21:23
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
OPENING DAY REPORT:
Set up Duck Camp south of the Job Corps Dike at the north end of Potholes Reservoir for the opener. A fun weekend and I enjoyed having my son along for his first duck camp but boy…it sure was cold in the morning! Woke up Sunday morning to a hard frost and was grateful for a pre-shoot campfire.
Saw a few more people this year. Hunting was a mixed bag. I observed more flocks of mallards and teal, but there seemed to be less widgeon, gadwall and pintails. Two of us only managed 5 birds in two days, though my poor shooting definitely contributed to that low average.
Talking to others I found similar success. Another two hunters also downed 5 birds in this area over two days and a group of three hunters only managed 6 ducks on Saturday.
However, WDFW Biologists doing checks reported a slight increase in hunter success as well as hunter numbers this year, with waterfowlers bagging 2.8 birds per hunter on an opening day survey.
Finally, buy a some goose loads. Good numbers of Lesser Canada Geese are in the Upper Basin now.
Posted By:
mike-schireman
Field Editor
Sagit Bay 10-12-2008 20:31
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 35-40 Degrees
What a great feeling to be back chasing the birds. I hunted the South Fork of the Stilly north of Port Susan. Some resident ducks including Widgeon, Teal, and Mallards. The early Snow Geese are here. Don’t forget you must obtain written authorization from the state to hunt them and record your harvest on your card immediately after taking possession of the bird. I also heard of limited success in Snohomish County both in the bays and in the valleys with morning action and birds returning late in the afternoon. I must say that what seems to be a yearly event on opener around here, I saw some very poor displays of hunter and boater/fisherman ethics and etiquette. Hopefully they are the once a year folks.
Enjoy the break, catch up on your sleep, and hope for some real hunting weather!!!!
Watching a bird dog work is one of life’s greatest gifts…so give’m a job!!!!
[Edited By mike-schireman on 2008-10-12 20:33]
[Edited By mike-schireman on 2008-10-12 20:33]
Posted By:
mike-schireman
Field Editor
Heading to Skagit 10-10-2008 15:45
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Well the moment we have all been waitning for is upon us! I’m heading out early for a good seat for the boatlaunch circus:)Safe hunting and straight shooting to you all and I will try to post early in the week. Looks like bluebird conditions with very light wind. There seems to be plenty of local birds and hopefully the chill in the air will get them moving.
Watching a bird dog work is one of life’s greatest gifts…so give’m a job!!!!
Posted By:
John-Kruse
Field Editor
Central Washington 10-08-2008 22:24
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The Latest WDFW Forecast – from their Weekender Report:
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WDFW waterfowl specialist Mikal Moore of Moses Lake predicts an average year for waterfowl hunting, which opens Oct. 11. In the Columbia Basin, the waterfowl capital of eastern Washington, that’s good. “While local breeding mallard counts were up 10 percent,” she said, “wetland conditions in southern Alberta were not conducive to early duck production. However, some late spring precipitation after the May survey in Alberta may have resulted in a successful late-hatching cohort of ducklings. Columbia Basin farmers have set the table for migrating ducks and geese with record acreages of wheat and corn. Now we just need the weather to cooperate and keep that food available for the birds when they show up.”
(WDFW Biologist) Rich Finger says that judging by the arrival of early migrants, duck hunting should be good for the opening weekend. “Waterfowl migration typically peaks around mid- to late-November in the Basin and, like last year, we have plenty of grain corn to keep them around as long as deep crusty snows don’t drive them south,” he said.
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I’ll be camping on an island at Potholes Reservoir again for the opener and am taking my 11 year old son to “Duck Camp” for the first time. Should be fun – but Hugh is right – it looks like it’s going to be chilly in Central Washington with lows at freezing and highs around 60 degrees.
Good luck on opening weekend and be sure to post how you did!
John
www.northwesternoutdoors.com
[Edited By John-Kruse on 2008-10-08 22:27]
Posted By:
Hugh-Carney
Field Editor
Columbia Basin 10-08-2008 09:51
– – –
Scouted the greater western CB last weekend and found duck numbers a little light. Weather is changing dramatically and colder weather is making it’s presence strong. Lows in the mid to low 30’s and freeze warnings are up for fruit growers.
Stay warm and post up.
