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thejigger

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  1. Capt Rich, what do you mean how things went down? Who benefits the most from these dates? How many task force members are state employees? How is this the same as the fishing regs? What will happen next time? What am I trying to cover up? You obviously have no clue about the process used to arrive at these dates. What dates would you suggest? Have you sent suggestions in to the task force before?
  2. Just a reminder, the process used to establish the new season dates was largely taken out of the hands of the task force this year. The process this year relied on comparing results from the DEC survey of Western zone hunters and E-Bird migration data. The task force met in September and came up with 10 different season alternatives based on the area each member represents, migration data and knowing the questions being asked in the survey, not the results. The survey results were made known in early November and the decision was made based on the previously mentioned comparisons. As far as input from hunters is concerned, since the inception of the task force, 22 or so years ago, there has been opportunity for input available thru the DEC site including a list of task force members and contact information.
  3. Roys Boys, the season is set now and is supposed to be the same for the next 5 years. There has always been a site for hunter input thru the DEC site. There is a list of task force members and contact information to let your opinion be known.
  4. 3 splits are not allowed, only 2. 60 day duck, 30 day goose. Its easy to say there's your fix, no, there's Longspurs fix, all hunters would not agree to those dates. Until you pour thru suggestions from western zone hunters about what they would consider the best waterfowl season is you have no idea how hard it is to come up with season dates that please everyone. Hunters may find they like the new dates better than the way it has been for the last 23 years. I don't think everyone is pissed. Our first reaction to changes such as this is to get pissed and start pointing fingers. Lets see what happens with the new dates, and if everyone still thinks it is a terrible set of dates, then make changes.
  5. Longspurs, you are right, the 9th was a mistake and should have been a 19.
  6. The season dates are Oct 9 to Nov 10, Nov 30 to Jan 5. These season dates are going to be used for the next 5 years. Missdemeanor, you couldn't be further from the truth. Calling the people who set the seasons wimpy fair weather popcorn hunters tells me you have no idea about the people on the task force or the new process in place for deciding the season dates. We were shooting good numbers of Cans, Redheads and Scaup towards the tail end of the early season, all the way thru the second split. I am on the Western zone task force and can tell you the Mallard bag reduction, as well as the Goose limit/season days reduction was a decision made by the Feds and is flyway-wide. As far as the new season dates are concerned, I dare anyone to come up with dates that makes everyone in the Western zone happy. Let me know if you are unaware of the new process used to decide the season dates. The task force meets this weekend to decide the Goose, Brandt and Youth dates. I will be sure to post them and then listen to the complaining.
  7. The season dates are Oct 9 to Nov 10, Nov 30 to Jan 5. These season dates are going to be used for the next 5 years. Missdemeanor, you couldn't be further from the truth. Calling the people who set the seasons wimpy fair weather popcorn hunters tells me you have no idea about the people on the task force or the new process in place for deciding the season dates. We were shooting good numbers of Cans, Redheads and Scaup towards the tail end of the early season, all the way thru the second split. I am on the Western zone task force and can tell you the Mallard bag reduction, as well as the Goose limit/season days reduction was a decision made by the Feds and is flyway-wide. As far as the new season dates are concerned, I dare anyone to come up with dates that makes everyone in the Western zone happy. Let me know if you are unaware of the new process used to decide the season dates. The task force meets this weekend to decide the Goose, Brandt and Youth dates. I will be sure to post them and then listen to the complaining.
  8. We have hunted Cayuga on the days the wind is right. The Bluebills that have been here all fall are still here and there are a good amount of Redheads and Cans also. The big ducks seem to be spread out due to the unusually warm and wet weather. The reports I have heard from Seneca seem to be the same as Cayuga. Because both lakes are so big, other hunters may be seeing something different. Owasco has nowhere near the number of birds on it compared to years past. I have heard Keuka and Coneseius have a good amount of divers.
  9. Hello Kevin. There are a decent amount of divers on the bigger Finger Lakes but the number of big ducks seem to be down. Because of the lack of really cold weather and the high amount of rain and snow melt, there are still a lot of areas of open water the big ducks are using.
  10. Hope everyone had a safe and successful first half and has a safe and successful second half. By now the everyone should know the changes to the Mallard limit for 2019-2020, 2 mallards instead of 4. The Atlantic Flyway council has also changed the goose season for 2019-2020; It is a 30 day season with a 2 bird bag limit. The September season has not changed and I am not sure if changes were made to the South zone. The way the waterfowl seasons are decided has also changed, 2019-2020 waterfowl season dates will be decided partially by the results of the survey sent out to hunters and recommendations made by the respective task forces. The survey results are in and the task forces have made their recommendations, the DEC should have season dates available in late February.
  11. The logic I try to use with my wife of 23 years about hunting so much is if the shopping season was 60 days long, I wouldn't see her much either. Never seems to work, but she deserves a medal. Wives, who don't hunt or fish, and put up with husbands who do as much we do, are very special people.
  12. 1 buck rule and a shorter gun season is the way to go.
  13. The coop is located on rt 90 just north of King Ferry. This year they have 9 areas open for pheasant hunting. You need to call at 1 o'clock the day before you want to hunt to reserve an area. It can be tough to get an area depending on the number of people calling. They stock birds 2 times a week in each area.
  14. Another successful pheasant opener. I hunted the Tompkins Cayuga County co-op on stand-by and killed 2 roosters. I was hunting with my 11 year old Brittany and my 8 month old lab puppy. The Brittany Started the birds, which were together, and after 2 shots the lab retrieved them to me. The puppy is doing awesome and has a master bird hunter to follow around the field and learn from. Tomorrow I will be hunting with my son and we are both looking forward to spending time together. Good luck to everyone chasing game and be safe.
  15. I took my 14 year old son waterfowl and pheasant hunting this weekend. The spot we hunted dicks and geese yesterday was full of birds 2 days before, but the hunting yesterday was slow. I brought him and 2 friends to the Cayuga Tompkins County CO-OP today. The DEC and Falcons Sportsman Club stock birds in the morning. We put 11 roosters up over my 12 year old Brittany and the kids killed 5. 12 kids total hunted and everyone had a great time hunting on a beautiful day. With hunting numbers declining, it is great to see young hunters taking advantage of the opportunities provided by sportsman clubs and other organizations.
  16. My 14 year old son killed his first deer Saturday night during the youth hunt. The buck, a 2 1/2 year old spike, was 140 yards away coming to the doe decoy we had out. He pulled a beautiful shot with a Savage 243 and the deer only went 50 yards. I killed my first deer with the bow at age 14 and have been hunting deer 34 years, killed bucks in 4 different states along with countless deer in New York. Nothing compares to what I experienced watching my son kill his first deer. It was 74 degrees when we got him home and I was never so happy to have a fridge in the garage to put the meat in. Take a kid hunting and fishing, it is amazing what you can learn from them.
  17. The fish on the left is a coho, the anal fin is a dead giveaway
  18. We only hunt the water in September and tend to see smaller flocks returning due to either being shot at in the fields or taking off from the fields at different times.
  19. Fished Owasco on 5/7, dropped a walleye behind the boat and boated one around 6lbs. The fish came on Rapala glass shad raps in black and perch pattern trolling the east shore. Fished Sandy Pond on 5/8, caught 2 walleyes early trolling Rapalas, black and silver and haymaker pattern, then picked another one up slow trolling spinners and worms in 14 ft.
  20. Fished solo this morning. Put in at the Park and went west. Went 9 for 11 in 5 hours, all the fish were browns and were released. 36 to 37 degree water, Stinger NBK and A.S.S Chart Alewife were the spoons and JR Thunderstick, pink with a green back and also perch pattern. Fun fun fun
  21. According to HIP records, the number of waterfowl hunters in New York, as well as other states in the flyway, has been decreasing for some time now. It is troubling to think that the number of Mallards continue to decline with fewer and fewer hunters out there to hunt them. The eastern mallard no longer greatly outnumber black ducks. Core breeding areas for the black duck and mallards are different. We generally see more mallards than black ducks, especially later in the season, because the black ducks prefer to move to coastal salt marshes.
  22. The official news release is different than the paperwork given to the task force from the Atlantic Flyway Council. It reads "Mallard populations in eastern North America have steadily declined approximately 20% since 1998. Over the same period, mallard harvest in the U.S portion of the Atlantic Flyway has decreased by 40%." As far as the limit on hens go, "The Atlantic Flyway Council and USFWS have not adopted a formal recommendation for a hen restriction with the change to a 2 bird bag limit. Biologists are assessing biological and scientific data (hunter diary data, harvest surveys, banding data, etc) as well as gathering input from hunters before making a final decision. A final decision on whether to continue a hen restriction will be made during the Fall of 2018 to be implemented during the 2019-2020 hunting season."
  23. They did not comment on the limit changing in Canada. The population in Eastern Canada has not remained stable, the population across the entire flyway has been decreasing steadily for the past 10 years. Longspurs, the questionnaire you were sent represents the way the season setting process is going to change. Yesterday was the last task force meeting for the next 5 years. Beginning in 2019 the seasons will be chosen by hunters who are sent a questionnaire with different season dates to choose from. As far as your comment on Finger Lakes clubs crying about divers, look at the addresses of the task force members and notice that there are only 2 that live in the Finger Lakes. When setting the season in the western zone, many factors come in to play because of its size, and it is impossible to make everyone happy.
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