Hunting season 2017, let the adventures begin

By Roger Phillips, Public Information Specialist

Welcome to 2017, I hope you had a great hunting season last year, and it’s understandable if you think the season is winding down. Many people think hunting seasons start in late summer, run through fall and end during winter, but there are many hunting opportunities in Idaho throughout the year. 

Since we just started the new year, you can consider this the beginning of a new hunting season, too. Get your 2017 hunting license, if you haven’t already, and keep going into the field to pursue game and have the wonderful experiences that go along with it. 

There’s a lot of options in January, and beyond. Some upland bird seasons last through January. Duck and Canada goose seasons close at different times during January depending on which part of the state you’re in, and other waterfowl hunting opportunities run later.

White-fronted goose season goes until Feb. 19 in Area 2, which includes Southwest Idaho and portions of the Magic Valley (see the migratory game bird rules for details). 

Light goose seasons (blue, snow and Ross’s) extend into March depending on the area, so again, please check the rules booklet so you can see the exact boundaries. 

Light geese are overpopulated in some areas, and biologists are concerned that their high abundance can damage Arctic habitat, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

That means there are special rules in place to reduce these high populations, including the use of electronic calls and allowing unplugged shotguns. There are restrictions on where those rules apply, so again, check the rules booklet. 

Snow geese and white-fronts are interesting and exciting birds to hunt. If you’ve ever listened to a flock of snow geese overhead, or seen a swirling mass of white-fronted geese (aka speckle bellies) landing in a field, you know what I am talking about.

It’s a sight to see, hear and experience. If you haven’t, you owe it to yourself to check them out, even if you’re not hunting them.

One reason for the late seasons for these birds is they are often migrating back from the south, and following the receding snow line north, which makes southern Idaho a natural, but brief, stop over. 

When you’re done hunting waterfowl, you will barely have time to stow your decoys and clean your shotgun before spring turkey season opens on April 15. It’s a great time to be in the woods as they are coming alive with the sound of gobbling toms. 

Some hunters compare the excitement of calling a tom turkey to calling a bull elk, but with a much easier pack out if you’re successful at bringing a gobbler within shotgun range and closing the deal. 

Turkey hunting is also a great way to introduce novices to hunting because they often see and hear the birds up close, and there’s usually not the long, arduous hiking that’s involved with big game hunting. 

If you’re not a bird hunter, but still want to keep hunting, some hunters extend their season by taking on the challenge of predator hunting. Mountain lion and wolf hunting are open and continue through March in most parts of the state and beyond March in some areas.

You can find details in the big game rules booklet. Mountain lions are typically hunted with hounds, which is not an option for the average hunter, but there are outfitters available to guide you on one of these exciting hunts.

Predator hunting is also done by calling in the animals, and they all have a reputation for being wary and wily, so expect to put in some effort doing it, but you will have a trophy if you succeed.

The pelts are prime during winter, so you can have one turned into a rug, or a full-body mount. 

The end of mountain lion and most wolf seasons at the end of March dovetails with the start of spring black bear hunting in April, so you can continue pursuing big game. 

Like mountain lions, black bears are often hunted with hounds in units where it’s allowed, but hunters are also successful at baiting them, or by spotting and stalking them similar to deer and elk hunting. Spring bear hunting runs through June in many units. 

That brings us to July, and if you’re still itching to keep hunting, there are some limited opportunities for wolf hunting, but for most hunters, it’s time to start thinking about deer, elk and other seasons that start in August, September and October. 

So don’t feel like your 2017 hunting seasons should be limited to few months. If you’re willing to use your creativity and try some different quarry, and you can keep hunting nearly year round in Idaho.

Hunting, fishing seasons continue through holidays

There’s still time to bag that Christmas game bird, goose, or maybe a nice solstice-season steelhead. For hunters and anglers itching to get out in the field or to wet a line during the holiday season, several opportunities are available.

Pheasant seasons in Areas 1 and 3 are open through Dec. 31. Forest grouse seasons are open through Jan. 31 in north Idaho’s Area 1 and through Dec. 31 in the rest of the state. Seasons for bobwhite and California quail in Area 1 are open through Jan. 31, and chukar and gray partridge seasons are open statewide through Jan. 31 as well. In addition, turkey hunters can hunt either sex through Dec. 31 on private lands-only in much of the Clearwater region. 

For upland game hunters, the cottontail season is open through February 28, and snowshoe hare season through March 31. There is no season on pygmy rabbits.

It’s also not too late to bag that Christmas goose, with Idaho waterfowl seasons open through the holidays into January. In parts of southern Idaho, the white-fronted goose season extends into February and light goose (Snow and Ross’ geese) season extends into March. 

The daily goose bag limit is four Canada geese; 10 white-fronted geese; and 20 for light geese. The possession limit is three times the daily bag limit.

The statewide daily bag limit is seven ducks; but not more than two female mallard, three scaup, two redhead, two pintail, and two canvasback. 

Waterfowl hunters must have a valid Idaho hunting license, a federal migratory game bird harvest information program validation, and a federal duck stamp. The duck stamp is valid through the end of June.

For anglers with time off during the holidays, the fall steelhead season remains open through Dec. 31 in the Clearwater River and the North Fork, Middle Fork and South Fork Clearwater rivers where bag limits are two per day and six in possession, and in the Salmon, Little Salmon, Snake and Boise rivers where limits are three per day and nine in possession. The spring steelhead season starts Jan. 1 in these waters with limits of three per day and nine in possession. 

Fishing is open year round in many other waters as well.

Idaho hunters and anglers must have 2015 licenses and appropriate permits through Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, they will need new 2016 licenses and permits. They are encouraged to review the current season and rule brochures available at all Fish and Game license vendors and online at: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.

Fish and Game biologist debuts ‘Untamed’ hunting film

Idaho Fish and Game’s Clay Hayes of Kendrick grew up in rural Florida and moved to Idaho in 2007 to work as a wildlife biologist. He started Twisted Stave Media in 2012 with the goal of preserving and promoting traditional woodsmanship skills and lending a voice to the wild lands he enjoys. He recently released his first film, “Untamed,” and it can be seen at idfg.idaho.gov/untamed (a downloadable photo of Hayes is also available on the webpage).

Hayes began filming his outdoor adventures with an old VHS recorder in Florida while he was still in high school. Since then, the country has gotten steeper, the equipment more expensive, and the adventures more remote. 

Hayes participated in a question-and-answer session with Idaho Fish and Game’s public information specialist Roger Phillips about his film making, hunting and more. Views expressed in this Q&A and the video are his own.

Q: You went hunting with archery equipment you made yourself, then decided to film the hunts solo and produce a movie. Did you wear roller skates to make it a little more challenging? 

A: Ha, no, but that’s an interesting concept for the next project. Not sure how well they’d roll in the mountains though. I’d say I captured about 95 percent of the footage, though I did have a little help. Jake Way did a little of the filming, as did Tiege Ulschmid, and my wife, Liz. 

You’re spot on about the challenge. Hunting with primitive gear is one thing, but making a film about it is quite another. You have to do everything multiple times to be able to cut it properly. And sometimes you just have to get lucky.

Q: What part of “Untamed” are you most proud to have captured on film? 

A: That’s a difficult one to answer. There’s no one scene, or sequence, I can pin down and single out. It’s much more about the story as a whole, and how the images and music support the narration. But, if I had to pick one moment captured on film that was the coolest, I’d have to say either the barred owl that snuck up on me while I was taking a nap, or the stalk on the black bear. Both were pretty lucky situations.

I got the footage of the owl while lying down and resting after a morning hunt. I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye, up in the canopy, and happened to have my camera out of my pack and sitting next to me. I got the camera ready and squeaked a time or two, and he came in to check me out. He was less than 20-feet away for a few minutes. 

The bear scene was captured while I was still hunting through a patch of timber looking for elk. I’d seen him through the timber, and I started making my way to him when he stopped and started digging roots. 

I had a gorilla pod attached to my camera and was able to find a lodgepole pine about 30 yards from the bear that happened to have a flicker hole about 5 feet off the ground. I bent one leg of the gorilla pod into a hook, put that into the flicker hole, and I had a camera support at the perfect position. All I had to do was point it at the bear, hit record and make the stalk.

I ended up getting within about 8 yards of that bear. He was a nice one, but 5 miles in on the fifth day of a 10-day elk hunt isn’t a time or place I wanted to deal with a dead bear. So I decided to play with him a little. 

Q: Explain how your background as a biologist and your work with Idaho Fish and Game contributed to the film?

A: I’ve been a hunter my whole life. It has, in some way, influenced every major decision I’ve ever made, from what I studied in college, to where I live, to what I do for a living. I chose to become a biologist because I’ve always been fascinated by wildlife in their natural environment. I chose to live and work in Idaho because we are so fortunate to have some of the best hunting and fishing in the country, and some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes. As a biologist, part of my job is to have a keen understanding of wildlife and their habitats, two things that come in very handy when trying to film and get close to wildlife. 

Q: Hunting and film making is growing in popularity based on the Hunting Film Tour, hunting videos on YouTube, TV and elsewhere. What is it about hunting that makes it an interesting subject for storytelling? 

A: That’s an interesting question. Wouldn’t it be something to go back and ask that same question to the hunters who painted the cave walls at Lascaux, France over 15,000 years ago? Point is, we’ve been telling hunting stories for a very long time, perhaps longer than any other kind of story. I think it’s so deeply ingrained in us that it’s inherently interesting. 

But, with that said, in these days of social media and fast-paced information, it’s easy to focus on the trivial aspects of hunting like gear and antler size. Those are quick and easy, and often what grabs people’s attention – good or bad. 

For me, the interest isn’t so much in making a “hunting video.” There are plenty, or perhaps too many, of those already. It’s about telling the deeper story. Hunting is about so much more than what we usually see highlighted in the mainstream media. Telling the story of why we do what we do is what’s so interesting to me. 

Q: You raised a very thought-provoking question about how hunters are problem solvers, and with all the technology trickling into hunting, we’re dangerously close to figuring out how to take the “uncertainty” out of hunting. Using a bow and arrow is one way you put it back in. What other things can hunters do to give animals a few more advantages in a fair-chase hunt? 

A: Let me start by saying we shouldn’t confuse uncertainty with inaccuracy. We should all strive to be as good a shot as possible no matter what weapon we use. And we should all know our limitations and be comfortable within them. The uncertainty I mentioned has to do with the problems that hunting presents.

Finding an animal, deciding on an approach, considering wind, topography, footing, other animals – all these things are problems that a hunter must get past in order to kill that animal. They’re also problems that can be circumvented by using new technology. 

Today we can buy our way past many of them and make killing that animal much easier. I choose not to go that route because, for me, it diminishes the very thing that makes hunting so alluring, the problems themselves. 

With that said, I have no qualms about killing a doe from 100 yards with a rifle when the freezer is getting low. Wild game is the only meat my family eats. When it comes to that, though, I’m hunting for a different reason, and challenge takes a backseat to necessity. 

Traditional bowhunting is the path I’ve chosen, and it’s how I love to hunt. But I realize most hunters won’t share my sentiments. As far as what others can do, I’d say take an honest hard look at how and why they hunt. Is it truly a dead animal they’re after? (And sometimes it is.) Or is it something deeper? If everyone asked themselves that simple question, they might find that they’re on the right track, or they might settle on something a little different. Regardless of the answer, I’d encourage all hunters to ask the question.

Q: Your dream hunt, with or without cameras. Where would it be and for what species? 

A: That’s a tough one. I’ve always thought it would be cool to go hunting with the San Bushmen in Africa who still practice their ancestral hunting/gathering lifestyle. I’ve heard and read accounts of the unparalleled tracking ability of these people, and I would love just to soak up what knowledge I could from them. We could be hunting guinea fowl for all I care.

Q: Anything in the works for a sequel to “Untamed”? 

A: Absolutely. I started working on my next project earlier this spring. It’ll be in the same vein as “Untamed,” but focus more on the challenges we create for ourselves. 

For example, we’re going bowhunting in some very remote backcountry in the November mule deer rut during an any-weapons season. We’ll be facing some of the most rugged and remote country Idaho has, and of course, we’ll be hunting with traditional bows while everyone else is toting rifles. 

We’ll need to get within 20 yards of a buck before even considering a shot. You can find a more detailed description of the project at www.twistedstave.com. And, you know, I’ve thought about those roller-skates you mentioned earlier, but I think we’ll have our hands full as it stands now. Next time, maybe.

Nez Perce-Clearwater Forests welcome hunters

Hunters have some good informational tools to choose from this hunting season to assist them in the Nez-Perce Clearwater National Forests. Recently, the 2014 Clearwater Forest Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM), Clearwater Motorized Travel Guide were released, and MVUMS and Nez Perce and Clearwater Visitor Maps can be downloaded on the Avenza app.

Adding to those three tools is the Mobility Impaired Hunter Access Program offered at some forest offices. This year, the Red River, Lochsa and North Fork Ranger Districts are participating in this program where hunters holding an Idaho Handicapped Persons Vehicle Hunting Permit and valid hunting license will be granted a permit to access certain closed roads.

One non-hunting assistant may accompany the mobility-impaired hunter behind the closed gate. The permits will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis by reservation only.

The Red River Ranger District is once again participating in the program and offers Trapper Creek Road #9550 in Hunting Unit 20 and Center Star Road #1110 and Moose Butte Road #1150 in Hunting Unit 15. For more information, or to reserve a road, please contact their office in Elk City at (208) 842-2245.

The Lochsa Ranger District offers three roads in Hunting Unit 12: Canyon Creek Road #445, Deadman Creek Road #5541, and Middle Deadman Creek Road #5543. For more information, or to reserve a road, please contact their office in Kooskia at (208) 926-4274.

The North Fork Ranger District has opened Lost Bugle Road #5222 to handicapped hunters. Persons taking part in the Mobility Impaired Hunter Access Program will be allowed to drive pickups, passenger cars and ATVs on Road #5222; the road is gated and usually off-limits to motorized vehicles. Hunting parties will be allowed to camp within ¼ mile of the gate. Camping beyond this point is prohibited. For more information, please contact their office in Orofino at (208) 476-8267.

There are approximately 2,961 miles of motorized roads, open yearlong or seasonally on the Clearwater National Forest. There are 1,400 miles of maintained trails in the Clearwater NF system. All of the trails are open to hikers and most are open to stock. Many are available for mountain bikes. Non-motorized trails are not shown on the MVUM. Some trails are available for motorcycles and small vehicles 50 inches or less, these trails are shown on the MVUM.

Make sure you learn which specific areas or hunting units are open to OHVs during big game hunting seasons. The Clearwater MVUM displays all National Forest System roads and trails allowing public motor vehicle use. Motorized use includes but is not limited to motorcycles, ATVs, and four-wheel drive vehicles.

OHVs wider than 50” are only allowed on roads open to motorized use during hunting season.

Staying on designated routes provides positive benefits to wildlife, water and other natural resources and social values.

Most scenic overlooks, historical sites and popular travel routes are still accessible to motorized users.

Motorized users may also access dispersed campsites (within 300 feet of most roads and 100 feet of most motorized trails, indicated on the MVUM).

You can use your trail machine to scout for game and access your hunting camp, but it's illegal to shoot big game animals from your OHV. (Hunters with a disabled permit are exempt from this rule.)

Park your OHV if you need to leave a trail or road to retrieve a big game animal. Big game retrieval with a motor vehicle is allowed only where the big game retrieval symbol is displayed on the MVUM. The MVUM will indicate the distance from the route that motor vehicles may be driven for the purpose of big game retrieval.

Stop by your local Forest Service office to get your MVUMS, Travel Guides and Forest Visitor Maps before your hunt or fall trip into the woods. Or visit the forest website at http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/nezperceclearwater/maps-pubs.

Some hunters may need to find a new favorite hunting site for this year

With no rain in the immediate forecast, the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests officials are recommending that hunters look at other hunting areas within their game unit in order to stay out of the fire closure areas around the forest. 

“It does not look like we will be able to open up those closure areas unless we get a substantial amount of rain,” said Forest Supervisor Rick Brazell, “Our weather forecasters, working on the forest fires, do not see any rain in the near future.”
 

Please check with your local Ranger District office to see if your favorite area is in the fire area closure and see what access roads may also be closed.

Attention hunters: For current fire closure perimeters and units, see Idaho Game & Fish website: https://fishandgame.idaho.gov/content/article/do-fire-closures-leave-you-hunting-spot-hunt.