Northwest Fishing Reports

Any waterfowlers out there? how have you been doing?

The cold snap has locked a lot of the ponds and backwaters up in the Yakima Valley. Jump shooting has been good. River was locked up for about five or six days but now that it isn't, birds are starting to show up again. Been doing pretty good. This is the time of year I start hunting the Columbia. Paterson, Ridge unit and Whitcomb should be pretty hot right now, especially with the cold snap we have had here.

Anyone know anything bout hunting waterfowl on rock lake or any good places close to pullman. im a college kid and wanna keep hunting but i dont know where to go.

waterfowl has sucked this year. not enough weather. got these though:

did somebody shoot the head of that teal? haha, i love when you get em in that close.

Im kinda disappointed with myself... I didn't get out once for any kind of bird hunting this past season! Hopefully next fall I can get the spark under my a** and get out and throw some steel!

I think I have logged about 15-16 waterfowl hunts/scouting trips (with gun in hand) this year. Was supposed to have a sea duck hunt last saturday but it got cancelled...hoping to try again this saturday and finally get my harlequin.

I've never gone waterfowl hunting. Can it be done without a bird dog (as in, I don't know how I'd get a duck or goose if it landed in the water, and our only dog is a short-haired min-pin/chihuahua mix).

Thanks!

Zog

yes it can be done!....it limits where you can go sometimes....it means you will either have to hunt where you can wade out and pick up your birds yourself , use a boat to go and get them or stick to hunting fields and hope you don't wound any birds and have to chase them for 1/2 a mile...but yeah you can also jump shoot cricks if you have waders ...or find some one who does have a dog and team up with them ...pay for gas etc..

Black Plague wrote:yes it can be done!....it limits where you can go sometimes....it means you will either have to hunt where you can wade out and pick up your birds yourself , use a boat to go and get them or stick to hunting fields and hope you don't wound any birds and have to chase them for 1/2 a mile...but yeah you can also jump shoot cricks if you have waders ...or find some one who does have a dog and team up with them ...pay for gas etc..

Thanks, BP!

Zog also you can fish certain ponds before they freeze... Most of them are shallow enough to wade across. There is a lot that I have hunted in your area. Just go for a drive and you'll find tons of areas. Or as BP said birds (geese) like fields too, corn (when harvest and is just stubble) is where I have had my best sucess. Northflight Waterfowl are great guides if you wanna use them!