lots of people at lake sonoma today...weekday!

[sancho]

yup...i was feeling (Cough cough) sick. actually, i took an early furlough day. i got there in the dark, and hiked in...way in. the roads had cars parked all over. never seen it like that. i ended up finding a lonesome trek. lots of sign, but no live ones. somebody was shooting a shotgun on the archery side. i guess he got one.

who else was there? i met some nice guys. we were all soaked, and cold. my feet and legs are beat. my couch feels great.

hopefully next time. i did find a great wallow.

cliff

 

[Krisdude]

You never know till you get out their, I plan on getting up their next weekend and hope to give a piggy a boat ride.
Are their more hunters that hike in compared to boat in hunters?

 

[muddy_udders]

Saw one come out in a boat today. Saw lots of trucks parked illegally. I am curious why they make these rules and don't enforce them. I know the minute I do something wrong they will be all over me.

I heard the lady say only 21 pigs have been killed this season which leads me to believe people aren't reporting their kills.

I may be up there tomorrow don't know because Fridays are usually busy.

 

[DiamondHunter]

Saw one come out in a boat today. Saw lots of trucks parked illegally. I am curious why they make these rules and don't enforce them.

It's too bad. It's makes the legal and ethical hunters just want to stay home. My wife actually volunteered for us to go camping/hunting up their next weekend for Valentine's Day (she's a keeper). I've read quite a few scary stories about Sonoma since shotgun season opened. I was just wondering if anyone has reported what they are seeing and if so, what are the rangers saying about it? Do they seem concerned? Hopefully the hunters that give us a bad name will decide to stay home next weekend and tend to their better halvesrayin :....... If you do go up there today muddy_udders, good luck!

 

[CHAD PEZZLE]

The rangers have told me numerous times that parking off the road is okay, as long as you're not blocking traffic. During the rain you usually have too because they lock the parking lots to keep cars from turning them into a mud pit.

Also, you don't have to report your kills to the ranger station, but it is smart because it gives the rangers a good idea as to how many pigs are harvested and from which areas.

Last year about this time I'm pretty sure the harvest numbers were about the same. How ever I did see a group of guys with three pigs that didn't bother to check in as I was leaving. So I think there are a few that go uncounted.

Chad

 

[DiamondHunter]

That's good to know. Thanks Chad. As far as the shotgunners being on the archery side and the handguns and rifles being used out there, hopefully those are being reported.

 

[muddy_udders]

The rangers have told me numerous times that parking off the road is okay, as long as you're not blocking traffic.

Also, you don't have to report your kills to the ranger station, but it is smart because it gives the rangers a good idea as to how many pigs are harvested and from which areas.

Chad

On parking: I was told and shown pictues when I registered that all tires must be off the pavement not just beyond white line. There were a few vehicles that had only two tires off the pavement. :rant-mode:

I wasn't aware that you didn't have to report harvests. Learn something new everyday. I have a friend that said he has seen a few people go in and not even drop a tag.

I am just hoping that the few don't screw it up for the many. Since I live about a half hour away it is nice to go there to hunt.

 

[Huntr Pat]

I think it should be mandatory to report your take so they can accurately reasure the higher ups the importance of the success of these hunts. For future purpose they can show how actively it helps reduce the destruction of the place and overpopulation.

 

[bodega]

I'm pretty sure the instructions are that hunters must report their kills.

 

[TRey]

Reporting kills is optional was what I was told at the orientation I received when I signed up. They want you to, but you don't have to.
What gets me is all the other stuff I'm hearing. Hunters not signing in (mandatory) rifles and handguns being used (against the rules) shotgunners on the archery side (against the rules) hunters not burying their excrement (come on...go before you leave the house for crying out loud or kick a cat hole and bury it) the army of gun hunters that someone described to me as being like walking on the sidewalk in downtown Santa Rosa, near misses, a doe being gut shot and left in the field...it is a disaster waiting to happen out there...and some already have happened.

 

[Beastie]

They need to ban the shotgun season period.

 

[I'M DK]

They need to ban the shotgun season period.

What makes you say that?

DK

 

[CHAD PEZZLE]

It does get pretty out of hand up there, my buddy Jason and I were the ones who got buzzed by some kid down the hill from us that was shooting. His dad was the one we saw carrying a side arm too.

I don't think they should squash the shot gun thing completely but it should far more regulated. And I think with this years numbers of registered hunters it just might happen next year. Something like they have at FHL, first come first served or even a lottery. Because having 200 hundred armed men (the # of hunters that checked in openning day) in such a small area at one time is a little dangerous.

Like I said earlier reporting kills is not required, but if the rangers can't prove that we are adequately reducing the population it's likely that the hunt could be canceled. So I agree it should be done, and my buddies and I have reported all of ours. I was just saying that before you go and approach someone, we need to make sure we've got our facts straight.

 

[sancho]

to each their own. as long as they dont endanger any of my fellow archers, people can gun up.

not burying the turds, is gross. isnt it common courtesy?

i dont know the entire rules enough for me to challenge anyone. most people i meet are very nice, whatever weapon they choose.

 

[White Mamba]

I hunted all week at the lake and it was busy near the road and on the water. Everywhere I went I would see hunters walking through areas that I like to hunt near. The amount of trash has gone up considerably as well! Please pick up those ammo boxes and water bottles!

 

[clarkb]

I hunted Sonoma with some buddies over the weekend. Two of us were archers and two were shotgunners. There definetly were quite a few folks out and about, but I didnt see any blatant disregard for the rules. Granted, I was hunting the archery only side. I only saw 3 other archery hunters in our area the whole weekend. My buddies who hunted the shotgun section reported seeing quite a few hunters but didn't say anything about any rules being broken. They did find a dead doe that looked to have been shot in the neck with a slug and left. They said it had been dead a while. Not cool!

Our campground was full of folks the whole weekend and I was the last to leave. Everyone cleaned up their camps and left the place just as they found it for the most part. Overall, I was pretty impressed with the way everone behaved.

We got into pigs all three days but couldn't get off any shots on the archery side. Our gun toting brotheren saw fewer pigs and took no shots as well.

One hunter staying in our camp shot a 150 lb. boar on Sunday (shotgun), but that was all I saw as far as success went.

Saturday we glassed a big mountain lion for about 15 minutes from 250 yards. Pretty cool. I had never seen one in the wild. We also saw a ton of deer including a big 3 point.

The trip was my first pig hunt and I had a blast. I will definetly be heading out again soon.