Waterfowl and pheasant seasons to open in most of Idaho October 17

Most of Idaho will open for waterfowl hunting on Oct. 17, excluding Area 1 in southeast Idaho which opened Oct. 3. The statewide daily bag limit is seven ducks; but not more than two female mallard, three scaup, two redhead, two pintail, and two canvasback. The daily goose bag limit is four Canada geese; 10 white-fronted geese; and 20 for light geese (Snow and Ross' geese). The possession limit is three times the daily bag limit. The upcoming season looks to be excellent nationally with record numbers of ducks available for hunters. Most waterfowl in Idaho are produced from breeding areas in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, which had fair-to-good nesting conditions during spring. The regular 2015 pheasant season also gets underway October 17 in Area 2 and 3, excluding Area 1 in northern Idaho which opened Oct. 10. The pheasant season runs through November 30 in Area 2 and through December 31 in Area 1 and 3. Area 1 includes Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce and Shoshone counties. Area 2 includes Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, Oneida, Power and Teton counties. Area 3 includes Ada, Adams, Blaine, Boise, Camas, Canyon, Cassia, Elmore, Gem, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, Owyhee, Payette, Twin Falls, Valley, and Washington counties, including all islands in the Snake River except Patch and Porter islands. Shooting hours start one-half hour before sunrise in all three areas, except on Fort Boise, C.J. Strike, Montour, Niagara Springs, Payette River, and Sterling wildlife management areas, where shooting hours start at 10 a.m. during the pheasant season. The daily bag limit is three cocks, and the possession limit is nine, except on wildlife management areas where pheasants are stocked, in which case the daily limit is two cocks and six in possession. All hunters must carry a valid 2015 Idaho hunting license, and hunters 17 and older need a WMA upland game bird permit to hunt on Idaho Fish and Game's nine wildlife management areas where pheasants are stocked. The permit must be signed in ink by the holder, validated by entering the harvest date and location, and removing a notch from the permit for each pheasant taken. The permit allows hunters to take two pheasants per day and up to six per permit. The nine wildlife management areas in southern Idaho where pheasants are stocked: Fort Boise, Payette River, Montour, C.J. Strike, Sterling, Market Lake, Mud Lake, Cartier Slough and Niagara Springs. All upland game hunters are required to wear a minimum of 36 square inches of visible hunter orange during the pheasant season when hunting on wildlife management areas where pheasants are stocked. For details, hunters should consult the current season and rules brochures available at all license vendors, Fish and Game offices, or online at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov.