Waterfowl Seasons Begin

Duck hunters will be in their blinds as October 12 dawns but goose hunters must wait another week to begin the new hunting season in most of the state. The exception in both seasons is in the Fort Hall area of eastern Idaho where the duck season runs from October 5 through January 17 and the goose season also begins October 5 and finishes January 10. In all but the Fort Hall area (Area 1 in the duck season rules), the duck season will end January 24. The goose season runs from October 19 through January 24 in all the rest of Idaho. Duck numbers are expected to be fairly low this season as another in a string of drought years affect the area of southern Alberta province where most of Idaho's northern flights originate. Prairie potholes there have been severely reduced, bringing down nesting and rearing success among puddle ducks. Geese, which tend to rely on larger bodies of water for production, have fared much better, both in Canada and in Idaho. Goose hunters should see about the same numbers as they have in recent years in Idaho. Goose hunting has generally been rated good to excellent in most of the state for many years. Duck hunters should remember that canvasback cannot be taken at all this year. Pintails can only be hunted for 60 days: from October 12 through December 10 in all of Idaho except in Area 1 (Fort Hall) where pintails are fair game from October 5 through December 3. Waterfowlers are also reminded that there is no swan season. Those who shoot at snow geese must be sure of their target. Use of toxic (lead) shot is prohibited in all waterfowl hunting. The waterfowl rules booklet, available at all license vendors as well as Fish and Game offices and on the Internet at http://www2.state.id.us/fishgame/, contains full-color pictures of waterfowl to aid in identifying species. The booklet also contains information on seasons, limits, legal shooting times and other subjects waterfowlers must understand before hunting.