# August Carp Opener



## Anas Strepera (Nov 10, 2004)

It's sad what the early season has become. It used to be a great start to fall when it opened September 1s when the nights are cool, the days are warm but crisp, and grass and cattails are just faintly showing traces of brown. September 1st was a great start to the season that was anticipated and enjoyed almost universally throughout the state's waterfowl community. It meant Fall was here.

Now the early season is garbage. Geese shouldn't be hunted in August. I know a lot of guys that used to hunt every day of the early season they could that could care less about it now. It's been watered down for the worse by continuing to open it earlier and increasing the limits.

There's no way in he11 I'm eating a goose that sat for hours in a field in August heat and humidity. If you guys want to do it, fine. The 15-goose limit is ridiculous because it's going to keep guys in the field all day while their geese turn to bile. The only thing that's more wasteful than how the G&F is managing this resource is the farmers that shoot them with rifles and let them lay.

I think it's a complete double-standard to have a 15-goose limit with an August season and expect people to eat them. I get that it's a nuisance season and they want to shoot as many as possible but if that's the case treat them like any other vermin and let people legally throw them in the ditch. The whole approach is two-faced by the G&F because they want hunters to do their dirty work on one hand but they'll write you a ticket for wanton waste if you don't "respect the resource," which they've managed in a manner that encourages total disrespect.

The resident Canada Goose has been declared a carp by the G&F. Toss 'em on the bank and let 'em rot just like you would a carp boys.

I'll be at the lake getting a tan, fishing, swimming and drinking cold beer enjoying our short summers until hunting season rolls around (AKA "Fall")....just like so many other hunters who used to enjoy the early season now do. Maybe the G&F can open the season July 15th next year and raise the limit to 30 to account for the declining hunter participation and harvest their management plan has yielded.


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

I'm glad someone feels the same way as I do. Hunting during the summer just isn't the same for me..at all. On the other hand I am glad they let hunters take them instead of just the random killing.


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## gator_getter (Sep 7, 2008)

There are too many local canada geese in my opinion, but then I see and live with the destruction they cause.


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

Just a thought, but nobody is forcing you to hunt in August. And nobody is telling you to stick around in a field all day until you shoot your 15 birds.

Sounds like a novel concept, but here's an idea: stick to a personal Sept. 1 opener and cut yourself off after 5 birds. That way you can still feel all warm and fuzzy inside about fall starting "when it should."

Heck, that's pretty much what I do. Last couple years I've waited until the last week of August before scouting. First early season hunt last year was the last weekend in August. Shot two birds and called it a day.

Anyway, something to marinate on. Enjoy the lake...and the beers.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

I think part of the idea is to recruit some hunters who for whatever reasons can't participate later in the fall. Kids are still out of school, some farmers are not starting their harvest yet and the upland game and bow seasons don't pull hunters from participation. I'm not going out every day but I wil do a few hunts and probably stop at 5 birds or less. Partly as an opportunity to do some training with the dog.


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## huntingmaniac (Mar 22, 2011)

Duckslayer100 said:


> Just a thought, but nobody is forcing you to hunt in August. And nobody is telling you to stick around in a field all day until you shoot your 15 birds.
> 
> Sounds like a novel concept, but here's an idea: stick to a personal Sept. 1 opener and cut yourself off after 5 birds. That way you can still feel all warm and fuzzy inside about fall starting "when it should."
> 
> ...


X2, if you hunted everyday of the early season, what do you do with the 400+ birds? 15 birds x 30 days = 450 birds!!!! I know you can make jerky and stuff but then you have to spend over a $400 to have that 500+ lbs of meat processed. Just an estimate of how much money it would cost.


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## kingcanada (Sep 19, 2009)

I do understand the sentiment here, but a fellow could keep a big cooler of ice back at the truck and every so often go breast the birds, leaving one wing attached. It doesn't take long. It seems to me that the morning flight is finished not long after sunrise anyway. Shouldn't be that hard to get done before the heat get's bad. Heck, if you have kids with you, clean the birds and tell them it is a race to see which one of them can get to the cooler first! Winner gets a popsicle later.


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## drakespanker12 (Aug 28, 2006)

and for the adults, the loser buys the first round or the first case haha!!


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## hwdeuce (Apr 6, 2010)

15 bird limit is out of control this early in the season (to hot to early) 
Canadian geese will be just as bad as snow/blue geese ect. In 15-20 yrs
They should do it in the spring I'm sure it will come to that sooner or later 
Management process has been terrible
15 bird limit in august really


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

If I can I will hunt two times and shoot maybe two or three geese. I'll hunt once with each of the grandkids that are old enough. Their sports should be over and school not started yet.

Keep in mind I don't think this is the fault of the Game and Fish. Look at the hunt around Devils Lake that was forced upon them by the legislature. The Game and Fish often takes the blame for things the legislature forces them into. We have a money worshiping, anti wildlife legislature.


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## slough (Oct 12, 2003)

The increased limit is fine by me, although it won't increase total harvest much over the 8 or 5-bird limits of the past. I think game and fish is doing what they can. I rarely do much early season stuff, just hard to get in the mood when it's 90 degrees but the fact is there is an overpopulation that is causing some problems and the excessive limits and seasons are something they almost have to do. There's been a 20 bird limit on snows for a long time - at first there was the same whining about those higher limits and lax restricitions - and now it is viewed as normal. This will probably become the new normal for Canada's. It is too bad the limit isn't a little higher for the regular season - 3 can come awful quick - although I know there are arctic populations that aren't doing as well as the Giants. It gets tiresome hearing people talk about the game management agencies like they have a magic wand or a crystal ball and can anticipate or fix everything. Blame them for hard winters lowering deer numbers, blame them for trying to reduce problematic goose numbers, yada yada.


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Keep in mind that this season is depradation driven. If the farmers were not complaining about it (with due cause) the G&F wouldn't care if there were the number of birds that there are and there probably wouldn't be an early season much less a 15 bird limit. They are not damaging their breeding habitat like snows and blues... This is not a conservation driven hunt. And while a spring season sounds good in theory it's going to effect some the subspecies they are trying to protect. Game management is tough. Managers have to consider hunters participation, bird numbers, habitat conditions, weather and other factors of which one or even several can change on a yearly basis. It's a thankless job because someone is always complaining one way or the other. Over the last 35 years I have learned that you have to take advantage of the opportunities when they are there and work with what you have when they are not. It's the nature of the game..........


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## EllendaleND (Dec 25, 2011)

Well I'm a young guy and I love and grew up with the August thing. I don't mind it at all because the birds are usually done flying in an hour or so. So it doesn't matter what the temp is. I love hunting mornings so it's nice and cool.


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## coyote sniper (Apr 15, 2009)

More crying because it isn't exactly how they think it should be! :eyeroll:

To each their own!!

I know I will be out on opening day!!

Good luck everyone stay safe and shoot straight!!


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## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

Agree completely. August is not hunting season period. Just have to use our own common sense and ignore the complete idiocy of the GF and DNRs. Just like when they encouraged people to shoot 5 does in Minnesota. Total nonsense,now there are few deer in these same areas and bucks only. It is a damn shame the complete incompetence of these so called resource mgmt agencies.


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

dakotashooter2 said:


> Keep in mind that this season is depradation driven. If the farmers were not complaining about it (with due cause) the G&F wouldn't care if there were the number of birds that there are and there probably wouldn't be an early season much less a 15 bird limit. They are not damaging their breeding habitat like snows and blues... This is not a conservation driven hunt. And while a spring season sounds good in theory it's going to effect some the subspecies they are trying to protect. Game management is tough. Managers have to consider hunters participation, bird numbers, habitat conditions, weather and other factors of which one or even several can change on a yearly basis. It's a thankless job because someone is always complaining one way or the other. Over the last 35 years I have learned that you have to take advantage of the opportunities when they are there and work with what you have when they are not. It's the nature of the game..........


Well put! One of the bests posts I have seen here in awhile. :thumb:


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

I get that we need to kill the geese because the farmers are barely scratching by and have NO money and work way harder then anyone else :roll: .

I seriously do understand that we need to kill some of the resident honkers. I just feel like shooting geese in august is LAAAAAAAAMMMEE!! its not hunting season in august, Its summer time.


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## duckp (Mar 13, 2008)

As said,simply don't participate.
I can only imagine the 'Ping and moaning' by the same crowd if GFP's did the shooting-or worse,let the farmers/ranchers do the shooting.
GFPs is damned either way.Trust me,one way or another the 'excess' geese are going to be killed.IMO,better it's hunters than the other alternatives.


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## Auzymoto (Apr 20, 2011)

duckp said:


> As said,simply don't participate.
> I can only imagine the 'Ping and moaning' by the same crowd if GFP's did the shooting-or worse,let the farmers/ranchers do the shooting.
> GFPs is damned either way.Trust me,one way or another the 'excess' geese are going to be killed.IMO,better it's hunters than the other alternatives.


X2


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

Kind of playing devils advocate here but do these resident geese disappear come September or what? Pretty sure they are still in the Dakotas until atleast November. I don't think goose hunting starts until October in Nebraska and from the sound of things at that point their are still no geese there. Why not increase the limit through October? And yes you can choose not to hunt it and I won't be hunting it...I just wanted to through it out their that it's LAME! Big ego booster for the pro staffers and all that though so that's good.


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## teamflightstoppersND (Feb 20, 2009)

migrating Canada geese are not the problem, by the time the regular opener starts some geese are already moving south. The resident geese are the ones who need to be taken care of. There might need to be a season starting in April once all of the migrating geese move north.


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

No...I bet 90 percent of the geese that were born in the Dakotas are still there at the start of the regular season. They don't disappear. If you asked states just south of sd and mn when they start getting geese I bet you would be suprised at how long it takes for them to get decent numbers. In the mean time they are still up here with us. 
I don't even know why I'm arguing about this haha. I am glad that the Dnr is trying to let hunters take the geese I just don't appreciate August goose hunting. I'm done now.


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## BirdJ (Aug 24, 2011)

teamflightstoppersND said:


> migrating Canada geese are not the problem, by the time the regular opener starts some geese are already moving south. The resident geese are the ones who need to be taken care of. There might need to be a season starting in April once all of the migrating geese move north.


With that being said, why don't they just open the SOB year round and be done with it. Can't believe there are that many people out there that are in such a major kill mode!!!! uke: By the way, its the August Canada Goose Opener!!!! oke: By the way, snow geese and canada geese are birds, not fish. Just to let you know. :thumb:


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