Washington goat points?
- Thread starter sagerat
- Start date
LAST EDITED ON Apr-10-06 AT 03:35PM (MST)[p]SAGE:
1984 Pratt River no points
1999 Corral Pass 6 points
Both hunts produced nice billies. I feel almost guilty God blessed me twice on these permit hunts. If you draw, you will have an awesome hunt! I have max points for sheep, and I think 9 for moose, so I know how the waiting game goes.
Good luck this year.
Bryan
1984 Pratt River no points
1999 Corral Pass 6 points
Both hunts produced nice billies. I feel almost guilty God blessed me twice on these permit hunts. If you draw, you will have an awesome hunt! I have max points for sheep, and I think 9 for moose, so I know how the waiting game goes.
Good luck this year.
Bryan
Yeah, the goat population has been decreasing, while the sheep have increased. A biologist told me the cougars are getting a lot of the mountain goats. One thing you do have to realize is that even having the maximum number of points possible will not guarantee you will draw. If you have 10 points you have 10 chances, but then so does everybody else that has been applying for the last 10 years.
Remember that the bonus points are squared. So if you have 10 points you will essentially have your name in the pot 101 times (10 x 10 + one for the current year). Someone with max points would be roughly 4 times more likely to draw than someone with only 5 points. Of course, as stated, better odds doesn't mean you should go ahead and sign up for vacation for opening week.
ridgerunner
Very Active Member
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- 1,960
I'm up there with I think 9 or 10 points, waiting for that tag. It's tough to decide on what units to put in for, since I haven't been in many of them. I suppose they are all good though. I'd like to draw a goat tag before they are cut to zero.
I'm with you ridgerunner. I hope we can pull tags before there is none. I think that might be coming quicker than we all realize. It's a shame when you compare now to how many tags there use to be, the goats are not doing well. As far as which unit to go for that's tough. Any would be good, North Chelan might be the toughest to hunt but possibly could hold bigger billies. My choices will be down in the Kittitas county area, units with consistently high success rates.
I drew the Naches/Corral Pass permit last year so I can give you a recent report on that area as I kept very detailed notes. In my 10 days afield I estimated that I looked at 80 different goats in the two areas; 20 nannies, 16 billies, 27 kids, and 17 un-sexed adults. Even if ALL unsexed adults are nannies that is a pretty decent kid:nanny ratio of 73:100.
The opinion that I shared with WDWF was to keep the permit levels conservative for the next 3-5 years and then slowly increase. Thanks to the cooperative effort of WAFNAWS, Seattle SCI, Seattle Sportsmens Foundation, et al there is a large survey project in progress to see exactly the status of each goat herd. Once some numbers are determined hopefully WDFW can implement a plan to help recover the overall population.
The opinion that I shared with WDWF was to keep the permit levels conservative for the next 3-5 years and then slowly increase. Thanks to the cooperative effort of WAFNAWS, Seattle SCI, Seattle Sportsmens Foundation, et al there is a large survey project in progress to see exactly the status of each goat herd. Once some numbers are determined hopefully WDFW can implement a plan to help recover the overall population.
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FairChaser
Guest
Does anyone know how the department counts goats? I am of the opinion that there are alot of goats out there that are not being counted, most likely due to budget contraints. Perhaps a volunteer (trained) effort in certain areas to sweep a pre described sector would be a way to help out with the process.
I also have heard (from WDFW sources) that over 300 goats were "rediscovered" in the North Cascades area last year but that hunting was not considered an option this year due to the fact that a popular hiking trail bisects their habitat. We need to figure out ways to preserve hunting opportunity in these types of areas. As Washington becomes more populated Non hunter and hunter interaction will be unavoidable. Good ethics and common sense are probably good starting points.
I also have heard (from WDFW sources) that over 300 goats were "rediscovered" in the North Cascades area last year but that hunting was not considered an option this year due to the fact that a popular hiking trail bisects their habitat. We need to figure out ways to preserve hunting opportunity in these types of areas. As Washington becomes more populated Non hunter and hunter interaction will be unavoidable. Good ethics and common sense are probably good starting points.
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boneaddict
Guest
Drew moose with 3 points.....still haven't drawn deer YET! max points this year......ARGHHHHHH
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squatch
Guest
Hi,
Last year I drew in the Goat Rocks Wilderness (2005). Definitely a hunt that you will want to bring in stock for. I drew with 3 pts. Still counting my blessings!!! Very fortunate to have a local show me around a bit. Was able to score on a very respectable billy. Didn't see many on the actual hunt, but saw pleanty while scouting??
Regards
Squatch
Last year I drew in the Goat Rocks Wilderness (2005). Definitely a hunt that you will want to bring in stock for. I drew with 3 pts. Still counting my blessings!!! Very fortunate to have a local show me around a bit. Was able to score on a very respectable billy. Didn't see many on the actual hunt, but saw pleanty while scouting??
Regards
Squatch
