More animals means more licenses, permits
By Hookemharry

Posted: September 12, 2002

It seemed like to me that there were more surplus licenses available from Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks for elk, deer and antelope this year than in past years.

Have the number of hunters declined that much or are there just more tags being issued by FWP? According to information officer for Region 2, Bill Thomas, it is just a case of more animals. More animals mean more surplus tags.

The number of tags is determined by FWP biologists and the surveys they conduct of big game animals each year.

“The hunter numbers for Montana residents have remained about the same compared to last year,” Thomas said. “Another possible reason for some of the surplus tags might be they are in less desirable places to hunt”.

If you drew an antelope either-sex license for the 700 district and you received an application for two more doe/fawn tags, you have until Sept. 13 to mail in your application. The additional tags are $11 apiece and are on a first-come, first-served basis. The application form would have been in the envelope that your license arrived in.

FLATHEAD LAKE:

Whitefish anglers have had a tough go recently on Flathead Lake. The bite never materialized like it did last year.

One local angler that seems to do well on most of his trips, however, is Glen Hoffman. Hoffman e-mailed last week and said they fished the river delta on the Swan River side and caught 18 whitefish. Hoffman said the bite started about 10 a.m. and lasted only a couple of hours.

One of the tools that Hoffman takes advantages of is his GPS unit. The GPS takes him back to the same spot every time and he has, for the most part, been successful there.

Lake trout fishing on Flathead has slowed some ,according to Dick Zimmer from Pablo. Zimmer said, however, that he expects the mack fishing to improve later this month.

TIBER TOURNEY:

Local angler Brandt Hamernick and his nine-year-old son Bryce took second place in the annual Labor Day tourney held at Tiber Dam.

The one-day event saw 31 teams compete for the largest five walleyes caught and release by combined weight. The Hamernicks caught a little over five pounds of walleyes and trailed another father/son team from Kalispell, Bob and Bobby Hickey, who took the tourney by just a few ounces.

WATERFOWL:

In case you haven’t heard, the duck and goose season in the Pacific and Central flyways opens on Sept. 28. Duck season in the Pacific flyway will remain open until Jan. 10 while it closes Jan. 2 in the Central Flyway. Goose season will close Jan. 10 in both flyways.

The popular Two-day Youth Waterfowl Hunt will take place September 21-22 in both of the flyways. For more information on how your child can participate in the youth waterfowl hunt, contact your local FWP office.

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