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Small game hunting

4K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Mike2 
#1 ·
Any small game hunters out there. I've never hunted in washington yet. I was wondering where a close legal spot to hunt on state/fed. land to Whidbey Island. Also what the best way to go about it. I've hunted for rabbit and squirrel back in Mighigan (my home state).I'm looking to get materials for tying and wild game is just sooo good. Any tips or recommendations whould be much help thanks.

mike
 
#3 ·
NFR-small game game hunting

Well Newbie and Josh... Just make sure you the read the regs... because here in Washington it is ILLEGAL to hunt Squirrels... so just do what the rest of us do... visit the local fly shop... or even better find a good woman like my wife that as a wedding present she delivered to me a squirrel tail that she got from a road kill... man I love her....!

Anyway... you can pick up a tail off the highway if you can't afford the 2-4 bucks at the shop...

wabowhunter
(aka Shawn)
 
#4 ·
NFR-small game game hunting

It may be illegal to hunt native squirrels (red and grey). However, those large grey squirrels common to many areas of Western Washington are not native to this area and it is my understanding these grey squirrels are "pests" and can be killed. Two Wash State Wildlife enforcement agents told me it was OK to shoot these pest squirrels year around (assuming it is OK to shoot in the area).
 
#6 ·
NFR-small game game hunting

wabowhunter said:
Well Newbie and Josh... Just make sure you the read the regs... because here in Washington it is ILLEGAL to hunt Squirrels... so just do what the rest of us do... visit the local fly shop... or even better find a good woman like my wife that as a wedding present she delivered to me a squirrel tail that she got from a road kill... man I love her....!

Anyway... you can pick up a tail off the highway if you can't afford the 2-4 bucks at the shop...

wabowhunter
(aka Shawn)
did i say something about shooting squirrels???
I was talking about pheasants...but thanks for letting me know i should read the regs first. i never thought of that.
;)
 
#7 ·
(NFR) small game hunting

It is illegal to shoot the native Red and Western (Douglas) squirrels. Unfortunately, many of the native squirrels have been pushed out by the aggressive Eastern Gray squirrels. It is LEGAL to hunt the non-native Eastern Gray squirrels. Here is a writeup about the Eastern Gray squirrels in Seattle:

http://archives.thedaily.washington.edu/1999/041399/N5.Squirrelse.html
Back when the University of Washington campus was heavily forested, the red and Douglas squirrels ruled the roost. Eastern grays, although larger and more aggressive, don't take well to dense stands of pines and other evergreens. When the UW campus trees were thinned out and buildings took the place of trees, the Eastern gray moved in and kicked the native species out. Now it's practically impossible to find any native squirrels within the Seattle city limits. Nevertheless, the Eastern gray treads on shaky ground. According to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the only thing keeping Seattle the Eastern Gray Squirrels from ending up in the soup pot is its present stomping grounds. Since the Eastern gray is not a native species, no license is required to hunt it. However, there are strict rules about hunting within the city limits. Therefore, the Eastern gray squirrel is safe from being hunted as long as it stays in Seattle.

In other words, it appears that non-native animals such as opposum, nutria, Eastern Gray Squirrels, etc. are legal to hunt as they are pests in Washington State. But all non-native animals are not pests (ie turkeys, chukars, etc. have been introduced in Wash State).
 
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