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Scottish Warrior
10-10-2007, 10:08 PM
Hello all, this is my first post here. I live in Maple Ridge and desperately want to get (back) into Duck/Goose hunting. I have not duck hunted in years and not hunted in BC ever. I just jumped through all the many hoops necessary to be good to go for hunting in the Fraser Valley. When I was told (much to my surprise and delight) that there was good migratory bird hunting right in my back yard I starting studying the Fraser Valley Special Hunting Area map and walking around the “ok to hunt” areas. I am still at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed and would love some help and/or advice.

It looks to me like to two best spots are the north arm of the Alouette river and obviously the Pitt Wildlife Management area on Sat/Sun and Wed. Am I right here? It seems putting a canoe in the north Alouette right off Rannie makes some sense? Thoughts?

What about the Wildlife Management area? Does a small canoe/Kayak (I have both) make sense in some of the bigger water ways in the marsh?

Are hip waders a must in the marsh? Are there blinds build? Are they first come there yours for the day or……?

What about hunting along the Pitt River near the end of Koerner road?

Are decoys necessary/helpful for hunting in this area?

Please Help! I don’t want to make an ass of myself of get in the way of other more experienced hunters. Any help regarding hunting in this area would be REALLY appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Scottish Warrior
10-10-2007, 11:12 PM
I just finished reading Ian's 4 part series (Fantastic). I see that many hate to discuss where they go for fear of giving up a good spot ect......but I don't even know where to park for goodness sakes or where to begin looking for a good spot. I really need to hook up with someone who knows the area..........did I mention that I sell wine for a living and get lots of samples and generously share with people who help me!! (not so subtle hint hint) I bet goose sausage goes great with a nice BC Merlot of Cab.

Scottish Warrior
10-11-2007, 11:13 AM
74 views and no responses......I'm getting the distinct feeling I'm on my own here. Oh well, I'm a bright guy, I'll figure it all out. Good luck to you all this season.

Ian F.
10-11-2007, 07:11 PM
It looks to me like to two best spots are the north arm of the Alouette river and obviously the Pitt Wildlife Management area on Sat/Sun and Wed. Am I right here? It seems putting a canoe in the north Alouette right off Rannie makes some sense? Thoughts?

I haven't tried the alouette, if it's legal, give it a go! watch out for walkers, legal or not though

What about the Wildlife Management area? Does a small canoe/Kayak (I have both) make sense in some of the bigger water ways in the marsh?

Boat is a must, the ditches next to the dykes are 5 to 8 feet deep. You can get anywhere in the marsh with a canoe.

Are hip waders a must in the marsh? Are there blinds build? Are they first come there yours for the day or……?

I don't own any camo pants because I always wear waders! The only blinds are ones built by folks like Dano. You'll have to find your own spots.

What about hunting along the Pitt River near the end of Koerner road?

Same as alouette

Are decoys necessary/helpful for hunting in this area?
I don't hunt without them, you could pass shoot, but you'll cripple a lot of birds.

You can access the pitt unit at a couple of locations, the 2nd silver gate, the ditch at the road, and the boat launch near the yellow sign.

I wrote those 4 posts to help folks get going and find their own spots. Most on here have put in alot of time finding and figuring things out and that's part of the hesitation to respond. Also, you are brand spanking new and no one knows you. I'd suggest spending some time going through the old posts, lots of info there too!

Very best,

Ian

Scottish Warrior
10-11-2007, 08:02 PM
Thanks for the response Ian. I appreciate that people have spent a lot of time finding there own spots, I don't expect anything; still, does not hurt to ask for help and try and flatten out a steep learning curve.

Also a big thanks to those PMed me offering what info they had.

Dano
10-11-2007, 08:22 PM
We're pretty helpful here, more so than we should be I suppose. The marsh is getting a higher number of shooters with no idea of what is an acceptable distance to shoot at waterfowl. Top that off with no plan to retrieve anything they shoot that doesn't land at their feet and you can understand why I'm getting reluctant to get anyone out my way.
You joined and have no posts other than to ask details you can find out easily enough if you get out there and do a little more scouting than you have.
You did some good groundwork, it wouldn't take much more to get the other details you need.
You'll need decoys, waders, a way into the marsh and to retrieve birds. If you don't have a dog, you will lose birds. It's irresponsible (and illegal) to go out and shoot ducks and not make a legitimate effort to retrieve them.
The marsh has no blinds, other than ones like I made for myself. I spent a full day to make it not including taxiing the supplies out. If someone wants to try and take it over, we'll bring the chainsaw out and cut it up. We can all stand in the water....
As for the N Alouette, it's busy with walkers and joggers. Not too bad on the weekdays but still a lot of activity. It's days are numbered. The Pitt River sees little hunting pressure. It's difficult to retrieve birds and the tide can be strong (almost lost my dog when she chased a crippled bird across the river). Koerner rd left (towards the Pitt River) has a slough half way down the road on the right. Nobody hunts there, a canoe ride up it to the left goes by some framework from a blind (about 30 years old). Don't know if the shooting is good there now, I hunted it back when we could drive that road and put the boat in at the slough.
Ian's posts contain a lot useful information, give them a read again and hit the marsh after daylight and find a quiet place where you aren't too close to anyone and set up there. Watch for birds, listen for calling and shooting and about mid-day cruise around until you find a spot that you feel will suit you next time and not interfere with the guys out there already. Do this a few times until you have your own "go to" spot.
Dan

Scottish Warrior
10-11-2007, 09:20 PM
Dano, I certainly share your concerns about irresponsible hunters and consider myself a reasonable and ethical outdoorsman. I consider posting here and asking questions part of my ground work…….I’m just trying to be thorough and seek knowledge from other more experienced than myself. I am not trying to take “short cuts”. I sorry if my lack of posts is an issue or offensive; I just found this forum as part of my search for information about hunting waterfowl in Pitt Meadows. I don’t have a bird dog but will (and have in the past) make a true effort to retrieve every duck I down. I simply asked about the binds because I wanted to understand the etiquette; leave your chainsaw at home. I’ll find my own spot. I understand that those who have been hunting the marsh for a long time may not like a lot of new people hunting their but those of us interested in hunting waterfowl don’t have a lot of other options close to home……..sorry.

Scottish Warrior
10-11-2007, 09:22 PM
So I got off work a bit early and did some scouting this afternoon in my kayak.

The North arm of the Alouette River, although legal to hunt 7 days a week, does not look too promising. It was not very “ducky” looking and the dykes being that close give me the creeps. I can’t get my head around hunting with park benches 50 feet away. Also the brush was very deep and thick and walking around would be a problem. Even finding a spot to get out of my kayak was an issue.

I also paddled some of the ditches in the Wildlife Management; I guess everyone here calls it the Pitt Marsh. I ran out of daylight before I see all I wanted but I’ll go back tomorrow and continue exploring. I stayed in my kayak but it looks like you can walk around a lot of places in the marsh too. I will also go look around on Saturday but I’ll just walk and stay the hell out of everyone’s way. Hopefully I will be knowledgeable and confident enough to hunt next weekend; if not I’ll wait till I am; the season is just getting starting so no panic. (Scout first, hunt later………or so I’ve heard.:tongue:) I also need to pick up some decoys and some more gear; a camo mask for instance.:idea::idea::idea:


I also may explore around Goose Island on the weekend and see if it is a decent spot. I'm not concerned about the tides or retrieval as I'm an experienced and capable in my kayak.

Dano
10-11-2007, 10:54 PM
Dano, I certainly share your concerns about irresponsible hunters and consider myself a reasonable and ethical outdoorsman. I consider posting here and asking questions part of my ground work…….I’m just trying to be thorough and seek knowledge from other more experienced than myself. I am not trying to take “short cuts”. I sorry if my lack of posts is an issue or offensive; I just found this forum as part of my search for information about hunting waterfowl in Pitt Meadows. I don’t have a bird dog but will (and have in the past) make a true effort to retrieve every duck I down. I simply asked about the binds because I wanted to understand the etiquette; leave your chainsaw at home. I’ll find my own spot. I understand that those who have been hunting the marsh for a long time may not like a lot of new people hunting their but those of us interested in hunting waterfowl don’t have a lot of other options close to home……..sorry.

My comments weren't soley aimed at you, just trying to make you understand what can happen (and appears to be happening) out there. Your lack of post count isn't an issue, but what do I/we know about you? Nothing. You could be a guy looking for a shortcut which would include doing whatever you wanted without any concern for the rest of us. What should we base our answer on, a great guy who I have no problem being a couple hundred yards from me or a guy I want as far away as possible because he shoots at everything he sees? Without knowing anything about you, how should we reply?
Your comment that "74 views and no responses......I'm getting the distinct feeling I'm on my own here. Oh well, I'm a bright guy, I'll figure it all out" was offensive to me and I expect anyone else who takes the time to post here so I imagine my post had a bad flavor to it. I didn't have an appropriate short answer before I left for work this morning and I got home about 6pm.. As you see from previous posts, there's lots of views on the threads but only a few guys consistantly post. Sometimes we have to sort out what a guy wants and how we can best help him while considering others who hunt there.
Sorry if I offended you with the chainsaw comment. I said "if someone", I would have said "if you" if it was personal. It doesn't matter who it is though, I know my buddy (not old Dan) will say to hell with it and we'll rip it up. There is a lot of area to hunt in the marsh, more hunters isn't a problem. As you mentioned, we don't have a lot of options close to home, the day will come sooner than later when we will need more than a couple guys at a meeting to keep this area open in the future.
You can't walk around a lot in the marsh, just the dykes and any dyke that borders one of the closed areas is also closed to shooting. Most of the inner areas are flooded grass with some high ground along the sloughs (not much now though as the water is high).
I hunted geese out on goose island for years but that was 30 years ago (I shot a nice 3pt buck there too while goose hunting). There are a few guys who hunt there regularily but not many. We hunted the shore facing Harris rd.. The bottom is shallower and better for decoys, the end towards the bridge better for geese, ducks seem to hang around the slough that cuts through the island. It floods on the high tide in some places but there is decent high ground.
Sorry to get off on the wrong foot, send me a pm if you want to clear up anything.
Dan

Scottish Warrior
10-11-2007, 11:57 PM
My comment that you found offensive was certainly not intended as such. I was simply surprised that 74 people would read my post and not respond so I assumed (wrongly) everyone was keeping their knowledge to themselves. I guess I can appreciate your suspicions regarding helping a complete stranger; :oops::oops: perhaps I could have be more tactful and taken some time to contribute and get to know the forums a little before asking for a bunch of information. I sincerely appreciate all the information you have shared to this point and will say high if I see you; you look familiar in your picture, I have seen you around. I am also sorry if we got off on the wrong foot. I hope by now it’s obvious I’m trying to be responsible and respectful and I like to think I am the type of guy you would want a couple hundred yards away. :smile:


On that note I do have another question regarding the dykes and shooting. Is it legal to shoot from the dykes not in the “pink” or “red” zones? By looking at the maps it looks like there are several spots you can walk to on the dykes in the south east section of the marsh, is hunting legal in these areas? I have been parking by the silver gate a couple of KM from the boat launch parking area and putting my kayak in the “ditch” there. Is that a legal hunting area? It appears to be from the dyke north by looking at the map. Good luck this weekend! Looking forward to seeing your pics!

Scottish Warrior
10-12-2007, 09:01 PM
I put in a couple of more hours of scouting tonight in my Kayak. Found a couple of spots that I really like. The only fly in the ointment that I’m worried about now is if people are in them (the spots I’ve scouted) or too close I arrive, I think I’ll go insanely early to ensure I get one of my spots. The marsh is truly an incredible place; very picturesque; I had the entire place to myself tonight. Still some things to take care of before I head out: I need to get some camo netting to cover my canoe and a pair of chest waders; maybe by next weekend I’ll be ready. There was a crap load of ducks around when I was scouting tonight; a fair amount of mallards, some widgeon and some divers I cant’ name with certainty but might have been red heads (I’m not sure). Good luck to all heading out this weekend.

Scottish Warrior
10-14-2007, 05:23 PM
Went on another scouting mission today; Goose Island and some of the Pitt River. I did see some duck around but with the dykes so close, all the joggers ect it’s really hard to imagine hunting there. It may be a legal place to hunt but I’ll pass……..the Pitt Mash is clearly the best choice, and it’s not even close. I’ll hope to make a “debut” next Sunday in the marsh; I’ll be the clueless looking guy……...:roll: