New to Pitts plots

[wick07]

Hey new to the area and checked out Pitts plots with my boat and got a couple. Saw a few nice blinds set up in there. On my way out met a co. He said that's all the blinds will be removed soon? As they can not be permanent anymore.? Anyways while there up as its on public land I would assume these are first come first serve? I know people have put the time in but if I'm there at 4 and the guy who built it shows up at 5 I get to hunt it? Just checking on eddiquite and such any replies would be nice thanks guys

[ZacNap]

Technically thats how the rules work its first come first serve... but being said there is some etiquette i would recommend following as some of these people have spent hours and hours and lots of money building these things. If you use it make sure you its just how you found it ie dont disrupt the vegetation around it(If there isnt a well marked trail into a blind its because the person who uses it takes extra care to do so) dont modify it as you see fit.....when i first started hunting the marsh i avoided using others blinds because i didnt want to step on any toes everyone out there knows each other in some way so i just kept to myself and set up little temporary blinds or my boat blind.....and it seems like a good idea beating people to there blind but i know a few people who would just remove someone who tried to beat them to there blind and yes i know its public land but there is always that sense of ownership after countless hours and funds to build something that the co's want gone thats a whole other story for another day

again this is just my opinion

and excuse the poor grammar

[Mulehahn]

As Zac nap said, proper etiquette should dictate that the first one there is allowed to use it. But some people do not always see it that way. Then you will get people who will claim it's theirs when it isn't. In all honesty, the best practice us to share the blind if at all possible. You meet some new people, have some success and may learn a thing or two. Regardless, clean up after yourself, be safe and have fun. As the ol d saying goes, smoke while you got them. This is not idle talk by the Co's from what I understand. I have heard from a few groups that they are going to remove all the blinds from public land.

[Apolonius]

They should be removed.Have your temporary or pop up blind and go wherever.It is time we stop people from claiming public spots as their own.It can only cause trouble if the wrong guys show up.Public land,roads,lake access or whatever, it is just that.

[wick07]

Yeah I know what your saying and that's why I'm asking I get that sense of ownership as y built it and that's why I asked. I mean its on public land so it should be first come
first use. They are beautiful blinds and I thank whom ever built them. Hopefully they are not removed before season end I would like to bag a few more

[Gone_Fishin_]

Thought i seen something in the new Fraser Valley Special Area Hunting map that said no permanent blinds are allowed and must be removed at the end of the day. Or it might have been something from my BCWF membership i got.

Can't remember but i know blinds are no longer allowed to be permanent on public land. Somewhere i seen this...

IMO first come first serve, if someone else shows up then politely offer them a seat next to you if there is additional room. If there isnt then tough luck should have been there earlier. Its public land, not private.

IMO i would build yourself a nice portable blind that is light and easy to carry or purchase a pop-up, have your spots pre-scouted and when you show up you'll have more than one spot to go to if someone else is already there. Set up your blind and at the end of the day take it down.

Off topic but; Last year i hiked into a clearcut well before first light. Just before light i see some headlamps coming up through the side of the cut and towards me. I sat still seeing what was going to happen as i watch them move around just inside the tree line. To make sure they knew i was there i turned my headlamp on and flashed it their direction. Minute later i have some guy freaking out on me saying him and his son spent all the previous day building a blind up there and prescouted this area blah blah blah. I said hey buddy, its public land and were in a damn clearcut... i didnt see your blind or see you here before me. He went on and on about ethics and i should have known cuz i walked right by their blind and seen it and so forth. By now it was well into legal light and nothing is going to show with this clown yelling at me to leave. So i left, right before i started walking out i looked over gave them a wave and fired 3 shots into stump beside me. Guessing he didnt see anything that morning either...

[wick07]

Yeah I know what your saying and that's why I'm asking I get that sense of ownership as y built it and that's why I asked. I mean its on public land so it should be first come
first use. They are beautiful blinds and I thank whom ever built them. Hopefully they are not removed before season end I would like to bag a few more

[wick07]

I would like to hear a opinion of someone who built those blinds. Like I said not trying to start a problem just want to get along

[Drillbit]

I know if I build a blind and someone beat me to it, we'd be hunting together!

Have run into this with snowmobile cabins. When you spend thousands of $ and hundreds of hours building them, you don't leave because someone else showed up before you. You just get cozy

[wick07]

Yeah and sharing is great that's the beauty of duck hunting many shots and lots of fun

[ZacNap]

sent you a pm

[Beaverhunter]

That being said what if you don't hunt the blind cause someone else built then go to another spot and you see that blind not get used for a whole day. I have had the same question but if you want to guarantee a blind or a cabin then you should buy some land I guess. The person building that blind is taking a gamble I guess.

[CRS]

I will speak up as someone who has built blinds in the past. It cost more than a few dollars to put one up. But since it would be on public land, that is irrelevant. More over it is the years (yes years/seasons) of scouting/hunting an area and finding it to be a successful spot that you can call birds into. Then there is the time factor. MANY boat trips out, fuel, equipment and material. Then there is the upkeep. Constant grassing, repairs and upkeep. THEN there is the constant clean up. The muskrats that store their root balls for winter, the birds of prey that eat fish and non retrieved waterfowl from hunters who don't have dogs and make unethical shots don't even make the top 10 of stuff I've cleaned out of blinds. Diapers (yes dirty diapers) in August from some day canoeist that stopped by for lunch. All conceivable articles of clothing, (socks, sweaters, hats, etc.) personal items that I hope were shared from a man and a woman, beer cans, hulls, sandwich wrappers, bright blue tarps, shiny aluminum poles to hold the bright blue tarp up! The list goes on.
Now, before ANYONE jumps on about public land, I KNOW it is/was. BUT...... It's a bit different than a clear cut. You cannot say you didn't know a blind was there. Every hunter I know will be going out early if they intend to hunt from a blind they put effort into building. Period. If someone is NOT in a blind they built by 10mins to shooting light they likely aren't going to be at all. But if all the effort you put into your duck huntint blind is setting your alarm early you should really reconsider it.
I'll go you one further. Don't just "assume" because you got there first that if someone shows up they want to share. We went through this same thing out there 3yrs ago. A fellow felt that "...all the good spots were where the blinds are, and since HE wanted to hunt ducks out there, ANY BLIND WAS AVAILABLE TO HIM IF HE GOT THERE FIRST!" Funny thing is...I went out for an afternoon hunt one Wednesday...found hap hazzard dekes out front. Oh well, it was public area and it was 3pm....not a big deal, I know lots of good areas in the marsh.... However, since I knew a better way to set up dekes for that area I thought Inwould offer my knowledge. I called over. No response. Yelled! Nothing. (Was now worried that maybe something was wrong.) Motored in to find no one in there!?! But I found a 3/4 full box of shells, a robo box a jacket, and various other items that indicated 2 hunters. Now I was thinking maybe someone had troubles. (Even posted about it on here!) so I collected the equipment and packed it up. Set up my spread, called in a few and shot them. Then off in the distance I hear a motor and see two guys in a boat!?!? With my amplified earmuffs on I hear one say "...he's in our blind!" They make there way in and I introduce myself and then (on a hunch) ask the persons HBC name....guess what? It was the SAME GUY who pronounced HE had the right to hunt every and any blind out there! I asked him "how much marsh do YOU need!?" Cuz cruising around in your boat looking for ducks with your motor under oower while you left open ammunition out im a public place sure doesn't seem like you really grasp what this is all about. I have NEVER seen a man turn from an internet tough guy to a sheep so fast. He offered to collect his things and move on. BUT, I offered to let him stay and finish the hunt. Why!? B/c THAT is etiquette. Look up the thread. He even said that was a geat hunt cuz I was finishing birds right in the hole.
The point is, people put a lot of work into building something and maintenance. That area has blinds that are from its original purpose of a hunting area back in the 40's before it was turned over to the province. Sure there have been some newer blinds built. But I've seen many that are built, used 8-10 times then disintegrate into the marsh after a few years.
Do I feel that I have more rights to a blind I built than anyone else? Nope. But I also wouldn't use something someone else built unless I'd asked or waited till last minute to ensure no one was going to be in it. And I have done just that, and will continue to.
I'll close with this. As Zacnap eluded to, pretty much everyone out there knows everyone and they are (for the regulars) great folks. Many of whom donate their time to help with the wood duck nest program that I and another memeber here spearhead. He and I split the costs of hardware, bedding material, the lunch provided etc out of our own pockets. A local high school builds nests and gives the students credit for them. I give a conservation presentation and at the end of the year take in some duckeroni from the years hunt. The wood is donated/recycled and the regulars who use the marsh donate time, boats and fuel and tools to help with maintenance and checks. We have a phenomenal success rate. Much higher than DU (who are semi involved) and Delta waterfowl consider to be "successful".
Just because others have been there longer and have contributed more to conservation doesn't mean they are "entitled" to anymore than others. But please consider that hunting a blind is a lot more than just setting your alarm earlier than the next guy. I have NEVER seen anyone try to clean up or fix/repair/grass any blind I've ever built anywhere. But everyone wants to use it.
If we have this kind of conflicts out there then the areas will just closed down and we all lose. I know folks who have hunted that area for 40+ yrs. it would be a shame to see the "I'm entitled" feeling get it closed.
On ANY given day there are 4-7 blinds empty out there. As the season wears on and the weather turns, fewer and fewer folks go. Its the same scenario year after year after year after year....
Enough of my $0.02. There's lots of room out there and high ground to hunt that I find better than some of the blinds. Too many "bird educators" taking 80yd shots have taught the birds to avoid flying around the blinds out there now....
CRS

[BigfishCanada]

Get in the dark and make create your own blind then no worries if a guy says hes in your spot

[MichelD]

[QUOTE=Gone_Fishin_;1714372]Thought i seen something in the new Fraser Valley Special Area Hunting map that said no permanent blinds are allowed and must be removed at the end of the day. "

You are right, it is posted smack dab on top of North Vancouver on the map when you fully open the Special Area regs..

Pic here from an earlier posting.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?121080-The-duck-blinds-gotta-go!!


It says any hunting blinds left in place will be demolished and removed without notice.