Few hunters, fewer birds for opening day

It was a great day for a walk. And along the way, if you ran into a pheasant, so much the better.

Some hunters did -- go for a walk, that is. A few spotted pheasants. More, it seems, encountered birdies.Consensus in the northern reaches of the state was that hunting pressure was down from a year ago, and success was about the same, which adds up to about one bird for every two hunters afield.

Because of the good weather, some hunters opted for a round of golf on Saturday. As one hunter-turned-golfer said, "Golfing conditions were too good to pass up, and you never know about the hunt. I went with the sure thing and went golfing."

The hunt opened statewide on Saturday. It will run through Nov. 21, except in Utah County, where it will close Nov. 13. Some state and federal lands will have an extended season.

The prediction was for an opening day similar to 1998. For the most part, it was similar. Last year the weather was warm and sunny and the hunting spotty. This year, just as last year, those hunters who were in the right place, and who had good aim, got birds.

From one drainage ditch south of Willard Bay in the early hours, a group of five hunters flushed four roosters and three hens on one pass. The five shared one bird.

East of the Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management area, a single hunter told officers he had his limit of two birds by 9 a.m. He saw two roosters, shot two and headed home.

Early indications are, however, that hunting pressure was down and success a little slow to begin with.

But even duck hunters had slow hunting on Saturday. The good weather kept ducks on the water and not in the air. In the case of pheasants, it was on the ground and not in the air.

Val Bachman, manager of the Ogden Bay Bird Refuge for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said pressure appeared to be down.

"There weren't as many hunters out this year. I can't tell you why. There are birds in the area," he said.

Officers around Farmington Bay gave the same report.

Predictions were for a hunt similar to 1998's, with possibly a few more birds around this year to shoot. Spring conditions were excellent for both production and survival.

Officers reported numbers were down slightly but admitted it was difficult to count birds because of the heavy growth in vegetation that provided cover. This same cover made it difficult for hunters without benefit of dogs to flush birds.

Early reports on hunting in other parts of the state ranged from slow to good.

Most of the 35,000 to 40,000 hunters expected to hunt on Saturday, will not hunt again. But game officers are quick to point out that those hunters willing to put in the time will ultimately have the best success.