AGFC online permit system malfunctions again

Sunday, September 15, 2013

For the second time this year, hunters had difficulty buying leftover WMA-controlled hunt permits online from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Unclaimed permits for controlled modern gun, muzzleloader and archery deer hunts on WMAs went on sale at 8 a.m. Monday. Several applicants contacted the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette to complain that they were unable to complete the transactions for their permits.

One man who asked to remain anonymous said he went online to buy an unclaimed modern gun hunt permit for Gulf Mountain WMA. When he clicked the button to pay for the permit, he said the application process froze and he had to restart the application. Finally, the Gulf Mountain modern gun permits vanished from the menu of available permits. The man said he didn’t get one.

Keith Stephens, public information coordinator for the AGFC, acknowledged Thursday that the online permit system experienced a malfunction that inconvenienced many hunters. He said it probably resulted from unusually high traffic from users going online early, presumably to get a head start.

The “Sooner Syndrome” might have been in anticipation of permits going on sale before the scheduled time, such as what happened with the unclaimed controlled WMA turkey hunting permits last spring. Those who went online early got most of the best permits before they officially went on sale.

Stephens said the system became fully functional at 8:50 a.m. Monday, and that the AGFC’s information technology division is working to correct any flaws that might have triggered the meltdown.

The complainant said the AGFC’s system should have a way of applying time signatures to applications so they can be queued in the order they were submitted. This, he said, would allow applicants to pay for and receive permits when the pay feature regained function.

Stephens said such a system would be unworkable because many people tried to apply before the permits actually went on sale. Putting “sooners” into a queue wouldn’t be fair to those who waited until the permits actually went on sale.

Hunters greatly desire unclaimed controlled WMA hunt permits because they are the only way to gain deer hunting access with firearms to the AGFC’s best deer hunting WMAs. The AGFC holds a random lottery for the permits in early summer, and demand is high. Unclaimed permits are sold on a first-come, first-served basis for $10. The most exclusive permits usually sell out within one hour.

EARLY TEAL

While dove hunting with Alan Thomas on Thursday on the Arkansas River, we saw a lot more blue-winged teal than we saw doves. In addition to small flocks of six to 10 birds, we saw two flocks numbering about 70.

That was enough to send Al to the Arkansas River early Friday morning.

“It was unbelievable,” Al said. “I found a spot that was right in their flyway, and I got my first ever limit of six teal.”

The AGFC approved a daily limit of six teal this year. The previous limit was four per day.

“I had them to the left, andI had them to the right,” Al said. “I had them in my face, and I had them over my head. If I had shot better, I would have been done by 7:30. As it was, I was off the water with a limit by 9 o’clock.”

Teal plumage is in the eclipse phase. They are brown and drab, and bluewing drakes don’t have the colorful markings they exhibit in the winter, so they can be mistaken for other ducks in the area. Be certain of the species before you pull the trigger because killing a mallard hen, a wood duck hen or a redhead is an expensive violation.

Teal are small and fast. Bluewings are the most common of the early migrants. Their most distinctive markings are the powder blue patches on the leading wing edges. They are highly visible even in low light. Greenwings are harder to identify.

Legal shooting times are sunrise to sunset. Both are earlier at Clarendon than atFort Smith, so check legal sunrise for your area before you go.

Al and I hunted teal last September at Lake Dardanelle. We hunted at the edge of a water willow thicket dressed in shorts, T-shirts and sneakers. Some kind of insect in the water feasted on our bare legs. It itched worse than chiggers, and we scratched ourselves raw.

We don’t do that anymore. Al bought a pair of light waders for teal season. I use fly fishing waders. Both are very hot in September.

Pick your poison. Roast, or get eaten alive.

As Al says, “You gotta pay if you wanna play.”CORRECTION

In last Sunday’s feature about bass fishing on the Arkansas River with George Cochran, I mistakenly wrote that the minimum length limit for bass on the river was 15 inches. The AGFC reduced it to 14 inches in January.

Sports, Pages 28 on 09/15/2013