Hunt the Early Season Stands - Many deer hunters during the regular season the first few days or weekends of the season and then bag their deer or run out of time. These hunting spots have been untouched for a period of time and the smartest of deer will know this. Areas you know that haven’t been hunted or have received little disturbance since early to mid season are great spots to check back into as these spot may seem obvious but rarely get hunted from the early season on.
Let the Moon be Your Guide - Even though there is a lot of talk about this during the early season, late season hunting will require you pay even more attention to the moon phases. Deer naturally become more nocturnal during the winter in part because of the energy benefits they receive by resting during the day when it’s a bit warmer and moving around to feed at night when the temperature is at its coldest. Pay special attention to the nights where there is less moonlight and nights with heavy cloud cover, deer will be making the move in the mornings to get back to bedding areas in the morning. Remember that during the late season, deer will require less food so bites to eat will become quicker and less frequent.
Hunting the Weather Fronts – Cold weather and cold fronts will push deer to look for food or a bedding area. Cold weather requires high energy consumption so watch for cold fronts coming through and either get out in front of it or grab that chilly morning to sit. Mature bucks may try to ride out the cold front but even mature bucks will need to replenish the energy they are spending to staying warm so consecutive nights of chilly weather will make the mornings a great time to catch that big guy looking for a quick bite to eat.
Deer Pattern You – Like I stated above, stands, or areas that you or others hunted in your area, get away from them and hunt the areas that have not seen pressure. Deer pattern people as much or more than people pattern deer. Find un-hunted travel corridors as well as wooded creeks and swamps that deer love. Mature bucks may walk across a property without being spotted, even if it means going across a wide open field where he knows you are not. Consider hunting untraditional areas at untraditional times, especially during a full moon. During a full moon, deer move more during mid-day, and if you are in the travel line less traveled, you may just get that big guy to walk right on by.
Post Rut Bucks - Although early winter creates harsh conditions with low temperatures, rain and snow, it is one of the few times during the year when bucks carrying trophy racks may be seen together. Because the rut is over the bucks are no longer antagonistic toward each other, and they often begin to reform the bachelor groups they were in before the rut. They are also in search of high quality foods, in order to gain back the weight they lost during the rut. This combination of factors provides late season hunters the opportunity to see several bucks, including some that are trophy class, together on a regular basis.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
2009 Wisconsin Opening Weekend of Nine-Day Gun Deer Season Harvest
Below are the statewide deer harvest totals from the Wisconsin Whitetail Deer Hunting Opening Weekend.
STATEWIDE TOTALS
2009
2008
2008 vs. 2009 - % Difference 2008 vs. 2009
To see a county by county breakdown go to http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/pdf/open_weekend_09.pdf
STATEWIDE TOTALS
2009
- BUCKS - 49583
- ANTLERLESS - 50478
2009 TOTAL - 100330
2008
- BUCKS - 52477
- ANTLERLESS - 81351
2008 TOTAL - 133828
2008 vs. 2009 - % Difference 2008 vs. 2009
- BUCKS - (-5.5148)
- ANTLERLESS - (-37.95036324)
2008 vs. 2009 TOTAL - (-25.03063634)
To see a county by county breakdown go to http://dnr.wi.gov/org/caer/ce/news/pdf/open_weekend_09.pdf
DNR Board Sets December Agenda
December 8 & 9 , 2009 Natural Resources Board Agenda
For meeting at:
Room G09, State Natural Resources Building (GEF 2)
101 South Webster Street
Madison, Wisconsin
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Natural Resources Board will convene at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, December 8, 2009, in Room G09, State Natural Resources Building (GEF 2), Madison, Wisconsin. The Board will act on items 1-3 as listed on the Agenda.
Order of Business
1.Organizational Matters
A.Calling the roll
B.Approval of agenda for December 8 & 9, 2009
2.Information Items
A.Air, Waste and Water//Enforcement
None
B.Land Management, Recreation, and Fisheries/Wildlife
- Report and preliminary results of the 2009 firearm deer season (Tom Hauge, Keith Warnke, Randy Stark, and Diane Brookbank, 60 minutes)
3.Action Items
A.Air, Waste and Water//Enforcement
None
B.Land Management, Recreation, and Fisheries/Wildlife
- Request Adoption of Board Order WM-20-09, related to establishment of the deer hunting season frameworks (Keith Warnke, 60 minutes)
Order of Business
1.Organizational Matters
A.Calling the roll
B.Approval of minutes from October 21, 2009
C.Approval of minutes from November 13, 2009
2.Ratification of Acts of the Department Secretary
A.Real Estate Transactions
3.Action Items
A.Air, Waste and Water//Enforcement
- Request Authorization for Public Hearing on Board Order WT-15-09, Watershed Management’s Housekeeping Rule Revisions to chs. 102, 103, 105, 106, 108, 110, 114, 200, 203, 205, 210, 241, 299, 328, and 341 (Tom Mugan, 10 minutes)
- Request Adoption of Board Order FH-23-09, to revise Ch. NR 25 relating to the total allowable commercial harvest of whitefish in Lake Michigan (William Horns, 15 minutes
- Request Adoption of Board Order LF-08-09, to revise NR 52 relating to the Public Use of Lands Acquired under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program (Pat Henderson and Doug Haag, 20 minutes)
- Land Acquisition - Statewide Natural Areas - Oneida & Vilas Counties (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Acquisition and Donation - Baraboo Hills Recreation Area - Sauk County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Acquisition - White River Fishery Area - Waushara County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Acquisition & Project Boundary Modification - Hartman Creek State Park - Portage County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
Land Acquisition & Project Boundary Modification - Brunet Island State Park - Chippewa County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)Deleted- Land Acquisition - Wildcat Mountain State Park - Vernon County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Donation - Statewide Wildlife Habitat Area - Pierce County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Donation - Paul Olson Wildlife Area - Wood County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Donation – Statewide Natural Area - Door County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Donation - C.D. Besadny Fish & Wildlife Area - Kewaunee County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Land Donation & Project Boundary Modification - Green Bay West Shores Wildlife Area - Oconto County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
- Easement Donation - Statewide Natural Areas - Marquette County (Richard Steffes, 5 minutes)
4.Citizen Participation
A.Citizen Recognition
- Rebecca Wallace Award
None
A.Approval of 2010 Meeting Locations
6.Special Committee Reports
None
A.Retirement Resolutions
B.Donations
- The Friends of Kohler-Andrae State Park, Inc. will donate a Kubota Utility Vehicle at a value of $13,000 to Kohler-Andrae State Park
- Whitetails Unlimited Inc. will donate $5,615.17 to Upper Chippewa Area Wildlife Management for habitat work
A.Air, Waste, and Water/Enforcement
B.Land Management, Recreation, and Fisheries/Wildlife
None
Laurie Ross, Natural Resources Board Liaison
Phone: 608.267.7420
Email: Laurie.Ross@wisconsin.gov
Public Participation at Natural Resources Board Meetings
Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource
See website for updates at: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/nrboard/2009/December/12-09-NRB-Agenda.htm
16-day deer hunt starting Saturday before Thanksgiving proposed for 2010
MADISON – A 16-day gun deer hunt starting the Saturday before the Thanksgiving holiday will be the basis of a proposed 2010 deer season framework presented to the Natural Resources Board for consideration at its December 8 meeting in Madison.
“The special committee formed by the Natural Resources Board to develop effective alternatives to earn-a-buck discussed dozens of ideas and season structures,” said DNR Secretary Matt Frank. “They ended up recommending a 16-day gun hunt with either an early or a traditional start date. At public hearings we heard sentiment overwhelmingly against an early start date so we are recommending a traditional opening date to the board at this time.
“This was one of the most heavily attended public hearing schedules in recent history. On behalf of the department, I want to thank all the organizations and individuals that participated in the public review process over the past few months. Public involvement in this decision process is invaluable.”
The complete proposal is available on the Natural Resources Board meeting adenda for December page of the DNR Web site. The special committee’s report [PDF] is also available on the Natural Resources Board Web pages.
If approved, the 16-day season would be an alternative to the use of earn-a-buck in areas outside the chronic wasting disease management zone beginning with the 2010 season. The season would open on the Saturday before the Thanksgiving holiday. Numerous Wisconsin hunting and conservation organizations have registered preference for the Saturday before Thanksgiving opener.
Other key features of the proposal include: extending the archery season through all gun seasons and extending archery season until the end of January in herd control units; addition of a four-day October antlerless only statewide muzzleloader hunt; a four-day October antlerless only gun hunt in herd control units; a four-day youth hunt that coincides with the October antlerless hunt; a seven-day statewide December muzzleloader hunt; a four-day December antlerless only gun hunt and a 10-day buck plus quota holiday hunt in farmland and central forest deer management units.
“An understandable reaction to creating additional hunting seasons is a concern that deer herds will be over harvested,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist. “The safeguard against this is the existing quota system. Under this system the harvest of female deer is limited by permit to maintain populations at healthy, sustainable levels.”
The proposal calls for a unit by unit review of the effectiveness of any new season structure. In units that are more than 20 percent over goal and the expected harvest under a third year of any new season structure is unlikely to bring the herd to within 20 percent of goal, additional harvest measures will be considered.
More than 1,600 people attended the series of 11 public hearings held across the state in October and November. An additional 6,500 people used the web-based comment form or submitted email or mailed comments. Department social researchers also mailed a randomized survey to 1,000 hunters to gauge opinion. The response rate to the survey was a very respectable 71 percent.
Legislative review of any NRB action should be completed by March 2010 with any changes taking effect in time for deer season setting in April 2010
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Warnke - (608) 264-6023 or Bob Manwell - (608) 264-9248
“The special committee formed by the Natural Resources Board to develop effective alternatives to earn-a-buck discussed dozens of ideas and season structures,” said DNR Secretary Matt Frank. “They ended up recommending a 16-day gun hunt with either an early or a traditional start date. At public hearings we heard sentiment overwhelmingly against an early start date so we are recommending a traditional opening date to the board at this time.
“This was one of the most heavily attended public hearing schedules in recent history. On behalf of the department, I want to thank all the organizations and individuals that participated in the public review process over the past few months. Public involvement in this decision process is invaluable.”
The complete proposal is available on the Natural Resources Board meeting adenda for December page of the DNR Web site. The special committee’s report [PDF] is also available on the Natural Resources Board Web pages.
If approved, the 16-day season would be an alternative to the use of earn-a-buck in areas outside the chronic wasting disease management zone beginning with the 2010 season. The season would open on the Saturday before the Thanksgiving holiday. Numerous Wisconsin hunting and conservation organizations have registered preference for the Saturday before Thanksgiving opener.
Other key features of the proposal include: extending the archery season through all gun seasons and extending archery season until the end of January in herd control units; addition of a four-day October antlerless only statewide muzzleloader hunt; a four-day October antlerless only gun hunt in herd control units; a four-day youth hunt that coincides with the October antlerless hunt; a seven-day statewide December muzzleloader hunt; a four-day December antlerless only gun hunt and a 10-day buck plus quota holiday hunt in farmland and central forest deer management units.
“An understandable reaction to creating additional hunting seasons is a concern that deer herds will be over harvested,” said Keith Warnke, DNR big game ecologist. “The safeguard against this is the existing quota system. Under this system the harvest of female deer is limited by permit to maintain populations at healthy, sustainable levels.”
The proposal calls for a unit by unit review of the effectiveness of any new season structure. In units that are more than 20 percent over goal and the expected harvest under a third year of any new season structure is unlikely to bring the herd to within 20 percent of goal, additional harvest measures will be considered.
More than 1,600 people attended the series of 11 public hearings held across the state in October and November. An additional 6,500 people used the web-based comment form or submitted email or mailed comments. Department social researchers also mailed a randomized survey to 1,000 hunters to gauge opinion. The response rate to the survey was a very respectable 71 percent.
Legislative review of any NRB action should be completed by March 2010 with any changes taking effect in time for deer season setting in April 2010
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith Warnke - (608) 264-6023 or Bob Manwell - (608) 264-9248
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)