Herd control and ice fishing

[miller326]

What was with hunting this year thanks DNR for the great idea of herd control at least i have ice fishing lets hope the DNR dosent run some kind of herd control on the fish or will all be in trouble what bull crap

[Melbs7]

What was with hunting this year thanks DNR for the great idea of herd control at least i have ice fishing lets hope the DNR dosent run some kind of herd control on the fish or will all be in trouble what bull crap

You know.... as much as I like to jump on the DNR for doing some really stupid things.... It doesn't go from good hunting one year... to BAD hunting the next because of a few extra does taken. And quite honestly... the DNR didn't get the deer kills last year that they wanted... that's why everyone was earn-a-buck this year. There was something else at play this year... maybe weather.... or corn crops that stayed on the field so long.... all sorts of possibilities. If you talk to people in the CWD zone where they pop as many deer as possible.... they have more deer than ever, so if they aren't affected there for all those years of "earn-a-buck" we aren't here either.

Just my thoughts.

Dave

[GatorBait]

The few doe...Ya..For every one doe killed, you are killing approximately 2.8 deer total. You have too look at that deer producing offspring this upcoming spring. The population can easily decreased in a short time in certain areas. In my zone, about 10-15yrs ago it was 33 deer per 1 sq mile and I seen 20-30 deer a day without an issue. Now present day, my zone is quoted as 53 deer per 1sq mile and I saw zero deer with 30hrs logged the first 3 days of gun hunting. Bow wasn't any better. No changes to the land or surrounding areas. So someone tell me why. Cause I really would like to know. Per the DNR I should have deer running me over, but I hear the same story...No deer. EAB, ya great plan. Shortime, sure, continuous year after year. No thanks.

[kerosenecounty17]

I'm done with it.  I will not be donating $20 to the DNR next year.  Opening day 13 of us hunted 8 hours + or - each.  One doe was seen and shot.  No other deer seen.  What really pisses me off is the attitude they've got about it.  One of the biologists was on the news last night saying that hunters just aren't putting in enough hours in the woods.  Bite me a-hole.  I'll spend my season fishing instead of wasting my time.  I hope license sales drop 50% next year and some of these idiots get their pink slips.

Mike

[JuvyK]

We can thank the Wolves for ruining hunting in WI.  I hunt in North Central WI and was lucky to see 10 deer all week. Just wait for the people in Buffalo County to start seeing the big bucks killed buy these usless animals. They are running out of food and moving south in a hurry...Poop will hit the fan!!!

PS. Thank you liberals now I have to poison all my gut piles and kill yotes, bobcats, and bears just to kill one wolf

[Sven936]

I heard on the radio this morning, that the DNR admits that their numbers could be a little off. Instead of 1.5 million, it was more closer the 700,00, that they wanted to maintain.

You know.... as much as I like to jump on the DNR for doing some really stupid things.... It doesn't go from good hunting one year... to BAD hunting the next because of a few extra does taken. And quite honestly... the DNR didn't get the deer kills last year that they wanted... that's why everyone was earn-a-buck this year. There was something else at play this year... maybe weather.... or corn crops that stayed on the field so long.... all sorts of possibilities. If you talk to people in the CWD zone where they pop as many deer as possible.... they have more deer than ever, so if they aren't affected there for all those years of "earn-a-buck" we aren't here either.

Just my thoughts.

Dave

I would agree that the deer just didn't leave, but I would buy into the fact that their counting could have been a little off over the last couple of years.

[husb0023]

So many factors in deer hunting... just because you don't see any doesn't mean they aren't there.  One year I hunted 9 straight days sun up til sun down and only saw/shot one doe.
Next year I had 20 deer run in front of me and ran out of shells... no logic to it at all.  If you want to bag a deer for sure you need to bowhunt.
That being said, I definitely do not agree with "earn a buck"... the DNR forgets that about 50 years ago there was maybe 2 deer per 10 square miles in the state.  Used to be if you saw a deer you went and told everyone.  I honestly don't see the problem in having a big deer herd.  Other than idiots hitting them with cars they don't cause that much damage.  Easy enough for farmers to remove problem deer.

[trapster]

from what I've heard the kill is way off in Waushara county too.  Just from the people that I've talked to.  I have no idea of where they went or what happened to them.  I'm not seeing nearly as many in the fields this year either.  Seems to me that even the road kill numbers seem to de down, by my observations.

[husb0023]

Last winter was pretty brutal January-April.

[lawsonsfishers]

I am pretty sure that the deer in my area are just becoming more nocturnal based. I sat out for 5 hours in a great spot on one day in gun area and did not see or hear anything. Then on the way home (it was dark) i spotted 3 doe's out in my lawn just staring at my car. I am thinking they will bed around my house (which is bow only) so i go out the next morning before sunrise and didn't see a single deer some from where i saw them the night before. It's either my stand is in the wrong spot (which is right on 2 main deer trails) or these deer only move and eat at night! Whatever it is I need a deer and now that ice season is coming up I am not going to get one!

[twintrades]

opening day i shot a spike. Then saw nothing.
I have a game camera out. And there coming in around 5 pm. I have 7 different buck by my stand. And a pile of does. So the deer are out there. Theres somting elses up.....

Whats with the poisoning your gut pile??  I know the wolfs are getting thicker But Poisoning s*&t Is not the ansewer. Youll kill a crap load of other animals just to get one wolf ??  And you know you could be killing eagles and hawks??   People like you dont help other hunters.  What the hell would you say if a buddys dog found your pile? If your gonna do stupid crap dont Brag about it.

OK im done Venting.

On the lighter side i went out and got some nice walleyes during season.

[lawsonsfishers]

Congrats about the walleyes! Post your pics!

[Dr. BlueGill]

I just had to pipe in.  I am from New York State.  The same things that you guys are saying above are the EXACT same things that we are saying here in NY.  Seems to be less deer but it also seems like the deer went more nocturnal this year.  It was an odd season, that is for damn sure despite my luck to the left.  It seemed like there were a lot of deer this spring and summer but many complained about few deer sightings. 

Anyway, I just had to write in.  You guys are not alone. 

[lawsonsfishers]

Haha i am from Yew York, the capitol at that! Nice buck though! 

[Melbs7]

Last winter was pretty brutal January-April.

It was, but it was kinda brutal before that too. That very first snow we god froze solid, and so did several other snows after that. Made it real tough for then to dig down to the food.

[walleye tattoo]

I do not hunt any more but went to the petenwell to musky fish on the second week end . I asked the guy at the bait shop and deer registering station how the season was going he told me he was seeing a lot of small does cumming in.He himself had been out an found a large area with deer bones and thinks there has been a large die off from the big snows last year. This is all I know from asking a question.

[10lbWALLEYE]

JUST READ THE SPORTS SECTION OF THE LOCAL PAPER, I REALLY DON'T KNOW HOW THEY CAN COME UP WITH THESE PATHETIC EXSCUSES AS TO WHY DEER HUNTERS, PARTICULARLY IN THE NORTH, DID NOT SEE ANY DEER.
Man, something has got to be done about the bull they want us to believe. We (as deer hunters) have to get together and start raising hell. This has been going on for too many years now.

[teal]

It has long been my contention that WI hunters are NOT getting their money's worth when it comes to the DNR and their management of the cash cow (state revenue wise) that is deer hunting. MI isn't far behind them....

What I would love to see is a grassroots, hunter driven organization that would hold our state resource agencies accountable and (personal peve) lobby for more landowner rights as non-residents.

My family and I hunt a large parcel of land in MI - the money we pay in taxes on that land (not to count the $$ spent getting there, while there and improving the land) should allow us some privileges. Maybe not full on resident but certaintly more than we have now. The idea that a deer license costs 138 bucks for the "right" to shoot a deer on my own land, due to my own resource management - irks me. The king's deer argument comes to mind...

[Dr. BlueGill]

Allow me if I may fellow Wisconsin hunters.  I have been researching the deer take in Wisconsin this year.  If you do a Google for "New York Hunting Website" you will see a blog that discusses how the situation in Wisconsin is similar to that of New York this year.  It is amazing to see two States saying the same thing about deer populations this year.

I can understand your frustration with the deer situation in WI.  However, in reading many Wisconsin based forums and articles today, it seems that most are disappointed with the number of overall deer they are seeing.  Yet, I don't see many saying much about a lack of mature bucks.  I could be totally wrong here but the majority of arguments appear to be about deer numbers in general. 

The grass may not be greener in other places.  Here in New York, we have no restrictions in place on antlered harvest.  Here is what I mean.
1.  You can harvest TWO bucks of any size in New York - one with your bow or muzzleloader and one with your gun
2.  We do not alter our gun season for deer to ensure it occurs after the peak of the rut
3.  We give out doe permits hand over fist.  Most years you can get two and some years you can get more than that AND you can sign them over to
other people.  My father had THREE for one unit this year and one for another unit.  It is pretty much kill at will.
4.  Our gun season starts on a weekend, runs 23 days, and ends on a weekend.  You get 4 weekends to hunt.  In Wisconsin, you get 9 days much like many other States.
5.  We have no seperate antlerless seasons.  It all runs together.
6.  Whether you hunt the small woodlots in the dairy belt of Central NY or you hunt the big hills of the Southern tier, the length of time to harvest antlered deer is the same.  No variation at all.

I believe that all States are trying to drop the numbers of deer and a lot of it is controlled by insurance compaines.  At least WI tries to protect antlered deer.  We don't.  On top of that, you get forever, a year, and a day to harvest.  I saw very few yearling bucks in NY this year during bow season.  What does that say?  A lot of button bucks got hammered in 2007 and I am sure they got a good whack this year as well as many had a very hard time seeing deer.  You can bet your ass that we will pay for that in seasons to come.  On top of that, our gun season opened at the peak of the rut.  There were not too many bucks killed the first week but they did kill quite a few older bucks and some monsters at that (including me).  We will also pay for that in years to come.

This post is in total respect.  I am not trying to pick a fight as I could be way off base.  But at least you hunt in a State where the antelered deer have some protection.  Unlike NY where you have 23 days to harvest regardless of the terrain you live in and you can take two bucks.  No checkpoints either.  In fact, very little monitoring.

It seems like hunters and agencies in both States thought there were more deer than there were.  Hard to say how a wet summer factored in as I believe that deer movement was down this year.

Anyway, I look forward to your responses to see what your thoughts are on the antlered situation in WI and if the State (literally) of New York makes your future outlook a little brighter.  Good luck on the ice this year fellas!   

[JuvyK]

Dont let the DNR fool you guys with the "winter kill" b.s.  Wolves are the answer.  I had 4 kills by wolfs on my property last winter and none from whether... I hunt in Price County and for the guys that hunt south and dont have wolves yet, plenty of people are feeding in the winter so that answer still dosent work. My Uncle is a DNR biologist and said the estimated wolf count is like 550, he told me that it is at like 2000 and there are still packs that arent discovered yet...

PS- Keep in mind these many of the "wolves" that they put in our state are hybrids and are more aggressive and kill on average more than a pure blooded wolf.

[fishslayer37]

I just want to comment on the wolves and bear... i bow and gun hunt a lot.  I saw 11 bear this year... may have been the same a couple times and may not.  This was during bow  hunting... i keep records of how many deer i see and how many bear i see and conditions in which i see the deer and bear.  total i saw 111 deer during bow hunting so far and the year is still going and 11 bear. so seeing deer is not a problem... While i see on average of 5 bear more per year than the previous. i still see the same amount of deer.  This year was different... by this time i average around 150 deer i see.. also during gun hunting i came across 3 wolf kills.  Now i am only 20 and bash me all you want... But you guys honestly think deer are that stupid... I dont know how many hours you put in a tree stand a day...but i sit all day.. and as soon as people come out of the woods for lunch thats when the deer pile in... and when the come back inthe woods the deer are gone.. The deer Pattern around all of us. They know whats up during gun season so we got to out smart them.. i shot 3 deer during gun season all of the came between 12 and 1 inthe afternoon... between 11 and 2 inthe afternoon i saw 24 deer...between 630 and 11 in the morning i saw 3 and between 2 and 5 i saw 4.....i sat everyday but for turkey day dawn till dusk...What i am trying to say ... there is not as much deer out there but try something different than what you normally do... whats the point on doing everything the same 9 days straight...the result is going to be the same everytime.... oh ya hunt bad weather...its better than good weather......atleast there was ice up here in northwest wisconsin so i could go walleye fishing when done hunting!!!!

[acdc5678]

all i can say is that it was a shame how this deer hunting season went im in the taxidermy business and had 0 deer brought in usually by the end of the week id have 9 or 10 as much as i know how the dnr screws up alot of things i cant fully blame them on how this hunt went this year in my area any way there have been alot more wolves coyotes and turkeys all of which effect the deer coyotes and wolves killing off the deer plus if theres a lot of turkeys where your hunting good luck seeing a deer they will chase the deer away from bait piles hunters place out or even natural food sources in competition since they both eat the same thing bow season i dont think was bad  when id go out id see alot of bucks and does the other thing is that our season was as late as can be this year and most of the deer hit the nocturnal stage eating at night still during the day last year was a total different story the last time ive seen deer around was the first week of november

[AUTOMATIC]

Well here we go again. The great DNR first told us lots of deer this year. Ya right. And as soon as the seasons over. Yhey can come up with more excuses than Carter has little liver pills. Now its the rut was over, the winter kill was bad,the bears eat all the fawns, the guys didn't staay in the woods the second day. What kind of adding machine do you guys use anyway. You keep wanting to up the licenses because no one wants to hunt. try telling the truth sometime and maybe the guys will listen. In the last ten years up here in northern oconto county it's been lees and less every year. your lucky you can see one. don't ever go to earn a buck here can't find a doe to earn that buck.

[teal]

I dont know how many hours you put in a tree stand a day...but i sit all day.. and as soon as people come out of the woods for lunch thats when the deer pile in... and when the come back inthe woods the deer are gone..

May be true on public land - I hunt private land - 120 acres. While it is surrounded by other owners, I would say the 3 of us hunting that 120 aren't pressuring deer like a public land hunt. I have been hunting that place for 19 years, I know the deer, I know their habits and I know when things are down. They are down. I am not flaming you, simply put there is something going on in the woods and it isn't a hard winter killing off the deer. I also can tell the DNR isn't managing the herd as much as they are trying to maximize monies taken via hunters in licenses. Since the introduction of the T-zone and "earn a buck" my friends who hunt WI have reported declining deer numbers/kills/sightings in their hunting parties. YMMV as always.

[acdc5678]

also one thing i believe is that many people around here will take anything just to take it if it has two little spikes on it it will be shot and if your going to shoot a doe why shoot the younger ones that are still producing the fawns why not take a  old gray faced doe i also believe that you shouldnt be able to take 2 bucks in a year you should only get 1 buck tag and 2 doe tags at the most what is the point to this bull herd control they are not controlling the herd they are killing it off if they would go to a 1 buck tag policy we would also see alot more bigger deer not the little tiny spikes i see shot each year and little six and eight points not even making it to 60 inches but like i said before alot more coyotes wolves and turkeys but one other factor i believe is wisconsin hunters i saw something that pissed me off so bad i cant stop thinking about it i found a whole frozen buck carcass that had a nice rifle hole in it and the antlers were cut off and the rest of the deer left sitting there in the woods not sure about it being a wisconsin hunter though could of been  an illinois hunter who was only there for the sport of it grant it some people shoot the small bucks just for food but who needs 4 or 5 deer in the freezer the answer is nobody i cant stand people that need to fill every tag because they got it i personally will only take 2 deer a year a doe and a buck depending on the size of the buck let him go shoot a doe

[Knoodles]

The DNR is f ing nuts.  They are effectively ruinning deer hunting.  I am not sure what kind of cash they are getting for killing all these dear, but it is criminal.  Take another angle, they are concerned that we are losing young hunters (no kids in the woods, etc).  This means in 15 years or so license sales will be way down.  Well, it does not take a rocked sceintist for figure out if you put a 13 year old in a stand when it is 10 degrees and they see a whopping ZERO deer they may not want to come back next year.

A combination of the wolves and the DNR simply being incompetent is destroying the sport we all love.  I am not sure what "we" can do about it, but something needs to be done.  I too read they said "oops we f ed ud" and they do not plan to have nearly as many herd control units next year.

[Knoodles]

I had to say a bit more.  I could write for days on this topic and none of it in favor of the DNR. 

I have no idea what goes on in the Southern part of WI, but us in North better hope this winter is not too harsh.  The combination of a careless DNR, wolves, and a possible tough winter could place deer numbers dangerously low. 

Working in small gov't i understand there are board meetings taking place at the "top" that do not have the hunters best interest in mind.  It is all about dollars and cents.  There are powerful lobbyists at work here.  Think about it; the activist can put a flat stop to the DNR from delisting wolves but say nothing about the slaughter of 100's of thousands of deer?  It makes no sense. 

The DNR is acting senselessly and carelessly and it is joepardizing the sport and past time we all very much love.  Even die hards, such as myself, have a hard time sitting in a tree for countless hours and not seeing any deer.

There is another factor at play here.  There are a lot of simple killers out there.  I am quite tired of listening to the boastful hunter state, "I GOT 8 THIS YEAR."  I am sure a lot of people eat that many deer in one year, but come on most of these people are just shooting deer to kill.  These are not sportsman!!!!!

As stated above, i am just praying this winter stays light so a few whitetails make it through the north country.

[JuvyK]

People that hunt north know that wolves are useless. Here is a few things we can do to save our dear heard.
1. Poison Gut Piles (I use fly poison I dont remember the name on my can its Yellow "something")
2. Put treble hooks in the gut piles (this will kill a wolve in a couple weeks)
3. Take your old beer bottles and shatter them in the gut pile (same as above)
4. Place gut piles where you know wolves will have a good chance of using them for food.

Also if you shoot a wolf, try to gut shoot it or shoot for the leg, they wont die on your property and the clean up is less messy.  Also alot of the wolfs have a transmitter so if you kill one of these predators you have 3 minutes before the mortality alarm goes off to the DNR Office. So a good fire will help you get rid of that. Hint: The Transmitter is the size of a pill and is in the neck.

DNR good luck stopping me and to the wolve lovers go to canada to watch these pieces of S-it

[Haywood]

I don't know what the deal was this year.  The week before season, we were up fixing a few stands and saw 22 different deer in just the 2 days.  Opening day we say about a handful and then we never saw another on after that.  Last weekend up was up at our farm ice fishing and there were deer running around everywhere again.  I honestly don't think there were enough people out moving them around and they just hunckered down once the shooting started. 

[Knoodles]

It is important to remember it is not just the deer we see on stand.  Of course deer become nocturnal after a long bow hunt, youth hunt, and gun hunt.  Walking through the woods and driving dirt roads was enough for me.  I was nearly impossible to find a bunch of tracks.  I was lucky to see a set of tracks crossing the road driving for miles.  In the good ole days these roads were filled with tracks and beat down.  Deer go into hiding yes, but the population is way down.  this is my opinion of course.