Oct 6, 2002 By Rod Schoener 7 min read

Forecasting Fayette County’s bear harvest has become something Northern Fayette County Conservation Officer Charlie May has done fairly well over the past few seasons. Prior to last season he said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if we had a harvest of 40 bears.” That was a bold statement, considering the figure was 10 bears higher than the county’s previous harvest record of 30 that were killed in 1995. But he was right, and the final harvest figure was 43.

“Last year we killed 43 bears,” May said. My bear numbers are up. If the weather is in our favor, this ought to be another good bear season. I think we could easily kill 60 or 70.”

May noted that bear movements are a little different recently and attributes that to the dry summer.

“Bears were moving during the day,” May said. “I was hearing about a lot of daytime sightings. I think they were traveling for water.

“I saw a lot of bears running around this year with twins and triplets. We trapped one with two juvenile cubs.”

Even with increased harvest figures, the majority of the county’s bears are harvested in May’s Northern Fayette County district.

“It should be just the opposite,” May said. “I think it is just more open in this end of the county and there are more sightings.

“I trapped and transferred five bears this year. I was getting all the bear sightings and complaints at one time. I only have one bear trap, and in some instances, by the time I would catch one and get the trap to another location, the problem bear had already moved on.

“This year I had four bears killed on the road, plus a couple that were hit and were not killed. That was a lot. I usually only get one or two road kills a year.

“All the bears I moved weren’t tagged before. They were all bears that had never been trapped before. I think I only re-trapped one bear that had been caught previously and tagged.”

Like just about every other wildlife conservation officer, May is also excited about how good the deer hunting should be this year.

“We have tons of deer. I’ve been seeing quite a few bucks,” May said. “I would say the numbers are up, and it should be a real good year.”

While May said he hasn’t seen any “monster bucks,” he did see “a seven-pointer with about a 15-inch spread.

“I just hope it cools down before archery season begins,” he said. “I’m seeing some acorns, apples are spotty as a result of some late frosts, but berries did well this year.

“I think the dry weather is going to affect deer hunting a lot because it has forced deer to change their travel patterns. Because of the recent dryness, I think deer hunting is going to be a little different this year. Rain is what we really need. Everything is bone dry.”

Where this year’s new antler restrictions are concerned, May says, “Most archers are for antler restrictions. Other hunters are not complaining about it. It think most of the hunters will try to obey the law. I believe it is because of antler restrictions that the county’s allotment of antlerless deer licenses sold out so quickly. Many hunters will take a doe early so they have some meat in the freezer and then take their time to look for a legal buck.

“Most hunters’ concern is that some small bucks will be shot by mistake and left in the woods.

“I believe we will see the effects of the program very soon. Next year hunters will start to see more nice bucks. Bucks they call good now with 14- and 15-inch spreads is nothing compared to what they will see in the future. Hunters just have to get out of that ‘if I let it go, someone else will kill it mentality.’ I think they are going to help the herd a little bit this year.”

In commenting on the early muzzleloader antlerless deer season, which will include the use of percussion and in-line rifles for the first time, May said, “There seems to be a lot more interest in the early antlerless deer muzzleloader season. I’m hearing a lot more comments on it this year, because of the introduction of in-line rifles.”

When asked about the outlook for turkey season, May said, “At first I didn’t think the turkey population looked real good this year. The weather moved them around some. I saw a lot of smaller broods this year. Due to the weather, I think they re-nested a couple of times. I saw broods at the normal time, and then I saw late broods in June and July. The last ones had to have only hatched early in July.

“When looking in the fields I saw only small broods, but after I got back in the woods, I saw flocks of 60 birds some days.

“Now I see them out in the fields chasing after grasshoppers. I think they were staying back in the woods this year because of lack of water. Most of the standing water holes dried up as did the spring seeps and some of the smaller creeks.”

In sizing up the small game picture, May said, “I hadn’t seen as many grouse this year as I normally do, but I have been seeing more lately.

“Rabbits are looking good, and most of the dog men tell me they are seeing lots of rabbits.”

May believes that coyotes have increased as intentional targets of hunters, reducing the population somewhat. He also believes the raccoon population is up, “although not as many guys seem to be hunting and trapping them. Last year was a normal year for beaver. I tagged over 60 for the first time in a while, so I ordered extra tags for this year.”

In another grim indicator of wildlife numbers, May said, “I’m starting to see a few fox squirrels killed on the road. That is a good sign that the population is up, and they will move even more as the corn hardens up.”

May said that hunters will have to get out and so some preseason scouting.

He stressed, “As dry as it has been bowhunters should do some scouting if they plan to be successful. I’ve been noticing a lot of deer tracks near water, and they are already starting to hit the corn fields.”

There have been worse years for mast crops. May said, “Walnuts and hickory nuts are good, but apples are real bad. They are real spotty. However, the hawthorn looks good.”

This year hunter education class enrollment was down in May’s district, even though the same number of classes were held as other years. “County-wise the numbers were the same,” May said. The numbers were just shifted to the other district. I did notice that the classes held early in the summer had more students than the later ones. I think that is because more people are becoming aware of the fact the classes begin earlier in the year than they did in the past.”

In commenting on early hunting opportunities, May noted, “Dove hunters have been scarce. It think it is because of the heat. The groundhog hunters weren’t even out this summer.

“Considering this is not a big duck hunting area, we had a lot of hunters out for the early goose season.”

Special youth squirrel and duck hunts never stirred much local interest, but May believes “we might have more kids interested in the youth pheasant hunts.”

The youth pheasant hunts he is referring to will be held on Saturday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 12. Pheasants will be stocked in designated areas just for the youngsters, who do not need a license to hunt on those days, but they must have successfully completed a hunter education course.

It is hard to refute that Fayette County definitely offers numerous hunting opportunities for first-year and seasoned hunters.