Western Greene County hotbed of post-holiday activity
With better than usual January weather so far, it’s a great time to get outdoors. There’s still a week of flintlock and archery deer season remaining, plus rabbit, grouse and squirrel seasons are still in full swing.
Even the fishermen are getting into the act.
While the ice fishing is still on hold, other anglers are catching sauger on the Mon, and still others can be seen fishing from the bank of local club ponds and at Dunlap Creek Lake.
Trappers can take advantage of the weather to catch some furbearers. The plus is that – from all early reports – prices are expected to be up this year.
Western Greene County has been a hotbed of post-holiday activity.
Wildlife Conservation Officer Rod Burns reports that he is seeing flintlock hunters out just about every day.
“There are still a few guys hunting,” Burns said. “I was out today (Wednesday) and saw some flintlock hunters.”
Burns also took some time to go out with his flintlock on his off day.
“I probably saw 20 to 25 deer that day, and one person in our party killed one,” Burns said.
“There seem to be a lot of deer out there but very little pressure,” he noted.
Burns killed one himself last week. Thinking he was shooting at a large doe, he actually killed a shed buck
He related a story of one deer that was illegally killed recently.
It was a buck, and when it was shot, the antlers fell off when it hit the ground.
The landowner where the incident took place was able to get the license number of the shooters, who left the scene without retrieving the deer.
They came back to retrieve it the following night. Again the landowner and his family witnessed the activity, and he and his family members apprehended the shooter before Burns and his deputies arrived.
Burns noted that they probably went back for the antlers as it was a large 10-point buck, but they didn’t know that they had fallen off.
The shooter was no stranger to Burns who has now arrested the same individual eight times for illegally killing deer.
Another problem Burns encountered was that hunters and landowners were finding deer with the heads removed.
“We had more of that this year than we have for a while,” Burns said. “It’s because some of the antlers were very large. We also had quite a bit more poaching because the bucks are bigger.”
Noting that the weather hasn’t been extremely cold, I told Burns that I was led to believe that deer lost their antlers as the weather turned really cold and their bodies called on its mineral reserves.
He said, “No. It’s a testosterone thing. Once the does are no longer coming into heat, the bucks’ bodies quit producing as much testosterone; as a result the antlers fall off.
“However, its been noted that deer kept in pens keep their antlers longer than those in the wild. They may retain their antlers through March and into April in some cases.”
Burns pointed out that when deer do lose their antlers, they shed both very quickly. So if you find one shed, look around for the other one for it usually isn’t far away.
He is still seeing a few bucks with antlers while on patrol but feels that most have already shed their racks.
When asked about small game hunting activity, Burns said, “There are some small game hunters out. I see both rabbit and grouse hunters, but more rabbit hunters than anything.”
He continued by saying, “There are a lot of trappers this year – the most I’ve seen since I’ve been out in the field. They are mostly beaver, mink and muskrat trappers.”
What about coyotes?
“One trapper, Bucky Martin, caught his 114th coyote since he’s been trapping,” Burns said. “He’s also an excellent red fox and water trapper.”
Burns said that most trappers he has been talking with have been catching more red fox than gray fox with the trappers noting that prices are up on everything this year.
Turkey rewards
As part of a continuing turkey study, Burns said that he and his deputies have been trapping turkeys and tagging the gobblers with reward bands.
When they catch a gobbler, they take GPS coordinates of where it was trapped and put two tags on the bird. Successful hunters can turn the tags in for rewards after calling the phone number on the tag and answering a few questions, detailing where the bird was harvested. After answering a few questions, the successful hunter will receive a reward that is matched to the corresponding leg tag on his gobbler. Rewards can be as high at $100.
“Hopefully successful hunters will participate in the program because they are concerned about the future of turkey hunting,” Burns said.
The purpose of the project is to see how far a gobbler will travel.
The project is being funded by the National Wild Turkey Federation, which also pays for the bands and the cost of trapping the turkeys.
The project is being carried out throughout Pennsylvania as researchers want a broad sample of information. This is the second year for the project.
Game Commission personnel shoot rocket nets to trap the birds.
While they only want gobblers for the study, in areas where farmers complain they have too many turkeys, they remove some of the turkeys and move them to other areas.
Some are even shipped to South Dakota as part of the pheasant/turkey swap to acquire wild pheasants for re-introduction into Pheasant Forever habitat sites.
Pennsylvania Angler
Lately, we’ve had great fishing weather, prompting many to think ahead to the start of trout season.
If you’ve got the itch, you were in luck if you subscribe to Pennsylvania Angler and Boater magazine.
If you’re not a subscriber, try to pick up a copy of the January/February issue, which came out last week, at your favorite newsstand.
It is a great issue filled with articles on ice fishing, fly tying, reel upkeep, cooperative nurseries, changes to the regular trout stalking program and a preview of the early opening day in southeastern Pennsylvania.
This is another great issue of my favorite fishing and boating magazine.
Check it out today. You won’t be disappointed.
Herald-Standard outdoor writer Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com