Wind puts chill on the deer harvest
Written by  Dave Dickey


It was prefect weather for the opener except for the wind. I was in one of my stands in a spruce tree the Friday evening before the opener and had to look up to make sure the tree was alive and less likely to be blown over.



It appears that statewide, the harvest so far was down 20 percent. Locally, according to Area Wildlife Manager Gary Drotts, the harvest in the Aitkin/Brainerd area was down 11 percent. The permit area surrounding Aitkin, PA 155, was down 15 percent.
 
This permit area was “Lottery” last year and is “Hunter Choice” this year and it appears that hunters did take more antlerless deer. The antlered harvest so far in this permit area is down 20 percent while the antlerless harvest is down only 6 percent. Another way to look at it is that the antlerless harvest for the first three days in 2010 was 41percent of the total harvest and this year it is 45 percent of the total. For other permit areas, PA 171 was up 3 percent, PA 172 was up 19 percent; PA 173 was down 25 percent.
 
It appears that we have had and will have fairly good weather for the remainder of the season but with fewer hunters out there, it is unlikely that the total harvest will recover from what was not taken during the opener due to the wind.
 
Last Friday before the opener, someone was busy sighting in their rifle somewhere southwest of my home. This was good as I’ve always stressed the need to do some shooting before actually hunting to make sure it is sighted in and you have good, smooth trigger pull. Unfortunately, this is an illegal activity during the five days prior to the firearm’s season (see page 18).
 
In reviewing conservation officer reports from the opening weekend, it appears that illegal baiting is still a serious problem. I’m sure some hunters are getting away with baiting as the officers can’t be everywhere.
 
But, for those who did get caught, there is a hefty fine, guns are confiscated AND the baited area is now off limits to hunting for 10 days after all bait is removed. I would also think that some hunters are finding that baiting does not necessarily guarantee a deer as they may not have found it yet and/or they hit it only at night. Bottom line is that not only is it illegal but is it ethical?
 
With the last weekend coming up, good luck to those who still have a tag to fill and good luck also to the smoke pole hunters who will begin their season the Saturday after Thanksgiving.