Posts Tagged ‘Penobscot Valley Hunting Report’
Posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
The second week of firearm season for our whitetails brought cooler temperatures and better hunting conditions. Check stations I chatted with were busy, but the second week usually tends to be a bit on the slower side. In talking to hunters as well as my own observations, good rutting sign seemed to be starting to show up more consistently as expected. Big buck hunters full of confidence have just been sitting back waiting for the third week to get underway. That’s when they get serious about hunting deer. The third week for all will be more active as the peak of the rut kicks in and deer begin to move more during the day, especially if cooler temperatures stay in place. However, as we all know, the big boys may still stay nocturnal.
Hunter effort this past week seemed to be up from last year during the second week at least in most places. I spoke with a few folks located in the northern portion of our Region, and it was their opinion that the hunters were not there in their usual abundance. With people worried about the economy, or gas prices specifically, it will be interesting to see how hunter effort plays out these last two weeks.
The Penobscot Region is participating with the ongoing statewide effort to collect Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) surveillance samples. The sampling is going pretty well this year; the portions of Wildlife Management Districts (WMDs) 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 17 and 26 that lie within the Region have been completed. However, we still need your help in collecting samples from WMDs 11, 18 and 19. More specifically, we need samples from the towns of Brookton, Danforth, Haynesville, Carroll and Lagrange. If you harvest a deer from one of these towns and are interested in helping the Department with this sampling effort, please contact the Enfield Regional Office at (207) 732-4132. Your assistance with this effort will be greatly appreciated!
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Hunting Report • Categories: General
Posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
Overall, the first week of firearms season for deer was a good one, except for the windy, rainy conditions on both Saturdays. At least the second Saturday had decent hunting conditions for half the day until the monsoon moved in! Hunting conditions through much of last week were good to very good with mostly light winds, clear skies, and cooler temperatures.
So far this year I have taken biological data from just over 100 deer, here’s the breakdown from this week’s samples: 19 were adult males (2 ˝ years and older),
38 were yearling males (1 ˝ years old), and 4 male fawns were sampled (6 months old).
On the female side of the harvest, 30 were adults, 3 were female yearlings, and 6 were female fawns. This is typically what we see for the buck harvest early in the season with twice as many yearlings taken than adults. A number of hunters I’ve spoken with mentioned that the bucks are getting smaller, but what they really are observing is a function of age. Most of the smaller bucks that are harvested are yearlings sporting their first set of antlers. Some are spikes or 4 pointers, but I have seen some yearlings with up to 7 or 8 points. Mature, adult bucks do not reach their full potential for body size and antler growth until they are at least 4 ˝ years old. I guess the point I’m trying to make is that those larger bucks are out there and before you squeeze the trigger on that crotch horn you may want to reconsider your options.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Hunting Report • Categories: General
Posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
This past Saturday was a long one. Up early to greet the ’07 deer firearms residents-only Saturday; then closing it out by staying up late to watch our Red Sox take a commanding 3-0 lead in the World Series. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday!
In this part of the state, the rain kicked in around the start of legal hunting time and stayed with us throughout the day, with the winds whipping up in the afternoon. A long wet day in the field that may translate into a low kill for the first day. I’m sure many, like myself, may have only hunted a portion of the day, and returned home a bit on the soaked and wet side. Or as was the case with a friend of mine when asked if he “killed anything” today, his response was, “hard to kill anything from a Lazyboy”! So yes, effort may have been down for this wet and windy start, but there are still plenty of days to come for this season. Once again, wildlife biologist, and contractors will be collected biological data on harvested whitetails, and also collecting samples as part of our ongoing CWD monitoring program.
While collecting the above-mentioned deer data will be the priority for the month of November, Region F has plenty of other initiatives ongoing as well. Recently moose biologist Kim Morris and I met with a Lincoln-based group that is very concerned about the number of moose/vehicle collisions, particularly in this part of the state. Discussions regarding opening up Marsh Island to bow hunting continue as well. We are also providing input into the transmission line corridor that will be part of the Stetson Mt. windpower facility to name just a few other initiatives. We continue to work away at several projects on some of our wildlife management areas (WMAs).
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Hunting Report • Categories: General
Posted on Thursday, October 25th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
The fall turkey season appears to be quite a success, at least in the portion of the turkey hunting zone that falls within Region F (eastern part of WMD 17). Turkey registration stations in East Corinth, Old Town, and Milo tagged 36, 11, and 14 birds respectively. These numbers include birds taken in the first fall shotgun season and turkeys taken by bow and arrow.
Waterfowl hunting in the area continues to be productive. While duck numbers do not seem to be bolstered by incoming migrants, migrating geese are starting to come through the area. It’s a very unpredictable situation though; one morning you may observe hundreds of birds, and the next day it seems as if only a couple of flocks are in the area. The key is to keep scouting and when birds are in your area – take advantage of it!
A couple of friends of mine came up from Pennsylvania to do some upland bird and waterfowl hunting. The grouse hunting was very good. We hunted reverting farmland in the central and northern parts of the Region and were not disappointed. Most areas yielded 5-6 flushes on grouse, but some areas provided upwards of 15 flushes. The woodcock hunting in the central part of the Region was also very good. I believe we were still hunting mostly resident birds, but this is usually the time of year that the migrants will be making their way through the area. If you have ever gotten into a “flight” of woodcock, you’ll know what I mean when I say the action can be fast and furious!
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Hunting Report • Categories: General
Posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 by Maine Sportsman
A better week weather-wise greeted moose hunters for the second of the two six-day seasons. The one-day exception being Friday, and that was a major rain event. Still, temps were cooler than the unusually warm first week two weeks prior. An early Saturday morning call to our nine tagging stations monitored by Region F suggested that results were quite varied throughout the Region. As with the first week, some stations were registering moose within the average number they usually tag, while others were significantly less. Once the data is analyzed, it will be interesting to see what the success rates were by season, WMD, and bull vs. anterless-only permits. While being selected to hunt moose is always a special opportunity for hunters, monitoring the hunt has changed over the years. As mentioned, Region F contracts with 9 tagging stations to collect biological data for us. This leaves us with the opportunity to not only visit several stations, and take part in some data collection, but more importantly to talk with moose hunters or perhaps bird or deer hunters. It is important for us to be out and about, listening to, and discussing the views and opinions of our public. Visiting the many tagging stations throughout the week affords us that opportunity to listen to folks who are in many ways our “eyes and ears” in the field. It also affords us the opportunity to continue work on other important initiatives that are not associated with the moose hunt. Region F is very grateful for the quality of work our tagging stations perform during both the moose and deer seasons. Thanks to all.
Reports from the field suggest a rosier picture for grouse hunters. A good nesting year for a change this past spring has translated into plenty of action early in the bird season. Reports of hunters getting into birds throughout the Region have been commonplace thus far. A nice change after poor hunting seasons (for the most part) the previous two years.
The early fox and coyote trapping season began on the 14th. Trappers are reminded of the additional trapping restrictions and guidelines for the northern WMDs that were part of the lynx lawsuit settlement agreement. And don’t forget that this coming Saturday (20th), is Youth Deer Hunting Day. Junior hunters may take a deer of either sex during this one-day opportunity.
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Tags: Penobscot Valley Hunting Report • Categories: General
