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Posted by Bill CollectorI was both stoked and concerned when I found out I[more ...]
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Posted by Bill CollectorYou need to make em a sponsor.LOL
Mon Jun 23 2008, 02:36PM
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Posted by TCyou the man, i am gona try and get a tag for A and[more ...]
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Posted by Bill CollectorMy wife & I managed to draw Mule Deer tags and[more ...]
Sat Jun 14 2008, 11:22AM
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Thu Apr 03 2008, 09:34AM
Posted by TCI cant wait till waterfoul season
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Mon Feb 25 2008, 02:41PM
Bass Pro
Dove Update
NUEVO -- The San Jacinto Wildlife Area attracted at least 275 hunters opening day of dove season on Monday, almost exactly double the number here for last year's opening day, according to Scott Sewell with the Department of Fish and Game."This is the highest number of people we've ever had out here for the dove opener," said Sewell of the western Riverside County public hunting area near Lake Perris.
Sewell said of the 275 permit cards returned for the Sept. 1 opener, the average was about a half-bird per hunter, but he did have one hunter report a 10-bird limit on opening day.
The San Jacinto Wildlife Area is probably the closest public hunting area for most bird hunters who live in the Los Angeles, Orange County, and Inland Empire regions, and the Monday opener and gas prices probably stopped a lot of sportsman from making the longer drive into the Imperial Valley or Colorado River regions.
Those who did make the drive to these more distant areas found much better hunting than San Jacinto provided.
In the Blythe-Palo Verde region along the Colorado River, the hunting was excellent on the north end of the valley, especially on the Department of Fish and Game's Palo Verde Ecological Reserve (off Second Street), according to Wayne Pinkerton at B&B Bait in Blythe.
"With all the storms around there was plenty of talk about the birds leaving, already left, or that couldn't wait to leave -- or all the other negatives you hear every year," said Pinkerton. "But we had our biggest weekend ever and the hunting was just fine."
Pinkerton said limits were the rule opening day, and that while birds were thinned by Tuesday morning, a lot of hunters were still getting limits on the second day, too. He said the bag was pretty evenly split between mourning doves, whitewing doves, and the new Eurasian collared doves.
Across the river on the Arizona side, the hunting on the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) Reservation was excellent according to Duke Shea of Santa Fe Spring, with limits the rule on harvested grain fields. To the south, it was the same story on the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge's new wheat fields, where birds were thick and limits were a 30-minute affair.
Jesse James of Redlands hunted the Cibola Sportsman's Club property on the Arizona side adjacent to the refuge, and reported that all 60 hunters at the club had limits by 10 or 11 a.m. opening day, "even the bad shots like me."
In the Imperial Valley, Bill Hinz of Brea said it was the mildest opener he'd ever experience in this region with the heat not being as oppressive as most years -- but he said the hunting was just as good as ever.
"We hunted the No. 4 Department (of Fish and Game) field near Brawley, and it was very productive. We limited out by about 8 a.m.," said Hinz. "One of the few good things I see the Cal Fish and Game doing [with our license money] are these fields down in the Imperial Valley."
Joe Branna, a DFG warden captain in the Imperial Valley, said the north end of the Imperial Valley, where the public fields are located, probably didn't shoot as well as the south end. Branna thought the thunderstorms on Saturday, which drenched the whole region, scattered the birds off of the 26 fields planted and groomed by Desert Wildlife Unlimited, a volunteer group headed up by Leon Lesicka. Many of those birds ended up further south.
"We had a pretty good opener," said Branna. "We didn't have as many people as we normally do, so I think most guys had a good hunt. It's really a shame that storm hit on Saturday. There were some corn fields in the [lower] valley that were really loaded with whitewings before that."
Branna said his warden force checked over 2,800 hunters from Blythe to El Centro to Winterhaven and wrote 57 tickets -- only 13 of those for overlimits. Most were written for hunters not having an upland bird stamp or having an unplugged shotgun (pump and semi-automatic shotguns are restricted to three shots for bird hunting, even if the magazine will hold more.)
Branna said hunters in the south end of the Imperial Valley mostly had limits with at least an eight or nine birds-per-hunter average, while the north end was more like a six- or seven-bird-average.
"We also checked hunters with a lot of Eurasians, especially around the feed lots," said Branna. "Some of these guys had 30 or more Eurasians. I watched on guy shoot 17 birds and I was thinking I had a ticket, so I ran up there just before he drove off, and 16 of his birds were Eurasians."
Eurasian collared doves are a relatively new and unwanted non-native species from Europe, and there is no limit on these doves this year. The limit is still 10 total for whitewing and mourning doves.
Leon Lesicka said they counted just over 3,000 hunters, many on the 26 public fields, during an airplane flight Monday in just the north end of the Imperial Valley. The count was slightly higher than last year in this same area, but counts have been as high as 4,000, according to Lesicka.
Lt. Mike Stefanak, a DFG warden in charge of western Riverside and San Bernardino counties, said the hunting in the Coachella and Yucca Valley regions was fair to good with the average in the Indio area probably three to five birds per hunter, with the best hunting closer to the Salton Sea. In Yucca Valley, he said the hunting was better in the afternoon than in the morning. In the Barstow to Victorville region, he said the average was less than a bird per hunter.
Matt and Debbie Gangola of Glendora hunted near a gamebird drinker on Juniper Flats out of Hesperia and managed to get six birds each, according to their hunting partner Rick Bean of Hesperia, "but I botched two shots I had at birds."
Stefanak said that the warden team in his region contacted about 900 hunters and 40 of those hunters had limits. Only 17 citations were written. He also said they issued 80 warnings, most for hunters not leaving a feathered wing attached to the dove carcass so it can be identified.
The first half of dove season continues through September 15. Hunters should consult hunting regulations for shooting times, bag limits, and other restrictions.
Fri Sep 05 2008, 10:33AM by TC
Posted in Upland Birds | |
Dove opening set for Labor Day; limits shouldn’t be too much work
Dove hunting season opens on Monday, Labor Day, this year, and reports from across the popular desert hunting areas point to a good opener, barring last minute thunderstorms -- which are a possibility today through this weekend according to weather forecasters -- that will push birds south.David Dolton, who is in charge of the dove program with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that the dove population has been stable for about the past decade in the Western management unit, which includes California, and there is little change between this year and last year in the total dove population.
But reports from the field along the Colorado River and Imperial Valley suggest this year might be better than normal, and certainly better than the past two or three years. In fact, long-time Imperial Valley hunters and Palo Verde Valley (Blythe area) hunters are suggesting this could -- could -- be a terrific year.
"Some of the [public] fields are really, really loaded. But you know what's really exciting? There are more whitewings than I've ever seen here," said Leon Lessica, a long-time Imperial Valley hunter and head of Desert Wildlife Unlimited (DWU), which has been behind the public fields planted in the Imperial Valley each year with volunteer effort, DFG funds, and the assistance of private landowners.There are again 32 fields in 17 locations in the Imperial Valley. Since the locations are the same as the last couple of years, hunters can use previous year's maps or download one off the DWU web site (www.DesertWildlifeUnlimited.com.) Hunters also can find public hunting at the Wister Unit of the Imperial Wildlife Area, and most of the desert areas adjacent to the agriculture are opening to hunting and holding a lot of birds.
On the Colorado River, things also look very good. Mary Bradley, who runs the sporting goods department at the Yellowmart in Blythe, was enthusiastic about this year's hunt.
"The south end of the valley had all kinds of wheat and most of it is still in stubble," said Bradley. "Last year, the valley was mostly planted in cotton, but I guess wheat prices were up and there was a lot more of it this year."
Bradley also said the DFG's Palo Verde Ecological Reserve was in milo again and holding a lot of birds. She also mentioned the Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) lands on the Arizona side of the river also were looking good, and the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge had two planted wheat fields this year open to hunters (but steel shot is required on the wildlife refuge).
Further south on the Colorado River, the Yuma area dove season looks like it will again be one of the hottest areas in the West with both mourning doves and whitewings at their usual high numbers here. Yuma always attracts a large contingent of hunters from both Southern California and the Phoenix metropolitan areas. This is also the 20th anniversary of Sprague's Sports' Big Breast Contest, and informal contest to see who shoots the largest dove opening day. Of course, thunderstorms are a likely in this area every day today through opener.
One of the only dull spots in the forecast for this year's opener is the Camp Cady Wildlife Area east of Barstow near Newberry Springs. This state-run wildlife area traditionally has grain fields planted just for doves and other wildlife, but each of the past two years equipment failures have shut down the irrigation process and no grain was grown.
The San Jacinto Wildlife Area near Moreno Valley in western Riverside County should be better than the last few years, but light rainfall in the spring has kept the amount of sunflowers and other dove-attracting feed at only modest levels.
Many hunters are confused about the non-lead ammunition requirements within the range of California condors. This requirement does not include bird hunting. Lead shot can still be used for dove hunting within the condor area -- so long as you are not hunting big game at the same time. The wide availability of steel promotional shotshells -- many at prices less than equivalent lead ammunition - has added to the confusion.
Why is lead ammunition now the same price or more than steel? The cost of raw materials. The price of raw lead has skyrocketed over the last couple of years, going from 20 cents a pound to as high as $1.80. The cost of copper and brass has only increased pretty dramatically. Many hunters are experiencing sticker shock when buying new ammunition this year.
The first half of the dove season extends through Sept. 15, and the California bag limit is 10 per day with 20 in possession after the first day. A state hunting license with an Upland Bird stamp and Harvest Information Program (HIP) stamp is required to hunt doves. You should check a copy of the hunting regulations to get all the details about shooting hours. New this year, the Department of Fish and Game lifted the limit on Eurasian Collard doves so hunters can shoot as many of the non-natives as they want this season.
Fri Aug 29 2008, 11:43AM by TC
Posted in JIM MATTHEWS | |
No longer able to use lead shot for dove and quail season in California. Is this true?
Question: I've heard that we are no longer able to use lead shot for dove and quail season in California. Is this true? (Melissa L.)
Answer: No. You may still use lead shot for dove, quail and turkey hunting in California, even in the condor lead-free zone (map available at Web site listed below). One exception - some of the military lands with public hunting programs, such as Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett, are requiring non-lead ammunition for all hunting (includingbirds) effective immediately. For more on the non-lead requirements and the specific areas and hunting opportunities affected, go to www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/condor/
Fri Aug 22 2008, 01:37PM by TC
Posted in DFG | |
(DFG) deer tag refund policy as related to fire closures?
Question: Can you please clarify the Department of Fish and Game's
(DFG) deer tag refund policy as related to fire closures? (Joe T.)
Answer: Refunds can be provided for any reason if requested prior to the opening of the earliest season in the zone in which the closure is located. If closures happen after the start of that season, it is DFG's policy to not provide refunds, and that refunds are not available under any circumstances for X zone, additional hunt, and area specific archery hunt tags. Section 306 of the Fish and Game Code does give the Fish and Game Commission authority to hold special seasons following these types of closures.
Fri Aug 22 2008, 01:36PM by TC
Posted in DFG | |
Unlawful for someone to interfere with or harass a hunter or angler?
Is there some kind of regulation that makes it unlawful for someone to interfere with or harass a hunter or angler who is hunting or fishing lawfully? (Nate S.)
Answer: Yes, according to Game Warden Lorraine Doyle, the Fish and Game Code has a section which protects hunters and anglers rights to lawfully fish and hunt for game in California. The following code section applies to "hunter harassment:"
Fish and Game Code Section 2009.
(a) A person shall not willfully interfere with the participation of any individual in the lawful activity of shooting, hunting, fishing, falconry, or trapping at the location where that activity is taking place.
(b) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500).
(c) If any person is convicted of a violation of this section and the offense occurred within two years of another separate violation of this section which resulted in a conviction, the violation is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) This section does not apply to the actions of any peace officer or personnel of the department in the performance of their official duties.
This section does not obstruct the rights and normal activities of landowners or tenants, including, but not limited to, farming, ranching, and limiting unlawful trespass.
(e) In order to be liable for a violation of this section, the person is required to have had the specific intent to interfere with the participation of an individual who was engaged in shooting, hunting, fishing, falconry, or trapping.
(f) For purposes of this section, "interfere with" means any action which physically impedes, hinders, or obstructs the lawful pursuit of any of the above-mentioned activities, including, but not limited to, actions taken for the purpose of frightening away animals from the location where the lawful activity is taking place.
Fri Aug 22 2008, 01:33PM by TC
Posted in DFG | |
I need to know where I can legally hunt with a rifle besides on national forests
Question: I need to know where I can legally hunt with a rifle besides on national forests and BLM lands. This simple question has led to a lifetime supply of aspirin and a list of "we don't know, you should try..." responses coming from every agency I've asked. I'm sure many other people have felt the same agony of the situation. I live in the Inland Empire region where there are hundreds of undeveloped non-private lands far from urban areas, roads, homes and structures.
Which of these sections of land currently permit lawful hunting on them?
(Matt T.)
Answer: Whether you are hunting in California or another state, your rifle hunting is limited to either public land areas or private property where permission must be obtained. This is the same in every state. A number of agencies manage lands that allow hunting, including some you mentioned such as the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Some military bases (e.g. Camp Roberts and Fort Hunter Liggett, etc.), also allow public hunting as well as some DFG properties.
Many public lands that allow multiple uses also allow hunting.
According to Game Warden Todd Tognazzi, private property in California is required to be designated in one of the following ways: 1) Posted with no trespassing signs at 1/3 of a mile intervals; 2) Under cultivation; or 3) Fenced. You can determine land ownership from map resources at your local library, at many different Web sites, or through your county assessor's office. An agency is only going to have information on the land under their management so it is very important
to research the land you are describing.
The best resource I know of is our brand new Summer 2008 edition of the California Hunting Digest available from most DFG offices. On pages
18-19 there's a short article called "Public Lands Open for Hunting in California." Although it doesn't list every land, it lists every land management agency that allows hunting, along with their Web sites and other contact info.
California Hunting Digest editor, Lorna Bernard, also suggests a Web site she found while researching this topic. It's for a nonprofit organization called the Public Lands Information Center and it offers a free searchable database of public lands throughout the United States.
You can enter the term "hunting" and click on California, and it will provide you with a list of every California public land that allows hunting! The Web address is http://www.publiclands.org/. Since it's not a DFG Web site we can't vouch for its accuracy or completeness, but it's the best we've found so far.
Some additional resources the DFG can offer you include our quail, wild pig, turkey and deer hunting guides. These guides are a few years old but still contain good information on how to hunt these species, and often where access can be found. It also comes with many pages of maps and directions. Some access points may have changed, but they will still give you reasonable starting points.
All of these DFG publications are available through most DFG offices or you may download them from our Web site at www.dfg.ca.gov/about/hunting/. This whole page is useful and the hunting guides can be found on the right hand column.
In addition to the public lands mentioned already, you may want to also consider joining a private hunting club (e.g. Wilderness Unlimited) which holds leases on multiple public properties around the state for their members to access for hunting and fishing.
Many good rifle hunting spots are available throughout California on public lands. Hopefully, these resources will help you so that you can continue to enjoy your California hunting experiences.
Thu Aug 14 2008, 08:37AM by TC
Posted in DFG | |
Permanent Kern River flows in Bakersfield?:
Permanent Kern River flows in Bakersfield?: Recent litigation has forced a San Joaquin Valley water district to give up as much as 100,000 acre-feet of its Kern River water each year. Of course, folks are scrambling to try and get that water for their pet projects.The City of Bakersfield is petitioning the State Water Resources Control Board to give the city the water to be used "to re-establish flows in the natural Kern River watercourse through Bakersfield" in an effort to restore the river - which is frequently completely dry in Bakersfield - for fish, wildlife, and recreational purposes.
You can read the city's official proposal at this web site: http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/application/fas_kern.html. And since any new use of this water will require a change in the "fully appropriated status" of the Kern now, you can see who - besides the City of Bakersfield - wants this water at this address: http://www.waterrights.ca.gov/application/PetNot/docs/fas/publicnotice.pdf. No should be surprised to see that the list is a list of mega ag and water agencies that want to keep the river dry.
Anglers and duck hunters who want to get involved in helping the city can write letters supporting the city's petition at this address: Kathryn Gaffney, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, 1001 I Street, P.O. Box 100, Sacramento, CA 95812 or via e-mail at kgaffney@waterboards.ca.gov.
Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery recovery: During massive thunderstorms in mid-July, the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery near Independence in the Eastern Sierra was flooded and engulfed in a mudslide, its raceways and ponds filled with mud, and its water system which brought in water out of Oak Creek was completely destroyed. The loss included nearly 3,000 trout, mostly broodstock fish, but the history hatchery building survived.
It is estimated it will take at least two years before the hatchery can be cleaned up and facilities repaired enough to again raise fish. Fortunately, the hatchery had been downsized in recent years and it was mostly a brood-stock and egg-production hatchery and the Department of Fish and Game is hopeful it can make up the production in other facilities in the short term. In the long term many are wondering where the DFG is going to come up with the money to do the repairs. It has been estimated the costs for this chore will be "several million" dollars.
Thu Aug 07 2008, 03:24PM by TC
Posted in Waterfoul | |
Three tips for the A-zone deer opener this Saturday
The first of California's deer hunting seasons kicks off this Saturday when the massive A-zone along much of the coast opens. While the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest remains closed to public entry because of recent fires, most of the other public lands in this region will be open to hunters.Speaking to several veteran A-zone sportsmen who have consistently taken bucks in this zone on public lands, it was amazing that they offered almost the same advice. Distilled, here are their three most important tips:
Focus on edges of burned areas: While forest fires look devastating on television, they actually are a huge benefit to wildlife, especially deer, because they clear out underbrush and old vegetation that has little nutritional value. Most chaparral species of shrubs also crown sprout after a fire, and the fresh sprout -- which often come up within two weeks of the fire that charred the hillsides -- are favored deer food.
With that knowledge, all veteran hunters recommend that deer hunters focus their attention on the edges of recently burned areas. The deer are not only concentrated in these areas, moved out of the main burn by flames, but they almost immediately start using the burn for feeding. Because major burns leave little or no cover where deer can hide, the edges of the fires are where the deer concentrate.
"A hunter wants to get in there are work the edges of those burns," said Erwin Ward, a retired U.S. Forest Service employee who runs Big Game Hunting Maps, a where-to-go hunting map business. "The Gap fire right here above Santa Barbara was just four weeks ago, but things are already sprouting up. I'd sure look at places around that burn if you can get in there. And last year's Zaca fire area should be really good."
Burn areas remain good up to seven or eight years after the fire, at least until the vegetation becomes too old and thick again.
Further from roads is better: Most hunters have read this 100 times, but the further you are willing to get away from roaded access on public lands, the higher your success rate will be. Rich Chagolla, a Riverside hunter who has taken some real trophy bucks in Southern California, says he is usually at least 1 ½ miles from the nearest road when he starts seeing deer.
"We start hiking at 3:30 in the morning, and depending on how the hunt goes, we'll stay out until past dark," said Chagolla.
Deer leave tracks and poop: This last piece of advice almost seems simple-minded, but all the veterans said they were amazed at how many hunters spend time in areas where there is no deer sign.
"You have to go where the deer are," said Durwood Hollis, a veteran A-zone hunter from Rancho Cucamonga who killed two A-zone bucks every year for nearly 30 years. "Deer leave tracks and poop where they live. If you're not seeing those two things, you're in the wrong place. And the more you see the better."
All the hunters said that the August A-zone hunt is held the hottest time of the year, and while the hunting is frequently uncomfortable, the deer also need water every day and knowing the locations of the spring, creeks, and stock water in an area is important. Deer might not come to water except in the middle of the night, but if you see sign around the watering spots, you at least know they are nearby.
While it's a little late for pre-season scouting for the A-zone, this advice also applies for all the other Southern California deer seasons opening later this fall, and the most successful hunters usually spend as much or more time in the field before the hunting season as they do during the season.
Thu Aug 07 2008, 03:23PM by TC
Posted in Big Game | |
Coastal deer season opens on August 9 and non-lead ammo supplies still lacking
The A-zone deer hunting season kicks off Saturday, August 9, and most sporting good stores throughout Southern California have dismal supplies of newly-required non-lead big game hunting ammunition."Availability is a serious issue," said Glenn Tessers with the California Deer Association. "It irks me when I hear that no one can get non-lead ammunition."
Most bigger Southern California dealers knew this train was coming down the tracks over a year ago, but they still didn't take steps to make sure they had adequate supplies of non-lead ammunition. In quick checks with selected stores in the region -- Turner's Outdoorsman, a chain of 13 stores in Southern California, Fowler's Gun Room in Orange, Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga, and Second Amendment Sports in Bakersfield -- they all had scanty supplies of non-lead deer ammunition available, even in common calibers. For example, Second Amendment Sports was out of even .30-06 and .270 Winchester ammunition, while Fowler's didn't have .243 non-lead. Turner's and Bass Pro Shops only had limited supplies of 30 caliber magnum rounds.
While California's A-zone opens over a month before most other deer seasons in this state open and two months ahead of most other Western states, dealers could have made sure they had good supplies on hand with better planning. Most said they will be receiving shipments from manufacturers with their usual fall goods coming in late August.
But that doesn't do much good for hunters who travel to the coast for the A zone opener each year.
August Harden at Shoot the Moon Outfitters in Paso Robles, a small gun and ammunition store on the Central Coast in the heart of the lead ammunition ban, is a good example of what could have been done by Southern California dealers. Harden said he had good supplies of all standard calibers and a lot of lesser calibers on hand this week. Harden said he was stocking non-lead ammunition from Federal, Winchester, Cor-Bon, Black Hills, and even some specialty calibers like .300 Savage, .250-3000, and .257 Roberts put together by a custom loader in Santa Barbara, Custom Cartridge, Inc.
"We've been scrambling to make sure we have ammunition for our customers," said Harden. "Supplies of .270 Federal ammunition -- all Federal non-lead ammunition for that matter -- has dried up recently, so we got in some Black Hills .270 stuff."
Harden is also one of the few dealers stocking Cor-Bon rifle and pistol ammunition, which is available in non-lead for a wide range of calibers.
Most of the public land deer hunting in the A zone takes place on the Los Padres National Forest, and Kathy Good, a spokesperson for the forest, said the entire Monterey Ranger District would likely be closed for the opening of the season August 9. While the Indian and Basin fires are both listed as "contained," crews are still mopping up through the burn areas and the public probably won't be let back into the areas for some time. The Indian Fire burned over 81,000 acres, while the Basin Fire charred nearly 163,000 acres. The entire Monterey Ranger District only has 311,000 acres -- this means nearly 80 percent of this part of the forest burned in June and July.
"The forest supervisor and district ranger are well aware that the deer season opens on August 9th, and they are in discussion this week to see what can be done to accommodate hunters," said Good, but she suggested the outlook was not good for the Monterey Ranger District.
The other districts of the Los Padres, including the area around the recently contained Gap Fire near Goleta, and the vast areas burned last year (the Zaca Fire at 240,000 acres) and the year before (the Day Fire at nearly 163,000 acres), are both going to be open to hunters barring any changes in conditions. Hunters should note that some of those fires were in the D13 hunting zone, which opens in October, and not the A zone. Good said hunters should call with the ranger station or district office nearest where they intend to hunt to get the latest conditions, road closures, and fire restrictions.
"The massive Zaca Fire left a moonscape over miles and miles of the forest," said Good. "The view is stunning."
While it appears the area is a moonscape, chaparral plants send new sprouts up from the root stock (called crown sprouting) within two to three weeks of a fire if the plant is not killed, and since most are fire resistant, few are killed. This fresh vegetation is like candy to deer, and they move out into the burn areas to feed almost immediately on this fresh growth. These burns generally lead to increased deer production for the five or six seasons following the fire.
Erwin Ward, a retired forest service employee and publisher of Big Game Hunting Maps, detailed where-to-go hunting guides, said "a hunter wants to get out there and work the edges of those burns."
Ward, who lives in Santa Barbara, said that deer will start using the edges of the Gap Fire, which was just contained three weeks ago, immediately.
"The vegetation will be sprouting up and the deer will be in there," said Ward.
Statewide, Tessers said the Department of Fish and Game was saying that deer herds have declined by 30 percent or more in recent years because of habitat loss and drought conditions, but fires concentrate deer in the habitat on the edges of the burns where conditions become ideal and production jumps.
Harden said that on his family's ranch on the Central Coast near Paso Robles, "there's a whole lot more of them than I've seen in 20 years on our place. Horn growth is pretty good, and I've got at least two bucks with 25-inch spreads. So our deer look pretty good."
Apparently that is true in a number of pockets of the A zone, where better weather conditions this year led to good deer feed and improving deer numbers, especially around the burned areas.
Sun Aug 03 2008, 08:31AM by TC
Posted in JIM MATTHEWS | |
Bass Pro Fall Hunting Classic upcoming Events
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Posted in Advertisement | |
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