No Bear Killed???????

Well, it looks like Kentucky's first ever bear season might have been a complete bust. If telecheck results are correct, ZERO bear were killed in this weekends historic hunt. I know snow was a big issue in the three county area but I'm shocked no bear were taken.

Bear Season open again Sunday the 20th

Wow, I'm shocked that the bear season will be open Sunday the 20th. The limit of bears was not killed today. I'm not sure how many bear were killed b/c the telecheck results won't be posted until Sunday morning. Update to come.

Apparently, people are saying the snow storm has shut down many roads in Eastern Kentucky this morning and a lot of people couldn't even hunt.

Historic Bear Season Tomorrow

Saturday December 19th will be Kentucky's first ever modern bear season. Hunters will have to check the F&W website at 9 pm on Saturday night to see if the season will be open on Sunday the 20th or closed due to the number of bear killed on Saturday. As of last week, very few tags had been sold for the 3 county bear hunt. Hopefully, we'll begin getting some pics by tomorrow night.

Late Season Elk Draw Results Released

The late season elk hunt hunt results were released today. I had no idea they were going to be released so you need to go check your liscense number on line. Good luck. Just copy and paste the link.

http://fw.ky.gov/app/ElkQuotaLookup.aspx

Late Muzzleloader!

It's go time for the late muzzleloader season which begins tomorrow (December 12th) and runs through the 20th in all 4 deer zones. This season might be even better than gun with the cold weather and more does coming in. I'm loading up on the OJ and cold medicine b/c I feel like dirt. I'm trying to decide if I can even get out in the morning. I figure I'll tough out that 18 degree Saturday monring and pay for it later. Good luck folks.

Hunting Seasons Updates

Muzzlelaoder begins again this weekend (Dec. 12) and runs through the 20th in all four zones.

Crossbow runs until December 31st.

The Free Youth deer hunting weekend is December 26th and 27th.

The Bear season is December 19th and 20th in Harlan, Pike, and Letcher counties.

Bobcat runs through January 31st.

Squirrel season runs until Feb 28th.

The Free Youth small game week is December 26th to Jan. 1.

Fall turkey gun ends on Decmeber 11th. Archery Turkey runs until January 18th and crossbow ends December 31st.

KDFWR Releases Elk Harvest Info

Through November there had been 249 bulls killed in Kentucky including one out-of-zone bull. The out-of-zone bull was killed by crossbow in Laurel County. So far, the success rate for bulls is 86%. That is the success vs. tags drawn so some hunters could've possibly not hunted. There were 266 Bull permits issued + 24 either sex permits. The 24 either sex permits Landowner Cooperator Permits.

Tree Stand Safety

I did a really stupid thing this weekend. I left my safety harness in the truck and instead of going back and getting it, I climb up into a stand without it. This particular stand wasn't very high off the ground but high enough to to cause a serious injury. As I began to sit down, the stand shifted and I lost my balance. I threw my bow toward my feet and luckily somehow caught onto a branch and got my balance back enough to right the stand. Very stupid decision not to go back to the truck but I learned a good lesson. Be safe out there folks. Where those safety harnesses and come home safe.

Josh Webb Buck

Dang, Josh Webb's year has NOT sucked. Big bull and a big buck. A 2009 to remember. How many Kentucky huters scored this Bluegrass double this season.....not many.

Shotgun Fall Turkey Opens Again Today

Fall Gun Turkey opens back up today (Dec. 5). I've not been seeing any all of the sudden. Hope you are.

Already time to buy Elk Hunt Lottery Application

It's already time you can purchase your elk lotter application for 2010. The $10 application gives you the opportunity to be drawn for either a bull or cow tag. It should be interesting to see how many permits are issued this season. We shouldn't know until sometime around March. Good luck.

https://fw.ky.gov/license/olpsintro.aspx

What I learned this season............

Every time you go out in the woods or fields, you learn something about deer hunting. Every season, you learn something too. Usually, by next season, you forget it because your blinded by excitement like a kid sprinting down the steps on Christmas morning.

Here are a few things I learned this season that I'd forgotten before the season started:

1. No matter how many big bucks you see in the summer time or on camera, you won't see that many during hunting season.

2. If you get that one 10 second chance at a really big buck, you darn well better take advantage because you usually won't get another one.

3. Appreciate neighbors that kill a few deer here and there and have stands on your property line because they could sell to guys who let everybody hunt and kill every deer they see.

4. The weather is more than unpredictable in the Bluegrass and it gets crazier every year.

5. You should hunt hard in the early season while the bucks are grouped up.

more to come later...............

Great Article from Deer and Deer Hunting

Looks like I'm not the only one......................He sums most of it up to a bad timing on moon phase, bad weather (warm, wet, and windy), and acres of corn and beans not harvested b/c of wet weather.

http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/nawblog_2006/index.html
Copy and paste the above link to read the entire article by Gordon Whittington of Deer and Deer Hunting

NAW's Big Buck Blog
December 1, 2009
By Gordon Whittington

Rut Gone Wrong

December 1, 2009

Serious whitetail hunters spend 50 weeks of each year waiting for the other two to get here. So what happens when those two -- the ones that typically feature the hottest and heaviest rutting activity -- are a bust? It makes for some mighty long days in the field, and for some equally long faces back in camp.

Welcome, sadly, to one of those years. For much of North America, the 2009 rut has been a flop of epic proportions.

Amber waves of (soggy) grain: that's the story in much of the Corn Belt this fall, and neither farmers nor hunters are happy about it.

I wish it weren't so, but from everything I've seen and heard, it is. I honestly can't recall such a poor span for mature buck movement at this time of year since . . . well, I don't know when. It's just been that bad.

Not So Good

Well, for the first time in my life, I went through an entire gun season and didn't see a single buck chasing. I have seem 13 different bucks through the season and not a single one chasing. Unbelievable. I've heard the same from many people around the area. Very strange.

Last Weekend of Gun Season

Well, we're down to the last weekend of gun. It sounds like in some parts of the states, the rut kicked in right through gun season. For me, not so much. I'm not sure what happened tonight, but the deer went crazy. I saw 36 different deer tonight and only 3 of the 12 different bucks I've seen throughout the season. All three bucks bumped does all over the farm. Hopefully, this is the breakthrough weekend. Good luck.

Frustrated!

Man, am I frustrated. I've hunted quite a bit this season. The place I hunt is tough b/c it's pretty open with little woods to speak of. The deer bed in basically some really grown up bottoms and another grown up area. For the first time I can EVER remember in my life, I have not seen one single buck actually chasing. I've seen 3 tremendous bucks (only 1 of those in gun season) but none chasing. I'm dead frustrated. What rut action are you seeing?

Season Dates

Remember, Deer Zone 3 and 4 closes today November 23rd for gun hunting. Zone 1 and 2 closes on November 29th.

Fall turkey crossbow continues through Dec. 31st.

Fall turkey shotgun comes back in Dec. 5-11th.

The bear season is coming up on Dec. 19-20 in Harlan, Letcher, and Pike only.

Duck season comes in on November 26-29th and then back in on Dec. 7 through Jan 31st.

Canadian Goose season is in starting today through January 31st.

Cow Season

Steve Zuege from Fern Creek's Cow Elk killed in Zone 6. Congrats.

Poachers Caught, F&W Looking for More

See Press Releases from F&W

Reward Offered For Information On Weekend Poaching Of Three Elk In Bell County

Nov 16, 2009



Frankfort, Ky. – Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife law enforcement officers are seeking information about the weekend poaching of three young bull elk in Bell County and are offering a reward for the information.

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Dr. Jon Gassett has authorized a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who shot and killed the three elk Saturday on top of Redbird Mountain, located off KY 66.

State Fish and Wildlife officers say witnesses saw an elk fall, then spotted two more dead elk as they approached the first animal. The witnesses also saw two other persons approach the downed elk, then turn and leave the area.

The officers immediately opened an investigation and recovered several pieces of evidence, including ballistic evidence.

Persons with information are encouraged to contact Bell County state conservation officer Sgt. Ray Lawson at (606) 499-3520, or the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife poaching hotline at 1-800- 25-ALERT.

Two Christian County Poachers Caught After Nearly A Year

Nov 17, 2009



Frankfort, Ky. – Resolute determination and a timely tip from a local citizen helped Christian County Conservation Sgt. James Nason close a deer poaching case last week, just three days before the statue of limitations on the charges would have expired.

Two Christian County men entered guilty pleas Monday, Nov. 16, in Christian District Court to charges related to killing a deer on the day prior to the 2008 firearms season opener and then Telechecking it one day later as if it were a legal kill.

Chris Brown, 28, of Hopkinsville, and his father-in-law, Sammy Gilliam, 55, of Pembroke, pleaded guilty in the poaching of a Boone and Crockett Club trophy class white-tailed buck. Brown admitted poaching the deer out of season and then illegally Telechecking it a day later, while Gilliam pleaded guilty to assisting Brown after the kill.

Telecheck is a system used by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife for hunters to report their game harvest by telephone.

Nason said he had been aware of the poaching for quite some time. But it was information he received from a community member during last month’s muzzleloader deer season that allowed him to seek arrest warrants for Brown and Gilliam.

Brown and Gilliam each paid fines and court costs of $409. In addition, Brown received a 30-day jail sentence that was probated for two years. He also forfeited his deer rifle, the mounted deer and was stripped of his hunting privileges for two years. Gilliam lost his hunting privileges for one year.

Bluegrass Hunting...What Needs to be Fixed?

I feel like we've got the best Fish and Wildlife Department in the US here in the Bluegrass State. But, as with everything, I have a wish list of items I'd like to be changed. Here's my list in no particular order.

1. The Elk Program: I wish me or a family member would get drawn again. Kidding of course. No, I'd like to see that happen but that's not the problem. Obviously, in talking to Eastern Kentuckians, they feel that the elk are somewhat of a problem or hassle. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing residents of the 16 county area have a slightly better chance of being drawn. Secondly, I'd like to see a seperate bull/cow lottery drawing. I'll have to research the numbers, but I'd say that many people who get drawn for cows, don't go. I feel like it would raise more money for F&W. Fix it F&W.

2. Crossbow Season: I just don't understand the crossbow season. Why have a short crossbow season in October and not open it back up until the regular gun season. My son sure can't shoot a compound bow yet and there was a month he couldn't hunt. If you shoot a crossbow over 30 to 40 yards (same as a compound bow), you shouldn't be shooting. Fix that F&W.

3. Bow season opens too early: Just my opinion. I'd like to see the end of September or Oct. 1. Probably not a popular opinion. Just not sure how dove and deer can open so close together.

4. More Youth Hunting: I'd love to see more Quota Youth only hunts. Just a thought.

5. Deer stand placement: Deer stands should be at least 50 yards from property lines. Why should a neighbor place a stand right on the property line overlooking a corn field?? Shouldn't be able to happen.

6. Stiffer penalties for tresspassing: Hate me some tresspassers.

On the Verge

I still don't get the feeling that the bucks are actually chasing much. They are checking a lot though. I hear some chasing in some other areas but I think the bucks here are on the verge of breaking lose as some does start to come in. I love this weekend coming up.

My Boy Scores Again

My 10 year old son scored on his 3rd deer in three years with a nice little 8 pointer tonight. He was a little disappointed with the ground shrikage but it's one he should be proud of. I was in a horrible spot in the stand with some does having me on lock down. He got his rifle in position and absolutely dropped him like a rock. It got too dark to take pictures so I'll have to get some in the morning. Good job little E. Proud of my boy.

Really warm weather for opening weekend

Dang, the weather just doesn't give us a break. It's gonna be really warm (low 70s) for opening day of gun season Saturday. The moon is good though and hopefully the does will be out and the big boys checking them. Maybe even some good chasing action going on.

Gun Season Opens Saturday

Finally, it's gun season at Saturday the 14th and the rut will be in full swing. I've seen a lot of bucks on the move in the past two weeks. I just don't have the stand placement with a bow to get it done based on where the deer are bedding. I'm fired up for Saturday though. It's time for my son to get back at it. Good luck folks.

The Rut is on!

Big bucks are cruising. The rut is officially on in the Bluegrass. I saw an absolute monster 8 pointer tonight. He was really looking for does. I rattled at him and he started to come and then spotted a doe to check and away he went. This moon is good for rutting but they're probably doing a lot at night. Can't wait til this moon is going away from full in the next few days. Get out all you can in the next week!