Last Weekend of Deer Season

Well, it's offically the last weekend of deer season 2009-10. All bow hunting will end on Monday January 18th. I've got two huge bucks locked down and I've got to get a shot at one of them this weekend. I need some luck! Let's finish this season off right in the deer stand folks.

Upcoming Hunting and Fishing Expos

**Cincinnati Hunting and Fishing Show-January 20-24 at the Duke Energy Convention Center. The Stephens buck from Ohio will be on display there. If you haven't seen it..........it had 35 inch main beams. Unreal.
http://www.hartproductions.com/hunting-and-fishing-show/

**Louisville Boat, RV, and Sportshow -January 20-24 at the Kentucky Int'l Convention Center in Louisville. KDFWR will offer a free boat safety course. It will also feature a hunting pavillion sponsered by Ky F&W. Mike Beaty and the Beaty Buck (another Ohio buck) will be there. There will also be a big buck contest sponsered by Awesome Antlers.

http://www.louisvilleboatshow.com/attendees/features/features.aspx

Far Cry From A Kentucky Flintlock!

Rooting large brown bear out of the Alaskan bush can be very dangerous. In my guiding days it was up to me to always back them up or worse go find the bruins after the client fired and it disappeared. My backup rifle is a .505 Gibbs. "Mr.Gibbs" as he is generally referred to, got his name from my friend and client Denny Crum, Hall of Fame Basketball coach from Louisville,Ky.

Braving the COLD!

Archery Deer Season lasts until January 18th so time is winding down on the 2009-10 season. I decided to brave the cold tonight for the first time in a few weeks. I couldn't quite decide on a stand location today with the blowing snow. I sat on the edge of some beans, then decided to move. I drew on a big doe but couldn't get a clear shot and had some issues with my peep site. I turned later to see the biggest buck of my lifetime standing about 15 yards from my first ground set up. The deer was unreal. I've been pretty fortunate to see a lot of big deer in my life but today was by far the biggest. With a rifle, it would have been record books for ole me. But, like my luck has went so many times in recent years, it was just getting a beautiful look at another monster.

UPDATE: no dice in the cold and snow yesterday. I saw 29 does/fawns but the big buck didn't show himself. I was trying to get a doe that walks with a pretty bad limp but she's sharp.

F&W Calls Special Commission Meeting

Fish and Wildlife has called a Special Commission Meeting for Thursday night 1/7/10 at the Frankfort Convention Center at 5 pm to discuss pending litigation filed by Jim Strader. Kentucky State law states that the Commission can enter into a closed session to discuss pending litiation. I'd like to be a fly on that wall.

Jim Strader Files Federal Lawsuit Against F&W

As reported today by Wave3, Jim Strader has filed a lawsuit against Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. The lawsuit basically says that F&W has blackballed him for disagreeing with and speaking out about F&W policy. According to Strader, F&W ordered their folks not to attend the Jim Strader Hunting and Fishing Expo in February. Strader says his civil rights were violated and that commisioner Jonathan Gassett defamed him in a F&W newsletter. I get the newsletter but did not see that in it. I will have to go back and review. As I've stated many times before, I'm not a big fan of Strader necessarily and don't typically enjoy his radio show but I will have to say that he's one of the very few outdoorsman with a voice in the state of Kentucky and this lawsuit, if valid, is very interesting.

You can check out the entire article from Wave3.com below.

Former Kentuckian to Contribute Articles

Former Meade County Kentucky resident M. Scotty Lamkin has been living the dream in Alaska for 30 years now as a professional hunting guide many of those years. He has recently written a book about many of those hunting experiences during those years.
He will be posting articles about how to hunt Alaska on your own as well as gear required and ALL costs associated with your DIY Alaskan hunt.
"I want fellow Kentuckians to have MORE than a fair shot at making their dream come true too!"
Upcoming posts will include:  Moose Hunts, Caribou Hunts, Black Bear hunts, near death experiences and much more. Many articles about Brown Bear and Grizzly Bear hunting will also be posted.

Be sure to visit his blog at www.scottysalaska.blogspot.com

Kentucky Hunting Seasons Update 1-4-09

Archery Deer continues until January 18th.

Crossbow ended on December 31st.

Elk Archery continues until January 18th.

Squirrel continues until Feb. 18th.

Bobcat continues until January 31st.

Turkey Archery continues until January 18th.

Spring Turkey Youth April 3-4, 2010
Spring Turkey General Season April 10-May 2, 2010

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all. Let's hope 2010 will be a great year for hunting and fishing in the Bluegrass. My 2009 was a great one as a dad as my son finally connected on his first turkey and his 3rd buck. Other than that, it was slow! Let's hope foor great things in 2010! Good luck to everyone.

Free Youth Hunt Days

Remember, Youth ages 15 and under may hunt deer with a firearm Dec. 26-27, and may hunt and trap small game and furbearers Dec. 26 – Jan. 1, all without a license or permit. Get a kid out this weekend and next week. Watch for those bucks who have dropped antlers already. Take a look at that head before you shoot.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all. No hunting this week. We just got back from a funeral in Russell Springs. Remember, the free youth hunt weekend is coming up.

The Michaella Monroe Buck is Scored

Michaella Monroe's buck was officially scored 219 5/8 non-typical. Check it out in the Kentucky Conservation Coalition newsletter. Also, take a minute to read the story about the disabled hunters deer hunt and the Blugrass Army Depot. There are some great pics.

Copy and Paste

http://fw.ky.gov/pdf/newsletter1209.pdf

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.