The Rhinelander Daily News - Online news and information for the Rhinelander, Wisconsin region

Roger Sabota
Northwoods notebook

As these thoughts are being put on paper, the 2008 Wisconsin Gun-Deer Season is three days old. There were five of us in camp the first two days, four of us on Monday and there will be three of us for the next two days. The part that is difficult to admit to is that our meat pole is completely empty.

From the discussions we have had with others who are hunting in the Monico area, everyone is having difficulty finding deer. On Monday the four of us teamed up with ten members of the Roberts’ group to make a few drives. On the first drive I saw a very small deer cross the trail in front of me. That was the first deer that was seen by anyone in our camp. It was only the second deer that was seen by the Roberts’ group.

As usual in our camp everybody was out of bed and ready to head out before the alarm went off opening morning of the season. While eating breakfast and getting dressed we looked at the thermometer. The temperature was -10 degrees. Each of us put on an extra layer or two.

We laughed at each other and compared ourselves to the Pillsbury Doughboy.

Our opening day hunting technique is to sit in a stand until about 10 a.m. Usually we then get together, haul our deer out of the woods and hang them up.

This season we cheated a bit and left our stands a bit after nine in an effort to warm up. When the temperature is so low even a well-constructed tree stand makes noise if the hunter moves even a small amount. When the temperature is stuck at minus ten it hurts to sit quietly.

This year I was trying a new product called boot blankets for the first time. They look like moon boots. They are insulated over-boots constructed of nylon, heavy insulation and a zipper up the back. Once in the stand they are slipped on over hunting boots and zipped up. They are definitely not designed for walking but to keep a person's feet warm when sitting still. My original analysis is that they are worth the cost if you are going to sit still in very cold conditions.

If a person were going to sit in one place to fish through the ice they would be worthwhile.

We spent the remainder of Saturday making silent pushes. The discouraging part of the day was that we did not even see any fresh deer sign in the snow. Although we saw very little deer sign we did see coyote tracks in every area that we walked. In addition we saw more snowshoe hare tracks than any of us could remember seeing. What was a pleasant surprise to each of us was the number of bear tracks we were seeing. Apparently quite a number of bears did not get the e-mail that it was time to den up for the winter. Some of the tracks we saw were made by bears with big feet and a lot of weight.

Sunday was much warmer than Saturday, which made sitting in an elevated stand easy. After not seeing any deer on Saturday it was much more difficult to get our group going in the morning. We sat in stands for several hours and then made a series of silent drives. Again we saw very little fresh deer sign but a lot of bear and turkey sign. It seems as though each of us saw several turkeys during the first two days.

Sunday evening at the end of hunting hours we stopped at the gas station in Monico, which is a deer registration station. In response to our questions they said that they had only registered 50 deer by 5:30 on the second day. That number is well below the numbers from last year.

The news on Tuesday evening indicated that the deer kill is as much as 40 percent below last year's kill in some areas of northern Wisconsin. The reason for this decrease is plain; the deer are not there in the numbers that have been claimed. The reasons for that are the tough winter of 2007-2008, a large wolf population, a very large bear population and hunters with pockets full of antlerless deer tags. If there are anywhere close to 1.7 million deer in Wisconsin some areas of the state must be overflowing with them to make up for areas in northern Wisconsin with very few deer.

At this time we are requesting that the DNR immediately cancel the four-day December antlerless deer hunt in those areas of the northern part of the state where the kill is down by 20 percent or more

The white tail deer is a tremendous trophy. Let's keep it as such and do away with announcing a number of deer that the DNR wants killed.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

Tim wrote on Dec 3, 2008 8:52 AM:

" In addition to an incompetant DNR, we should have never re-introduced a healthy population of wolves back into wisconsin. It's not like they don't have wolves in other parts of the country. With harsh winters, a rising wolf population and the DNR, we may have very well seen the last of good deer hunting in Wisconsin. "

Ken wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:05 PM:

" Yes,the seasons, hunters, and ma nature have done what they were supposed to do . . . reduce the deer herd. Gone are the days when we take over half million deer a year; those of us old enough to remember how it was know there were lots of seasons we saw no deer . . . when you came across a fresh track, that was bragging rights at the local coffee shop, and that afternoon there would be 12 guys out there looking for that one deer.
The bow hunters have "owned" the rut for 70 years; maybe it's time for gun hunters to unite and demand a special buck only season from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7 . . . sure would be nice to be out there during the rut with a gun. "

brian wrote on Dec 2, 2008 4:12 PM:

" A lot of deer are bedding on private land that no one asks to hunt. I hunted private and public this year and I didn't see anything until we started to push and drive. I shot 2 and my buddy shot 3. We had a great season, but we hunted the whole time. Guys sit opening weekend and expect to shoot a monster. If they don't they head back to work and say it sucked. My advice, scout more fellas! "

Tony wrote on Dec 2, 2008 12:59 PM:

" in 25 yrs of hunting in wisconsin one thing comes to mind nocturnal. That is what baiting and T-zone hunts will do. If you dont stop it, Hunting will get worse. I live in Idaho and the wolves have devistated the elk herds. Its not just a western problem anymore! Baiting makes deer easy targets for the wolves, bears, coyotes and hunters. understood? "

Mike wrote on Dec 2, 2008 11:08 AM:

" My question is this: How can we stop the DNR from establishing destructive rules? It seems there has been complaints in the past toward the DNR but the DNR continues "it's my way or the highway" attitude and "I know everything" attitude without listening to real hunters like Roger and the rest of us. It scares me that the future of hunting for me and mostly, my kids, could be in jeapardy. The DNR needs a severe wake up call! "

Dale wrote on Dec 1, 2008 8:23 PM:

" I agree 100% with Mr. Sabota's assesment of the deer population. It is time that the DNR stops making available these bonus tags. I talked with Mr. Sabota after they made a drive across the road from My stand. That was Tuesday late morning and I told them that I hadn't seen a deer. For the first time in 30+ years of hunting I went the entire 9 day without seeing a deer! This has got to change! If it doesn't it will destroy a tradition in Northern Wisconsin, as well as devistate local buisnesses that rely on this time of the year. "

John wrote on Dec 1, 2008 1:24 PM:

" There are plenty of deer in Southern Wis. Perhaps the DNR needs to re-calibrate there program. Hunting is down in the CWD areas and herd size doesn't seem to have changed much, yet the rest of the state is crying about low populations. Has the DNR let the north woods get thinned out to keep that license revenue coming in an attempt to compensate for the low turnout down south? "

Mike wrote on Dec 1, 2008 11:38 AM:

" I was hunting down in portage and saw only 1 deer. This is very concerning. I have heard nothing but low numbers from everyone I've talked to. Either The DNR has totally dropped the ball on deer numbers or they have some sick alterior motives. By the way, this is the first year in 6 years I have not gotten a deer. I just hope the DNR opens its' eyes before it's too late. I really do. "

The comments above are from readers. In no way do they represent the views of the Rhinelander Daily News.