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

Roger Sabota
Northwoods notebook

Today and tomorrow are the last two days of the statewide four-day antlerless deer hunt. Many of my readers have contacted me and agree with the position that this hunt, which was intended to further reduce the deer herd, should have been cancelled. Since the close of the nine-day gun deer season we have talked with hunters who hunted in a wide variety of locations across the state. Generally speaking, hunters are reporting that they saw very few deer.

For many years we spent the first three days of the deer season hunting the farm country near Osseo. Over the 20-plus years that we opened the season in that area we became accustomed to seeing in excess of 50 deer during the opening weekend of the hunt. To understate the obvious, seeing that many deer in those days made for very enjoyable hunting. After hearing from several people who hunted deer in the Osseo area this season, it would appear that the deer herd has been reduced in that area to a level comparable to what is left across the North.

Last week in this space there was a note about a local hunter who was practicing catch-and-release deer hunting. He told us a story that shows how intent he is about conserving our deer herd. This same hunter was sitting in a ground blind with his muzzleloader watching for a deer. He watched a nice sized buck walking through the hardwoods. He said that the buck stopped about 30 yards from him and turned broadside. The hunter put the red dot on the buck’s vital area and pulled the trigger. The muzzleloader misfired and fired late. The buck looked his way and promptly left the area.

Several area deer hunters have pointed out some successful projects that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been involved with. The successful reintroduction of wild turkeys was mentioned, as was the effort to reintroduce the elk in Northwestern Wisconsin. These two efforts have been extremely successful. By the reaction of many hunters, the reintroduction of wolves in Wisconsin has been a bit too successful. Hunters who cited these successful efforts of the DNR have suggested the DNR should embark on a program to reintroduce whitetail deer across northern Wisconsin.

DNR Wildlife Biologist Ron Eckstein has been quoted by several sources saying that we will have to rebuild the deer herd in northern Wisconsin. Ron is an extremely devoted wildlife biologist who spends a considerable amount of time in the woods and has a good handle on the wildlife populations in his area. We agree with him that we must rebuild our deer herd and begin the process soon. One giant step to help our deer herd rebuild is to get the predator population cut to a lower number. Another action that will help is to resist pointing fingers and looking for blame. Let's lobby the DNR to cut the number of antlerless permits that are available over the next few years and work together to rebuild our deer herd. One way that hunters can help this process is to improve habitat on any property you may have permission to work on.

We have been receiving e-mails and phone calls in support of canceling the four-day antlerless hunt. Unfortunately it was too late to cancel that activity. Each of us can do our part by not shooting any antlerless deer this year in northern Wisconsin. For some of us who are older deer hunters it has always been difficult for us to pull the trigger when an antlerless deer was in the scope.

See Notebook, Page 2C

Apparently the time to go ice fishing has arrived. For me it has been interesting this past week to visit with some of the tournament anglers who have been pre-fishing for the National Ice Fishing Tournament. This tournament has brought many anglers to Rhinelander, many of whom have stayed in area motels for an entire week. What fascinated me the most was the array of ice fishing equipment they brought with them. With the portable shelters that are available, plus the heaters, it is easy to stay comfortable while on the ice.

When this event was originally announced several of us were concerned that we would not have safe ice this early in the season. Last year we had ice by this time, however, in many areas the ice was not very safe. If you can take time off from preparing for the Holidays you might want to stop at the Hodag Park boat landing.

This is also a great time to pick up some Christmas gifts for the outdoors persons on your list. If you need help in selecting the best gifts, we have extremely knowledgeable people working at Mel’s Trading Post and Grunst Archery Shop. Both of these local businesses have been in business for many years and hire experienced salespersons.

This year portable G.P.S. units seem to be the hot gift. These devices are coming down in price and getting easier for those of us who are not accomplished at using a computer to use. Next week more gift ideas.

Tell us what you think...

Comments »

Mike wrote on Dec 18, 2008 2:37 PM:

" Once again, Roger has hit it on the head! I totally agree that the whitetail deer should be reintroduced into the northwoods, as funny as that sounds. I believe the deer herd in the north really has been depleted. I live by Fond du Lac and always enjoy coming home to enjoy the northwoods. It would be nice, while enjoying the woods, to at least SEE a deer. "

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