Category Archives: Hunting

Hunting

Steve Sears appointed to the Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board.

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Governor Charlie Baker recently appointed Stephen A. Sears, of Dalton, to the seven-person Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board representing the Western District.  This Board is assigned the responsibility of supervision and control of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW).  Sears replaces George (Gige) Darey of Lenox who recently retired from that Board.

 

Steve was introduced to the delegates of the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen by Darey at its February meeting.  (The League had previously petitioned Massachusetts EOEA Secretary Matthew A. Beaton and Governor Baker to appoint him).

 

He said that he is truly humbled to be able to take Darey’s place.  Steve is a lifelong sportsman, having caught his first trout when he was 3 years old.  He recounted how he had an opportunity while he was working at Crane & Co to protect all of the land where he caught his first trout.  “If we hadn’t done that 15 years ago, it may have been sold for condos last year.”  He’s an avid hunter, shotgun or bow hunting almost every day of deer season until he gets his limit.

 

He acknowledged that he has a big job to do and huge shoes to try to fill.  He said he will do the best he can to support the sportsmen to preserve the (outdoor sports) for the kids and their kids.  It’s a big job and he will do his best to make the meetings, bring information back to the Berkshires, listen to the concerns of sportsmen and address them the best that he can.

 

Steve holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from UMASS, Amherst.  He was with Crane & Co., Inc., for over 25 years, most recently as Vice President in charge of manufacturing, engineering, and environmental services. In his tenure at Crane, he oversaw all the energy procurement and environmental policies, and was instrumental in applying many leading edge process developments in U.S. currency production as well as spearheading many environmental efforts.

 

He is the president of the Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation where money is raised to do projects in support of the DFW.    The Foundation has done some great things so far and he is looking forward to continuing that work as well.  He is the Vice-Chair of the Berkshire Brownfields Commission and serves or served on the boards of the Center for EcoTechnology, Mount Greylock Ski Club, Upper Housatonic National Heritage Area and The Trustees’ Notchview Advisory Committee.  He served as a long-term member of the Dalton Development and Industrial Commission, where he led the development and implementation of multiple new bylaws for the Town of Dalton.

 

He is currently developing a former Crane & Co., Inc., factory building in Dalton, creating a quality –oriented marketplace for local artisan products and sustainable businesses.

 

Steve grew up and still lives in Dalton with his wife Maria. They have three grown children.  Behind his house is a mountain of which he knows just about every inch.   It has about 25 square miles of good hunting land.  “ It’s a big place, it’s a great place” he said.  He lives only 2 miles from the DFW Western District Headquarters in Dalton.  He worked for Crane & Company when they sold the building to the Boy Scouts.   That was before the Boy Scouts sold it to the DFW.

 

Steve said that he is thrilled to work with all of (the sportsmen and women).  He thanked the League for its support.  In turn, the League wished him the best of luck with a round of applause.

 

Prior to Steve’s introduction, former Chairman Darey had a few words.  He recounted how Steve was one of his students at Wahconah Regional High School.  Later on they both coached cross country skiing.  They worked together a lot helping other schools that did not have cross-country ski teams, running workshops and other projects.  Gige feels very comfortable leaving the Board knowing that Steve is going to be there. “He will do a great job”’ he said.

 

Darey also mentioned how he was on the Board for 38 years, its chairman for 35.   He remembered the great people he met over the years and the wonderful accomplishments.    “Its been a wonderful time serving the sportsmen”, he said, “and wouldn’t trade the life he had for anything”.  He thanked everyone.   He received a rousing, extended round of applause from the delegates.

 

Ice Fishing Derbies

The Locker Room Ice Fishing Derby will be held on Sunday, February 26, dawn till 2pm, Laurel Lake, $10 Adults, $5 Students..  There will be a Raffle and Pasta Dinner at the Locker Room on Main Street in Lee at 2pm.  All proceeds will to benefit the Lee Youth Football

 

The Ashfield Rod & Gun Club will be having a kid’s ice fishing derby on Ashfield Lake on Saturday, February 18.  The free derby will run from 8am to noon.  A free luncheon and awards presentation follows.  Call Joe Miraglia (413) 628-4400 for more info.

 

2016 Deer harvest

MassWildlife recently reported that the preliminary statewide deer harvest for 2016 was 12,233.   This compares with last year’s harvest of 10,042.  Both archery and primitive firearms seasons saw record harvests in 2016.  The total harvest was near record levels as well.  This good harvest was likely due to the low harvest in 2015 due to unseasonably warm weather, lack of snow, and an abundance of food. The increased harvest during the 2016 season was likely making up for the low harvest of last season and the weather was much more favorable for hunters.

The Western District accounted for 2,197 of them which compares to 1,887 last year.   I hope to have more detailed harvest information in a future column.

Pittsfield Angler, Joshua Christman, is MA 2016 Angler of the Year

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Joshua Christman has been named the 2016 Angler of the Year in the Adult Catch & Keep category.  During the year, he caught and received pins for 17 species of freshwater fish, a new record in that category.  The species were: Bowfin, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bullhead, Carp, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout,  Smallmouth Bass, Sunfish(Rock Bass), Tiger Trout, Walleye, White Perch and Yellow Perch.

He will receive a gold pin and trophy for catching the largest Tiger Trout which measured 17 inches in the Catch & Release Category, a 6 lb 10 oz Bowfin and a Rock Bass which weighed 1 lb 9 oz. ( In Massachusetts, a Rock Bass is classified as a Sunfish).

This is the first time the Angler of the Year trophy will be awarded to a Berkshire County angler.  “That’s because the anglers in Berkshire County have a disadvantage”, says Christman.  “There are not as many species of fish available here.  For example there are no catfish, walleyes, landlocked salmon or lake trout in the Berkshires.”  Joshua learned to catch them through his Facebook friends, through Massfishing4life.  There are about 3,200 members scattered statewide,   and some of them provided pointers such as bait selection, tackle, water bodies, etc.

Joshua works 40 hours a week and has two children, so most of his fishing takes place at night. When asked if he will have any of his fish mounted, he said that he will probably not.  He encourages anglers not to kill the fish just to have them mounted. He usually only kills a fish if he intends to eat it.  He encourages anglers to get replica mounts of their large fish.

There are two other angler award categories, the Youth Catch and Keep and the Catch & Release categories.

 

Jason Bunar of Kingston, MA was named the Youth Catch & Keep Angler of the Year. He caught18 species, also a new state record:  Bowfin, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bullhead, Carp, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Largemouth Bass, Rainbow Trout, Shad, Smallmouth Bass, Sunfish, Tiger Trout, Walleye, White Catfish, White Perch and Yellow Perch.

 

Michael Nee, of Northborough, MA was named the Catch & Release Angler of the Year.   He also caught 18 species and set a new record in that category.  He received pins for:   Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Bullhead, Carp, Chain Pickerel, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Landlocked Salmon, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Shad, Smallmouth Bass, Sunfish, Tiger Trout, White Catfish, White Perch and Yellow Perch.

 

In our local waters, the following gold pin/trophy fish were caught:  Joshua’s bowfin came out of Onota Lake, his Rock Bass out of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield and his Tiger Trout out of Goose Pond. A 24 lb 14 oz Northern Pike was taken out of Onota Lake by Shaun Klammer of Adams.  He also got a gold pin in the Catch & Release category for catching a 43 inch Northern Pike out of Onota Lake.

 

In the Youth Catch & Keep category,  the following gold pin catches were made: Cooper Shepardson of Lenox Dale caught a 23 lb 9 oz  Carp out of the Housatonic River in Lenox Dale. Zachary Buccigross of Abington, MA caught a 14 lb 10 oz Northern Pike out of the Housatonic River in Sheffield.  Troy Michalak of Lanesborough caught a 1 lb 13 oz White Perch out of Pontoosuc Lake.  James Najimy of Savoy caught a 1 lb 10 oz Yellow Perch out of Bog Pond in Savoy.  Incidentally, Madison Sniezek, of  Peru, caught an 8 lb 11 oz Lake Trout out of the Quabbin Reservoir.

 

In the Catch & Release Category, John Lander of Pittsfield caught a gold pin Brown Trout measuring 28 inches out of Onota Lake.

 

Last year there were two state record fish caught.  William Roy of Palmer, MA caught a 25 lb 7 oz Lake Trout out of the Quabbin Reservoir.  Val Percuoco of Leominster, MA caught a 3 lb 8 oz White Perch out of Wachusett Reservoir in West Boylston, MA. Readers may recall articles and pictures of these anglers and fish in this column last year.

 

Congratulations to all of these anglers who had a memorable year of freshwater fishing.  They will be awarded their trophies later at a time and place to be announced by MassWildlife.  For more information about the Sportsfishing Awards Program, click onto the MassWildlife web page.

 

Basic hunter education courses

First-time hunters who wish to purchase a Massachusetts hunting or sporting license must complete a Basic Hunter Education course.  This course is designed for first-time hunters and is standardized across North America.

 

The following local Basic Hunter Education courses are scheduled as follows:  Pittsfield High School, 300 East Street, Pittsfield, March 7, 9, 14, 16, 21 and 23. Cheshire Rod & Gun Club, 310 Curran Road, Cheshire, February 20, 24, 27, March 3, 6 and 10.   Both are 6 class sessions which run from 6 to 9 PM.  You must attend all class dates and times to successfully complete the course.

 

If you are interested in this course and wish to enroll, call 508-389-7830. Students are enrolled first-come, first-served, and enrollment cannot be processed via email. *****

2016 Black Bear harvest was a record

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MassWildlife Furbearer and Black Bear Project Leader Dave Wattles recently reported that a new record of 283 bears were harvested over the three 2016 seasons. The previous record harvest of 240 bears occurred in 2014.

During the first (September) season, 190 bears were taken, 46 were taken in the second (November) season, and 47 were harvested during the shotgun deer hunting season. According to Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden, 205 bears were taken in the Western District with 94 in Berkshire County.  Some of the higher Western District  harvests occurred in the following towns: Blandford accounted for 17 of them, Granville 13 and Cummington 10.

Madden also reported that 93 wild turkeys were harvested statewide during the fall turkey hunting season.  Some 15 of them were harvested in the Western District.  Earlier this year, MassWildlife’s Wild Turkey Project Leader David Scarpitti reported that the statewide spring preliminary harvest figures indicated that 3,054 wild turkeys were taken   So it looks like about 3,147 wild turkeys were harvested this year.

 

No 2016 deer harvest figures have been released yet.

 

Remembering Peter Mirick

It was reported in a recent MassWildlife newsletter that Peter Mirick, retired editor of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine, avid sportsman and herpetologist, passed away in December from cancer. He began his career with MassWildlife in 1977 as a staff writer for the magazine and served as an assistant biologist before becoming the magazine editor in 1981.

 

During his time with the Division, he earned a Master’s Degree in Biology from Worcester State College. Pete was an avid herpetologist, conducting research on the endangered Black Rat Snake and assisting with projects related to other reptiles and amphibians. During his career, he was active with professional organizations including The Wildlife Society, New England Outdoor Writers Association, and the Association of Conservation Information. He received a number of awards for his writing and editing and was the lead editor of the “Trapping and Furbearer Management in North American Wildlife Conservation” publication, which is used by state conservation agencies across the country.

 

He also authored the recently published “Massachusetts Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles.  (An excellent book currently on sale at the DFW Western District Headquarters in Dalton, MA).

 

Pete was a strong believer in educating people, particularly youth, about wildlife conservation and was a passionate advocate for hunters, anglers, and trappers. He will be greatly missed by many, including the folks at MassWildlife, natural resource professionals, naturalists, and sportsmen and women.

 

Water Flowing at McLaughlin Fish Hatchery

In the same MassWildlife newsletter it was announced that last month officials turned on the water pipeline at the McLaughlin Fish Hatchery in Belchertown. Construction began in June 2016 on the nearly mile-long water pipeline and hydropower turbine that will supply six million gallons of water daily to the hatchery, produce renewable energy, and reduce the hatchery’s electric demand.

McLaughlin Hatchery, built in 1969, is located in Belchertown near the Swift River and is the largest of MassWildlife’s five trout hatcheries. This hatchery is responsible for half of the state’s entire annual trout production, approximately 225,000 pounds, with a “retail value” exceeding $2 million dollars. Fish raised at McLaughlin Hatchery are stocked in nearly 500 rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds throughout Massachusetts.

The water pipeline project taps water from the Chicopee Valley Aqueduct and provides the McLaughlin Trout Hatchery with a reliable, gravity-fed source of cold water, eliminating the environmental and biological risks associated with the water withdrawal from the Swift River. The result will be an energy cost savings of $60,000 per year. The project also includes installation of a hydropower turbine on the pipeline. The construction of the building for the hydropower generator is well underway and the hydropower generator has been delivered to the site. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) has received a grant to fully cover the cost of the hydropower unit which will generate almost $53,000 in annual revenue for the MWRA. As MassWildlife put it, “This project is a win – win scenario for the MWRA, the hatchery, and the Commonwealth”.

 Fly Fishing Show

The annual Fly Fishing Show will take place from January 20 through 222 at the Royal Plaza Trade Center in Marlborough, MA. There will be over 50 talks and demonstrations each day.  While there, you might shop for the newest tackle, book your next dream trip, watch tying and casting demos and learn from the experts.  I always pick up one or two autographed books and fly tying stuff while there

 

All the new rods, reels, fly tying materials, books, DVDs and latest equipment will be on display to test and purchase. There is a casting pond for casting demos and it is available to test your new rod.  Some of the celebrity authors this year include Gary Borger, Bob Clouser,  Ed Engle, Bob Popovics and many other flyfishing stars and they will be happy to autograph your books. There will be more than $60,000 in door prizes.

 

Show Hours are:  Friday:  10AM – 6PM, Saturday:  9AM – 5:30PM and Sunday:   9AM – 4:30PM.  Ticket costs:  One day $15, Two-day pass $25, Three-day pass $35, Children under 5 free, under 12: $2, Scouts under 16 in uniform: free and Active Military with ID: $10.   Click onto  flyfishingshow.com/Marlborough__MA.html for more details.

 

Every year I write this,  but it is true – for flyfishers/flytyers this is a must-attend event.

 

Truckload of goodies raffle

The Cheshire Rod & Gun Club Truckload of Goods raffle winners were:   Truckload – Cara Aherne of Pittsfield, 2nd – Derek Wells of Adams, 3rd – Joe Fuller of Lee 4th – Dave Harmon of Pittsfield, and 5th – C. Barrie of Pittsfield.  Now that’s a good way to start off the new year

You are never too old to go deer hunting

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There is no doubt about it.  Lou Carmel, of Hinsdale, MA, loves to deer hunt.  The table top full of large deer racks in his cellar gives testimony to his love of and success in the sport.   And there aren’t too many places in North America that he won’t travel to bag a large antlered buck, even at age 90.  The attached picture of him and his big buck was taken earlier in Saskatchewan, Canada, near Candle Lake.  None of his friends or family could join him on that hunt, so he went alone.  Incidentally, the last buck he got there was in 2015, the last time he made it up there.

 

He has been hunting Saskatchewan for about 12 years now going after big trophies.   He flies into Saskatoon, and then has a 5 or 6 hour automobile trip to his hunting spot.  The main road is good but off of that it gets kind of rough.  He usually camped on Candle Lake and there you have to hire local guides.  They drove him by 4-wheeler to his ground stand (blind) in the morning and picked him up at night or whenever he wanted.

 

He always hunted the first week of the season due to the cold weather up there.  It frequently gets down to 10 below zero.   For the last several years a 15 degree day was a good day.  “You have to open the blind to shoot out and it doesn’t take long to get cold”, he said.   About two years ago, someone suggested that he have the guides put a little heater in his blind.  He did that and it made all of the difference.  Incidentally, the last deer he got there was in 2015, the last time he made it up there.

 

I asked him how he got the deer meat back to Massachusetts as there are regulations here regarding the importation of deer from some Canadian Provinces in order to curb the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease.  He said that after he shot the deer he would keep the antlers and never saw it again.  There are a lot of poor people up there and he always left the meat for them.

 

I asked him how it came about that he started hunting up in Saskatchewan. He said that a deer hunter from Adams heard that he liked to hunt in Canada.  He was going to Albany to buy some hunting clothes and invited Lou to accompany him to meet John Kilmartin, a guy who booked hunting trips to upper Canada.  After meeting him and discussions, Lou decided to go hunting there.   He went  by himself.   The only problems that he encountered were flight connections in Toronto and he missed his plane. The airline put him up for the night and got him to Saskatoon, SK the next day.  After he made 2 or 3 trips with similar problems, he learned to go through Minneapolis rather than through Toronto.  It was a lot easier.

 

The last three years that he went to Candle Lake his son-in-law Kevin Farrell of Dalton went with him. Candle Lake was exceptional, with thousands of acres to hunt; however, the outfitter decided to convert it archery hunting only.  After that Lou went with another outfitter run by natives.  The last few years he went alone.

 

I asked him the size of his biggest deer and he said 150.  The picture that I saw certainly had a bigger deer than that in it.  But when Lou talks deer numbers, it is not in weights, it is in inches of the antlers as determined by the Boone & Crockett official scoring system.  Incidentally, while looking at Lou’s photo album of all of the deer that he bagged in Saskatchewan, I noticed that he was usually all dressed in white.  Lou said that wearing white is mandatory when you hunt there in Canada.

 

According to Lou, the cost of such a trip would be roughly $3,500 which includes air and stay at Candle Lake.  To stay over a night in Saskatoon would probably be another $100 or so.

 

Lou has been hunting since he was around 15 or 16.  He starting hunting with his father who was a fox hunter.    After he came home from school, he used to immediately head for the woods with him fox hunting.  His father also taught him how to trap muskrats, beavers, etc., and many a morning he would get up at 4 AM and check his traps before going to work.

 

In addition to hunting around here, he used to hunt the Allagash region of Maine.  He hunted there for more than 25 years with the late John Zuber of Pittsfield and also with Clem Caryofiles also of Pittsfield.  If their names sound familiar, both of these well known hunters won numerous sportsmen awards from the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen as well as the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council.   They also moose hunted in Labrador with Lou a couple of times.

 

When I asked Lou if he intended to hunt in Saskatchewan again, he said that he would think about it provided his wife Pauline was sufficiently recovered from some health issues.

 

Lou will be the first to admit that he has no super human genes.  He has had his share of serious medical issues over the years, but has overcome them.  He attributes his hunting longevity to immediately contacting a doctor when he didn’t feel right and getting the best doctor he could afford.

 

Lou Carmel, an inspiration to us all.

 

Updated State Wildlife Action Plan is presented

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Recently, the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) presented the 2015 update to the Massachusetts SWAP as required by Congress. The Plan presents the 570 Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Commonwealth, the 24 types of habitat that support these species, and the actions necessary to conserve them.

 

Upon releasing the plan, DFW Director Jack Buckley made the following comments:  “The citizens of Massachusetts have a long history of working together to conserve our state’s biodiversity. The state Fisheries Commission, the predecessor to the current Division, was permanently established almost 150 years ago, in 1886. The first land trust in the country was The Trustees of Reservations, still a highly successful force in Massachusetts conservation today. The Massachusetts Endangered Species Act, one of the strongest in the country, was enacted a quarter-century ago. Today, more than 25 % of the state’s acreage is protected from development, an astounding achievement in such a densely populated state.”

 

“With so much land protected, our focus going forward now moves to an equal emphasis on land acquisition and the management of these conserved lands. The Division itself has made a strong commitment to habitat management on our own 200,000 acres, particularly on the areas–the Key Sites–with the highest and best concentrations of rare species and other elements of biodiversity.

As well, we intend to assist our dedicated conservation partners in determining appropriate habitat management on their own lands.

 

It is the continued, strong dedication of the Commonwealth’s citizens to our natural resources that has made these accomplishments possible, and it is in concert with our many conservation partners that we intend to move forward with the goals of this plan.”

 

You can read this plan by clicking onto the MassWildlife web page.  Allow yourself some time for it is about 500 pages long.

 

Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Massachusetts

MassWildlife recently announced the release of the Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Massachusetts. This 94-page book includes vibrant, detailed photographs and descriptions of the frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, and turtles – including sea turtles – found in the Commonwealth. The field guide, the only guide of its kind specific to Massachusetts, features species accounts, images of common pattern and color variations, and information about reptile and amphibian conservation.

Lead author Peter Mirick, an avid herpetologist and recently retired editor of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine, combined and updated materials from magazine issues on reptiles and amphibians with additional contributions from MassWildlife’s Dr. Tom French and biologist Jacob Kubel. The majority of the photographs were taken by MassWildlife’s talented photographer Bill Byrne with supplemental images generously shared by agency staff, herpetologists, scientists, and photographers.

If you order your copy today you’ll be ready for spring outings and summertime hikes.  The field guide also makes a great Christmas gift for the wildlife lover on your list. Hopefully, its not too late to order it.

Youth Artists, take note

There is still time to enter the Massachusetts Junior Duck Stamp (JDS) contest,” advises MassWildlife’s Wildlife Education Specialist Pam Landry. “Any student, from kindergarten through grade 12, regardless of whether they attend public or private school or are home-schooled, can submit original artwork in this fun and educational competition. Even if students do not enter the art competition, the related information can serve as a valuable resource in art or science classrooms.” The entry deadline is February 15, 2017.

The JDS program links the study of wetlands and waterfowl conservation with the creation of original artwork. Students in grades K-12 learn about the habitat requirements of various kinds of ducks and geese and then express their knowledge of the beauty, diversity, and interdependence of these species artistically, by creating a drawing or painting which can be submitted to the JDS art contest. The art is judged in four age group categories in a statewide competition; the entry judged Best of Show moves on to represent Massachusetts in the national JDS competition. Art teachers, science teachers, and parents who home-school can visit the MassWildlife website for an information packet and entry information.

Primitive Deer Hunting

Primitive Firearms Deer Hunting season, also known as Black Powder season and Muzzleloader season opened last Monday and it is much too early to forecast how the season will go. As of this writing, the weather certainly is cooperating, save for the frigid temperatures.  There is a nice snow cover for tracking and if you hunt the mountains, there should be enough snow to strap on the snowshoes.  Primitive deer hunting and snowshoeing seems to go together.  Just don’t wear a coonskin cap.  Regulations require you to wear a blaze orange cap and vest.

Hunting on snowshoes can be very strenuous, especially if you are dragging a deer.  Take your time and enjoy the moment.

 

Incidentally, if you plan to hunt during this season, or if you know someone who does, DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden has a request.  If someone shoots a doe in Zone 2 or Zones 4N or 4S, please contact his office in Dalton.   DFW would like to look at the deer’s age in order to boost the numbers from these zones in their data base so that they can feed that into the population model.   During the muzzleloader season, successful hunters are allowed to check in their deer online and are not required to check them in at a station.  However; if hunters just want to drop off the deer head at his office or even call him, someone will pick it up if it is somewhere convenient.  Obviously, they would prefer a recently killed deer’s head and not one that is smelly and partially decayed.

 

2016 shotgun deer hunting season off to a good start

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As of noon last Wednesday, 82 deer were checked in at the DFW Western District Headquarters in Dalton, MA. Some 52 were checked in on opening day.  That figure is significantly higher than last year’s figure at the same time.  Some of those deer were bruisers with beautiful antlers and good body weights..  For example, Peter Derby shot a 6 point buck in Hinsdale that weighed in at 202 lbs.  Thomas Wiencek shot a 9 point buck in Cheshire that weighed 198 lbs.  These were field dressed weights.  To estimate their actual live weights, multiply the field dressed weight by 1.26.  So the estimated live weight of Derby’s deer was approximately 255 lbs and Wiencik’s deer weighed approximately 249 lbs.  Nice deer, ey?

 

The season was only two and a half days old and preliminary harvest numbers were not available from the outlying check stations.  We do know that the Mill River check station weighed three huge deer; a 10 pointer weighing 181 lbs, an 8 pointer weighed in at 186 lbs and another 10 pointer which weighed 157 lbs.   There was an 8 pointer shot in Richmond that weighed 176 lbs, an 8 pointer that weighed 179 lbs and a 10 pointer weighing 184 lbs shot in Lee.  There was an 11 pointer that weighed in at 164 lbs in Monterey and a 12 pointer taken off of Mt Greylock that weighed 174 lbs.  These large deer were in addition to the “normal” sized deer.
DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden said that his office and the outlying check stations all exceeded last year’s harvest numbers for opening day.  He attributed the high harvest numbers to the almost ideal conditions:  ample snow for tracking and pleasant temperatures.  On Tuesday and Wednesday, when I was at the office, the conditions were less than ideal with pretty good downpours.  Even so, the hunters were not deterred.  Around noon time on Tuesday there was a steady stream of hunters checking in their deer.   That kept Madden and Wildlife Technician Derek McDermott out in the rain most of the day checking them in.

 

Effective last year, a third black bear hunting season was started which runs through the 2 week shotgun deer hunting season.  As of noon on Wednesday, 4 bear were checked in at the Western District Check Stations.  According to Madden, this indicates that all of the bears have not yet denned up for the winter in spite of the large snowfall which occurred the previous week.  He did say; however, that hunters can still tag bears online during this season, so he doesn’t yet know  what the tally is.

 

With the hard rainfall and fog on Tuesday and Wednesday, much of the snow melted and tracking might have been more difficult.  But there was plenty of mud and soft ground so it was still possible to track the deer.

 

The shotgun deer hunting season runs until next Saturday, December 10.  If you haven’t been able to get out yet, don’t worry.  There appears to be a lot more deer out there this year, possibly due to the mild winter we had last year.   This year’s shotgun harvest numbers should be relatively high.  After that season, the primitive firearms (black powder) deer hunting season opens on Monday, December 12 and runs through Saturday, December 31.

 

 

 

Coyote Derby

Dave’s Sporting Goods in Pittsfield is having its Coyote Derby again this year.  It will run until the end of coyote hunting season which is March 8, 2017.  Entrance fee is $10 and prizes will be awarded to the person who bags the most coyotes, the largest coyote and there will also be a random draw.

 

Licenses on sale

The 2017 hunting, sporting, freshwater fishing, and trapping licenses are available for purchase through MassFishHunt, at a license vendor location, or at a DFW office.   Good news!  There are no increases in the license fees this year.    In fact, there has not been a license fee increase since 1996.

 

At that time, Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board Chairman George “Gige” Darey of Lenox, and the then DFW Director Wayne MacCallum calculated that with the $10 fee increase they imposed, they wouldn’t have to request another increase until the year 2006.  It has now been twenty years.

 

How is that possible, you ask?  Darey attributes it to several factors:  good grant writing, division downsizing, modernization and priority.  Darey said that during the downsizing, no one lost their jobs.  One examples of modernization is that more and more pheasants are being bought, rather than raising then.  This allows for excellent birds at  lower prices because they are saving money on manpower costs.  The Division is also utilizing more economical ways of raising the fish, too.

 

2016 Guides are available

You can now download your 2017 Massachusetts Guide to Hunting, Freshwater Fishing and Trapping Laws (formerly called the abstracts) or pick one up at a licensed vender or at a DFW office.  This year’s cover has a nice picture of a coyote.

 

Listed in the 2017 Guide are the following changes:  1) Migratory game bird seasons and bag limits are now set in the Spring;  2) Federal Migratory Game Bird Stamps may be purchased online through MassFishHunt (mass.gov/massfishhunt) when purchasing your hunting license and state waterfowl stamp and 3)There are new Learn-to-Hunt and Explore archery and bowhunting programs that provide unique opportunities for new hunters and archers to gain important knowledge and skills.

 

In the 2017 Guide, DFW Director Jack Buckley highlighted some of the Division’s accomplishments during 2016.  I plan to list them in next week’s column.