Grouse Hunters

[Grouse_Hunter]

Another indicator that the grouse cycle is up will be the number of Kentucky plates parked along the roads.

You ain't joking there! The first time I went up there that’s all you saw was KY tags! But I'll soon be joining that group on next years trip up (2010)


I am also sure there will be more hunters up there this year I did not get to go last year but in 2007 there was a lot of hunters and one of my hunting buddies said that number went up to in 2008. But in 2007 I never had any trouble find a place to hunt there is so much land up there and of course people are going to pound the easy spots and they can have them. I did learn one thing though NO HUNTING ON THE WEEKENDS I'll never try that again that’s when its crowded for sure. We tried it on a Sunday one and its was crazy then on Monday it was totally different like night and day. So we take our time on the drive up and leave on Saturday night and arrive up in the day on Sunday and then start hunting on Monday. My buddy and I will be up there from Oct 18 to 24. I think I will like going up later in the month we normally go up the first of Oct. But as I've said before its an awesome time weather you get into a lot of birds or not. I'm really looking forward to it.
God Bless

 

[Birdman]

Are most of the hunters that you encounter in Wisconson from other states?

 

[grouser68]

Are most of the hunters that you encounter in Wisconson from other states?

I really don't see very many other people at all.Met a guy and his grown son from Cincy and they were there primarily bow hunting and would try to jump birds during midday. Told me they were getting up 4 a day when we were flying about 40.I see the locals road hunting them mainly in the evening.The only other Ky. tags I see are my Uncles and we don't overlap hunting areas.Of the few trucks I see parked they are generally Wi. or Mi. tags.I met some guys at lunch one day that were from Park Falls, they said the Kentuckians had taken over their neck of the woods and had to come where we were to hunt!

 

[Grouse_Hunter]

Are most of the hunters that you encounter in Wisconson from other states?

Yes...the majority that I saw was from out of state. I'm with grouser68 I did not meet many people up there and never run into any in the woods ever. I believe I talked to two people up there in 2007. 1 from Wisconsin and the other from Indiana. I would see plenty parked and the majority being KY tags and for me I saw more KY then Wisconsin.

This will be my first time going later in Oct. the week of the 18th. I went the first week of Oct on 2007 and it was so hot the first few days it was miserable to hunt and the ticks were as thick as flies that year. Has any of you all went in the later part of October? How was it then?
God Bless

 

[Birdman]

We usually go the third week in Oct. and finish the month out. Usually the first few days are warm and the birds wild, the last week they seem to calm down and the weather is usually cooler.

 

[Flytier26]

would definitely be something fun to try.

 

[May-39]

Mi Grouse report

This kinda cracks me up.. I grew up by Mac. Bridge and my dad hunts grouse/woodcock 3-4 days per week. not a.m. or eves, DAYS.
He keeps asking me to find some quail to come down for.

Anyhow I was up morel hunting and visiting this spring and there were ALOT of grouse around. I can't define it but I kicked up several birds on accident.
If ANY of you are interested in heading north. You would do well to check out Northwinds Enterprises-Skip and Ann Janderosa.
They sell best bet books for several areas in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan. Pops and I attended a seminar and bought some books and Ann's forestry knowledge and arial reading ability are spot on. I wasn't too thrilled to see a couple of my honey holes listed but had to give her credit for being correct.

If you have young pointers and want to get 50+ points a day on holding birds the woodcock are like flies in the northern lower (graylig north to Mackinac) the last couple weeks of Ocotober

Good luck this fall!!

 

[grouser68]

Recieved a call this am that will affect my Northwoods hunt.I must now report on the 5th of Oct. That means when I come off duty on Sept. 26th it's probably going to be a mad dash up north.Thats a few days earlier than was planned. I will be praying for a killing frost followed by a heavy rain around Sept. 26th.Thats the downside, the up side is I will no doubt be one of the first members from here to go.Which means I can report on the weather, leaves, and vegatation.Almost forgot, and how many birds I will be HEARING fly.

 

[JonDunn]

Ill be leaving out on October 4th for the upcoming week. If everything goes good, Ill be taking a trip back in November also.

 

[grouser68]

Ill be leaving out on October 4th for the upcoming week. If everything goes good, Ill be taking a trip back in November also.

Looks like we will be passing each other on the road on the 4th! I will mark a few spots for you and try to get you some coordinates if possible.And also some good reports.......I hope!

 

[PENCO GSP]

Michigan

I leave to go to MI next friday will be hot but cannot wait, then Wis. in Oct.

 

[Birdman]

Sounds like the north woods my be a little tricky.

Grouse & Woodcock News from the Northwoods

Observations and Insights by Ann Jandernoa, Northwind Enterprises, LLC

August 14, 2009 - Wolves in Northern WI

Summer is here with a vengeance! It is starting to get dry but at least the broods are able to fend for themselves and are at this point deep in cover where it is cooler and probably along the wetter areas in the forest.

Spring was for the most part nice and drumming was heard all over the north. If you look at the drumming reports provided in my July observations (below) you will see that the highest drumming counts are in southern Price county, Eastern Rusk, Taylor, and Lincoln Counties. The rest of the counties are nowhere near what these counties are that I have cited. You can almost draw a line from Rusk across Price and into Lincoln Co. and see that this is the area with the highest drumming counts for the entire state. One thing about these areas all have in common is that they are primarily county land with the exception of Taylor Co which is federal land.

I have seen a number of broods this year, but for the most part, if you pressed me for a brood count, I would say the average has been 5 chicks. Nothing spectacular, but hopefully in some of the other areas they are seeing higher brood counts.

Now, something that no one likes to talk about, but I feel compelled to address: the presence of wolves in Northern WI. There is a large population of wolves and and if you come to Northern Wisconsin planning to run your dog(s) without a bell or beeper you are asking for trouble. Dependent on who you talk with, some of the county, state, and federal forestry/DNR people do not want to talk about the problem of wolves and are doing you an injustice by not telling you how much of a problem it really is. What prompted me to address this subject is that I just got off the phone with a grouse hunter that is planning to travel all the way from Alaska to Wisconsin to hunt. He had just gotten off the phone with a county forester who works in an area known to be home to several wolf packs and the forester did not stress the need for use of bell or beeper, basically played down the problem. All the forester talked about about was habitat and birds. How would you, or anyone feel, making that long flight home, with an injured dog, or worse, leaving your dead dog back in Wisconsin because you hadn't been told how best to minimize the possibility of your dog getting into trouble with a wolf. Shame on that forester for not saying anything to help prevent this. All too often many of our public officials are afraid in the short term of losing the tourism dollar and not considering the long term impact on a hunter who loses his/her dog when the situation might have been prevented. Many of our clients have asked me if I worry about wolves when I am out guiding. Of course the possibility of there being a wolf or wolves in the area is always in the back of my mind (its a little like swimming in the ocean and staying aware of the under-tow, but you still go in the water). Before I take my dogs on a hunt, however, I have done my home work, checking on any wolf activity in the area, and preparing my dogs properly by training them to work close and to check in as needed, and by outfitting them with bells and beepers (no exceptions) Even when I take one of my sled dogs for a walk they wear bells and stay in close. Even though five years ago I lost a sled dog pup who dug out of his kennel late one night to a wolf kill, I do not hate wolves, I do believe there are currently too many wolves in Northern WI and not enough area for all the other vulnerable animals (deer, elk, livestock, sheep, dogs, etc.) to cohabitate and not have problems. As the number of wolves increases (and this is true in Northern MN and MI too), the biggest problem is that they become more bold and over time loose their fear of humans. Having said that, however, I believe that the presence of a bell or beeper on a bird dog sends a signal to the wolf that there is a human near by with a gun and for that reason they tend to stay away.

Over the past three years the WI DNR has kept a deprivation count on their website. I don't vouch for its accuracy, however, because I personally know of other incidents that have not been documented and put on their site.

I have combined the three years and broke them out by county.


2007
2008
2009

Ashland

8 killed
2 killed

Marinette

1 killed


Sawyer
1 killed
3 killed


Iron




Barron

1 killed


Washburn
1 injured



Rusk
2 killed 1 injured



Iron
2 injured



Douglas
1killed
3 killed


Clark


4 killed

Oneida

2 killed 1 injured
2 killed 1 injured

Lincoln
3 killed 2 injured



Forest

2 killed
4 injured

Burnett


2 killed

Price
3 killed



Bayfield


1 killed

Total
12 killed 6 injured
18 killed 1 injured
As of 8/13/09 11 killed 5 injured




If you are planning to come to Northern WI to hunt grouse and woodcock (and we hope you are) please make sure you dog(s) stays close and that you use a bell, beeper, or better yet, both.

 

[JonDunn]

Looks like we will be passing each other on the road on the 4th! I will mark a few spots for you and try to get you some coordinates if possible.And also some good reports.......I hope!

I hope to be adding some new x's on that paper for you. Im crossin my fingers you have a good report up there. I have seen on the weather here the last little bit that they are having some cold nights. Mid 30s and clear. Maybe some of the leaves will be off when you make the trip.

Thanks Birdman for that article. I would hate to make the trip up there and not come back with my partner. The range isnt really a problem as isnt the beeper. If its like that article states, will they try to take care of the wolve problem in the future?

 

[Birdman]

If there's any changes, the sportsmen will have to step up and that doesn't usually happen until it's so bad that it takes years for recovery. Below is one recent instance.


For Immediate Release
September 9, 2009

Victory in Court – Judge Allows Wolf Hunts in Idaho and Montana to Continue

Washington, DC – the participation of Safari Club International (SCI) in a federal lawsuit has helped ensure that hunters in Idaho and Montana can continue hunting wolves under state seasons. The Montana federal court denied a preliminary injunction requested by Defenders of Wildlife and other plaintiffs who sued to stop the hunting season, and to challenge the delisting of Idaho and Montana’s wolves.

Following the April 2009 delisting of wolves, Idaho authorized a hunt of up to 220 wolves and Montana authorized a hunt of up to 75 wolves per season. The anti-hunting groups sued to reverse the delisting and asked Judge Donald Molloy, of the U.S. District Court for Montana, to halt the scheduled hunts on an emergency basis.

SCI is participating in the case to defend the wolf delisting and filed a brief in opposition to preliminary injunction. SCI argued that the delisting was proper, and that Montana and Idaho’s limited hunts would not harm the wolf population, which is many times the number deemed necessary for continued recovery. SCI included with their brief expert testimony about the state of Alaska’s wolf harvests and the difficulties Alaska has had with managing its wolf population despite large bag limits and long seasons.
SCI President Larry Rudolph said “SCI continues to lead the way for the hunting community in efforts to keep the recovered wolves of the Rocky Mountains where they belong – off the endangered species list. The states can and will effectively manage the wolf, as demonstrated by their establishing reasonable and well-regulated wolf hunts. SCI recognizes that a difficult battle lies ahead. Our lawyers are already hard at work to meet that challenge.” The judge’s ruling offers an immediate victory for Montana and Idaho’s efforts to manage their wolf populations and for the hunting community’s interest in protecting the wild ungulate populations that are feeling the impact of the growing wolf populations.
Unfortunately, Judge Molloy’s ruling is only a temporary one and it foreshadows an uphill battle in the ongoing effort to defend the legality of the delisting. To make this victory permanent, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), SCI and all of those who support the delisting will need to convince the judge that the FWS has authority to delist Montana and Idaho’s wolves, while leaving Wyoming’s wolves on the endangered species list.
SCI will stay involved to defend the delisting on the merits. Until the case is resolved on the merits, the Idaho hunt, which began on September 1, and the Montana hunt, which will begin on September 15, will proceed under state law. Thanks in part to the efforts of SCI, hunters in these states can now continue to participate in this important wildlife management activity.

Contact:
Nelson Freeman
Safari Club International
202-543-8733
[email protected]

 

[Birdman]

Update on wolves.

Wolf Hunts in Northern Rocky Mountains Get Go Ahead From Judge

9/16/09




A recent decision by a federal judge paves the way for planned hunts of gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain region to continue.

Last week, Judge Donald W. Molloy of the Federal District Court for Montana ruled against a coalition of antis and environmentalists that were seeking to prevent hunts in Montana and Idaho. In the decision, Judge Molloy indicated that the management plans of both states would not harm the long-term health of the regional wolf population.

It is estimated that 1,350 wolves currently live in the region. Idaho’s wolf hunting season, which began on September 1, established a limit of 220 wolves that can be harvested. Montana’s season, which began September 15, has a harvest limit of 75.

While this fall’s hunts will continue in Idaho and Montana, Wyoming still has yet to develop a plan that meets service approval. This did not go unnoticed in the judge’s opinion on the case.

In it, Judge Malloy states that there appeared to be a violation of the Endangered Species Act when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to delist a portion of the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf population that resides in Wyoming. According to him, “the service has distinguished a natural population of wolves based on a political line, not the best available science.” He went on to state, “that, by definition, seems arbitrary and capricious.”