Quinte Fishing

Talking to my hunting buddies and speaking for myself, it seems like a really slow year for deer overall. I',m sure Joe and sknman would disagree and obviously so, but what about everyone else. I still have yet to see a deer while hunting and this is by far the longest I have ever gone without seeing one. Granted I don't get out as much as I used to.
But the trails aren't beaten in as usual and I'm wondering if it's just the areas I'm in, or other places as well.

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

I was only able to get out for 4 days total this year. I hunt WMU 57 and it was strange. 4 of us saw a total of 23 deer(4 years ago we counted 3X that many could have been the same on a few times). My cousin got a nice rack 8 pointer but had a small body(180-190). I seen a small spike and a small 8 pointer but let them go to grow up. Funny that the camp 3 miles from us had only 1 deer between 10 of them and they hunted hard all week. It seems like the deer were concentrated in a few area's and if you were not in the area's you had not too much luck. My buddy also had a coyote under his tree stand barking at him just before dark and lots of wolf tracks all over the fresh snow. It has been many years since I hunted in the snow and it sure was nice to do it again this year. It's not over yet so good luck.
Sheldon

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Great Fishermen are not born, They have to spend a lifetime neglecting other things to get that way!!!!!

This year was all set up to be a great hunting season!
With a bunch of work done around our camp this year on trails and shooting lanes along with new stands built in the summer we figured success was just around the corner.

Week 1:

There are 8 of us that have a hunting camp on private land in area 62 by Coxvalle ( Big Gull Lake ). We started out on opening day by sitting for 9hours straight. With only 1 Coyote under our belt and several 1000 squirrels and blue jays seen we decided to try another approach. We started pushing the bush with hounds and hunters.... results were 1 more coyote under our belts. This was pretty much our luck the rest of the week. Not even a flip of a deer seen by 8 hunters. There had been some old buck rubs and scrapes before opening day but they all dried up as I feel they left in search of does somewhere else.

Week 2:

We only hunted 1 day on some private land we have in area 63. With snow on the ground it didn't take long to push out 2 does and a cow and calf moose. Unfortunately moose season is long gone and we had no doe tags for area 63..... " Just our luck "... lol.
All and all we had a very memorable hunting season with lots of laughs, good food and tall tales over cold beers.
With no deer shot for the 2nd year in a row some would feel a little disappointed. Not the "Good Ole Boys" Gang .... we are making plans for next year and for some the count down has already begun.

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If you whisper to the walleye they will come!

Not sure if you are hunting 63A or B, but here is the MNR hunter survey results for all our areas between 2004 and 2008. (Sorry, the thread puts the number close together, can't get them to stay inline.) The year 2008 is the lowest success rate for all of us. You guys have better success than we do in WMU 71. Either you have more deer, or our deer are smarter

WMU Year Hunters Bucks Does Total % Success
57 2008 3935 517 592 1109 0.28
57 2006 4265 757 676 1433 0.34
57 2004 4103 970 684 1654 0.40
57 2005 3657 820 768 1588 0.43
57 2007 4072 938 859 1797 0.44
62 2008 3770 458 603 1061 0.28
62 2007 3908 625 868 1493 0.38
62 2004 3704 524 937 1461 0.39
62 2006 4017 692 930 1622 0.40
62 2005 3463 690 842 1533 0.44
63A 2008 6727 1097 986 2083 0.31
63A 2006 6455 1406 1260 2666 0.41
63A 2007 6324 1507 1361 2868 0.45
63A 2005 6644 1624 1396 3019 0.45
63A 2004 6392 1763 1478 3240 0.51
63B 2008 1686 319 387 706 0.42
63B 2006 2132 393 544 937 0.44
63B 2004 2229 429 582 1011 0.45
63B 2007 1970 437 535 972 0.49
63B 2005 2154 395 675 1070 0.50
71 2008 1347 151 149 300 0.22
71 2007 1401 166 179 345 0.25
71 2005 1366 211 179 390 0.29
71 2006 1445 172 246 418 0.29
71 2004 1286 201 245 446 0.35

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

thats pretty intresting really what I dont understand is the HUNTER Numbers..... how do they know how many hunters there are in one single unit/area.... is that how you buy a licens up here? like you have to buy a licens for an area ? or does your licens cover all of ontario ?? I know in NY you have to apply for a doe tag in a area but your buck tag can be filled anyplace in the state, In NY they just have a call center where you report your harvest so they can gather numbers
seems confusing to me I have so much to learn since I plan to move up here soon. I get a feeling its going to be hard for me to find a good place to archery hunt... do you guys have to take yourr deer to a check station after the kill?
I am amazed at how few hunters you really have for such a big area and still have so few deer compaired to some states in NY when you take any given year and add all the units together on that list you still fall well short in numbers killed in just one county In NY
2008 Deer Take by County County Number of Deer Bucks per Square Mile
2007 2008 2007 2008
Bucks Total Bucks Total
ALBANY 865 1,862 933 1,691 1.6 1.7
ALLEGANY 4,660 10,768 4,394 9,355 4.5 4.2
BROOME 1,624 3,505 1,573 3,464 2.3 2.2
CATTARAUGUS 4,470 9,934 3,871 9,284 3.5 3
CAYUGA 2,075 5,079 2,192 5,449 2.9 3.1
CHAUTAUQUA 3,640 8,765 3,176 7,664 3.4 3
CHEMUNG 1,441 2,967 1,401 3,222 3.5 3.4
CHENANGO 2,815 5,242 2,991 6,169 3.1 3.3
CLINTON 782 1,065 796 1,021 0.7 0.7
COLUMBIA 1,830 3,078 1,863 3,524 2.8 2.9
CORTLAND 1,155 2,435 1,171 2,682 2.3 2.3
DELAWARE 3,399 4,995 4,045 6,184 2.3 2.7
DUTCHESS 2,046 4,092 2,171 4,481 2.5 2.7
ERIE 2,970 6,359 2,714 6,203 3.6 3.2
ESSEX 1,192 1,613 1,244 1,578 0.6 0.7
FRANKLIN 1,505 2,313 1,398 2,090 0.9 0.8
FULTON 688 1,142 714 1,209 1.3 1.4
GENESEE 1,716 4,665 1,651 4,572 3.5 3.4
GREENE 1,244 1,923 1,291 2,144 1.9 1.9
HAMILTON 964 1,185 1,289 1,444 0.6 0.7
HERKIMER 1,818 3,004 1,997 3,145 1.3 1.4
JEFFERSON 3,215 6,734 3,322 7,308 2.5 2.5
LEWIS 2,331 3,629 2,369 3,813 1.8 1.8
LIVINGSTON 2,246 5,780 2,172 5,859 3.5 3.4
MADISON 1,579 3,291 1,813 3,968 2.4 2.7
MONROE 1,803 4,965 1,762 4,616 2.7 2.7
MONTGOMERY 542 949 558 1,013 1.3 1.3
NIAGARA 1,019 2,525 1,036 2,311 2 2
ONEIDA 2,282 3,948 2,431 4,432 1.9 2
ONONDAGA 1,776 4,050 1,829 4,279 2.2 2.3
ONTARIO 2,257 6,302 2,218 5,811 3.5 3.4
ORANGE 2,928 6,653 3,166 7,371 3.5 3.8
ORLEANS 1,084 2,972 1,018 2,872 2.7 2.6
OSWEGO 1,912 3,367 2,349 4,347 2 2.4
OTSEGO 2,603 4,682 2,909 5,288 2.6 2.9
PUTNAM 603 1,078 604 1,263 2.6 2.6
RENSSELAER 1,169 1,763 1,413 1,951 1.7 2.1
ROCKLAND 150 283 151 261 0.9 0.9
SARATOGA 1,193 2,140 1,201 2,246 1.5 1.5
SCHENECTADY 229 438 296 508 1.1 1.4
SCHOHARIE 1,483 2,750 1,522 2,660 2.4 2.4
SCHUYLER 1,023 2,258 1,006 2,308 3.1 3
SENECA 792 1,831 780 1,636 2.3 2.3
ST LAWRENCE 4,193 7,051 4,241 7,146 1.5 1.5
STEUBEN 5,657 12,796 5,326 13,572 4 3.7
SUFFOLK 781 2,159 805 2,528 0.9 0.9
SULLIVAN 2,271 4,252 2,259 4,439 2.3 2.3
TIOGA 1,951 4,603 1,812 4,378 3.7 3.4
TOMPKINS 1,853 4,608 1,820 4,397 3.8 3.7
ULSTER 1,805 3,877 1,783 3,701 1.6 1.6
WARREN 637 881 722 922 0.7 0.8
WASHINGTON 1,909 3,404 2,068 3,450 2.3 2.5
WAYNE 1,748 5,101 1,711 4,488 2.9 2.8
WESTCHESTER 654 1,904 609 1,740 1.5 1.4
WYOMING 2,388 5,750 2,216 5,179 4 3.7
YATES 1,486 4,376 1,575 4,343 4.3 4.6
TOTALS 104,451 219,141 105,747 222,979

Great numbers Adventure. Thanks for posting. It is neat to see the percentage drop over the past years.
Hey Chuck, When you buy a tag for Ontario you can bow hunt a buck anywhere in the province except where a controlled hunt is located. For a controlled hunt you have to apply to hunt in that area(prince edward county is a controlled hunt).If you get a controlled hunt tag you can hunt a buck only in the controlled hunt area. you can bow hunt these area's but the controlled hunt is for shotgun or muzzelloader and normally has different dates.
Once you get your tag and you can hunt a buck in most area's with the gun during gun season except for controlled hunt area's.
For any type of antlerless deer wether it is gun, bow or controlled hunt area you have to apply for an antlerless tag. When you apply for a "doe tag" you have to apply for a specific area. if you get a doe tag you can only take a doe in that area. One different thing up here is that you only get one lic per year(if available you can get additional license if allowed) and each lic allows you to shoot 1 deer. I have some freinds in Ohio that can shoot 5 deer per year on a single tag and when that tag is filled they can go get another one.
You may have to go out and write a test so you can get a PAL. Basically this allows you to carry a gun and purchase a firearm. If you don't have this and get checked it could hurt $$$ .
Not a big deal If they gave me one, I am sure you could pass it.HAHAHA.Don't worry we will be able to get you thru it.
I hope this confuses you even more than you already are.LOL
Good luck this weekend and be nice to the Trannyman. I still can't believe he is gonna let you in his boat!!!!!!!!!!
Sheldon

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Great Fishermen are not born, They have to spend a lifetime neglecting other things to get that way!!!!!

I have the results for all WMU's (Wildlife Management Unit) and controlled hunts in Ontario for both moose and deer if anyone else is interested.
The numbers are somewhat statistically calculated. The number of tags sold is known. The number of anterless tags applied for in each WMU is known. This combined with the hunters answers to the survey on where they hunted and what they shot gives a statistical deer success rate and numbers of hunters in each WMU. We do not have to take a deer to a check station or buy a deer licence for a specific WMU, just the anterless tag like Sheldon said.
I have always wondered why the population of deer in the states is so much higher as well. I guess you do have a warmer climate overall. How long are your bow and gun seasons?

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

very good question Adventure. and maybe in part also a reason the kill rate is hight,,,, our seasnons change according to zones like I mostly hunt the southern Zone but there is a north zone and a western zone......... in my zone the archery season opensed Oct 16 this year and runs until Nov 19th that would be the reguler archery season. Our Gun season open Nov 20 and runs 3 weeks into december, then there is a late archery season of 5 days and a muzzle loader season that runs 7 days both open and run the same time right after the reguler Gun season closes . so I think you guys may have a longer bow season but a shorter Gun season. but as I said they do change with each Zone. this year I have enough Tags to Harvest 4 deer if I want One buck with the bow, a deer of either sex with the bow, or muzzleloader a buck with a Gun, and a doe tag I can fill in a spisific DMU (Deer Management Area) some are lucky enough to draw 2 doe tags this would allow them 5 deer this year. also we are allowed to sign over our doe permits to someone else to use so lets say I have a permit and dont want to use it I can give it to someone else to fill and use

As far as WMU 71 goes, our bow season is Oct.1st - Dec. 31st, shotgun\muzzleloader\bow season is Nov. 1st - 14th and muzzloader\bow season is Nov. 29 - Dec. 5th. No dogs allowed. An anterless tag is guaranteed so you can shoot one or the other, but not both. Although there is a very good chance of getting an additional deer tag for bow. I think this is fairly typical of most of the WMU's around the Quinte region. Areas to the noth and east of WMU 71 do not have the restrictions on the use of dogs. Prince Edward County is a controlled gun hunt and runs Nov. 29 -Dec.5th. Their bow season is same as ours.

I don't think we can transfer deer tags. You can for moose under certain conditions and have to pull out a tooth and cut off an arm for them to do it though.

They have really opened up the seasons over the last few years. Bow used to start Oct. 15th and it used to be a one week season for gun and there was no muzzleloader season. There also never used to be additional tags. As much as I hate to say it, this may be in part why the deer numbers are slipping these last few years. There is no question that there were more deer around 5-25 years ago. There may still be pockets of high deer populations, but all WMU's in the southern portion of Ontario show our success rates dropped from 2004 to 2008.

The provincial totals dropped from 36% to 29%.
WMU /YEAR /# Active Hunters /Antlerless Harvest /Antlered Harvest /Total Harvest/success rate
Prov /2004 /173895 /27474 /35602 /63076 /0.36
Prov /2005 /172836 /27098 /36443 /63540 /0.37
Prov /2006 /180097 /27504 /34882 /62385 /0.35
Prov /2007 /182428 /28756 /37216 /65972 /0.36
Prov /2008 /176062 /22420 /27846 /50265 /0.29

Quinte area WMU's 64A-74B success rates were as follows:
Year /Success
2004 /0.36
2005 /0.38
2006 /0.33
2007 /0.34
2008 /0.24

I wish I had the 2009 results to include, but they aren't done yet.

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

What Sheldon said X2 except the part of the controlled hunt being buck only. It is either sex ( now Grizz get your mind out of the gutter ) Unless they have changed it this year but it has always been either sex for the controlled hunt. At least in the county anyways.

Hi Catcher,
I did not know that about the controlled hunt. I thought if you were able to get a controlled tag that you also had to apply for a doe tag. Thanks for clearing that up.
I don't apply anymore as I don't have the time off work and I never get a tag. They say this year they pulled the tags by 60% over the past years. Too many predators and not enough deer.
Good luck
Sheldon

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Great Fishermen are not born, They have to spend a lifetime neglecting other things to get that way!!!!!

There is 10 in our gang and we own 100 acre's surrounded by crown land about 9kms east of you on Ardock road. We too had a tough time with the hunt this year. We did get a 9 point buck on Saturday of the first week. The decision was made before the hunt not to shoot does or fawns, we did have 2 tags but decided to leave for the sons of some of the hunters who are invited to join us the last few days of the second week. There were some does and fawns, but none got shot the second week. Hopefully this decision will pay off in the future, we have 3 beagles, in almost every case when they got on a run the does and fawns would take to the water. This we had seen in the past, but not like what was happening this year.

The discussions in the evening over a pop led to the fact there are a lot of coyotes possibly the deer have figured out this is a good route of escape.

Like you fellows had got a lot of work done along with some duck hunting earlier in the fall so had a great time and had a excellent weather the first three days of the first week and all days of the second week.

Oh well in 50 weeks we can all get together and do it again.

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Fish often and enjoy, "you never know what tomorrow may bring"

Congrats on the 9pt buck Traveller. Good to hear you guys had a few deer in that area. Im sure there was a few that were able to out smart us in our area but still a sighting sure would have been nice. Great idea in regards to leaving the does and fawns for the younger generation. As much as I wanted to see a deer I knew deep down that it would be best to let the does and fawns walk. Don't get me wrong... I do love the taste of venison and does and fawns sure taste better then some ole swamp buck, but I think its key to leave the breeding stock alone for a couple years in hopes the population comes back.
PM me some directions sometime and maybe we could get together for a handshake and one of those pops you were talking about.
Jason

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If you whisper to the walleye they will come!

Great to hear you guys say that. I've been leaving the does and fawns alone around my place for about 3 years now hoping to see them come back like they used to be, but I know a lot of the other guys in the area don't do the same.
And with that said, I looked out the window while at work today and watched a big 10 pt buck run right down the train tracks into Trenton about 9:30. One of the other guys yelled over he was back again around 11:00. He gave everyone quite a show. We were joking he must have found himself a receptive doe and was going to get some smokes from the corner store.
I'm going to put some scent at the corner of our parking lot and see if I can get him in even closer tomorrow.

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HUNT, FISH and RIDE

Hey Adventure,
I heard the same story about the 10 pointer. You don't work on N Murry in Trenton do you. I am 2 buildings up the road from where I heard about the 10 pointer. I heard it was seen crossing behind Global med and our building.LOL. Small world eh.
Sheldon

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Great Fishermen are not born, They have to spend a lifetime neglecting other things to get that way!!!!!