2010 Preseason March

[Professor T]

3/5/10

I made a very short trip to the land because I am between shifts at work. Had a doctor visit this afternoon and then a trip to the pharmacy and post office. Lucky to get to the land at all.

I pulled the TC pics and baited up. I place the SwampGhost at the mineral lick but I also placed a little bait there also. A small tree fell on the road at the bottom between the ridges. I cut it out the way and looked at the trees I planted for new growth. A few have signs of growth but not much. I baited the hog trap with regular corn saving the sour stuff for when I could actually set the trap.

I went back to the camp and scaned over the pictures looking for hogs. At the camera near the hog trap there was one of the sows from family # 2 with 8 piglets that I could count. one of the pictures caught them coming out the trap. I checked my cell phone and noticed the Rambow had called so I returned the call. We talked about what I discovered about the hogs and he said he would check the trap for me. I went back in the back with the sour corn and moved the trap slightly so that fresh bait was in front and the sour stuff was all the way in the rear of the trap.

I then brought a camera down to the WOWOWO and put some bait out on the deer trail near where I will put my stand for this year. I will be setting up a feeder there in the next few weeks. I looked around the area for any additional sign and saw some fresh droppings from a small deer. I just enjoyed being there. Have you ever been in a place in the woods and just know that this is the place. That's how I feel about the area. I just have to make it comfortable and get the deer to travel the area a little more closely to the stand.

3/6/10
Rambow called me to say there were no hogs in the trap. He will leave it set and check it tomorrow or Monday. If there are no hogs then I can check it Tuesday and/or Wednesday. Besides the benefit of the extra meat it will do good to get rid of two families that use my land consistently. There are two sows with 11 piglets in this family but all I could see at one time was 8 in the recent pictures.

[Professor T]

3/7/10
Rambow checked the hog trap for me again. There were no hogs and only part of the sour corn was gone. He baited with what corn I had left to sour at the camp.

3/9/10
I made another quick trip due to the rain. There were no hogs in the trap and all the bait was gone. I pulled the TC pix and there was not one hog picture on any of them. I went down to the wowowo again to look at different perspectives. I was hoping to hang the ladder and the stand but the rain stopped me from doing any of that. When working in the area I will need to bring a walking stick to help get down the hill. It was quite slippery today.

I stopped by Rambow's on the way home and he returned my meat grinder and had made me a spreader bar to hand those small piglets if we catch some more. We also looked at the TC pix. Nothing of real interest. I did have 1 coyote picture near the wowowow. There were 4 visits by deer 3 of which were during the day.

[Professor T]

[Professor T]

3/17/10
I made a trip to the land. No pictures of hogs. Have no fear they are around. I baited the trap with diesel covered corn and lowered the camera to get a better picture of anything in the trap.

I brought a 5 gal feeder and some ropes and pulleys down to the www. With a few attempts I finally got it where I wanted. On the final trip down the ridge I brought the corn.

I brought a Millenium Stand and an extra climbing stick with me. I took down the old stand and brought those sticks down to the bottom also. I wound up getting the first three sticks on the tree and called it a day. Climbing that hill several times and taking down the stand whipped my butt.

Doesn't sound like much but when you are working by yourself it takes a lot more effort. I definately need to find me a different rope for my harness. To much effort wasted in the tree to tie off.

[Professor T]

3/18/10
Rambow and I went to the WL&F meeting in Lafayette to speak against the proposed season changes in area 1 & 6. We met several other members of StickandStrings forum and BayouBucks.

[Professor T]

3/21/10
I am sending this letter to all the WL&F Commisioners:

Dear Sir,

I attended one of the meetings where comments on the Area 1 and Area 6 season change proposals were presented and comments were solicited. I objected then and had my voice heard. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to do this. However, not being an accomplished public speaker I was very nervous and did not present everything I wanted to say.

I am a private land owner and archery hunter. I hunt with the bow throughout the entire season. The early season has very good deer visibility and taking a deer is not easy but very much accomplishable. Once the gun seasons have started, getting a deer to come within bow range is much more difficult. Does have been educated just by our presence in the field and bucks have fallen out of their summer patterns. By the end of January there is no foliage in the trees and drawing a bow on a deer is extremely difficult. I am used to these difficulties and accept them. I will continue to hunt with my bow.

This does not mean that I want to make things more difficult than before. I am not against gun hunting at all. That is the way I started hunting. By making the season bucks only throughout the entire month of October bow hunters will be severely handicapped. Also by taking away the few days of quiet in the woods in February (area 6) it will handicap bow hunters more. The combination of the two is devastating to bow hunting success. Worse yet I believe that bow hunters may be tempted to take younger bucks because they are not allowed to shoot does during the early season. This will be taking a large step backwards in the advances this state has made in QDM.

I asked for the reason behind this proposal at the comment meeting. There were few answers given to any of the questions asked. This one was not answered. As a hunter and wildlife enthusiast I am confused by the reason for this proposal. I know that once fawns start eating hard food there is a very high probability of their survival. I have seen this the one year we allowed does to be shot early. The following year we had record deer sightings of mostly yearling deer. We are also hearing that the harvest of the 2009-10 season was 8% below the previous year. What is the reason for this? From what I have personally witnessed this year was the best year for deer hunting ever. Record numbers of trophy deer were harvested. Are we finally getting it right? Yes, I think we are.

More and more hunters are practicing letting deer walk. This includes many of the “Meat Hunters” of the past. They are seeing and understanding that a little restraint makes your hunting better in the future. This could be the reason why the harvest numbers are low. We had 323 deer sightings this year on my 45 acres. For the second time I have let a 200 plus pound buck walk at close range not wanting to use my last antlered tag. We, on my land, now wait until October 15th each year in area 1 to shoot does. This is voluntary and could be changed later if the doe population seems to be out of balance. Private land owners and clubs are taking care of the deer now. More deer are walking past hunters who have had a mind change.

More can be accomplished with a change of thought than a change in the law. Hunters are growing more and more responsible. I know I have and many of my friends and family have changed along with me.

Please let the hunters manage this part themselves. Please vote ”No” to both proposals of Area 1 and Area 6 season changes.

Thank you,
Donald P. Toups

[Professor T]

3/22/10
I got a late start going to the land because of babysitting. I finally got the wowowo stand up. I am changing it's name to "www.Tunica, LA" with the intent of some live from Tunica posts during the upcoming season. I did a little trimming and will have to reture with a chain saw to cut some of the larger overhanging trees that are in the way of getting a shot. These are trees that need to go anyway because they are half laying down.

All the food was gone from the hog trap. I thought coons did not eat corn soaked in diesel. I was wrong. So will crows and who knows what else. Not a pig near the trap. Howerver there was a sow with 8 shoats about 30 plus pounds each on the E-Plot on the 20th. She did not return.

Pouring diesel on corn

Cardinal

Coons

Doves

Possum

[Professor T]

3/27/10
On the way to the camp I stopped and talked with Rambow and a friend of his. It was a short but good visit.

At the land I pulled TC pix, baited up at several locations, moved a feeder from Koltons Korner to the Lone OPak Tree stand, moved a feeder from the W-Plot to the T-Plot, baited the hog trap with sour corn and rice bran covered with diesel and left the door tied open. Then I went down the creek to view the www stand from a deer's eye view. It will have plenty cover once the leaves grow but once they fall I will be out in the open again. You do have to look for the stand to see it though.

There were seven hog rootings down in the creek so they are still around. I got three pictures of the same family. This is one of the sows in Family #2 that has 8 young ones. They are getting much larger now and would provide more meat if caught.



The T-Plot will be put back into action in 2010. I moved a feeder here in a corner that may allow bucks to feed more freely. This is not the same line of thinking that I used two years ago when I killed the 8 point off this stand. I am going to try something a little different to see how the deer react. I will not be able to shot a deer at the feeder from the stand becasue of the foliage. They also should not notice me from the feeder. If they step out then Mr. Muzzy may greet them.

[Professor T]

Crabapple tree planted in 2009


Peach tree planted in 2009


Peach tree planted in 2009


foreground is white oak planted in 2001
in rear is sawtooth oak planted in 2001

[Professor T]

T2FR is still holding his right antler. This is the same buck that had the snow pix.