By Louie Stout

Whitetail DeerThere are some interesting hunting and fishing regulation proposals coming to Hoosier sportsmen over the next few months.

Perhaps the most interesting and pertinent proposal is a change in next year’s archery season. The DNR is offering an earlier start for bow hunters only, excluding crossbow shooters.

It’s all speculative now, as the DNR will take this proposal and others through the public comment period to receive input.

If passed, the deer archery season would start Sept. 15 instead of Oct. 1, but would be for bow shooters only.

The full archery season, that allows crossbows, would open Oct. 1 as it always has and continue through the first Sunday in January.

As you may recall, the allowance of crossbows created quite the brouhaha when it was legalized a few years ago. Recurve and compound bow hunters didn’t like sharing the woods with crossbowers, so this recent proposal was to appease them.

Also, the DNR is proposing the addition of a primitive muzzleloader season that would start the first Monday in January and run six additional days. The bag limit would be combined with the regular muzzleloader season.

The state also wants to change the pheasant season to Nov. 1 through Dec. 15. Presently, the season runs Nov. 9-Dec. 23.

The change would make pheasant concurrent with the quail season for northern hunters. The DNR wants to also change the north/south boundary to establish I-74 as the dividing line. The southern zone season would run through Jan. 10.

Wildlife officials want to lower the quail bag limit from five to four in the north. They say pheasant and quail season changes are warranted because of diminishing habitat, especially in the northern part of the state.

Rabbit hunters could see a slight modification, too. As of now, the season runs Nov. 9 through Feb. 15 on private lands and Oct. 1 through Jan. 31 on DNR properties. The DNR wants to shift that to a statewide season of Nov. 1 through Feb. 28.

And because of the small game season change, squirrel hunters would be required to wear hunter orange on Nov. 1 while in the field with other small game hunters.

In fishing, the DNR would like to impose a 12- to 15-inch protective slot limit on Big Long Lake in LaGrange County, with not more than two bass being over 15 inches. The lake has an abundance of small bass and there is concern that the overpopulation will threaten the quality of bluegill fishing there.

Wall Lake (LaGrange County) walleye anglers would see a 16-inch size and two-fish bag limit if the proposal passes.

Other noteworthy proposals would add a nonresident youth extra deer bonus antlerless license for the youth season; allow draw-loc devices on archery equipment when crossbows are in season; removes the prohibition of over-and-under combination rifle shotguns during deer season; impose a 12-fish limit on lake whitefish in Lake Michigan.

In other DNR actions, the Natural Resources Commission gave final approval for a number of regulations that were proposed earlier this year.

Those include allowing three antlerless deer to be taken under the deer license bundle and adding one day to the fall wild turkey archery season.

The DNR also added more free fishing days to the calendar. Previously, free fishing weekend coincided with National Fishing and Boating Week in June. Anglers won’t be required to have a license April 20 and May 18 as well as June 2.

It also gave preliminary approval of several other items that will come before a public hearing Dec. 6.

Among those of Michiana interest include extending the 15-inch walleye size limit on the Elkhart River in Elkhart County. The St. Joseph River has had a 15-inch size limit, but the Elkhart and most lakes are under a 14-inch size limit. Increasing the Elkhart limit to 15 inches offers additional protection to walleyes planted by the Elkhart River Restoration Association this year and eliminates enforcement problems for officers working that area.