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2014 MICHIGAN DEER HUNTING PROSPECTS
October, 2014
Brent Rudolph, Wildlife Research Specialist Rose Lake Wildlife Research Center, East Lansing (517) 641-4903 ext. 248
Ashley Autenrieth, Northern Regions Deer Biologist
Gaylord Operations Service Center
(989) 732-3541 ext. 5044
The leading reason many individuals participate in deer hunting is simply the opportunity to spend time outdoors with friends and family, but actually harvesting a deer is still very important to many deer hunters. No amount of hunting guarantees a harvest, but preparation and hard work are keys to producing the best chance to see and take deer, or to mentor a new hunter through a safe and enjoyable season. The 2014 deer season is expected to be a successful year for many hunters, and as always, will certainly offer the exciting challenge we call ‘hunting’.
Persistence can pay off for deer hunters. Nationwide, successful deer hunters hunt an average of 18 days – slightly more than the average of about 14 days that Michigan deer hunters spent afield last year. However, chances for success are greatest for those who are prepared. Part of hunting preparations each year includes becoming familiar with the most recent regulations. The deer website of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) – www.michigan.gov/deer – provides highlights of regulation changes, information about deer management, and links to additional resources, such as a list of deer check stations. Please refer to the 2014 Hunting and Trapping Digest and Antlerless Digest, available at DNR Operations Service Centers, license vendors, or available in electronic formats through links at this site, for a map of all Deer Management Units (DMUs) and other regulation details.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are collaborating to assess a recent positive environmental DNA (eDNA) result for silver carp - a species of Asian carp -- within the lower Kalamazoo River, Allegan County, Michigan.
Two hundred water samples were taken in July 2014 along the Kalamazoo, from below the Caulkins Dam in Allegan County to the mouth of the river. Laboratory results, which take several months to process, were reviewed by the DNR Oct. 2. One of the of 200 samples tested positive for silver carp eDNA. The positive sample was taken from just below the Caulkins Dam.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
The Michigan Fisheries Division will be hard at work this fall and winter gathering the necessary eggs for the continued production of hatchery fish to support fisheries management objectives for Michigan's world-class fisheries. Fall egg takes will start†or already are under way for wild Chinook and coho salmon and for captive broodstocks of brown, rainbow, brook and lake trout.
Chinook salmon eggs are being collected at the Little Manistee River Weir through Oct. 9. Coho salmon eggs will be collected at the Platte River State Fish Hatchery Weir Oct. 15-21.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
A Kent County man has pled guilty in a deer-poaching case that occurred in September in Montcalm County and is the first case of a violation meeting the new enhanced sentencing guidelines for poaching that became law in Michigan earlier this year.
On Sept. 21, Michigan DNR conservation officers responded to a complaint phoned in to the Report All Poaching (RAP) Line involving an adult suspect who allegedly killed two trophy white-tailed deer in Montcalm County during the 2014 Youth Hunt while acting as a mentor to an 8-year-old hunter. Jacob Powers, 25, of Lowell, Michigan, was arraigned Oct. 3 on the charge of taking two white-tailed deer during the closed season before a magistrate of the 64B District Court at Stanton in Montcalm County.
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(Provided by Michigan DNR)
Skeet Reese with Escanaba BassESCANABA, Mich. - Mention Lake Michigan's Bays de Noc to most anglers and they'll immediately start talking about fishing for walleye.
But in the wake of September's high-profile Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship - which brought 50 of America's top anglers to Escanaba to ply the waters of Big and Little Bays de Noc - what was once seemingly relegated to "also-ran" status is now national news: The Bays are loaded with trophy bass, too.
"The fishery has always been kind of walleye-centric," said DNR fisheries biologist Darren Kramer. "Bass is kind of an up-and-coming, emerging fishery. Every year we see more and more bass boats, and more out of state anglers, taking advantage of the fishery. There's a lot of traffic out on Big Bay de Noc after the bass opener. That fishery's really taken off in the last five or six years."