Trending
OUTDOORS: Your bird dog watches to see what you leave behind
by David Thompson
My question for you in early October is: what are you going to leave behind? Will it be the bow and arrows, the shotgun and dog, or the fishing rod?
The reason for the question is that archery deer season opened Oct. 3, ruffed grouse and woodcock seasons start Oct. 17, pheasant season opens Oct. 24, and fall fishing for bass and trout can be expected to improve soon if it hasn't already.
To participate in any hunting and fishing season, different gear is used, so most of it will be left behind at home. If you are a specialist, choosing equipment will be easier. However, if you are versatile and wish to engage in most of those activities, your decision becomes complicated. If that happens, you'll need to force yourself to focus because if you don't, you will fret due to not being in two places at the same time.
There also is your bird dog to consider. If the dog is experienced in hunting upland game birds and senses that hunting season is soon to begin, leaving the dog behind is sure to cause disappointment for both of you. Really now, can you say goodbye and shut the door on your dog when you know she knows she's being excluded?
You could tell her that there aren't enough grouse locally to bother hunting for them. As for woodcock, you could tell the dog that it is too early in the fall for them to be migrating south. If woodcocks are going to show up, it won't be until November.
You'll have no excuse, however, for not taking the dog hunting for stocked pheasants on Oct. 24 while you go fishing for bass instead. That would rub salt into her wounds. She might never take you for a walk again.
You can see that in October you face biting off more than one person can chew. Doing so pulls you in too many directions. Over the years, you acquired a wide range of clothing and gear and a pickup truck or SUV, and now you can't decide what to use and what to leave behind.
People living in other countries don't face your problem due to a lack of money and fewer natural resources. Also, they probably don't live where government agencies manage and promote the wise use of renewable natural resources such as game and fish.
In our commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the separate Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission each manage the specific resources that are their responsibility. You should be aware, however, that the two commissions are voluntarily being studied by outside wildlife management experts to help them determine if combining the commissions could and should occur. What will happen remains to be seen. Many other states have consolidated fish and game departments.
You may already know that both Pennsylvania commissions no longer employ deputies effective Sept. 1. That will save money. It also will require adjustments by full-time game wardens and waterways conservation officers. We should expect a greater emphasis on law-abiding sportsmen and women reporting violations of hunting and fishing regulations.
You should note that both commissions continue to emphasize recruiting youths. Not many years after a kid is born and has a Social Security number, the child qualifies for separate youth hunting and fishing permits. Children can participate in programs held for mentored youths. For the programs to be successful, adult mentors are required. Mentors are often parents or other family members who know how to hunt and fish and can teach youths who accumulate clothing and equipment that they soon outgrow. These youths continue to grow larger as teenagers. By the time they are young adults, they own plenty of gear.
Outfitting young hunters, anglers, and trappers is easy because manufacturers have produced a large amount of all types of clothing and gear available at local sporting goods stores and from other sources. A youth with birthday or Christmas money is likely to spend it on new gear and to pay for gasoline if the youth has a driver's license and access to a vehicle. With a vehicle, a young hunter, trapper, or fisher can drive to land or water open to public hunting and fishing or to private land where permission to hunt, fish, or trap has been granted.
The reality is that less private land is available. Consequently, greater pressure is placed on public lands such as state game lands, state forests, state parks, and state boat launching sites on waterways. Cooperation among users is needed for safety and for their enjoyment of the outdoors.
Returning to the beginning of this column, do you know yet what gear you will leave behind? Will it be the bow and arrows, the shotgun, or the fishing rod? To use gear requires populations of game and fish that are renewable natural resources. As of now, ring-necked pheasants are not renewable mainly due to lack of habitat.
The same fate applies to bobwhite quail. Of course, neither pheasants nor quail are native to Pennsylvania and were instead introduced. Land development, harsh winters, predation, destruction of nests by mowing, and hunting pressure prevented both species from surviving in the wild through the latter 20th century and today.
As for ruffed grouse, they are native to our forests and have been here for a very long time. Grouse survive despite loss of woodland habitat. However, grouse rarely are seen in some woods that they once occupied. This game bird needs to be carefully watched and managed.
Note that grouse hunting season ends Dec. 24 and no season is held after Christmas or in January as it once was. Also note that grouse and other small game may be hunted during the firearms deer season and on Sunday. Overall, small game hunting opportunities have increased.
My bird dog has never seen a ruffed grouse because I have not taken her hunting in woods where grouse might live. Those woods are hunted by archery deer hunters and a small number of squirrel hunters. Using a bird dog in the same woods would interfere with those hunters in October and early November. The dog doesn't mind interfering with others, but I do. She'll need to be satisfied occasionally hunting for pheasants on public land. She won't be left behind to mope and look sad too often.