There’s no doubt about it now. Despite the warm weather, fall is here. The calendar says so, as the dark mornings and shorter days of October take hold.
For big-game hunters, the excitement is growing. All of the trail camera pictures and scouting will either pay off or go for naught over the next six weeks. Those who hunt with bows are out already, while the firearms will have to wait a bit.
Early bow season opened over the past 10 days in both the Northern and Southern zones, and will run until Oct. 25 and Nov. 15, respectively. Early muzzleloader will start the customary week before rifle season in the Northern Zone. The second annual youth hunt for 14- and 15-year-olds is set for Oct. 12-14, Columbus Day weekend.
Rifle season in the Northern Zone will start Oct. 26.
Black bear season in the Adirondacks started Sept. 14, and the reports have been fairly slow. Nate West at The Crossroads Country Store & Sport Shop said he had not heard any reports of any bruins being taken by any of his shop’s customers as of Sunday.
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He said license sales have been very good so far at The Crossroads, but early bowhunters have not had much success so far.
“The only one we’ve weighed in was an eight-pointer, 178 pounds,” he said. “The young guy got it 40 minutes into the first day of bow season.”
Chris Nemec at Nemec’s Sport Shop in Warrensburg said his customers have weighed in two bears that were each around 200 pounds, and a few smaller bucks. One of the bucks shot by a young lady was a 160-pound, five-pointer with six-inch tines, he said.
The general consensus is that the region’s whitetail population is in good shape after several mild winters in a row and a summer and fall where there is plenty of food in the woods. The beech nut and berry crops were very good everywhere I went in recent weeks, and the story seems to be the same around the region.
“The apple trees are loaded, the branches are breaking from so many apples,” West said. “There are a lot of acorns and beech nuts too.”
That wealth of mast could make things a bit more difficult for those heading afield, since deer and bears don’t have to move as far to find something to eat as they did last fall, when dry conditions caused a major natural food shortage and forced deer and bears into our backyards to feed.
Last fall deer were all over the place, and this year they seem to be more toward their customary early morning and dusk feeding spots — wood lines, farm fields, etc.
What is seeming like an early foliage season will be a factor too, with leaves off the trees already in many places.
The fall turkey season also began Oct. 1, though gobblers don’t get nearly as much attention now with big game seasons ramping up.
Last days
Those wishing to get one last outing on a trout stream have a few more days left in the season on most streams, with trout season ending Oct. 15 on most waters. It’s a great time of year to go if you can get out.
Fall is a time of year where trout feed heavily to prepare for winter or spawning (brown trout spawn in the fall). Streamers and terrestrial flies can bring some big fish this time of year.
To that point, a reader sent me a picture of a rainbow he caught last week on a local stream that appeared to be pushing 5 pounds he said he caught on an olive Wolly Bugger. He said he also put two 18-inchers back the next day.
The season is year-round on the special regulations section of the Batten Kill as well as the whole Kayaderosseras Creek and Schroon River. Some ponds and lakes are open to trout fishing year-round.
Sunday’s rain should help bring stream levels up a bit. I got a few hours on the Mettawee River one day last week and found it very low and clear, though the trout were still very aggressive at some of my favorite spots in Middle Granville and West Pawlet, Vt. I’ve been hearing that late afternoon and early evening have been the peak times in recent week.
Boating changes
A change in state law will force new boaters to take a safety course starting next year.
The change will take effect next May, so it will be a factor for next summer’s boating season.
Boat operators born on or after May 1, 1996, will be required to have a certificate showing completion of an eight-hour safety course. The bill will initially cover anyone 18 or younger, while older boaters would be grandfathered and exempt.
First-time violators would face fines of $100 to $250.
In my opinion, the change is long overdue. There are too many people on the water who don’t know what they’re doing, and we have seen far too many accidents in our region caused by them. I can remember at least a half-dozen young boaters slamming into rocks or islands on Lake George over the last decade alone. Maybe a safety course would have prevented some of them.
On another note, the DEC announced recently that there will be some changes to hunting and license fees and procedures next year.
According to the DEC, the “NY Open for Fishing and Hunting” plan streamlines sporting licenses and reduces fees to benefit sportsmen and sportswomen throughout the state. Fees will also be lowered for non-residents to encourage out-of-state hunters to experience the great game opportunities in New York. These changes will first go into effect in 2014.
Don Lehman may be reached at dlehman@poststar.com.
