President's Island Review

[catman529]

Nothing to do with flooding, the regs they use have no basis in any kind of whitetail management. And you have very limited opportunity to legally kill a buck, and you make one of the hunts in the middle of October. Really? Like I said, TWRA completely screwed the pooch on that one. Most likely one person who has the "power" instead consulting a biologist or even the hunters in Tennessee. The hunters in Tennessee could easily do a better job of managing a limited draw hunt. I believe a non hunter or someone who doesn't care about deer management came up with the regs. I am far from alone in my thoughts.

Restricting hunting to a few days out of the year on 6,000 acres of missisippi river bottomland has more effect on the age structure (and number of big bucks) than anything else TWRA could do. If they had an October buck hunt back before the flood, I guarantee you'd see some impressive deer killed. The older guys I talked to on the October doe hunts told stories of the big deer they'd seen and how many deer they'd see in a sit. They can change the regs all they want, but if the island keeps flooding, it's not gonna get any better.

 

[deerfever]

I agree with some of your conclusions HH. An age and /or antler score restriction would have been a better approach to restricting harvest. However, what happens when a buck comes in too young or too small? It's rack is confiscated? That's what happened in our club. Can you imagine the backlash? Maybe a better approach was to cut the number of hunters in half and allow hunters to shoot what they want. I had to pass on more than one P&Y 8 pointers. I think there was a lot of pressure from surrounding landowners not to over harvest which could have resulted in the harvest rules. Even still without the flooding it would be a great hunt.

No one should have to pass on a P&Y 8 pointer there is no sound reasoning behind that. To me it's simple 4 point on one side 15 inch outside spread or better. Or simply 8 point or better, if the thing they are trying to accomplish is age , it's not working anyway. Go look at the pictures most are 3.5 but quite a few 2.5 year old 9 pointers are harvested. Pass a 5.5 year old huge 8 but it's okay to kill a 2.5 year old 9? There is not enough deer killed with 30 people on a bow hunt for it to even matter. Honestly they probably don't need any restrictions, why would a man wait 12 years or more to kill a 4 point ? People on that hunt are there for the buck of a lifetime . Move the October hunt to sometime in November and keep the December hunt and you got something in the future. I am probably wrong but simply an opinion.

 

[Headhunter]

IMO, most attempt to get drawn 8 to 10 years to get a chance to hunt PI. First no way should that someone even have the opportunity to hunt in mid October, heck October at all or most likely even early November. Especially a bowhunter who waits that long, they should get a chance to hunt (when whatever rut happens or is supposed to happen) at that time.

Then 2 other regs from the start, allow spikes to be killed and a buck has to be a 9 ptr or better? Asinine and horrible way to manage an area. Great, kill the spikes and possibly what could have been a great buck.

For the 9 point rule, stupid, well maybe if it was a quota hunt with a 1,000 hunters, even a few hundred hunters, heck just 100 hunters. They have had 80 people at the most and now it is 50. Even the guy who was the deer biologist for the TWRA at one time said the 9 point rule was stupid on here. Not one deer biologist I know of would support either rule or say there is valid reason for either rule.

Then with a bow, you can shoot a smaller, possibly younger buck just because it has 9 or more points but have to pass a mature 8 pointer (a buck that there are hunters who will pay thousands of dollars to kill) with a bow or even a crossbow in your hands. Beyond stupid and one of the MANY reasons so many loathe the TWRA, they are so close to liberal, communist, socialist nutjobs it is not even funny. It is actually sad. Luckily all the game wardens I have had any interactions with have been great people, about the only good part of the TWRA. At least, the ones I have met, have had common sense. If I had the money and got drawn and killed a 140" or better 8 pointer, I think with the right lawyers you could win that argument in court. It is rare to see a 130" 8 pointer, much less larger and I have heard of 150" or better 8 pointers there. I believe a judge would rule in your favor (since the TWRA sets this up and promotes it as a "trophy" hunt) and especially since there are places that buck would cost a person thousands of dollars.

If the others who hunt the private land on the island control the regs on PI, then that is somewhat different, but if the TWRA sets the regs, sad, just sad.

I know for a fact when the Cumberland Springs WMA was done away with it was because the owner of that land said the TWRA did NOTHING except sell licenses. That was it. How do I know, I was close friends with the owner, Mary Motlow, she told me personally she loved the idea of more land for people to hunt but the TWRA ruined it.

The TWRA has and does a few good things, but they are quickly becoming a liberal, socialist dream. The duck blinds debacle is possible the saddest thing ever.

 

[Gravey]

HH…the draw is 30 people not 50 like it used to be so even less people. We were told it got changed because the right person knew someone. Imagine that!

 

[Andy S.]

HH…the draw is 30 people not 50 like it used to be so even less people. We were told it got changed because the right person knew someone. Imagine that!

A Commissioner and his teenage son hunted December quota hunt with me in 2017 with 50 quota draw and experienced the sh*tshow firsthand (hunters walking everywhere, deer density less than desirable). It was no coincidence the quota was changed to 30 the very next year.

 

[Headhunter]

HH…the draw is 30 people not 50 like it used to be so even less people. We were told it got changed because the right person knew someone. Imagine that!

My bad, I have never put in for it, 30 people and a person has to wait many years to get drawn and may have to pass a "once in a lifetime deer", ON A BOW HUNT? Just sad.

 

[AT Hiker]

I've posted this on another thread. I hunted it in 2019. I've hunted all over the Midwest and lucky enough to harvest a few big deer.

But with one day of scouting and everyone else scouting and then hunting for three days with a bow it was the best three days I've ever had. I seen 8-10 bucks a day and some true giant deer.

I didn't need to kill something to have a great experience. Hard to kill a big deer in 3 days but it's always hard.

Good luck to everyone getting to hunt this year!!

I think I responded to you in that other post but anyways…your the exception to that year. Im excited you had an extraordinary hunt and even though I lost my deer, it was no more than a decent three days of hunting for me and the many others I talked too.
I did have a great time, met some great people and learned some things.
Zero kills is zero kills and not something you'd expect on a decade of waiting.

 

[Country1]

I wish everyone would stop signing up for this mismanaged crap hunt.....so I would finally get to go.. LOL. 8 pts and patiently waiting.

 

[Slaughter-06]

I thought the early hunt was spike/doe only. When did it go to buck?
I got drawn in 2009 with two other friends we all tagged out.
I got a 143" ten point first day around noon.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

In reality

With the small number of permits a year abs being bow only, it could be kill whatever you want on 6300 acres and it wouldn't affect it one bit.

 

[SKFOOTER]

Following.

 

[UpperTully]

TWRA screwed up a great opportunity for many at PI. I have never put in for it and don't plan to. So sad the TWRA could take a place with so much potential and ruin it.

Although I don't agree with the management approach (9pt/20"), TWRA had absolutely nothing to do with the decline or "ruining" of the Island.

 

[BigAl]

Although I don't agree with the management approach (9pt/20"), TWRA had absolutely nothing to do with the decline or "ruining" of the Island.

I agree also. Too restrictive for a once-a-year 3 day bow.

 

[Headhunter]

Although I don't agree with the management approach (9pt/20"), TWRA had absolutely nothing to do with the decline or "ruining" of the Island.

If the TWRA sets the regs (9 point or better and allowing the killing of spikes) and the dates of the hunt (October archery hunt for what could have been a once in a lifetime opportunity) they absolutely had EVERYTHING to with "ruining" of the island.

 

[catman529]

If the TWRA sets the regs (9 point or better and allowing the killing of spikes) and the dates of the hunt (October archery hunt for what could have been a once in a lifetime opportunity) they absolutely had EVERYTHING to with "ruining" of the island.

The island flooded and decimated the deer herd. Then it kept flooding. The rules or dates of the hunt have nothing to do with the lack of deer or abundance of cocklebur thickets on the island now. They could move the hunts to November and December and up the quota to 100 each, and it still wouldn't be what it used to.

 

[DeerCamp]

Back in 2011 I had 4 or 5 points saved up.

I was super excited when I got the email telling me I had been drawn.... for the antlerless hunt. No idea how I did that, but I was going to go make the best of it.

Then, shortly before the hunt my youngest daughter was born earlier than expected and had some health complications, so I wasn't able to go.

I didn't apply for a few years after that, and then started saving points again. Last year I was back up to 4 points, decided I'd rather hunt now than wait 10 years for the unknown.

Drew Yuchi Nov hunt 2020 - got COVID the week before.

I'm 0 for 2 and scared to get drawn for anything else.

 

[DeerCamp]

Interesting - dug up this old thread from 2013 about PI.

You can see that the floods were high enough to get a deer caught in the top of a tree.

Presidents Island

So I'm looking at The Hunters Toolbox and checking Pres Island results from last year. 380 Hunters and only five Deer! that's it?? 2011 was seven, prior to that it was 30 to 40. Number of Hunters hasn't changed that much.

www.tndeer.com

 

[Spurhunter]

If the TWRA sets the regs (9 point or better and allowing the killing of spikes) and the dates of the hunt (October archery hunt for what could have been a once in a lifetime opportunity) they absolutely had EVERYTHING to with "ruining" of the island.

You are confusing the President's Island deer herd with the President's Island deer hunt. The MS River floods "ruined" President's Island's deer herd. TWRA can't control that. I can agree the regs and hunt dates could be changed to make the hunt better, but TWRA didn't ruin the island or the deer herd.

 

[UpperTully]

If the TWRA sets the regs (9 point or better and allowing the killing of spikes) and the dates of the hunt (October archery hunt for what could have been a once in a lifetime opportunity) they absolutely had EVERYTHING to with "ruining" of the island.

Like I said, I don't agree with a lot of things TWRA does. The management restrictions can be greatly improved from their present rules they're way off based from reality. However, your logic of TWRA ruining the Island is way off base. TWRA hasn't ruined anything, several record book floods impacted the heard.

Also Spikes were removed from being harvested on all 9pt rule WMA's for about 2 or 3 years now.

If you read back through my posts in this thread, I've explained exactly what's happened on the Island in great detail and not one thing is a result of TWRA's actions.

 

[UpperTully]

I agree also. Too restrictive for a once-a-year 3 day bow.

I fully agree.

I don't know what the perfect verbiage should be but every buck over 3.5 should be fair game. You'll see the success rate increase and more astonishing 6, 7 and 8's killed.