Anyone from Cathole Lease still on the forum?

[BSK]

If so, just curious how you all did this year?

 

[TheLBLman]

I think UPSman stops by occassionally.

 

[Gravey]

@UPSman

 

[UPSman]

We didn't do much this year. Had a couple of good bucks on camera but didn't shoot any. We were covered up in small bucks. Shot a few does though.

 

[BSK]

We didn't do much this year. Had a couple of good bucks on camera but didn't shoot any. We were covered up in small bucks. Shot a few does though.

Same here. I've never seen so many yearling bucks. No idea why. I'm still going through the data for this year, but in a normal year we will have around 20 unique yearling bucks. So far this year, I've identified 41 different yearlings.

 

[TheLBLman]

I've never seen so many yearling bucks. No idea why.

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one
Perhaps you've simply had a significant increase in the general area's deer density?

 

[Antler Daddy]

Sounds like you may have a bunch of 2.5 bucks next year.

 

[BSK]

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one
Perhaps you've simply had a significant increase in the general area's deer density?

I completely agree, but that many? That's a big single-year jump in population.

 

[BSK]

Sounds like you may have a bunch of 2.5 bucks next year.

It will be very interesting to see how many 2 1/2s we have next year.

This year was extremely odd in that we had an inordinate number of yearlings and 3 1/2 year-old bucks, but virtually no mature bucks. Will be interesting to see if we have a bunch of mature bucks next year.

 

[chris1976]

I completely agree, but that many? That's a big single-year jump in population.

Sounds like the logging and improvements are starting to pay off. Now if you can just get those clear cuts knocked back every few years to keep it going.

 

[DeerCamp]

I completely agree, but that many? That's a big single-year jump in population.

I'm thinking about anything i can that might affect yearling populations.

1. Maternal birthing rates and sex ratios
2. Aggression related dispersal

I doubt the first is the cause, since the harvest hasn't change THAT much.

Could it be that with the awesome mass crop that the maternal pressure that causes dispersal was lower?

 

[Carlos]

How did the place get its name?

 

[TheLBLman]

I completely agree, but that many? That's a big single-year jump in population.

It's quite plausible that more of your "observations" might be more for a 2-yr period than a single year. Your property's acreage may be a minority of "your" deer's total range, and perhaps last year, they just had less reason to include your property in their range as much.

Am thinking this because your mostly forested property had relatively low food resources (low mast production) last year, while your neighboring property to the west had better (more big fields, more cultivated crops). Despite the dramatic improvements you've made in food resources, it is likely year-round better on some adjoining properties UNLESS you have a good acorn crop?

But, what may be the biggest factor is your neighbors, in all directions, having a dramatic cut-back in doe harvests (over the past 3 or 4 years in particular). With herd health being good, you likely have had many healthy fawns getting pregnant, so fawn recruitment may be out the roof (past couple years), not because each doe has high fawn survival, but maybe more just because 7-month old fawns are getting pregnant, i.e. more females, a lot more, having more fawns.

 

[BSK]

Sounds like the logging and improvements are starting to pay off. Now if you can just get those clear cuts knocked back every few years to keep it going.

That's going to be the tough part.

 

[BSK]

I'm thinking about anything i can that might affect yearling populations.

1. Maternal birthing rates and sex ratios
2. Aggression related dispersal

I doubt the first is the cause, since the harvest hasn't change THAT much.

Could it be that with the awesome mass crop that the maternal pressure that causes dispersal was lower?

At this point, I think just about anything is possible. I thought I had seen everything from all the years of photo censusing properties. But stuff I have seen the last two years has me reevaluating everything I thought I knew!

 

[BSK]

It's quite plausible that more of your "observations" might be more for a 2-yr period than a single year. Your property's acreage may be a minority of "your" deer's total range, and perhaps last year, they just had less reason to include your property in their range as much.

Am thinking this because your mostly forested property had relatively low food resources (low mast production) last year, while your neighboring property to the west had better (more big fields, more cultivated crops). Despite the dramatic improvements you've made in food resources, it is likely year-round better on some adjoining properties UNLESS you have a good acorn crop?

You're probably exactly right TheLBLman. Last year, we had zero acorns, no food plots, and even the native habitat dried up and died. However, in some of the swampy ground on adjoining bottomlands, some Swamp White and Swamp Chestnut Oaks produced. THAT is where all the deer were.

But, what may be the biggest factor is your neighbors, in all directions, having a dramatic cut-back in doe harvests (over the past 3 or 4 years in particular). With herd health being good, you likely have had many healthy fawns getting pregnant, so fawn recruitment may be out the roof (past couple years), not because each doe has high fawn survival, but maybe more just because 7-month old fawns are getting pregnant, i.e. more females, a lot more, having more fawns.

That would make sense as well.

As soon as I finish calculating this year's population figures (still working on December data), I'll post the graph of annual population. Since we timbered the place and since the Refuge quit Earn-A-Buck, population growth has been explosive to put it mildly.

 

[DeerCamp]

You're probably exactly right TheLBLman. Last year, we had zero acorns, no food plots, and even the native habitat dried up and died. However, in some of the swampy ground on adjoining bottomlands, some Swamp White and Swamp Chestnut Oaks produced. THAT is where all the deer were.


That would make sense as well.

As soon as I finish calculating this year's population figures (still working on December data), I'll post the graph of annual population. Since we timbered the place and since the Refuge quit Earn-A-Buck, population growth has been explosive to put it mildly.

If that's the case, a bunch of them are likely to disappear next year (I assume). I guess the good news is that it's probably similar in the areas around you, and you will probably have 20 new 2.5 year olds to catalogue next year. The work never ends!

 

[chris1976]

That's going to be the tough part.

If you haven't already I would look into one of the companies that use drones to spray agriculture. Would be alot cheaper than a helicopter I'm guessing.

 

[UPSman]

How did the place get its name?

View attachment 212235

It's the name of a local road in the area. The land owner had the place already named and we all thought it was unique and 23 years later….well, he we are.

 

[UPSman]

Same here. I've never seen so many yearling bucks. No idea why. I'm still going through the data for this year, but in a normal year we will have around 20 unique yearling bucks. So far this year, I've identified 41 different yearlings.

I'm pretty sure we were getting some bucks off of the refuge. It was almost comical as to how many young bucks we had. It wasn't in any one general area either but all over the entire property. No more than 4 of us hunted at any one time and texting back and forth between us in the mornings, we were all seeing different bucks.