Catoosa?

[tn24]

I was looking at the Tn Deer Registry and started checking the deer from Catoosa. I hunted there in the 80's and always seen some big bucks being checked out. I was surprised that all the deer listed were before the antler restrictions were implemented. Now I know everybody doesn't register their deer but it made me wonder if the restrictions were working or if something else had happened that had maybe hurt the hunting there?

 

[mimitk]

If u watch the video from the Bridgestone Firestone post the twra agent said they had a EHD outbreak and it hurt the deer herd bad on Catoosa

 

[MickThompson]

Was catoosa same as statewide then? increased days afield will stack the odds in a hunter's favor too. Hard to come in relatively cold and find the big boy hiding out on 80,000 acres.

 

[PickettSFHunter]

Well I know quite a few have been killed that would make the registry in the last few years. They are probably just entered under the county or not entered. I know none of the public land registry deer in my neighboring county get entered under the public land, just county.


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[Dean Parisian]

I believe total harvest this year was around 328 if memory serves, I looked at the numbers not too long ago for 2015 Catoosa kill stats.

Sure a lot more than the 98 in total that were killed in 1998!!!!

 

[TboneD]

So there's no chance of this being from high grading?


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[PillsburyDoughboy]

I Hunted Catoosa pretty heavy back in the late 90's and Early 2000. They have had their fair share of natural problems on Catoosa. I think it was around 2001 they had the pine beetle infestation ??? It sure killed off alot of the trees and made a real mess of the place. I quit going it was so bad. Its taken years of hard work on the TWRA part to get it back to where it was before. Someone mentioned the EHD outbreak. I had not heard that before. Perhaps that was when I had quit going from about 2002 to 2012????

Ive only been on the eradication hunts for wild boar. I have seen some pretty decent bucks while boar hunting. The place is looking better each and every year. Lots of hard work has gone into managing the place. Its one of the best places in the state to hunt IMHO. Maybe not the best trophy place but one of the best places to hunt. I love the rolling and hilly terrain. I feel like I am really in the wilderness when I am hunting there. The roads for the most part are kept up well and the trails are clearly marked.

If it were a little closer I might consider doing a few deer hunts there.

 

[bigjohn]

IMO it has def. not helped. Seen more deer on Catoosa in the 80s than u do now.

 

[morgancountry]

Catoosa was hit very hard with EHD in 2007. Also the hog population had gotten so out of control about the same time. Hogs will drive deer out of an area. The antler restrictions have help tremendously. (Trail cam pics to prove it). The problem is that older bucks are harder to hunt, especially at Catoosa where viability is low and it is so thick. Also, whenever that many people rush an area for a 3 day hunt, day one is good, lots of deer killed that day, but after that the deer lay low for the remainder of the hunt and the following muzzle loader hunt.

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[bigjohn]

[(Trail cam pics to prove it). quote]
That would be cool to see post your pre 1998 time stamped photos and your now photos for comparison.

 

[TboneD]

Catoosa was hit very hard with EHD in 2007. Also the hog population had gotten so out of control about the same time. Hogs will drive deer out of an area. The antler restrictions have help tremendously. (Trail cam pics to prove it). The problem is that older bucks are harder to hunt, especially at Catoosa where viability is low and it is so thick. Also, whenever that many people rush an area for a 3 day hunt, day one is good, lots of deer killed that day, but after that the deer lay low for the remainder of the hunt and the following muzzle loader hunt.

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How can you say for sure the antler restrictions have helped? What's the big deal about having four on one side? Sure it doesn't just make sure the better one and two year olds don't continue to pass on their genes? They used to kill some BIG ones up there!


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[tn24]

Was catoosa same as statewide then? increased days afield will stack the odds in a hunter's favor too. Hard to come in relatively cold and find the big boy hiding out on 80,000 acres.

No, it was always a quota hunt every time I hunted there. It is big area that's why I thought with the antler restrictions there would be some really good ones coming out of there now. I liked hunting there and hoped to kill a hog, seen plenty of sign but never did get to see one. Can you still kill hogs during the deer hunts?

 

[MickThompson]

The antler restrictions aren't in place to produce trophies. The antler restriction is designed to protect 1.5 year olds and some of the 2.5 year olds, and restrict the harvest enough to run a hunter/40 acres through at a time without wiping out the buck population. If trophies were the goal, a much more conservative restriction along the lines of PI or Ames would be necessary.

 

[Timber Ghost]

Catoosa is very hard to hunt in the short time you have to hunt. I will say I saw more deer this year than I ever have, and I have hunted there for many, many years. I did manage to kill a nice big 8pt there this year.

 

[MattZ9]

I see a lot of deer every time I go. I have seen some big ones pulled out of there. Yes you can kill hogs on the deer hunts. I killed one 2 years ago. Mature Catoosa deer are smart, they know what's about to happen when they start hearing all the gravel popping when people start showing up. It's not the easiest place to hunt. But I love it