Licking County in the top 10 statewide for muzzleloader deer hunting
Reasonable January weather delivered decent results to deer hunters during the four-day muzzleloader season that ended Tuesday.
Hunters statewide checked 12,141 whitetails during the hunt, the Ohio Division of Wildlife reported.
The count surpassed last year’s total of 9,708 by 2,433, an increase of 25.1%. The 2020 kill totaled 10,615 and the 2019 hunt came to 14,168 for an average of 11,497 during the previous three years.
Since the start of the 2021-22 deer season in late September, hunters had checked 186,425 whitetails through Tuesday. Through the same period a year ago, the count stood at 189,447.
Deer season ends at the close of the hunting day, a half-hour after sunset, on Feb. 6. A forecasted cold snap, should it come to pass, is likely to throw something of a chill on the prospects for adding significantly to the season totals.
Coshocton led all counties during the muzzleloader hunt with 467 whitetails checked, followed by Tuscarawas 455, Guernsey 386, Ashtabula 363, Muskingum 356 and Knox 344.
Licking, a top-10 county statewide, led central Ohio with 316 checked. Next was Fairfield with 130, followed by Delaware with 72, Union 52, Pickaway 43, Franklin 37 and Madison 28.
Bucks reported during the muzzleloader hunt totaled 3,333, or about 27.5% of the take. The doe take totaled 7,239, or some 59.6%. Button bucks, bucks with shed antlers and bucks with antlers less than 3 inches long accounted for about 12.9%.
Ice fishing?
A fisherman from the Lancaster area expressed amazement in an email last month that he was still able to catch largemouth bass by crawling a rubber worm at several area ponds.
Locally, autumn was warm, no surprise given it was one of the warmest autumns on record nationally. But weather and water are changing, and a period of subnormal cold seems to be on the way.
Early forecasts suggest an oncoming rush of northern air could lead to an ice-fishing season that extends into February.
Longtime ice anglers might understand the need for wariness when it comes to familiar fishing holes. However, newbies or novices may wish to
consider hiring an ice-fishing guide to make the experience comfortable, safe and hopefully productive. Guides are relatively easy to locate around Lake Erie but are generally missing from central Ohio lakes, some of which support considerable ice fishing efforts. Indian Lake draws anglers from all over, and Buckeye Lake attracts its flock.
A number of web forums, including several Facebook pages, deliver daily fishing reports and ice updates. Savvy posters will share angling experiences with the community and add cautionary words about conditions when warranted.
Bait shops can also provide useful information about conditions on what’s happening locally.
Ultimately, though, anglers need to take care of themselves and be prepared to take care of their buddies on ice.
Parting shots
The wildlife division has asked that hunters who take deer in Wyandot, Hardin and Marion counties have them checked for chronic wasting disease. Details can be found at the Ohio Department of Natural Resouce's website (ohiodnr.gov/cwd). … Among the proposals for the 2022-23 Ohio hunting season is a reduction of the fall wild turkey season by three weeks. If approved by the Ohio Wildlife Council, the fall hunt would open Oct. 15 and run through Nov. 13. … The wild turkey limit for the coming spring season was already reduced to a single bearded bird.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Total deer checked so far with deer-hunting season ending February 6.
