Ohio's deer and fall turkey hunters are showing the animals and the birds who is the boss

Based on to-date animal and bird kill numbers, both Ohio’s deer and fall wild-turkey hunters are driving in forth gear with the tachometer approaching the red line.

As of October 26th, Ohio-licensed hunters – nearly all of them being archery hunters as is explained later - have shot 31,325 antlered and antlerless animals. For the same period in 2021 through October 26th, the number was 24,393.

The state’s licensed fall turkey hunters can gobble as well. Using the same October 26th timeline, 462 wild turkeys have been shot thus far. The comparable 2021 figure was 293 wild turkeys: or 169 fewer birds.

As of October 26th, the statewide archery harvest is up about 10 percent over the three-year average, “so as predicted, the harvest has come back down to earth after an incredibly fast start,” said Clint McCoy, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s chief deer management biologist.

“Cooler than normal temperatures almost certainly played a role in getting out of the gates so fast this year,” McCoy says.

Fully 83 of Ohio’s 88 counties recorded gains when their 2022 to-date numbers are laid side-by-side with their respective 2021 to-date figures. Some counties by significant numbers, too.

To illustrate, here are a number of counties with increased to-date deer kill figures (with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Adams – 425 (410); Ashtabula County – 977 (730); Brown – 343 (293); Carroll – 630 (429); Geauga – 505 (324); Highland – also 358 (281); Knox – 754 (645); Lake – 230 (189); Morgan – 366 (265); Muskingum – 667 (548); and Scioto – 313 (199).

Also, three counties have all ready exceeded deer kills of at least one thousand animals. They were) with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Coschocton – 1,209 (967); Trumbull – 1,075 (781); and Tuscarawas – 1,046 (797). No county last year to-date had reached – let alone, exceeded – one thousand animals.

Even so, say McCoy, thus far, there are 50 counties where the archery harvest is currently up more than 5 percent, and 13 counties where the harvest is down more than 5 percent.

Consequently, “it’s a bit of a mixed bag,” McCoy says.

“There is a fairly interesting disparity, too, between the antlered deer harvest - up 1 percent - and the antlerless deer harvest - up 15.6 percent so far. I’m not quite sure what to make of it, other than the fact that counties where harvest regulations were loosened (bag limits increased) have shown large gains in antlerless harvest over the 3-year average, McCoy said.

The five counties where 2022 to-date kill numbers are below their respective 2021 to-date numbers were (with their respective 2021 numbers in parentheses): Butler – 246 (290); Hamilton – 328 (339); Hocking – 285 (294); Vinton – 199 (231); and Warren – 136 (164).

Also, says McCoy, the Wildlife Division has confirmed via laboratory testing the presence of epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) in 46 counties this year, “far more than ever before.”

“However, while widespread geographically, it appears that the majority of those counties were NOT hit with severe mortality. But, as is often the case with EHD outbreaks, there were a few areas of the state where deer mortality was significant,” McCoy says as well.

These so-called “hot spots” are showing up in the harvest with significant deficits,” McCoy says.

Several southwestern counties experienced significant EHD activity which seems to be reflected in their to-date harvest. Among them were Preble, Butler, Warren, Montgomery, and Hamilton counties, McCoy said.

“Another ‘hot-spot’ was identified in southeast Ohio, and we’re seeing what I suspect is some evidence of an impact to harvest there, as well, namely, Vinton, Athens and Hocking counties,” McCoy says.

“It’s still pretty early and we’ll see how things continue to shake out as most of our traditionally high-harvest days are coming over the next month or so, McCoy said.

Note, too, that the Ohio Division of Wildlife this year is using two sets of numbers for the 2022-2023 deer-hunting season. One is for “Archery Harvest” and the other is for “Total Harvest.”

Not to be alarmed but the Wildlife Division conducted a special early gun season October 8th through the 10th in an effort to contain chronic wasting disease as well as jump-start the archery deer hunting season, beginning September 10th instead of the September 24th date for the rest of Ohio’s 85 counties.

For comparison's sake only the TOTAL 2022 to-date deer kill numbers (with their respective 2021 archery-only numbers in parentheses) are used: Hardin County – 358 (145); Marion County – 242 (101); and Wyandot County – 470 (171).

Regarding the to-date wild turkey fall hunting season, that program is likewise experiencing a stellar performance, says Mark Wiley, the Wildlife Division’s lead wild turkey management biologist.

Our harvest as of October 25^th was 462 turkeys. At approximately the same point in the 2021 season, 293 turkeys had been checked,” Wiley said.

Wiley explained that it’s possible the to-date 2022 fall kill is higher “because turkey numbers are better than they were in 2021.”

“Our poult index would support that hypothesis,” Wiley said.

Typically, fall harvest trends mirror the poult index – or the number of poults per hen, says Wiley.

Also, says Wiley, fall turkey hunters “may be attempting to harvest a bird earlier this year since the season is shorter.”

"We may end the season with a fall wild turkey harvest total very close to 2021 even with the 2022 season being shorter,” Wiley said.

- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

 

Ohio's 2022-2023 deer-hunting season results remains at warp speed

 

At this pace, Ohio’s hunters will cross the finish line with a total deer kill north of 200,000 animals.

Possibly well, north, too, all though an asterisk or two is necessary when examining the current figures at least.

Even so, the Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist in charge of crunching the numbers says this “pace is unsustainable.”

As of October 11th, the to-date deer kill total stands at 20,487 animals. The comparable 2021 to-date figure was 12,607 animals. Now this is where the numbers must undergo some nuance.

The most recent to-date county-by-county totals are calculated under two headings: “Archery Harvest” and “Total Harvest.” That latter title includes deer taken during controlled hunts, and importantly, deer shot during the Ohio Division of Wildlife’ disease surveillance early gun season.

That surveillance area consists of Hardin, Wyandot, and Marion counties. And the differences between their respective to-date archery kills and their to-date all-implement kills are significant.

In Marion County, the to-date archery deer kill totaled 69 deer while the to-date all-implement kill totaled 215 deer. For Hardin County, those figures were 102 and 315, respectively. Meanwhile, for Wyandot County, the respective statistics are 121 and 434.

The only other county with a different to-date archery deer kill figure and a to-date all-implement deer kill figure is Trumbull County. Here, the to-date archery deer kill figure was 716 animals while the to-date all-implement figure was 772 animals.

Even so, the combined increase of deer killed for all four counties totals only 728 animals. That figure is less than 10 percent of the 7,880 number when the 2022-2023 season to-date all-implement total is stacked up against its 2021-2022 season counterpart.

However, noteworthy also is that three counties went from having a one-deer to a two-deer deer bag limit. Those counties being Pickaway, Clinton, and Fayette. Meanwhile, Washington and Darke saw their respective bag limits increases from two deer to three deer. All saw significant gains in the number of deer killed.

Regardless, in virtually every respect, Ohio’s 2022-2023 deer-hunting season has the left foot on the brake and the right foot working the gas pedal at the same time.

Of Ohio’s 88 counties, fully 86 show increases in their respective 2022-2023 season to-date deer kill figures when compared to their comparable 2021 season to-date deer kill numbers. And one of those remaining two counties – Warren – posed identical to-date deer killed while the only county showing an actual comparable to-date deer kill decline was Vinton.

In looking at the numbers, Clint McCoy, the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s lead deer management biologist, said that what stands out to him as a major factor has been “nearly ideal for early season archery hunting.”

“I remember dealing with some fairly high temps early on last season, but that hasn’t been the case so far this year. Hunters are likely less hesitant to harvest a deer in these cooler temperatures,” McCoy says.

McCoy tossed out some more numbers to illustrate this year’s gangbusters beginning.

“The total harvest after the first 19 days is sitting 32 percent above the three-year average while the buck harvest is up 40 percent and the antlerless harvest is up 28 percent,” McCoy said.

A speed bump to this momentum, McCoy says, is that “this pace is unsustainable.”

“We predicted a larger harvest this year than we’ve seen in almost a decade, but not quite this much. I expect that as we get further along into the season, these numbers will fall into the more reasonable 5-percent to 10 percent range,” McCoy says.

Another footnote likewise is necessary. Less of a factor it would seem was the appearance of Epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD.

Fully 40 of the state’s 88 counties saw outbreaks of this disease. Which hit some counties more than it did others. Among serious EHD outbreak counties were Warren, Vinton, Hamiliton, Hocking, Butler, and Greene, McCoy says.

“If you’ve ever heard the phrase ‘a mile wide and an inch deep’, I think that would generally apply to the impact of EHD this year,” McCoy says.

Consequently, some areas in some counties “were hit really hard” and thus “hunters may want to carefully consider their harvest decisions there for a year or two until the local population bounces back,” McCoy says.

- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

Ohio's 2022-2023 archery season deer hunters off to a blazing beginning

 

Ohio’s deer hunters are off to a fast start.

The state’s archery-hunting season began in 85 counties on September 24th. By October 4^th, archers had all ready killed 13,009 animals. That figure compares to the same to-date 2021-2022 season tally of 10,061deer.

While Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties started their archery seasons on September 10^th as an effort to help contain CWD, even with erasing their combined to-date totals of 85 (Hardin), 54 (Marion), and 105 (Wyandot), the 2022-2023 to-date statewide total comes to 12,765 deer. That figure is still 2,704 more deer killed than for the same to-date 2021-2022 period.

Of Ohio’s 88 counties, only eight of them recorded declines from their respective to-date 2021-2022 season and their to-date 2022-2023 season. They are (with their respective 2021 to-date figure in parentheses) were Adams – 175 (184); Butler – 95 (118); Cuyahoga – 123 (139); Hamilton – 147 (160); Harrison – 182 (192); Hocking – 135 (141); Vinton – 70 (86); and Warren – 51 (57).

The current Top Five leaders (with their respective 2021 to-date figure in parentheses) are: Coshocton – 535 (457); Trumbull – 532 (371); Ashtabula – 433 (335); Tuscarawas – 423 (329); and Holmes – 418 (320).

Even several counties that never historically been considered prime deer-hunting country have come quickly out of the block. Among them (with their respective 2021 to-date figure in parentheses) are: Auglaize – 81 (44); Clinton – 47 (16); Gallia – 147 (73); Ottawa – 44 (22); Pickaway – 40 (17); and Ross – 128 (105).

Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists speculate that if everything goes well - and when all of the various deer-hunting seasons conclude – that the state’s total deer kill could top 200,000 animals.

The state has seen combined all-seasons deer kill totals exceeding 200,000 animals, 10 times. The last year was 2012 when 218,910 deer were taken.

By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com

Alleged Lake Erie walleye cheating scandal opens door to potential "what if" legal charges

 

If countless, biting memes and angry venting by fellow Lake Erie walleye anglers weren’t enough, the two tournament fishermen at the vortex of an alleged cheating scandal may have the potential of facing criminal charges.

At issue is the participation of Chase Cominsky of Hermitage, PA and Jake Runyan of Cleveland, in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail (LEWT) Championship held Friday, September 30 at Cleveland Metroparks’ Gordon Park. The event was supposed to run two days but severe and dangerous weather on Lake Erie cut the program to just one day.

When the two men stepped onto an elevated platform with a weight scale, they were met by Tournament Director Jason Fisher who performed the master-of-ceremony’s task of weighing in the five fish.

However, news accounts report that Fisher became suspicious of the pair’s walleye. This action was taken, in part, because the length of each of the five fish did not seem to jive with their combined weight of 33 pounds.

Also, it is said in the accounts that Fisher said he felt “something hard” in one of the walleye.

Fisher then stepped off the platform and began gutting the walleye. All the while the process was being recorded on cell phones owned by more than a few other anglers and spectators.

Ultimately when Fisher was finished, about eight pounds of lead slip- or in-line sinkers were removed. Along with the weights were several fish fillets, presumably and allegedly used to keep the weights from either spilling out or helping to disguise the sound of the lead sinkers banging against each other.

The response from the crowd was expectedly harsh and threatening, with several bystanders verbally condemning Cominsky and Runyan, often including the use of profane and vulgar language.

Cominsky and Runyan were disqualified from the contest, thereby forfeiting the prestigious event’s approximately $30,000 first place prize.

What followed was the pair leaving the park, and in the subsequent days, countless mimes on the alleged cheating appearing on social media platforms while a host of general media venues from many parts of the globe reported on the incident.

And while anglers of many fishing persuasions have denounced what allegedly was seen and subsequently recorded, materiel collected at the weigh-in has been turned over to various law enforcement entities.

Likewise, two criminal defense attorneys have expressed their thoughts – hypothetically - as to some of the possible laws that might apply to this situation.

It is vital to remember that as of this writing no charges have been filed against anyone nor any arrests made nor any court trial undertaken. In all respects, due process is the rule, a fact recognized by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“ODNR owildlife officers responded to the Lake Erie Walleye Tournament on Friday, September 30, 2022 after being contacted by tournament organizers,” said the agency’s media chief, Sarah Wickham.

“Officers collected evidence and are preparing a report for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office. As this is an open investigation, we have no further comment at this time.”

That being said, two Northeast Ohio criminal defense attorneys say that potential criminal charges are no laughing matter. Not according to the state’s law Bible – the Ohio Revised Code, anyway.

“I believe that the two (alleged) fraudsters could be charged with Theft under Section 2913.02(A)(3), which deals with theft by deception. If the amount of the prize money exceeded $1000, it would be a felony -- and the specific degree would depend on the amount of the prize money,” said attorney Adam VanHo, of VanHo Law in Munrow Falls.

Criminal defense attorney Casey O’Brien of the Ibold and O’Brien law firm in Chardon says that in addition to possible theft charges, the Ohio Revised Code has another potential tool in its criminal complaint tool box.

“ORC 2915.05 - Cheating, corrupting sports - may be applicable,” O’Brien says.

“This charge could be anywhere from a Misdemeanor of the First degree to a Felony of the Fourth Degree if there are found to be prior offenses. I would image in subsection (B)(2) may be applicable which entails ‘Engaging in conduct designed to corrupt the outcome of an athletic or sporting event.’”

Further, says VanHo, if a case is made – again hypothetically – and the defendants were “not sent to prison, a judge could require that any term of probation include that they not be allowed to fish or have a fishing license.”

Similarly both O’Brien and VanHo say that all of the pair’s fishing equipment, boat-motor-trailer, and even their vehicles could be seized as falling under being “criminal tools.”

“This could make the penalties cost the (alleged) fraudsters more than just normal fines and court costs,” VanHo says.

And possible federal charges could be filed if it was found that the mails or the Internet were used in conjunction with the alleged offenses, O’Brien says.

As for any unproven remarks made by other tournament anglers over the past year-plus that the pair had engaged in similar alleged cheating in other events, without a confession or hard proof, those complaints remain in the arena of rumor, conjecture and speculation, the attorneys say

“Unless this is part of some bigger conspiracy, or unless the police could prove that they did this in other tournaments across state lines, I do not see the feds taking the case,” VanHo says as well, with O’Brien concurring.

- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net

JFrischk4@gmail.com