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Catoosa early muzzy hunt

Well, im not gonna make this hunt at all due to work, O yea ive got the rifle hunt as well coming in november!! Nope cant get off for that either, o well it was worth a shot. Good luck to the ones sticking it out tomorrow!
 
Today doesn't look any better, weather wise. A cold, rainy, northerly wind day.

I don't deer hunt Catoosa, but always like following these threads. We used to drive the area in the summer evenings looking for deer in the fields. As mentioned, very few of the fields are even planted in anything any more, for some reason, and the deer density does not seem what it once was.

I do wander though, how the huge clearcuts might have impacted the area. I suppose that they can provide some additional food opportunities for the deer other that the hardwoods. I know they would be very hard to hunt, unless you could find some of the areas between two clearcuts where they don't cut the timber along the creeks etc.
 
PalsPal said:
Today doesn't look any better, weather wise. A cold, rainy, northerly wind day.

I don't deer hunt Catoosa, but always like following these threads. We used to drive the area in the summer evenings looking for deer in the fields. As mentioned, very few of the fields are even planted in anything any more, for some reason, and the deer density does not seem what it once was.

I do wander though, how the huge clearcuts might have impacted the area. I suppose that they can provide some additional food opportunities for the deer other that the hardwoods. I know they would be very hard to hunt, unless you could find some of the areas between two clearcuts where they don't cut the timber along the creeks etc.
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Yes sir, it seems like they've gone a little overboard on cutting timber on Catoosa. As posted earlier, the guy made a few great points. (EHD, along with fawn predation by bears, as well as competition from wild hogs probably all play a part, working against the herd.)

I abandoned the treestand and carried my blind into an Oak Savannah for today's hunt. A dry chair and thermos full of hot coffee sure helps one's mood. :)

After checking the wind, I looked around to find the highest point, for most visibility. I found it, and there were 2 beds right there with the grass flattened out, over 3ft across. Smart critter for sure.
 
I hunted the past couple of days. Saw one small buck not sure how big just know he wasn't legal. I have hunted there for over 30 years. I have killed a truck load of deer off of that place. I know ehd did a number on the herd, but I know for myself ever since they started the massive clear-cutting I haven't done any good at all. Three of my best places have been wiped out. I suspect the deer are still there but can't get to them. I'm not sure I will be back I just don't have the time it takes to find new places. I hate to say that because growing up I spent a lot of time there and have some great memories. This evening may very well be my last hunt on the place and I'm just going to the place that me and dad first hunted there for one last memory and to reflect on the last 38 years
 
Tnshooter15 said:
This evening may very well be my last hunt on the place and I'm just going to the place that me and dad first hunted there for one last memory and to reflect on the last 38 years
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Good luck. The rain looks like it should be moving out by then. Maybe there will better movement.
 
Tnshooter15 said:
I hunted the past couple of days. Saw one small buck not sure how big just know he wasn't legal. I have hunted there for over 30 years. I have killed a truck load of deer off of that place. I know ehd did a number on the herd, but I know for myself ever since they started the massive clear-cutting I haven't done any good at all. Three of my best places have been wiped out. I suspect the deer are still there but can't get to them. I'm not sure I will be back I just don't have the time it takes to find new places. I hate to say that because growing up I spent a lot of time there and have some great memories. This evening may very well be my last hunt on the place and I'm just going to the place that me and dad first hunted there for one last memory and to reflect on the last 38 years
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Hope the weather improves for your afternoon hunt and hope you kill one ..good luck hunting.
 
We've been dealing with the insane bear population north of there for a longer time period. The deer population won't get any better with there being bear sanctuary at Catoosa and other large public lands in the region. They just love to eat fawns in the Spring and have learned to target them. You just learn to either hunt elsewhere or deal with seeing few deer. The bears are literally reproducing more than deer.
 
PickettSFHunter said:
We've been dealing with the insane bear population north of there for a longer time period. The deer population won't get any better with there being bear sanctuary at Catoosa and other large public lands in the region. They just love to eat fawns in the Spring and have learned to target them. You just learn to either hunt elsewhere or deal with seeing few deer. The bears are literally reproducing more than deer.
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Which is why we need to do something now. But I'd don't see it happening.
 
morgancountry said:
Which is why we need to do something now. But I'd don't see it happening.
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The new area manager is likely to make even more changes. He's already enforcing the unauthorized presence and hours with citations. It will be interesting to see how much authority he has and will use to make improvements.

I'm referring to the growing number of bears, the bridge repairs needed at the breakfast table, and slowing down the timber$ harve$t.
 
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This will be me and my dad's last hunt at catoosa only seen 4 pointer, a spike and a doe. Literally just got to the truck and a truck went by with a nice one on the back off Noah Hamby road.
 
WhiteJD4 said:
This will be me and my dad's last hunt at catoosa only seen 4 pointer, a spike and a doe. Literally just got to the truck and a truck went by with a nice one on the back off Noah Hamby road.
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Same thing happened to me. Was it on a 4 wheeler in the back of a F150?
 
This morning as I was driving in to hunt there was a Ford truck with a 4 Wheeler in the back, and a buck loaded on it. This was maybe 7am, it had not been dawn for more than 20 minutes. They were parked alongside the road like they were hunting? The buck's rack was tied with something, displaying it. It's head was on the passenger side, looking straight up.

It's probably the same truck, I should have taken a picture.
 
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Carlos said:
The new area manager is likely to make even more changes. He's already enforcing the unauthorized presence and hours with citations. It will be interesting to see how much authority he has and will use to make improvements.

I'm referring to the growing number of bears, the bridge repairs needed at the breakfast table, and slowing down the timber$ harve$t.
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That's good to hear. I haven't met him. I didn't put in for any hunts this year anyway. I hope he can make some headway.
 
There is a list of things that need to happen at Catoosa for sure, but the budget is limited and you would be hard pressed to find enough people to volunteer and fully commit. Plus TWRA and the biologist over the area would need to seriously take into consideration the concerns of the sportsman. Catoosa could be amazing, it has so much potential.
 
I spent a lot of time at Catoosa in the 1980's and 1990's and we rarely if ever saw a deer. And rarely saw a deer that had been killed by a hunter.

I see people posting about the "good old days" when they saw lots of deer, my question is when were the good old days? I can't ever remember there being a lot of deer at Catoosa.
 
Back in the early 80's I drove through the Genesis side one rainy afternoon in the spring and saw 53 deer in the fields. There had to be at least 5 or 6 in every field.

I have killed several bucks there in including an 8 point that field dressed at 171 pounds - weighed him at the Genesis checking station and a 6 x 4 - one side broken - that field dressed 154 pounds.

I used to spend a lot of time there and would kill or see deer just about every time I went. You just had to know where to go and how to hunt.

I have not hunted there in several years so I can't speak to what it's like now but it sounds like it has changed a lot.
 

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