Water levels and the rest of the season?

[spitndrum]

Flooded fields around the rivers that you hunt, west tn is nothing but a lake in areas, wonder how its gonna effect the birds?

 

[megalomaniac]

horrible hatch, populations will be decimated in affected areas. All the more reason for a 2 bird limit for a couple of years.

 

[spitndrum]

it will screw the hatch where i hunt

Alot of the woodpile will be affected by this as well, which they need it cause there has been alot of birds killed the last 2 years ofcourse there is still alot strutting too :grin:

 

[spitndrum]

horrible hatch, populations will be decimated in affected areas. All the more reason for a 2 bird limit for a couple of years.

I wouldn't have a problem with it cause I'm lucky to kill one the duration of the season

 

[PickettSFHunter]

horrible hatch, populations will be decimated in affected areas. All the more reason for a 2 bird limit for a couple of years.

Yep. This is exactly why it should be 2 and left at 2. You never can tell when mother nature will get ya.

 

[Setterman]

I think that if Mr. Gray wants to show he is managing our turkeys well, we really need to look at backing off of the limits for a year or two, while things recover out west.

If it were for this massive event, I would say leave it at 4, and leave the fall season alone. But now, I think a good wildlife manager would suspend the fall season, and cut the spring limit back to help the birds recover.

 

[RAFI]

You guys are still after this limit thing?Everyone I talked to has seen and heard more birds than ever this year.It is because we had a few good hatches.A few years ago we had several bad hatches and people were still blaming the 4 bird limit.Turkey pops. go up and down way more than deer pops.

The flood areas will see an impact from this but why lower the limit for the whole state?If anything lower the limit in the flood areas and leave the rest of the state alone.Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

If the waters go down fast enough maybe the birds will renest and it might work out better than it seems right now.

 

[tickweed]

I think the hatch is probably lost in most river bottoms in W. Tn. But, it does happen.

 

[Gravey]

The hatch will stink IMO and we won't see as many mature birds in 2 - 3 years. I've seen quite a few jakes so next years should be good too. I've never killed more than 2 in a season until this year and I've killed 3. I would be fine if they took it back to 2 per year.

 

[TheLBLman]

horrible hatch, populations will be decimated in affected areas. All the more reason for a 2 bird limit for a couple of years.

Yep. This is exactly why it should be 2 and left at 2. You never can tell when mother nature will get ya.

Pretty much agree with you two.

If we had a 2-bird limit, I really believe we would have better turkey hunting and there would be more hunters killing 1 or more birds.

Would be a great idea to cancel the fall turkey hunting this year, and reduce the spring bag limit to no more than 3 (preferably 2).

 

[Setterman]

You guys are still after this limit thing?Everyone I talked to has seen and heard more birds than ever this year.It is because we had a few good hatches.A few years ago we had several bad hatches and people were still blaming the 4 bird limit.Turkey pops. go up and down way more than deer pops.

The flood areas will see an impact from this but why lower the limit for the whole state?If anything lower the limit in the flood areas and leave the rest of the state alone.Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

If the waters go down fast enough maybe the birds will renest and it might work out better than it seems right now.

Nobody is crying, heck after last year and this year I had fully decided the limits were fine. Even said so last year.

But any decent game manager should be able to understand a massive failure in reproduction shouldn't be followed by a liberal harvest structure. That is just common sense. The flooding seems to extend from Crossvile to Memphis, that is not exactly a small portion of the state.

Now in reality, we are talking a lot of hypotheticals here, sure the flooding is bad, and sure the bulk of nests will be lost. But the amount of renesting which could occur is unknown. It is still awfully early, and IMHO most hens should renest at this point which would make any of the previous a moot point.

However, if the poult production tanks, it would be the wise thing to do, to back off on fall seasons, and maybe adjust spring seasons as well. Just for one year, then reassess the following year to see how the population is doing.

Think about things, from a different angle then just your own selfish views. We are not scheduled to get pounded here in East TN, so it shouldn't really affect me and my hunting. But unlike others, I try and see things from a larger view rather then my own little island.

 

[megalomaniac]

You guys are still after this limit thing?...Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

No disrespect intended, but you sir are ignorant at best or a game hog at worst.

Some of us are actually more concerned about the resource than you, have hunted many, many more years than you, and know a heck of a lot more about turkey biology than you.

Having just finished my 23rd consecutive year turkey hunting in TN, I've seen it all on my farms- from the highs in the mid 90's, to the lows in '08 and '09. The population definetly rebounded this year due to good hatches in '08 and '09, but it only takes one terrible hatch combined with a 4 bird limit (and now 6 bird limit in the fall), to set the population back significantly.

I'm a big proponent of setting spring limits based soley on the previous August brood surveys.

And I set my personal limits and limits for those who I allow to hunt my farms based on opening day populations.

But what do I know... I'm a just a turkey hunter- not a turkey killer.

 

[Anonymous]

Guys, come on, these critters reproduce quickly. They are well established pretty much statewide. I've been told the feral hogs (or wild boar on Catoosa) are taking a toll on turkey nests. This ain't the first time we've had a springtime flood, unfortunately its not 'EHD to turkeys'.

Hogs definitely take there toll on eggs, but there going to have to wait till after the 16th before I commense my attack. :grin:

 

[Setterman]

I trust the bioligists who work for TWRA, they have plenty of knowledge and experience.

This guy Gray is new, so I have no basis to judge either way at this point. I have never seen anything written by him nor any of his views. He is a phantom, unlike BGG who is out there and explaining why things are managed the way they are, which I certainly appreciate.

I am sure Mr. Gray knows what he is doing, and has a vast amount of knowledge, and will also make the best choices for our statewide flock.

As far as his credentials, I am clueless as to what they consist of.

 

[Anonymous]

You guys are still after this limit thing?...Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

No disrespect intended, but you sir are ignorant at best or a game hog at worst.

Some of us are actually more concerned about the resource than you, have hunted many, many more years than you, and know a heck of a lot more about turkey biology than you.

Having just finished my 23rd consecutive year turkey hunting in TN, I've seen it all on my farms- from the highs in the mid 90's, to the lows in '08 and '09. The population definetly rebounded this year due to good hatches in '08 and '09, but it only takes one terrible hatch combined with a 4 bird limit (and now 6 bird limit in the fall), to set the population back significantly.

I'm a big proponent of setting spring limits based soley on the previous August brood surveys.

And I set my personal limits and limits for those who I allow to hunt my farms based on opening day populations.

But what do I know... I'm a just a turkey hunter- not a turkey killer.

I'd rather be ignorant than arrogant anyday.

 

[Setterman]

You guys are still after this limit thing?...Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

No disrespect intended, but you sir are ignorant at best or a game hog at worst.

Some of us are actually more concerned about the resource than you, have hunted many, many more years than you, and know a heck of a lot more about turkey biology than you.

Having just finished my 23rd consecutive year turkey hunting in TN, I've seen it all on my farms- from the highs in the mid 90's, to the lows in '08 and '09. The population definetly rebounded this year due to good hatches in '08 and '09, but it only takes one terrible hatch combined with a 4 bird limit (and now 6 bird limit in the fall), to set the population back significantly.

I'm a big proponent of setting spring limits based soley on the previous August brood surveys.

And I set my personal limits and limits for those who I allow to hunt my farms based on opening day populations.

But what do I know... I'm a just a turkey hunter- not a turkey killer.

I'd rather be ignorant than arrogant anyday.

Nothing arrogant about mega's post IMO. Just to the point, and pretty accurate IMO.

 

[RAFI]

You guys are still after this limit thing?Everyone I talked to has seen and heard more birds than ever this year.It is because we had a few good hatches.A few years ago we had several bad hatches and people were still blaming the 4 bird limit.Turkey pops. go up and down way more than deer pops.

The flood areas will see an impact from this but why lower the limit for the whole state?If anything lower the limit in the flood areas and leave the rest of the state alone.Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

If the waters go down fast enough maybe the birds will renest and it might work out better than it seems right now.

Nobody is crying, heck after last year and this year I had fully decided the limits were fine. Even said so last year.

But any decent game manager should be able to understand a massive failure in reproduction shouldn't be followed by a liberal harvest structure. That is just common sense. The flooding seems to extend from Crossvile to Memphis, that is not exactly a small portion of the state.

Now in reality, we are talking a lot of hypotheticals here, sure the flooding is bad, and sure the bulk of nests will be lost. But the amount of renesting which could occur is unknown. It is still awfully early, and IMHO most hens should renest at this point which would make any of the previous a moot point.

However, if the poult production tanks, it would be the wise thing to do, to back off on fall seasons, and maybe adjust spring seasons as well. Just for one year, then reassess the following year to see how the population is doing.

Think about things, from a different angle then just your own selfish views. We are not scheduled to get pounded here in East TN, so it shouldn't really affect me and my hunting. But unlike others, I try and see things from a larger view rather then my own little island.

Ok call me selfish?I'm just tired of you being a now it all.you don't suggest thing you tell others how to do it and if they don't follow you then they are wrong.I like how you told twra if they care about mamangement they will follow your advice.Who do you think you are?I read all your old post before you got banned when you bashed twra and you still do it.You seem to go off the deep end with your management beliefs.

you were all over twra before saying the 4 bird limit was ruining tn then when you were wrong you didn't admit it.The flood is bad but no need to lower the limit in East Tn because of a flood in west Tn.Selfish or just common sense? :crazy:BTW I hunt middle Tn and west Tn so the flood did impact my area.i don't even hunt East Tn for turkey.

 

[RAFI]

You guys are still after this limit thing?...Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

No disrespect intended, but you sir are ignorant at best or a game hog at worst.

Some of us are actually more concerned about the resource than you, have hunted many, many more years than you, and know a heck of a lot more about turkey biology than you.

Having just finished my 23rd consecutive year turkey hunting in TN, I've seen it all on my farms- from the highs in the mid 90's, to the lows in '08 and '09. The population definetly rebounded this year due to good hatches in '08 and '09, but it only takes one terrible hatch combined with a 4 bird limit (and now 6 bird limit in the fall), to set the population back significantly.

I'm a big proponent of setting spring limits based soley on the previous August brood surveys.

And I set my personal limits and limits for those who I allow to hunt my farms based on opening day populations.

But what do I know... I'm a just a turkey hunter- not a turkey killer.

guess Im ignorant then because Im not sure how saying some bashing the 4 bird limit but brag about the 4 bird they tag make me a game hog?

It is amazing that you know more than me have hunted longer than me and you have never meet me. :crazy:Before you use words you don't know maybe you should look up the word ignorant to see what its def. is.you might be surprised.you might know your farm but Tn is a big a state and there is no reason to lower the limit in areas that don't need it.But as setterman said I'm selfish because I'm in east tn and don't see why the limit should be lowered because of a flood across the state.

 

[Setterman]

You guys are still after this limit thing?Everyone I talked to has seen and heard more birds than ever this year.It is because we had a few good hatches.A few years ago we had several bad hatches and people were still blaming the 4 bird limit.Turkey pops. go up and down way more than deer pops.

The flood areas will see an impact from this but why lower the limit for the whole state?If anything lower the limit in the flood areas and leave the rest of the state alone.Its amazing that some of the ones crying about the limits are also the first ones to brag about fill thier 4 bird limit every year.

If the waters go down fast enough maybe the birds will renest and it might work out better than it seems right now.

Nobody is crying, heck after last year and this year I had fully decided the limits were fine. Even said so last year.

But any decent game manager should be able to understand a massive failure in reproduction shouldn't be followed by a liberal harvest structure. That is just common sense. The flooding seems to extend from Crossvile to Memphis, that is not exactly a small portion of the state.

Now in reality, we are talking a lot of hypotheticals here, sure the flooding is bad, and sure the bulk of nests will be lost. But the amount of renesting which could occur is unknown. It is still awfully early, and IMHO most hens should renest at this point which would make any of the previous a moot point.

However, if the poult production tanks, it would be the wise thing to do, to back off on fall seasons, and maybe adjust spring seasons as well. Just for one year, then reassess the following year to see how the population is doing.

Think about things, from a different angle then just your own selfish views. We are not scheduled to get pounded here in East TN, so it shouldn't really affect me and my hunting. But unlike others, I try and see things from a larger view rather then my own little island.

Ok call me selfish?I'm just tired of you being a now it all.you don't suggest thing you tell others how to do it and if they don't follow you then they are wrong.I like how you told twra if they care about mamangement they will follow your advice.Who do you think you are?I read all your old post before you got banned when you bashed twra and you still do it.You seem to go off the deep end with your management beliefs.

you were all over twra before saying the 4 bird limit was ruining tn then when you were wrong you didn't admit it.The flood is bad but no need to lower the limit in East Tn because of a flood in west Tn.Selfish or just common sense? :crazy:BTW I hunt middle Tn and west Tn so the flood did impact my area.i don't even hunt East Tn for turkey.

BS, I pretty much stepped right up last year and said that the 4 bird limit might not be having the impact I thought it was. Of course you don't recall that, I wouldn't expect it. With a species that has a very dynamic population curve, the proper thing to do is to adjust temporarily if a major hatch failure occurs. Sure it will affect the overall harvest numbers, but those will quickly rebound if the population is allowed to rebound with less hunting pressure.

I certainly don't know it all, very far from that, now some of the folks I run around with back home, they know just about everything there is to know. But and this may sound arrogant, 20 years of chasing turkeys and working on getting close to killing my 160th longbeard has taught me a thing or two about turkeys and how to kill them. Combine that with years of spending countless hours studying turkeys for numerous projects and reports, gives a person a pretty good idea of their behavior etc etc etc.



I think I very clearly also stated that the rain wouldn't really impact here, and that we didn't need an adjustment here as well even if the worse case scenario happens. However, I would go with the flow if that is what TWRA thought was best. I was also not speaking of East TN, as I said, I am not just worried about my own little island, I try and think about things on a much larger scale. i.e. not being selfish.

Who do I think I am? Just another person who likes to hunt turkeys, but one way that I seemingly differ from you, is that I actually care about the flock as a whole, and care about what the future looks like, whether that be 1, 2, or 10 years down the road. I also care how the population is in Carrol Cty the same as I would in Cocke Cty, neither of which have I ever hunted.

It is obvious you think you know more then me, and the rest, which is entirely possible. So please grow up, tell us what you know and offer up an opinion relating to the subject rather then just attacking people who you have deep seeded personal issues with.

Lashing out at me with hysterical rants, really accomplishes nothing, other then giving me a good chuckle. So offer up some info which we might find useful and informative.

 

[Setterman]

But as setterman said I'm selfish because I'm in east tn and don't see why the limit should be lowered because of a flood across the state.

Err, no I didn't call you selfish, I said you had selfish views. Much different, please don't take things out of context.

I live in East TN, not you, try to keep up. You hunt in Middle/West Tn.

I will explain again. I live in East TN, I hunt in East Tn, we should have almost no flooding which would affect our turkey hatch based on this one front. However, I am not just thinking about me, and my own SELFISH desires, I am thinking about the state as a WHOLE. In other words, not worried about my island, but rather trying to look at the big picture.

I bet your next post says something like this "I am done with this discussion..." or something similar.