Blog Archives

Fur Prices and Predator Populations

12/27/2015

Photo courtesy of Geoff Kleinschmit. A coyote harvest in Wyoming this season.

We are into the time of year that most hunting seasons are coming to a close and many tags have been filled. Late fall through winter can be a great time of year to stay busy in the outdoors by running a trap line. I started trapping when I was about 10 years old and have really enjoyed it ever since. There is just something satisfying knowing that you out smarted those sneaky predators. Although I have always sold my furs, I do know that trapping is not something you are going to get rich at however you could make some extra spending cash while it also paid off that year’s traps and fuel used throughout the season.

This year that is definitely not the case. Fur prices are at one of the lowest prices they have been in decades. I don’t ever remember them being this low for quality fur. I have already seen how this is going to affect the predator populations. Many of my family and friends who trap throughout this time of year have either already hung up their traps or like some never even got them out. Financially trapping does not make a whole lot of sense right now. However trapping is the most effective way to reduce predator numbers.

Trapping is already a fading past time across much of the country and current fur prices are not helping. Unfortunately out fawns, game bird nests, young poults and small game are going to take the hit for this. Besides the loss of habitat predators are the next reason for declining game populations. As I stated earlier trapping is the number one way to reduce predator populations in turn this will help all of our game populations thrive, if implemented with good habitat management.

So even though you may only break even or lose some money trapping this year, trapping is still an essential part of a successful wildlife management plan. You may not reap the rewards of your efforts in cash but come next fall when you are experiencing your desired game numbers you will be glad you did and reap the benefits with a full freezer of your favorite wild game.

Remember to manage today for a better future. Reduced predator populations will ultimately bring higher game populations.

Brett Kleinschmit

Taking Deer Management to the Next Level

12/17/2015

So you have done your habitat projects over the years to have better deer hunting. You’ve added native grasses for added fawning and winter cover, done Timber Stand Improvement, planted shelter belts, done hinge cuts and plants the best food plots. Trail cameras were run to create that hit list and get an idea of the number of does you needed to harvest. The season went well, does were harvest and a few big mature bucks hit the ground filling your freezer and empty spaces on the walls.

Most people count it as a good season and sit back until spring and wait for next year. Let’s talk about taking your deer management to the next level. First off after you harvest a deer, buck or doe, bring it home to record some data before field dressing. Record the live weight and field dressed weight of the animal. Keep a record sheet and include every deer you harvest throughout the season. Have the date, sex, part of the farm harvested, live and field dressed weights and antler scores of bucks. You can include any other data that you feel necessary as well. One of the more important categories I would add is age.

Many people are trying to age deer on the hoof these days and I see that there is a wide range of opinions many times. Continue to guess these but to help you know the exact age for your records and you to better learn how to age on the hoof, aging by cementum annuli is the best way to go. You do this by pulling the middle incisors from the deer and sending them into a lab where they will section the tooth and age it for you. This is by far the most accurate way to age a deer. I would suggest doing this for all bucks for sure. If you want to know the ages of does it does not hurt and could be some fun facts for you to go through, however most people are only concerned in buck age structure. Many will be surprised at how old a buck really is. I have been doing this for Blue Rock Outfitters for the past 3 seasons now. Mike and his guides are learning a great deal about the deer they are harvesting for clients and ways to better manage.

Recording all this data through the season will allow you to sit down and analyze it during the offseason. Like I stated above, knowing the ages of the deer will help you better field judge the deer in your area. Aging the does could allow you to have friendly competition among those who hunt your place for the oldest doe harvested. Knowing the weights of the deer will allow you to see trends throughout the years and throughout the season. Maybe you will see that average weights are changing from early season to late, indicating a lack of late season food sources or vice versa. The trends you will begin to see over the years will also help in see how other habitat projects are affecting your deer herd and allow you to make changes.

If you’d like to know more about this or have help analyzing data you can contact me for more information. These are a few of the ways to take your deer management to the next level to achieve your goals. You can never record too much data!

Remember to manage today for a better tomorrow!

Brett Kleinschmit

Fundamentals of Pond Management

12/7/2015

When it comes to pond management no two ponds are alike. There are a lot of variable involved to have a successful pond. On occasion I get asked, “Why doesn’t my pond do well for fish but my neighbors over the hill have more fish than they know what to do with?” This is why pond management can be a very challenging yet rewarding task when it all comes together. There are a few fundamentals or principles to keep in mind when trying to manage a pond to help make sure you have a successful and enjoyable pond.

The absolute most important aspect to a pond is, well of course, water. Obviously without water you don’t have a pond. However, I you don’t have quality water you too may not have much of a pond besides a hole filled with water. The chemistry of your water is perhaps the hardest thing to understand about a pond for almost all people including myself. There can be a lot of variables to siphon through to determine issues that may be affecting the biology of the pond to hold and maintain all aquatic life. All sorts of things can be dissolved into your water affecting its chemistry and tons of organic matter can be added every year through leaves, grass clippings, dead aquatic plants and algae and even excess nutrients from runoff. Knowing the pH, correct water color, depth of visibility and the waters alkalinity are all things to know and understand to assure you are not running into problems with your pond or they will help you understand why your pond isn’t becoming what you dreamed it would and then you can begin to change the issues at hand.

Habitat is the next most important aspect. Generally only about 10% of a pond is useful to around 90% of the aquatic species living in it. Habitat in your pond consists of the areas fish and other species can hide, loaf, ambush prey, congregate, feed and reproduce. Lacking these key features can make it difficult for one to have a balanced fishery or to meet their individual goals for the fish species residing in it. If you want to grow big bluegill you can’t have just bluegill habitat. You need the habitat for predator species to keep the bluegill population in check also areas for those species to reproduce. You need the habitat requirements for all species involved not just one so you will have a better chance of meeting your goals for the pond.

Every fishery needs a well established food chain as well. There needs to be plenty of food not just for your game fish of choice but also the fish that feed them need to have their nutrition requirements met so that they will in the end provide more pounds and higher nutritional value food to those game fish. Don’t forget the newly hatched fish, the future of your fishery, also need to have their nutritional requirements met. This is generally in the form of plankton and that is where knowing proper water color and depth of visibility is particularly important. You could also choose to help supplement their diets by starting a feeding program of pelleted food in your fishery.

Genetics can be another important factor in a quality fishery. Many of you may be thinking how do you do such a thing in fish. Well for starters if you are starting from scratch on a pond, have a solid stocking plan in place and purchase those fish from a reputable hatchery. You may even want to hire a private fisheries biologist to help you. Do not just go and take fish from your friends fishing hole and throw them in. You won’t have correct stocking rates and for you to see desired results it will take much longer. Another way to select better genetics is in the final principle of pond management and that’s through fish harvest.

You can have everything else in place but without a proper harvest plan it will be near impossible for you to meet many of your goals. When fishing your pond help the genetics of the desired fish species by selectively harvesting those fish that do not look as healthy as others in the same size class. By doing this you are allowing the biggest, healthiest fastest growing fish to survive and pass on their genetic material to future generations. However, this is likely not going to be the only harvest you need to do there is a chance you will need to harvest much more than that. A fishery will only support so many pounds of fish per acre and you need to choose how you want those pounds spread out and harvest accordingly to achieve those goals. Many people think that in order to grow big fish you must not take any out when in fact if you do not harvest all you are asking for is a over abundant population that shows stunted growth.

You can have that dream fishery of yours but it will take some time and effort and understanding of principles that goes along with a healthy fishery. It can be frustrating but you will have lots of fun and you will see great rewards if you stick to your plan. Follow along as I will dive deeper into these subjects over the next few months.

Remember to manage today for a better tomorrow!

Brett Kleinschmit

Fur Prices and Predator Populations

Taking Deer Management to the Next Level

Fundamentals of Pond Management

Brett Kleinschmit

Archives

Categories