Rabbit hunters have been out in large numbers in pursuit of cottontails, with most finding good numbers to keep their dogs jumping and running, sometimes two rabbits at a time.
Many hunters are as happy to have a good “race” as they are to actually bag a rabbit.
Safety should be the No. 1 consideration when hitting the thickets. Although the law only requires a small game hunter to wear a blaze orange hat or vest, putting on both is recommended.
When you’re in thick brush, a large portion of your body may be hidden from view.
Other safety points to remember:
– Keep track of fellow hunters either by voice or visually.
– Never shoot unless you are sure no one is down range of your target.
– Use caution when shooting at a rabbit that is closely followed by dogs.
– Discuss predetermined zones of fire before hunting.
– Use good judgment when hunting near houses since rabbits will run under structures. This can cause conflicts with landowners and could result in trespassing charges.
– When walking across difficult terrain and through thick brush, unload your gun until you reach an area that you can pass through more easily.
Waterfowl hunting
Waterfowl season for ducks, mergansers, coots and tundra swan closed in January. Hunters had success on the Yadkin River lakes, including High Rock, with wood ducks, mallards, widgeon and mergansers being commonly seen, although the numbers seemed to be more scattered than earlier in January.
Local Wildlife officers were checking for compliance with licenses and shooting hour restrictions. Several hunters were found shooting at ducks well after sunset on the last day of the season. In addition to the late shooting violations, the hunters were charged with possession of toxic shot (lead) and operating a motorboat without navigation lights. Wildlife officers seized a 12-gauge Benelli shotgun, waders and lead shot shells. The violators face fines and possible loss of hunting privileges for a minimum of one year if convicted.
Myth busting
Wildlife officers sometimes are asked strange questions, or are told of a supposed fact that usually is a stretch of the truth.
One recent conversation included tales of a Wildlife officer chasing a large bear through the Liberty community before cornering it in a barn and calling in a wildlife biologist to shoot the bear with a dart. The tale continued that after it went to sleep, the officer tied it up and took it to a secret release site. It didn’t happen.
Here are a few other commonly discussed myths and the truth.
Myth: It is illegal to hunt in the snow.
Truth: In North Carolina, there is no prohibition against hunting during open season with snow falling or on the ground.
Myth: “Wildlife,” meaning the N.C. Wildlife Commission, stocked cougars, black panthers, wolves, rattlesnakes, bears and coyotes in or around the Uwharrie National forest, Alcoa gamelands and in the “Flat Woods” area of Rowan County.
Truth: None of the above happened and there has been no attempt to establish a pack, den, nest or community of such critters.
Myth: Wildlife officers get a free hunting and fishing license for being an officer.
Truth: Officers pay full price just like everyone else.
If you hear a story about some extraordinary outdoorsmen’s near death experience of fighting off a killer bear with a sharpened pencil, think twice. The same goes for any tale of a strange sighting of an animal that resembled a black panther and Bigfoot combined, or of a giant catfish lurking near the dam trying to eat a hapless diver. Call your local Wildlife officer for the “rest of the story.”
State record gar
Kelly Williams caught the latest record-breaking freshwater fish, a 25-pound longnose gar in the Intracoastal Waterway at Coinjock on Jan. 30.
A 16-foot Shakespeare Wonderpole, a tube jig and an I-phone helped Williams land the state record fish.
The Virginia Beach angler’s gar measured 53 1/2 inches long and 18 1/2 inches in girth. He was fishing for striped bass in about 6 feet of water when he hooked the monster.
Williams’ catch surpasses the previous record-holder, held by Sebastian Lankiewicz of Jacksonville since June 2006, by nearly 6 pounds and 4 inches.
Amphibian survey
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission needs your help monitoring amphibian populations in North Carolina by participating in this year’s Calling Amphibian Survey Program.
Volunteers adopt a survey route, stop along 10 spots on the route for three nights in a four-month period, listen for five minutes and write down any frog and toad calls they hear. They submit their data either online or by mail before Oct. 1.
Data from North Carolina have been pooled with other states so that biologists can determine regional and national trends in frog distribution and any changes in frog and toad populations.
A worldwide decline in frogs and toads has prompted the U.S. Geological Survey to administer the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, with details at www.pwrc.usgs.gov/ naamp/. For more information, go to www.ncparc.org.
n n nYou can e-mail Sgt. Anthony Sharum of the N.C. Wildlife Resources at huntfishguy66@aol.com.