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Reports: Deer hunting slow
Published 12:00pm Monday, November 9, 2009Standing corn and warm temperatures caused a slower-than-normal opening weekend to the deer hunting season.
Hunting in the eastern part of Otter Tail County faired better than in the western part, according to Fergus Falls Conservation Officer Troy Richards. But for most of the area, hunting was poor and slow due to a combination of the warm temperatures and standing corn fields, he said.
Richards noted that there were no major problems with hunters during the opening weekend.
Staff at deer registration stations echoed Richards’ opinion on the slow weekend.
Tim King, at the Holiday Station in Fergus Falls, said their numbers were down for deer registration. He opined it was due to the corn crop and the wet weather on Sunday.
At Ben’s Bait and Tackle in Battle Lake, a total of 165 deer were registered during opening weekend, down from a total of 178 during the same weekend last year, according to staff Nicole Stewart.
Of those 165, 84 were bucks. Last year, they registered 99 bucks, she said.
Many people who stopped by the store said they hadn’t seen much in the way of deer, she said. Some passed up opportunities to get does and fawns because they want to keep their tag open for bucks, she added. She said she expects the second weekend to be more busy because hunters will want to fill their tag, she said.
She suspected that the standing corn was causing the lower numbers.
Nicole Graff, at Main Street Gas and Goods in Dalton, said she also believed the lower numbers were due to the standing corn.
A total of 35 deer were registered at Main Street Gas and Goods during opening weekend, according to Graff.
Some people who stopped by the store were coming in to register their deer and were done because they had filled their quota, she said. Others came in to pick up food on their way home because they didn’t see any deer.
