Dirtroad Current Reports

Pre-Season Turkey 2014

Posted on March 5, 2014 by dirtroaddispatch

Unfortunately, real jobs have kept us from posting recently, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t thinking about the outdoors. All of the small game seasons ended last week, but turkey season is right around the corner along with spring fishing. Over the last two weeks, we have been observing a large flock of turkeys. There is a large tom with this flock that doesn’t have any desire to leave what he has. Each morning he is in full strut circling his flock. It has been very impressive to watch. We have tried a few calls from the road to see if we can get him to gobble with no luck. Keep your eyes peeled though. We are less than two weeks from opening day and with some warm weather in the forecast it should get them riled up.

Once again this year, Wildlife Resources Division is co-hosting “Give it a Shot” shotgun patterning days. This Saturday from 10 am – 2:00 pm you will be able to test different chokes and shells at Wilson Shoals WMA. This is a well hosted fun event. We hope to see everyone there!

No matter how busy you find yourself, try to always make some time for the outdoors. It helps relieve stress and can make you happier! Get Dirt Roadin’ Georgia!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: Give it a Shot, turkey season, WRD GA | Leave a comment

End of Duck Season

Posted on January 27, 2014 by dirtroaddispatch

The 2013-2014 Duck Season wrapped up yesterday. For most everyone, this turned out to be an outstanding season. The severe cold weather, aka 2014 polar vortex, pushed the ducks down for the first time in several seasons. Not only did many areas get more ducks than previous seasons, we also saw different species than we have seen in a long time. Locally, reports included: mallards, gadwall, widgeon, canvasbacks, redheads, pintails, mergansers, buffleheads, ringnecks, teal and of course Georgia’s most popular wood ducks just to mention a few. Some sea ducks were also reported killed inland.

Our season wrapped up well with a great day on a local lake. Other than some mid day wind, the day was warmer with just enough cloud cover. Ducks were moving well all day but the majority of the birds moved between 4:30 – 5:30 pm. The birds worked well and our decoy spread must have been the best of the season. With ducks landing in the decoys throughout the day, it made for a fun finale!

There are still options with duck season closing. Many small game opportunities are still open until the end of February and fishing will start picking up over the next month as well. Worst case – Turkey season opens in 47 days and it is only 221 until dove season opens and we get to start all over!!!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: duck hunting, end of duck season, polar vortex | Leave a comment

6 Days Left in Duck Season

Posted on January 20, 2014 by dirtroaddispatch

There is less than a week left in duck season and the weather is cooperating perfectly! Although no one other than duck hunters are thrilled with this forecast, we have another stretch of good cold weather to keep the birds moving. The cold weather and the snow cover has moved a lot of ducks into the southern states.

Unfortunately, high water levels has made duck hunting in Georgia very difficult. Many of the rivers, creeks and swamps have swollen well beyond their banks creating back water sloughs and flooded timber. With more water available, ducks are spread across the areas. This is making it difficult to find the large groups. Further north, as areas freeze it locks all the ducks into smaller areas and often gives you opportunities at large groups. The good news is with the ducks still being paired up and small flocks, you don’t need as many decoys. The hunters hunting in the northern states are having to put out large decoy spreads.

We were asked a question last week- “Is it okay to leave your decoys out?” In the major flyways, the hunters will leave out their decoys for the majority of the season. If you are getting new birds in your area on a regular basis, then absolutely leave them out. If you are hunting mostly local birds or birds that have been in the area for more than a week, then we don’t recommend leaving out your decoys for more than a day at a time.

The last thing we want to remind everyone is to be safe while duck hunting. There have been several hunting accidents this year that included a Georgia duck hunter drowning. Remember our ice for the most part is not safe to walk across in Georgia. Also, wind is not something to mess with in any situation. Obviously, depending on your boat size or if you walk in hunt, you can handle more or less wind. Just watch the constant changing weather at these cold temps and very windy days. We want everyone to have a good time, but still go home to their families!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports, Dirtroad Tips | Tags: duck hunting, Duck Season, end of duck season, safe duck hunting | Leave a comment

Update 1-14-2014

Posted on January 14, 2014 by dirtroaddispatch

Happy New Year from DRD!!! We realize that it has been over a month since our last post and for that we apologize. Over the last month, we have been in the field and on the water, but with holidays, illness, and work, we haven’t had time to update the website. We still intend to post a final review of the RBR Quota hunt and the 2013 Deer Season, so be on the lookout for those.

With deer season over in the northern zone and closing tomorrow in the southern zone, there are still plenty of hunting options. Most small game seasons are still open and of course duck season. Our focus has been duck season. With the recent cold snaps, there have been more and more ducks moving into the area. We are seeing some divers arrive and of course, Georgia always has Wood Ducks. Many Georgia hunters are taking advantage of the coldest weather in over two decades to see ducks that we don’t normally get in this area. It is causing us to pull out all the stops with additional decoys, new calls, and hunting longer hours.

With less than two weeks left in duck season, don’t wait to go. We have some more great duck hunting weather in the forecast. Get out early, hunt late, and spend time on the water right now. Hopefully we will have some great stories to tell you over the next couple of weeks.

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports, Dirtroad Tips | Tags: Duck Season | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – 12/12/13

Posted on December 12, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

For the first time in almost 2 weeks, I am back at the Banks County property that I have hunted most the season. Because of my time constraints today, I immediately headed over to my ladder stand. It is located over looking a creek with pine thickets on either side of the hardwoods. Early in the season it was one of the few places we found some oaks dropping acorns. As long as the leaves stayed on the trees, this stand was pointless until about 3 weeks ago. Now we are hoping that it will produce some results.

With doe days being closed to modern hunters across most the region, most hunters are out of the woods until after Christmas. Fortunately for us, this rule does not affect bow hunters. Bow hunters may hunt either sex provided they are not on Natural Forest or WMA property. These properties run by their own set of rules.

For the northern zone, we are almost out of days. 18 days, less than 3 weeks remain of deer season. If you aren’t in the woods yet, it’s time to get there!!!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: Banks County, bow hunting, Deer hunting | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – 12/06/13 Post Report

Posted on December 12, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

Due to the weather, I was unable to post from the field on 12/6. It was off and on showers all afternoon. Two hunters hunted a small piece of property in Hall County. Two coyotes, two does and a nice buck were spotted. Unfortunately, there were no shooting opportunities due to angles or distance.

Although the weather wasn’t great it was a pretty successful hunt.

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: bow hunting, Deer hunting, Hall County | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – RBR Quota 12/4/13

Posted on December 4, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

We are back live from the field on day 2 of the RBR Quota hunt. Taking a quick break, I decided to update DRD on the hunt. 11 deer were killed yesterday among 29 hunters. Weather played a big role in yesterday’s poor showing. Today I got a late start as expected but was in the field around 10:30. Very few hunters arrived today so I took advantage of the lack of hunters. Yesterday I sat on stand for 10+ hours. Today has been a “boots to the dirt” day. Still hunting is when you walk and look and walk and look. With the rain from yesterday the woods are very quiet and I have covered a lot of ground. Unfortunately with zero results. I have yet to even jump a deer today.

With that said, I am starting to question Georgia’s deer population and plan. 29 hunters in a closed state park hunt are going to end up killing less than 20 deer. Many of the hunters saw very few deer in general. We were encouraged to take does to help control the herd. At some point Georgia DNR is going to have to take a step back and reevaluate its plan. There is no need to have a hunt every year or even every other year just to have one. Maybe the 10 doe limit is a bit excessive with a 2-3 month gun season. There are states that have thriving deer herds that are doing the exact opposite of us.

Now don’t get me wrong. The biologists only make suggestions to the state and the law makers are the ones passing the regulations making our deer population very much a political one. Insurance companies want to see fewer and fewer deer to lower deer vs car situations. You also have anti-hunters fighting the hunting in general so many groups are scared to change anything without other recourses. All I am saying is that the hunters across the state have spoken. They have lobbied their frustrations and hopefully the changes made this year are just the beginning. Otherwise, there will be more and more hunters saving their money from Georgia hunting licenses and spending the extra dollars to go hunt other states.

Also, the game wardens, biologists and staff at RBR have done a great job of accommodating us. It has been a very pleasurable hunt and they should be proud of the way they took care of us. Thank you to everyone that worked the RBR Quota hunt.

I will be sure to post the final results after the hunt.

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: Deer hunting, Quota Hunts, RBR, Richard B Russell State Park | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – RBR Quota 12/3/13

Posted on December 3, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

We are live from the field at the Richard B Russell State Park Quota Hunt. Arriving early in the fog and steady drizzle, I checked in and headed for my zone. Not having scouted made it difficult to know where to go, but quickly I found a suitable tree and set down my gear. What happened next would have made the steadiest of people jump. A flock of about 30 turkeys poured out of the tree I was standing under. If you have ever heard a turkey fly you know the commotion that caused. If you haven’t, imagine a server dropping and breaking a whole tray of dishes.

Finally my heart re-entered my chest, so I climbed the tree and got set. The first gun shots rang out right at sunrise but it didn’t take long for the woods to become completely quiet again. Only 3 shots were fired before 9 am. Other than the squirrels chasing one another and the turkeys clucking to find one another, the woods were quiet. Finally a little after 10 I got down. I walked for a ways and found some sign but no deer.

I headed back towards the road. I jumped three deer that ran across the road and offered no shot. I went back into the woods and found more signs and even some hog sign but no deer. I stayed in that area for two hours. I then decided to move further down the road. I tend to come in heavy and had a hunting pack, rifle and stand. With all that gear it was no surprise I couldn’t get the gun up quick enough when I jumped a deer. What happened next shocked me though. The deer got to the water’s edge and realized that it had no way around without coming into the open and it jumped. I stood there watching this deer swim towards South Carolina to avoid me.

Anyways, it has been a little disappointing so far. Only 28 of 80 hunters showed for the pre-hunt meeting last night and about 10 hunters showed up this morning. I haven’t been by the check station yet but have heard less than 10 shots all day. Tomorrow is the either sex hunt so I am sure more hunters will show up tomorrow. With so few hunters, there is nothing to get the deer moving so it has been very slow for a quota hunt.

I will wait it out in my tree until dark and then be back late morning if I don’t tag out tonight. I am just disappointed in the lack of commitment shown by these Georgia hunters. We will see the results when I check out tonight.

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: Deer hunting, Quota hunt | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – 12/1/13

Posted on December 1, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

After taking most of the week off to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family, we are back at it today. This week should be a good one with one of our staff hunters heading to the RBR (Richard B Russell) State Park Quota hunt and several other hunts are lined up this week.

RBR State Park does an annual quota hunt to manage their deer herd in the park and on the golf course. They require a pre-hunt meeting and then two days of hunting. Day 1 is doe only for the first deer. After you kill a doe you receive an either sex tag. This helps manage the herd. We are looking forward to this hunt and doing our part.

Yesterday was the end of doe days across most of the state until the end of December. There is an exception that many hunters aren’t aware of. Bow hunters may still take either sex at any point during the season. Make sure to check your county regs regarding the change in doe days.

In the mountain counties, the rut seems to finally be in full swing. Reports are coming in that bucks are chasing does. On my way in today, I watched a small buck chase a doe for two minutes before they vanished into the pines. This makes the third report in two days in this area. If you hunt in the mountain counties, now is time to use those vacation days!

Bear season ends across the northern zone today with a few exceptions. Duck season is also on its break but we are getting into the full swing of seasons over the next 10 days. Check your regs, call in sick or use that remaining vacation and get up your Christmas decorations. Over the next few weeks you may not want to come out of the woods so make sure you don’t have any excuses!!!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: Deer hunting, Doe Days, Rut | Leave a comment

Live from the Field – 11/25/13

Posted on November 25, 2013 by dirtroaddispatch

We stayed out of the field this weekend to allow the weekday workers a chance to hunt. Last week was productive, finally dialing in a spot with some scrapes and rubs. We had deer come through 3 of the 4 days.

A cold front came through Saturday night dropping the temps in the area into the 20s with daytime temps only getting into the mid 40s. Now a major rain maker is coming through and the area has been placed under a Flash Flood Watch. When we heard all of this, the first thing we did was run to the field. Game tends to move well with fronts coming through so we are riding out the cold and wind this evening.

More active scrapes have been found along with several fresh rubs. It seems that the deer in this area are finally beginning to rut. We are sitting in an area tonight that has multiple fresh scrapes and is more open than the other areas we had been hunting. I had been getting frustrated with spooking deer so a burlap wrap has been added to the stand. Hopefully this will reduce the spooking going forward.

Reports from other hunters have been good with more deer being spotted and a very successful open to duck season.

Check back often for more updates from the field along with our 1st annual special features: Outdoor Gifts for Kids and our Black Friday Picks for the Outdoorsman in Your Life!

Categories: Dirtroad Current Reports | Tags: cold front, Deer, Deer hunting, flash flood watch, rubs, Scrapes | Leave a comment