Deer at higher elevations for opening weekend

Little rain, high temperatures keeping most spread out and up high.

Posted at 11:48 AM on Wednesday, Sep. 16, 2009

Plenty of deer are roaming the mountains north and east of Fresno, hunters and guides insist.

But there's a catch: They're spread out and mostly tucked away at high elevations.

"You're going to have to get off the beaten path," said Bryce Mann, a licensed hunting guide from Tollhouse. "It won't be a good opening weekend for road hunters, that's for sure."

General deer hunting season begins Saturday and continues until Nov. 1 in Zone D-7, which encompasses most of eastern Fresno and Madera counties south to the middle fork of the Kings River. Zone D-8, which includes most of eastern Tulare County, opens Sept. 26 and closes Oct. 25.

Last year, 357 of 9,000 deer tags issued for Zone D-7 were returned for a success rate of 4.0%, according to Department of Fish and Game hunter surveys. That continues a trend of paltry success rates that, since 2005, have consistently fallen below the state average.

The 2008 success rate for Zone D-8 was 4.7% (346 of 7,389).

Statewide, 14,674 tags were returned last year out of the 166,658 issued for an overall success rate of 8.8%.

Zone D-7 hasn't come close to matching the state average since 2004, when October storms drove deer herds into lowland areas where they were easy pickings for hunters.

This year, the low-numbers trend likely will continue. Dry conditions, brought on by a mild winter and few summer rainstorms, make for a noisy forest floor, giving the keen-hearing deer an early advantage.

The scattered raindrops that fell Saturday and Monday won't be enough to change that, especially not with sunny skies and hot temperatures - high 90s in Fresno - forecast through the weekend.

"It hasn't been cold enough to drive the deer down," Mann said. "Not 'til the snow flies are you going to get any real migration. That cuts out anything in the low country except resident bucks, and there aren't many of those left."

Results of herd composition counts taken by DFG personnel this summer in Zones D-7 and D-8 have not been tabulated.

Hunters willing to hoof it (by foot or horseback) into high-elevation wilderness areas where motorized vehicles are prohibited may find better luck.

Allen Clyde, owner of Clyde Pack Outfitters, said he saw many legal bucks this summer during pack trips out of Courtright and Wishon reservoirs.

"Every fourth or fifth deer was a buck," Clyde said. "Usually, all I see is does all day long. … For those willing to spend time in the woods, the bucks are definitely there."

Fresno deer hunter Aaron Walls reported similar findings during his summer scouting trips to Hoffman Mountain and Rodgers Ridge.

"We saw plenty of good signs up there," Walls said. "But opening weekend, with all the pressure and hot weather, it's going to be tough for everyone."

DFG wildlife biologist Clu Cotter, who studies local deer herd populations, suggested that hunters not limit their options.

Bear hunting season also opens Saturday. This year's statewide quota is 1,700.

"My feeling is the local bear population is pretty big right now," Cotter said. "People who go deer hunting with a bear tag in their pocket will probably see quite a few of them."

Sharon Fisher, an employee at Wishon Village, expects hunting activity to pick up this weekend after a slow archery season that resulted in only three new deer photos on the resort's bulletin board.

The largest was a 3x3 taken above Courtright.

This is the second year local deer hunters must comply with a state law banning lead ammunition in historic condor range. Wardens reported a higher-than-expected 98% compliance rate in the first year.