By BRIAN LEAHY
of The Gazette
While hunting licenses never come with guarantees, area woods and marshes should hold plenty of game for hunters this fall.
"It should be a good season for most things out there," said Greg Dahl, Department of Natural Resources wildlife manager at Wisconsin Rapids. "The duck forecast looks good. One thing that is new this year is the early Canada goose season is now statewide."
The early Canada goose season starts Friday, Sept. 1, and takes off Labor Day weekend before resuming Tuesday, Sept. 5. It ends Friday, Sept. 15. Subzone B, which Portage County is in, has a daily bag limit of five geese. Hunters taking part in the season need a $3 early season permit. Other waterfowl hunting regulations also apply, so check the Wisconsin 2000 Early September Canada Goose hunting regulations. The early Canada goose season is designed to give hunters an opportunity to cull locally raised geese.
"Normally these geese are gone by our October regular openers," Dahl said.
The archery deer seasons starts Saturday, Sept. 16. More than half of Wisconsin's deer management units are Zone T units this year and offer additional antlerless permits.
"Our bow season should be really good," Dahl said. "With the mild winter, there should be good antler growth. There's a lot of fawns out on the landscape. There was good production."
Grouse hunting season also opens in Portage County on Saturday, Sept. 16. Hunters in the eastern part of the state will have to wait until Oct. 14.
"Statewide spring drumming surveys showed an 11 percent decrease in the number of drumming grouse since last year," Dahl said. "Basically, the upward trend we have seen over the last few years has ended and it's going down slowly."
The two drumming survey transects in Portage County found basically no change, Dahl said.
Field reports indicate the population remains strong in the north, but few grouse were found in the southern and southwestern parts of Wisconsin.
Woodcock season doesn't kick off until Saturday, Sept. 23. The population change was insignificant in Wisconsin from 1999 to 2000, but the long-term trend shows the population is decreasing, according to a DNR forecast.
Squirrel season opens statewide on Saturday, Sept. 16, as does cottontail rabbit in the northern zone. In Portage County, Highway 10 is the dividing line for the northern and southern cottontail rabbit zones.
"Rabbits and squirrels will provide plenty of hunting opportunities," Dahl said.
As always, focus your efforts in the oak woods if you're after squirrels.
With the successful reintroduction of wild turkeys, fall turkey hunting is a relatively new event. The area north of Highway 10 and west of Interstate 39 is closed to fall turkey hunting in the county. Just as it is during the spring season, fall turkey hunting is offered by permit only. The application deadline has passed. The fall turkey hunting season runs from Oct. 7 to Nov. 5.
Permit numbers were up this fall because of an increase in turkey numbers following the favorable spring nesting period, Dahl said.
"Every year, we've been seeing an increase in the number of permits available because of the population being so successful," Dahl said.
Spring turkey hunters reported good results this year.
"The kill in general has been going up and the success rate has stayed really good, anywhere from that 25 to 30 percent range for (spring) permit holders," Dahl said.
The fall turkey season has a lower success rate, because many of the permit holders don't use their permits, he said. During the fall, some permit holders use them incidentally while bow hunting for deer.