Don't APR Me ASAP.

There's a movement a foot to enact a law to force every hunter in Southern Michigan to only harvest a deer with at least 4 antler points on one side. The laws have already been changed for most of the Northern Lower Peninsula to only harvest a deer with at least 3 antler points on one side. I've posted earlier about my hunting party's success over the years and 3points on one side would've caused us to only harvest 1 deer in over 25 years. We're not expert hunters in the least but to get the 15-20 bucks over these years someone had to be spending time in the field. Like most hunters we don't own large tracts of land or live close to where we hunt so it's hard to scout out the older deer. With the advent of the trail cam we saw what kind of deer that are in the area within a week of opening day of deer gun season.

The deer are there and if you hunt hard enough and long enough you could have an opportunity to harvest such a buck. When your available time to hunt is compressed into a weekend and part of a week, if you're lucky, the chances of seeing a brute like this are very low. So don't Antler Point Restrict me and if you agree let the DNR and the LPDMI what you think. The group LPDMI is behind this push for large racks, which every hunter loves to see, but the loss of the harvesting experience far outweighs the chance for a few hunters to harvest large racks. The group is paying $14k to "survey" 1000 hunters to get their opinion on the restrictions. Years ago the state voted on keeping all hunting and fishing laws in the hands of the DNR and using sound science to make new laws. This survey is an end around to get a change in law without science being involved. A survey of opinion is just opinion, the opinion of 1000 to govern the other 700K hunters.

Many of the recent law changes have come about using these same surveys of opinion and because of the survey rules manipulation of the laws are favoring certain factions of outdoor enthusiasts. Lets keep these decisions based in science and not in opinion of a chosen few.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Check Out a Fish

A fishing rod and tackle box lending program has been started at the Wyandotte and Riverview libraries. This is thanks to the Wayne County Community College retiree Dennis O'Connell and the people from Gander Mt., Flambeau Outdoors, and Eagle Claw along with the Downriver Walleye Federation. Each community library card holder can check out a fishing rod and a small tackle box for either fishing a pond or shallow lake or a fishing pier in Wyandotte on the Detroit River. Riverview library is located right on a pond in Patriot's Park and is suited for kids of all ages especially beginning fisher people.

The banks gently roll down to the water and there is some shallow water near the edge. Don't be surprised if you see a mossy backed turtle begging for scraps. Wyandotte's Bacon Memorial Library has rods and reels better suited for river fishing on the pier. They have both regular and river specific tackle boxes depending on what type of fishing you want to participate in. The regular tackle boxes have hooks, lures, bobbers and plastic jig bodies to use at any good fishing spot. The pier fishing tackle boxes are geared toward keeping your line still fishing from the pier and include only spreaders, sinkers and plastic jig bodies. It's highly recommended to bring some bait for this fishing and there's a list of local bait shops by the rod carousel.

Please support these shops because they all donate to the Kid's Fishing Derby and without their support the derbies wouldn't be the same. Make sure and tell them about the lending program and where and how you'll be fishing and they most probably will give you advise if you ask for it. If you do fish off of the pier don't do any overhead casting to keep the outing safe.

Get Outdoors Downriver.

Hunt for Free

It's true, with the help from the good folks from Meijer.  For the fifth consecutive year, Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer Meijer is providing young hunters across its five-state footprint with free youth hunting licenses. Meijer shoppers can redeem their print coupon or mPerks digital coupon for a youth hunting license in-store from Sept. 13-14.

It's suggested that an adult be with the jr. hunter for purchase but an adult must accompany the jr. hunter during the hunt. The following restrictions apply to youth hunters who participate in any firearm deer season:

• Youth under 14 years of age may hunt with archery and crossbow equipment on 
public or private lands or with a firearm on private or Commercial Forest 
lands only.
• A public-land antlerless deer license is required to hunt antlerless deer on 
Commercial Forest land.
• All hunters under age 17 must be accompanied by a parent, guardian or an adult 
designated by their parent or guardian; additional qualifications apply with the 
apprentice or mentored youth licenses.
• All hunters participating in firearm seasons must wear hunter orange.

Get Outdoors Downriver.