Bluegrass--hunting season

There are so many ticks out there at Bluegrass and the grass along the sides of most of the roads out there is 3 ft tall as no one is cutting the grass along the roads.

I just drove by out there and noticed that two ramps are closed indefinitely. What a shame that the property manager can't get the funding to fix these launch ramps or to better control the level of the water in this pits.

I was driving East down Boonville New Harmony Road after leaving Parking Lot #16 at the South end of Bluegrass Pit and saw a big buck right out in the middle of the road as I drove East. He went off into the grass at the side of the road and I marked in my mind where he exited the road way. When I got to that spot I looked out the passenger window and there was only about 5 to 10 ft of grass before the water started. The Buck had VANISHED INTO THIN AIR. I was expecting to see him in the grass and or swimming in the water but I never saw him again. He was only about 50 to 75 yards from my truck when I saw him in the middle of the road. Those big bucks have been chased by so many different hunters that the ones that survive get really smart and hide in plain sight. The last place anyone would think to look for a big deer is right next to a major roadway. He must have slide into some tall grass and laid down and went out of sight. They can blend into the natural environment pretty well.

Years ago I use to go out and sit up on the big hill where Saint John's Road runs up to little Dittany Hill. I could sit up there and see for miles around. I use to see the deer (females) walking around about 400 to 500 yards away on the lower parts of the valley. If they were standing up I could see them when they moved with my binoculars. But once they laid down they vanished in the weeds/grass. I watched them for a hour or so and they were carefree and were eating in the field without a care that I was up on that hill. I use to see coyotes hunting for mice down the hill from my position. IDNR should make a parking lot and overlook up there for nature watching. The grass along the edge at the top of the hill is so tall now that I can't see over it anymore. But years ago someone use to cut the hay or grass on the side of the hill and one could see things on the down slope of the hill easily from inside a car parked on the hill top.

There are bobcats out there as well as lots of Wild Turkeys. I drive around the roads out there at times and have seen bobcats and wild turkeys crossing the roads out there. I got a picture of some of the wild turkey before they flew away. The Bobcat was gone into the thick woods by the time I got to where he was. I see a lot of deer out there along the edge of the cornfields. This year they planted soybeans. But I would think that the deer will be out in the bean fields too.

The problem with public places like Blue grass is that its PUBLIC and all that entails. And this year be ware that private land owners along the edges of Bluegrass's Property may be able to use more high powered rifles on their private property. And then those that hunt with guns on the Bluegrass Public land are out there as well There will be a lot of people out there chasing deer with bows, modern rifles, and muskets soon. I stay out of the woods when deer gun season is in. There are way too many people out there with guns for my liking. I wait until after gun season is over. Now I don't feel as uncomfortable during bow season as the bows ranges is much less and people can better see what they are shooting at and are less likely to accidently shoot a human with a bow and arrow. But the Guns bullets can travel pretty far. And there is way too many private homes to the East of the Otter Pit area. That limits which way one can shoot out there without worrying if the bullet travels out of the public land onto private land. IDNR should have purchased all 10,000 acres of that property from AMAX Coal Company before the private land developer gobbled it all up for himself.

Just remember that there are more than 300,000 people living within driving range of Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife Area and a lot of them hunt and some of them will be hunting Bluegrass come opening day.

[QUOTE=jkelley1487;557676]Has anyone ever tried bow hunting around Bluegrass? You know there has to be some big bucks in there but it looks like an out west type of hunt. Finding draws, trails through crp, getting up high and looking for movement. I hunt some small private lands but I might give it a shot during the early season for something different and fun. With my luck, I'll end up with a 1,000 chigger bites and poison ivy. Any tips?[/QUOTE]