Mississippi Hunters Took 918 Gators!

13-foot gator caught on Aug. 31 on the Mississippi River by Jonathan Cheney, Bradley Sullivan, Joseph Coggin and Robert Thompson.

Great weather, high water and increasing expertise made for a good alligator season in Mississippi's public waters, says state alligator program coordinator Ricky Flynt.

Hunters took 918 alligators from Mississippi's public waters this year, up 153 from last year's harvest, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks said. Paul Edwards of Okolona and five others tied a state record by catching a 10-foot-long (3-meter-long) female.

"Water levels and weather are the single largest benefits to hunter effort and success," Flynt wrote in an email Monday. Higher water makes most river systems easier to navigate, he said, "and the weather was absolutely perfect for the entire 10-day season."

He said he also thinks experience gained since the state's first season in 2005 has made hunters better at finding and catching alligators.

The state record is 982 harvested in 2015, when 997 permit holders and their guests went out on the water and 693 groups brought home at least one alligator. About three-quarters of this year's 816 groups harvested a gator or two.

The time needed to find and harvest an alligator averaged nearly 10½ hours in 2015 but less than 8 hours this year, according to data provided by Flynt.

The number of alligators harvested is far less than the number caught. Hunters caught and released 2,147 alligators in 2015, 1,671 last year and 2,018 this year.

Permit holders have a season limit of two alligators. To ensure a good mix of younger animals and big old gators, both must be at least 4 feet (1.2 meters) long, and only one may be more than 7 feet (2 meters) long.

"Hunters target larger alligators as a 'trophy' and also target alligators that are slightly under 7 feet long due to the bag limit parameters. Most hunters capture multiple alligators each year but will release many until they capture one or two that meet their harvest expectations," Flynt wrote.

Bait and artificial lures are illegal in Mississippi. Hunters can snag alligators with weighted triple hooks, use a snare pole to get a loop of rope around an animal's neck, or shoot them with either a harpoon that has a detachable point or an arrow equipped with a fish point.

This year, 3,065 hunters participated, including 816 permit holders. The department said 617 permit holders and their friends caught at least one alligator this year.

The 10-day public harvest ended Sept. 9. The private lands season, which has some different rules and requires state harvest vouchers, continues until 6 a.m. Sept. 23. Far fewer alligators are generally taken on private lands - the four-year total from 2014 through 2017 was 411.

Shorter Deer Season Possible In MS South Hunting Zone

Deer season could be shorter this year in parts of Warren, Sharkey, Issaquena and Yazoo Counties under a proposal under consideration by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks.

The plan would create a new South Delta hunting zone for the 2019-20 season that encompasses areas affected by the Yazoo Backwater Area flood. Deer and other wildlife in the area have suffered as their feeding and breeding grounds were inundated. MDWFP spokesman Warren Strain said the proposal is intended to give the area’s herd time to recover and to study the long-term effects of the flood.

"It gives us time to evaluate, and to study, and that type of thing,” Strain said.

Strain said the proposal has not passed yet. The public comments stage of the process has ended, and a public meeting will be held Sept. 26 at MDWFP headquarters in Jackson, at 1505 Eastover Drive.

After the public meeting, the MDWFP will decide whether or not to proceed with the plan. If adopted, the new zone would likely remain in effect for two or three years according to a statement released by the MDWFP.

In the South Delta Zone, deer season would begin on Oct. 15 and end on Jan. 5. The start is two weeks later and the end about three weeks earlier than the rest of the state.

Hunters would also be limited to two antler-less deer and two bucks. In the state’s other five hunting zones, hunters can take up to five antler-less deer and three bucks.

Those rules would apply only in the South Delta Zone.

“It’s shortening the season a little bit. It’s not going to affect anywhere else,” Strain said.

Currently, MDWFP has divided the state into five hunting zones for deer season, with highways and geographical landmarks such as rivers serving as the boundaries. Vicksburg and its surrounding counties are in either the Delta or Southwest zones. The bag limits and seasons for most of the zones are the same, but there are a few subtle differences in some.

The South Delta Zone would be a sixth state zone defined as lands south of Bunge Road; south of Mississippi Highway 14; west of Mississippi 149; west of Mississippi 3; west of U.S. 61, from Mississippi 3 to I-20; and east of the state line in the Mississippi River.

Roughly speaking, it would include an area starting on the northwestern border of Vicksburg’s city limits and fanning out for about 50 miles through the Delta north to Anguilla. The Mississippi River forms the western boundary, and Mississippi 3 the eastern boundary. Yazoo City is on the extreme eastern edge of the zone.

Public lands included in the South Delta Zone would be Mahannah Wildlife Management Area, the new Phil Bryant WMA, Shipland WMA, Sunflower WMA, Howard Miller WMA, Lake George WMA, Twin Oaks WMA and the Delta National Forest.

The proposal would effectively divide Warren County into three hunting zones, with I-20 and U.S. 61 as the dividing lines.

The southwestern part of Warren County and western half of Claiborne County, as well as the northeastern quarter of Warren County, would remain in the Delta Zone.

The southeastern portion of Warren County and the eastern half of Claiborne County will remain in the Southwest Zone. The northwestern portion of Warren County would be in the new South Delta Zone.

By Ernest Bowker ~ The Vicksburg Post

The Freak

My Facebook friend from Michigan, Mike Persichini took these pictures of "The Freak" that he named and thought you would like to see them.  Awesomeness!

For What It's Worth...

Prayers For All In Harms Way of Hurricane Dorian

A Prayer in the Storm

God of the Universe, at the dawn of creation, your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness. You created the oceans and rivers, and all that dwell within them, and at your word the wind and the waves were born.

The seasons follow your plan, and the tides rise and fall on your command. In both calm and storm, you are with us.

On the Sea of Galilee, even when the disciples began to fear, Jesus showed that he was Lord over the waters by rebuking the storms, so that all would know that even the wind and the waves obey him.

Creator God, we ask you to calm the wind and the waves of the approaching hurricane, and spare those in its path from harm. Help those who are in its way to reach safety. Open our hearts in generosity to all who need help in the coming days.

In all things and in all times, help us to remember that even when life seems dark and stormy, you are in the boat with us, guiding us to safety.

Amen

Pictures Taken For You To Enjoy!

 Birds sitting on tree branches!

The Grand American Queen Back In Town Yesterday

Yesterday, the Grand American Queen showed up in our historic civil war town of Vicksburg, Mississippi.  Here are a few pictures I took and I hope you enjoy.  

Picture taken from Children's Art Park at Catfish Row of the American Queen's smokestacks reaching above the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals.  

A close-up of the Vicksburg Riverfront Mural of the Sprague (Big Mama) the largest steam stern-wheel towboat ever built for inland river service...up against the largest riverboat steamboat ever built today on the Mississippi River.

Looks like the embankment needs to be repaired

I took a picture of a cracks in the pavement and embankment.  Plans are in place to make improvements of the waterfront.  

A side view of the American Queen.

While there it started thundering so I took one more last picture before leaving. The Old Depot Museum in the background.  To the left you have the M/V Mississippi IV landlocked at the Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum. 

The Jesse Brent Lower Mississippi River Museum & Interpetive Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The American Queen will return next Friday to our hometown for another day of tourists sightseeing our historic city.

Going Hog Wild In Mississippi

State's push to hunt feral pigs is needed and welcome!

The biggest threat from "outside agitators" these days in Mississippi comes from four-legged, long-snouted, two-tusked creatures with voracious appetites and no natural foes. 

Yes, non-native wild hogs are a serious danger to the state's leading industry, agriculture.  The feral pigs cause more than $66 million in property damage annually in the state, according to the MS State Extension Service.

Traveling in large groups called "sounders," they are wily, destructive beasts.  They can quickly level acres of row crops, devour fawns and the young of other native animals, and are adept at avoiding capture.

And the rapidly reproducing hogs continue to expand throughout Mississippi.  They are found in all 82 counties today versus just 23 counties in 1988, the Extension Service says. 

So it makes sense for Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Gipson to take on the issue, even if it's part of the incumbent's election pitch.  He announced at the Neshoba County Fair recently the "Commissioner's Wild Hog Challenge."

"We don't need to talk about it anymore.  We need to kill some hogs!" the Republican declared.

Hunters are encouraged to report hogs they harvest in August and September the the Agriculture Department, which has a website set up for submitting kills.  State law allows the hunting of the nuisance animals year-round, day or night, with no weapon restrictions on private land.  Hunters who want to enter the commissioner's competition  must report when and where they hunted the pig, along with sending a photograph and other details.

Each participant will be entered into a drawing for a $6,000 wild hog trapping system, and the slayer of the heaviest hog will earn his or her choice of two rifles.  Winners will be announced at the state fair in October.

As of Aug. 6, the state reported 367 wild hogs harvested from eight counties. 

Of course, the challenge is more a publicity stunt then a practical attempt to lower the hogs population.

The Mississippi State Extension Service advises "sport hunting along is not nearly as effective as trapping and killing" wild hogs, and the Agriculture Department says, "The purpose of the challenge is to raise awareness regarding these nuisance animals and their huge negative impact on agriculture."

But hunting more hogs certainly won't hurt.  Considering the vast numbers of native animals that mankind has over hunted to the point of extinction without even trying to do so, you figure it would work well with an intentional effort against a non-native species.

With the limited hunting restrictions, it can be fun a diversion and challenge for Mississippi hunters waiting for deer season, while at the same time addressing a needed public policy goal. 

Thus, we join with Gipson's sentiments and say to hunters, "Go forth and make bacon."

Flowers To Enjoy For Your Monday!

Zinnias

Hibiscus with raindrops!

Zinnia

Zinnia

Zinnias

Zinnias

Rosemary Bush & Periwinkle

At the Vicksburg Senior Center posting until I can get me a new laptop or computer.  I really miss posted everyday because it gives me something to look forward to.  Hopefully, it want be too long.  Until then...have a blessed Monday!

Some Pictures Taken In My Hometown

I went by the Louisiana Circle and just happened to see this turkey vulture (buzzard) flying and was so excited to finally get a picture of it with a train going eastbound yesterday in my hometown of Vicksburg, MS.  

While at the Louisiana Circle yesterday a Motor Vessel (M/V) was passing by northbound and getting ready to make a sharp turn in the Mississippi River here called Delta Point.   Could not get the name of the vessel because I found out my app FINDSHIP is down because of Network Error.  

A pulled out picture of a pretty and hot day yesterday in my hometown. 

This morning I went downtown and got a picture of the riverboat, America!  She will be here all day with her passengers touring our civil war town of Vicksburg, MS.  It was nice to finally walk back onto the waterfront since the Entrance/Exit had been barricaded because of the flooding of the MS River.   

Took a picture of the trees across from the waterfront in the Yazoo Diversion Canal and you can see how high the water came.

I am still without a computer so I will try to come downtown at least once a week to blog.  Hopefully, I can get one soon.  

Threaten Wildlife In Flooded Area North of Town

As deputies from the Warren County Sheriff's Office continue their patrols in Eagle Lake and other areas affected by the Yazoo Backwater Area flooding, they are encountering a serious hazard - DEER!

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said his deputies have experienced a high number of collisions with the animals as deputies patrol the levees and roads in the flooded area.  While some of the collisions have been serious, none have disabled any of the cars. 

"Because of the fact that we  routinely patrol rural areas, we do have incidents with deer in a normal year, but we average about four deer crashes per year in the rural areas,"  Pace said.  "This year, we have had 12 in the flood area along since February.  "None of them have involved a patrol car responding to a call where there was any speed involved.  These have all been low speed impacts, and most of them have been where the deer have actually run into the side of the car."

All of the collisions, he said, have occurred in an area from U. S. 61 at Redwood to a few miles north - Floweree Road, The MS 465 Levee and Eagle Lake northwest.  Eleven cars have been hit, he said.  One of the cars has been hit twice. 

Pace said the increase in incidents is the cause of the ongoing flood n the backwater area that has taken away much of the deer's habitat.  Pace said the deer have nowhere to hid when vehicles approach them, and then they panic and run into the road.

"It's just heartbreaking to see the wildlife suffering like they are," Pace said.  "The deer in that flooded area have no place to go.  They're huddling on the levees and when a patrol car or any vehicle comes through, sometimes it will cause them to panic, and you'll have 12 to 15 deer running from one side of the levee to the other.

In order to provide a law enforcement presence on the lake, Pace said, "We have no choice but to travel those levees.  Unfortunately, it's the only dry place these wildlife have to seek refuge.

"It's just a sad reality of having to put automobiles in an area where you have thousands of deer seeking refuge on the levee,"  Pace continued, "If there were any other way to get there, we would be doing it.  The levee is the only access to the area to provide law enforcement and protection for the people with property there."

Note:  Mississippi Governor Bryant is asking President Trump for Disaster Relief since flooding has been ongoing for five months now.  Excerpts taken from The Vicksburg Post. 

My Laptop Died

Got word yesterday that my laptop cannot be fixed so officially it is DEAD!  I will be coming down to the Senior Center when I can to post.  Hopefully, I can get one soon.  Have a nice day!  Marian

Computer Still Sick!

 

Looks like I will have to come down to the Senior Center to post on my blogs and hopefully soon I will be up and running.  Have a great week my blogging friends.  Marian

Women Hunters - Fast Growing Trend & Need Encouraging

Women Hunters – Fast Growing Trend and Need Encouraging

https://archerytopic.com/women-hunters/

ArcheryTopic.com

Checking In @ Senior Center

Will try to post at least once a week at the Senior Center and hopefully the computer doctor can get me up and running soon. 

My Laptop Crashed

I will not be blogging for awhile until I can get my laptop fixed.  Hope to be back online soon.  Marian. 😢