For those who don’t remember, hunting licenses are good from Sept. 1 until Aug. 31 of the following year. Each waterfowl hunter must have a federal waterfowl stamp, which can be purchased at your local post office, and register for their HIP ID number. The Federal Stamp is good from July 1 until June 30 of each year. To stop the spread of aquatic invasive species, new state regulations prohibit the launching and retrieving of a watercraft at state launches and other state lands with any plant or animal in, on or attached. The new regulations apply to the use of phragmites or other invasive plant species for covering hunting boats and blinds. They do not apply to the use of non-invasive plants used for camouflage, dogs and or legally taken game and fish.

In another change, when reporting a band, the 800 is no longer up. We must go on-line to report all banded birds.

Out of the roughly expected 625,300 DMP permits scheduled to be issued statewide, Chautauqua County has between 9J (17,000) and 9K (5,200), which means sportsmen have plenty of chances to fill their freezer with some fresh venison.

It looks the odds of receiving DMP sportsmen are high (which in DEC language means two-thirds will get their tag on first choice and it goes down from there to medium (1 out of 3) for 9J to none for 9K.

While you spend hours practicing, it’s just as important to scout new hunting ground. It’s vital for your success in the woods to understand your hunting area, and with the new early season dates for this fall, it’s that much more important.

Knowing where they are, how they get it and where they go will do more to make your hunting experience a success than anything.

As good hunting ground is getting harder to come by, it’s important to start getting your permission early in the year. Just as important to gaining permission is staying in contact with your landowner and keeping a good relationship with him.

One of the newest pieces of equipment I started using a couple years ago was a digital trail camera. While I’m no expert in this field, I do know one thing: using trail cameras has increased my odds many times over. Knowing when critters are moving where and what trails they are using has met more to our success the past couple seasons than any single thing in the last 10 years.

Having a set of eyes on your hunting ground 24/7 is priceless.

Just as much as helping you understand wildlife movement, it is letting you know what quality of game is in a given area. Knowing that you have a big mature buck on your hunting land will keep you in the woods longer and give you the confidence you need when the going gets tough.

Another good use of trail cameras is knowing who is in and out of your hunting land. Last season, I heard from many sportsmen who didn’t know how many folks had been strolling through their posted land until they started using trail cameras.

So, I guess the food for thought is this: if you aren’t supposed to be on a given property, it may be a good thing to stay off it, because one never knows. You may be just caught on candid trail camera.

Learning the lay of the ground and how wildlife is using it takes a lot of work, but is well worth the effort that first time a deer or turkey strolls by your set-up.

To this day I still find the use of a topographical map my best tool for scouting. Years ago finding a good topo map of the area you are hunting was a challenge, but today in the world of computers companies offer programs that we all can use to make our scouting trips more profitable. And with Internet access available on cell phones, Google Maps has become a must have app.

It’s important to know where the deer are traveling, but it’s as important to understand that deer will change their travel patterns. Understanding first that deer will follow food sources will help in setting up your stands.

During the first part of archery season, using stands that are set up on the edges of fields is a good way to see where deer are traveling and what areas they are using at a particular time of the day. When hunting areas that you are not used to, or if you haven’t been able to scout it much, hunting field edges during the first part of the archery season can teach hunters a lot about an area.

While deer will come to the fields at dusk, they often times use fields more for mid-day feeding and traveling. Depending on the type of field you’re hunting over and the time of day you’re hunting, deer can walk the edges or just stroll out into the middle.

When looking to fill your DMP tag and your freezer with venison, hunting the edge of a field can provide great opportunities.

Once you have found your new honey hole, it’s time to fine-tune the location before you spend any time in it. Archery hunters need shooting lanes to shoot through. Over the years I have seen shooting lanes cleared around tree stands that have looked like a lumber jack had cleared every sapling or bush within 30 yards of a stand. Not only does disturbing an area like that counterproductive in pursuit of deer, but it also is reasonable to assume that landowners don’t like hunters acting like loggers either.