However, if you still do a deer camp for gun week, good for you. Enjoy it!
The deer gun season in Ohio runs through today, with a bonus weekend on Dec. 21-22. The opening day bag for the first day of gun week was 26,667, the best since 2012. The leading county was Coshocton, with 1,053 deer harvested.
Duck season in Ohio’s south zone started on Dec. 7 and runs through Jan. 26, 2025. What should you expect? This season is going to be interesting, as the Great Lakes have been beaten up with snow and cold temperatures. The guess is that the majority of ducks have already moved south, probably doing so at night. Smaller bodies of water and shallow lakes have already formed ice, at least skim ice, here in the south zone.
Some thoughts on locations in the south zone include Grand Lake St. Mary’s, where ice has formed in areas that aren’t frozen over yet; Caesars Creek, Ohio’s deepest lake, which should be completely open at the dam; and the Scioto River corridor, which is our No. 1 waterfowl location in Ohio. There are plenty of public hunting opportunities here, with a good variety of waterfowl.
For ice fishing on Lake Erie, I spoke with Mike Patterson of Mike’s Sport Fishing. Mike is the premier ice fishing guide on the western basin of Lake Erie. When I asked him about his last good ice season, he mentioned it was 2016. I also got some of his thoughts on what this season may bring. The December cold is starting to set in.
And everyone wonders, is Lake Erie going to freeze? Lake temperatures have definitely cooled down, so the water will be ready. It really always comes down to January. Parts of Sandusky Bay are already covered with ice as of Dec. 1.
Most of the forecasts Mike has seen look promising, but with that said, one 10-day warm-up around the New Year could mess up the whole deal again. All who enjoy a little ice fishing will be watching and hoping for a colder January this year.
As for hunting seasons left in Ohio for the 2024/25 season: deer-archery runs through Feb. 2nd, 2025; pheasant season ends on Jan. 12th, 2025; waterfowl season depends on the zone in which you are hunting (note that goose season extends into February); squirrel season ends Jan. 31; and rabbit season runs through Feb. 28.
Thanks to Mike Patterson for his contribution to this article.
Until next time, enjoy the outdoors. Contact Jerry at jkoutdoorconnection@yahoo.com.
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