An antlerless deer hunt is always an emotional issue and the proposed hunt in highly populated regions of south Placer County is certainly no different.

I’ve heard and read many of the complaints voiced by local citizens and many of those complaints are unfounded or totally untrue.

In 1958, the state authorized an open, statewide antlerless deer hunt. The last two weeks of the deer -hunting season, a hunter could bag literally any deer that stood on four legs. While in our family we vowed we’d not shoot a doe with a fawn by its side, other hunters did not have the same reservation.

While some still bagged their bucks, a lot of does were taken. Sadly, a lot of fawns were also bagged.

That hunt created such an uproar that it was soon followed by legislative action, what today is still known as the “Bush Bill,” a bill that is still strictly followed today.

That bill puts special zone hunts, such as an antlerless hunt, in the power of the local Board of Supervisors, in the county of the hunt proposed by the Department of Fish and Game.

That legislative action has its good points and its bad points. For one, the County Board of Supervisors are not game managers. And, in more than one instance, various counties are on record of willingness to authorize the hunt if and only if their own county residents are guaranteed a certain percentage of the tags. The DFG will not okay that as they believe it should be open to all hunters as it is a state herd and not a county herd.

So, the Placer County Board of Supervisors asked the Department of Fish and Game what the options could be for what seems to be a burgeoning deer population in areas where vehicle vs. deer accidents have seemingly risen. The DFG has authorized an antlerless hunt in the South Placer region and has made the restriction that it will be for junior hunters only.

Because the DFG has authorized the hunt, does that mean it will happen? No. As described before, it must be now approved by the County Board of Supervisors for the hunt to actually occur. If they do approve the hunt, tags will be available for any hunter in the state.

Some have proposed that a hunter would be shooting a doe with a spotted fawn by her side, but this is not correct.

In the mid 1970s, after hunting opening weekend above Foresthill, I stopped at a check station in town to aid a DFG biologist. When the traffic considerably slowed, I related to this biologist how we had our restriction in 1958 of not shooting a doe that had a fawn with her.

This biologist related that any doe in the fall could be harvested. The fawn that she bore in the springtime is wholly self supporting by that time and can well survive on its own by then.

The spotted fawn thought is an emotional, knee-jerk reaction. Fawns are spotted when born but lose the spots with a short period of time. Six months after their birth they can well survive without remaining beside their mother.

Other readers have written or voiced that, because it’s a proposed youth hunt, that there will be all these youngsters running around with guns, unregulated and untrained.

First of all, before any person can receive a hunting license in California, they must first attend and pass the Hunter Safety Education course. A couple of important focus points in that course is safe firearms handling and safe times to shoot and not shoot.

Secondly, especially in a youth hunt of the type proposed in the south Placer County area, a junior hunter must be accompanied in the field by an adult.

Do those two factors always mean something won’t happen? Of course not, but there can also be adverse occurrences anywhere. I wouldn’t look for anything worse to happen in the local region as might occur in more remote areas.

So, will the hunt occur? Because of the Bush Bill in 1958, not without the Placer County Board of Supervisor’s approval.

CURRENT FISHING

Folsom Lake: Boaters beware. The five mph speed limit was re-imposed effective last week.

Port of Sacramento: Mainly schoolie fish but action can be decent on linesides up to 8-10 pounds. Last year, the boat club held their annual striper derby in November and the big fish was just 10 pounds, and it will still be a while before the big ones move in. Trolling can get you into fish, directly in the turning basin or in the channel region. Boaters are also drifting jumbo minnows and those on shore are hanging a big minnow under a bobber and casting out beyond the drop-off, where the stripers commonly cruise.

Delta: Bigger stripers, many in the teens and a few in the 20-pound class, can be found the delta region with Big Break, Sherman Lake, Honker Bay and Franks Tract all producing. Bait will attract a bite but trolling will do better.

Lake Berryessa: Find schools of bait and you’ll find bass. Spoon or drop-shot around the bait and you can get hammered on bass up to three pounds. There is also a good population of king salmon in the lake but you’ll have to drop the downrigger up to 110 feet down to find em.

Eagle Lake: If you have been to Spaulding Tract and launched, it didn’t take you long to discover the big problem. While getting your boat off the trailer was no problem, 20-feet away from the ramp was a big sand bar and everybody stirred up mud trying to get over it. The good news is that dredging of the area has begun and getting out into open water should be no problem.

Bodega Bay: Rock cod fishing is the only thing going on and the rule is limits in the bag of mixed fish with some quality vermillion and coppers. Lings are hard to come by but there are always a couple caught on each trip. It’s not that long of a run to the Point Reyes region to get into the action. Just watch the weather reports. Winds can make for a very uncomfortable trip.

If you have any questions, comments or concerns, contact George directly at

GeorgesColumn@AOL.COM.