Bobcat Season?

[JimH]

What are they based on? I've never laid eyes on a wild mink in Indiana but I know we have no shortage of them and they are fair game for trapping. Otters were trapped out of Indiana, were reintroduced and now they can be trapped again due to the population reaching sustainable levels.

Mink are probably 99% nocturnal,plus have a large home range -they are never "thick". I can see otters, beaver and bald eagles pretty much daily. Gray fox used to be very common and easy to call. I had a couple friends that called and killed 14 in one night probably 35 years ago. I haven't seen one or had one on camera for over 25 years,yet there is a hunting and trapping season 5 months long with no bag limit. Anyone here seen a gray lately?

 

[Mij]

Mink are probably 99% nocturnal,plus have a large home range -they are never "thick". I can see otters, beaver and bald eagles pretty much daily. Gray fox used to be very common and easy to call. I had a couple friends that called and killed 14 in one night probably 35 years ago. I haven't seen one or had one on camera for over 25 years,yet there is a hunting and trapping season 5 months long with no bag limit. Anyone here seen a gray lately?

Ya, took a few this season. Scrub brush area near the tippy in white county. Coyotes have about wiped them out. They tend to be in more scrub area, they can see n scent but also hide. As opposed to the reds that stay out in the open where they can see n scent for a long distance.

 

[patience0830]

Saw 2 bobcats 1/2 mile apart in the fog less than a mile from home about 0615 today while I was heading for work.

 

[JimH]

Ya, took a few this season. Scrub brush area near the tippy in white county. Coyotes have about wiped them out. They tend to be in more scrub area, they can see n scent but also hide. As opposed to the reds that stay out in the open where they can see n scent for a long distance.

Yes, I used to both trap and call them back in the 80's- they were as common as possums back then. I feel that distemper wiped grays and groundhogs out about the same time. It's easy to blame coyotes and bobcats, but places like Texas is full of all these plus deer& turkey...

 

[Mij]

Yes, I used to both trap and call them back in the 80's- they were as common as possums back then. I feel that distemper wiped grays and groundhogs out about the same time. It's easy to blame coyotes and bobcats, but places like Texas is full of all these plus deer& turkey...

From what I observed they seem to follow the rabbit population cycles. But this is kind’a common knowledge and conventional thinking. I do remember when they were putting in I-65 North of Lafayette we would use the rite of way to trap along in the winter, we could expect to get many each day. Now nothing. Those places are all little pink houses and truck stops. I think habitat loss has as much to do with it as anything. Remember when pheasants were all over Benton County, now with no fence rows, none. Modern farming practices have done as much to eradicate game and fur as much as anything else. Just my opinion of course.

 

[hooky]

MacGregor Park in Hamilton County, Spring of '22.

About an inch and a half across. I should have laid my car keys next to it for scale when I snapped the pic.

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

 

[phylodog]

PETA simply wants to delay it any way possible because boohoo. September 2025 is more than ample time to put together a viable management plan. It's not like we're in unchartered territory here and we're the first state in the nation to have bobcats.

 

[greg]

PETA simply wants to delay it any way possible because boohoo. September 2025 is more than ample time to put together a viable management plan. It's not like we're in unchartered territory here and we're the first state in the nation to have bobcats.

Don't believe there will be enough time for the process to work for a 2025 season……2026 is more of a reality if it happens.

 

[phylodog]

Don't believe there will be enough time for the process to work for a 2025 season……2026 is more of a reality if it happens.

2025 was the deadline to formulate a plan, I assumed that meant 2026 at the earliest for a season. I don't know how we'll treat them on the hunting farm yet. We had a female with cubs this spring and have had photos of bobcats pretty consistently on the farm since he bought it four years ago. The turkey population seems to be doing very well and we're still seeing rabbits and quail. If that continues I suspect they'll get a pass if we see one while hunting but we'll probably no longer go through the hassle of releasing one if it gets into one of the coyote traps.

 

[greg]

2025 was the deadline to formulate a plan, I assumed that meant 2026 at the earliest for a season. I don't know how we'll treat them on the hunting farm yet. We had a female with cubs this spring and have had photos of bobcats pretty consistently on the farm since he bought it four years ago. The turkey population seems to be doing very well and we're still seeing rabbits and quail. If that continues I suspect they'll get a pass if we see one while hunting but we'll probably no longer go through the hassle of releasing one if it gets into one of the coyote traps.

It may just be a tapping only type of season in select countries… I don’t see a state wide season with multiple bag limits. Last time it was proposed it was only in 32 countries in SE !

 

[phylodog]

I suspect they'll open a season south of I70 statewide and maybe a few counties in NE IN for starters. I don't have any idea what they'll set as far as bag limits are concerned.

 

[El Conquistador]

I was talking to Senator Baldwin the other day about this and he said they are looking at south of I 70 season to begin with.

 

[Purdue1991]

I'm all for a bobcat season. Since we started seeing bobcats around home and where we hunt, the turkey population has went way down. Used to see fields with 40 turkeys in them every year, now its maybe 5-10 turkeys in fields.

On the properties we own, we have large numbers of turkeys. And I catch bobcats on my cameras all the time. They haven't impacted turkey numbers here at all. In fact, the turkey numbers are as high as I've seen them.

 

[INP8riot]

What a beaut. End of May trail cam pic. I was lucky enough to see one last year as it walked past my house while I was eating dinner!
I wish it would stick around and eat these groundhogs! I only have 1 lone turkey that comes around...maybe that problem is related to this guy

 

[greg]

https://fox59.com/indiana-news/proposed-bobcat-hunting-season-sets-quota-at-250-bobcats-limits-trapping-to-40-counties/

Give input…

Rulemaking Docket

www.in.gov

A lot of good supporting data that had never been presented before, obviously the entire state is not overrun with Bobcats as some wanted others to believe!

Good to see the Tappers of the state get to control the problem areas.

 

[mom45]

There was actually a dead one that got hit near Plymouth Monday. Not something we see in this area. I had one on a trail cam in my yard 5 years ago and haven't seen another since then.

 

[two70]

As expected, the proposed bobcat rules are half-assed and set primarily to fulfill the requirement to have a season instead of actually managing the population.

Population management would be better served by requiring live trapping, transport to central Indiana and release. At least then maybe some people might eventually get a clue.

 

[yetti462]

250 quota will fill quickly. Limit of 1 per person is dumb. No hunting is dumb. Halfa$$ed for sure.

 

[two70]

Purdue: "Bobcats in the state prefer forest edge habitat."

Also Purdue: Maps suitable bobcat habitat as 9 or more contiguous, unbroken square miles of forest.

Apparently there's no need for it to pass the laugh test as long as the conclusion is the one desired.