Very disapointing
 

Just got word that the area he hunt in Hunterdon county NJ was hit bad with blue tongue. From what guys are saying there are thousands dead. Heard stories of litteraly 20 dear at a clip laying dead in streams and ponds. Great and I just paid for my lease too!

Guess no one fron NJ on here? Just got back from the property and not one deer track and 5 carcasses. Talked to several other people and the area is desimated. Hunterdon county has the highest deer per square mile, hunter kill rates, and largest lisence sales out of all on NJ. Went on a local hunting sight and they are talking about gear, pictures from last year and food plots! Go figure?

I live and hunt just across the river in PA and as yet I haven't seen any evidence of EHD in our area and I haven't heard of any reports of EHD from the guys I know that hunt NJ. I checked the NJ DEP website and there were no reports of EHD in NJ in 2011.
If you haven't done so already, it might be a good idea to report your findings to the DEP.

From what I understand and from what I have seen in decay of the carcasses it hit our property about a month ago. I called some friends and farmers on adjoining farms and they are in the same situation. Just a little while ago I got a call from someone with land in Lambertville and they are seeing it too. Which means its spreading. I am not one to spread hearsay but I have heard stories of dead deer in bait piles and bait stations maintained year round with cameras go from many sightings per picture to one doe a week. 3 local clubs have already packed up their stands and went to other places to hunt. I witnessed it for myself. One was in the creek flopping and running in circles trying to avoid me after I almost stepped on her. Called another friend and the conservation officers know about it and two biologist working on it. But really what can be done? Its population control via mother nature. I will post the two pics I took (before my phone died) in a little while.

That's all a bunch of crap. I live in Hunterdon and belong to two different clubs with no mention. I live in these woods and haven't seen any thing unusual except for the normal road kill.

Bro, I wish you were right and you may be in your neck of the woods in Hunterdon. But I can tell you the Western part of Sourland mountain, Unionville, Western part of Wertsville Rd. Linvale Rd. Orchard Rd, Rocktown Rd. have all been hit hard. I so wanted to go into the woods today to debunk the hearsay thats beed buzzing around. I actually just got off the phone with another hunter from a piece near hillbilly hall and he said right away that he heard it and he saw it too. Do me a favor call the main hub for NJFW and ask to speak with an officer in charge of the Hunterdon area. I bet you my truck they say they know about it. To the gentleman who stated its not on the NJFW website. I know its not don't know why but its not. Here are just 2 of the pics I got before my phone died. Its two deer dead laying on a creek bank 50 yards apart. I actually saw 4 more in the other creek that runs through the property but my phone died.

Ahhh here you go http://www.newjerseyhunter.com/article107973.htm

Man that suxs...there's some great bucks in the area...I was once hunting on the river up that way and had a 160 class 8 pointer chasing a doe across the river...man that suxs...I hope it does'nt get to the Pa side....

Just an update. I talked to a F&W employee tonight and they do 100% know about it and test are being done on a live subject. They are testing to see if its #1. EHD and #2. type 1 or type 2. There isn't much that can be done accept hope for the best. I am heading out to my other property about 5 miles away from my club prop on Wed. Will post more pics then. Was told the areas are W. Amwell, E. Amwell, Hopewell, Pennington. Basiclly Northern Mercer and Southern Hunterdon counties

This is just so reminiscent of when i was mule deer hunting in the epicenter of chronic wasting disease area in the Medicine Bow area of Wyoming and saw all those downer deer. Very sad to say the least when you see 170 class bucks with their tongues hanging out, back brushed fur and head hung low dying a slow death.

Wow realy sucks , Hope it doesnt flow into NY ...

WOW !! SORRY!!! Hpoe it stays out of PA and NY !!!

Dude sorry to hear that my property in SE. OH. got hit hard in 2007, we still had deer dying from it in front of in gun season in Dec. We are still just getting back to normal.
It was the perfect storm, Terrrible drought and the first frost didnt happen until early Nov. Pike

Bluebird just be glad we got plenty of rain in the northeast and this outbreak didnt spread YET!!! Also pray that we get an early frost to limit the amount of deer being infected.
Also deer die from Blue tongue (EHD) each and every year in PA., NJ., OH.,MD. and WV., its just that most years it isnt that many of them to mention or worry about. Pike

My area got hit with blue tongue 4 years ago right before the hunting season. Killed probably 80% of the deer in a 5 square mile area near Middleway.

Truth be told, the deer herd was way to big in the area, as there used to be herds of 20 deer in my backyard, running through the neighborhood.

There were still enough deer around the next year that I was able to harvest one in the woods behind my house, and the herd, through natural growth ad osmisis, has returned to a good healthy level.

As much as it sucks, it seems blue tongue is natures way of saying, 'the deer herd is more than the land can handle'.

This year may be a bust, but next year there will be good deer once again.

Im in the Oldwick/Lebanon/Annandale region of Hunterdon county, just east of Round Valley Reservoir. PLanning on hunting my backyard....this is the first I've heard of blue tongue here, I've seen lots of deer grazing on farmland...and the little stinkers are stripping the lower leaves off my cherry trees standing on their hind legs. The Rockaway creek is clear....I've not seen a carcass around here so maybe i'm clear this season. I used to work down in Hopewell...tough luck down there with that outbreak. Hope it clears up soon....

Personally, I think the 117,000 doe tags( 125 tags/forested SM.) allocated for 5C are a much greater threat to the future of our herd than EHD will ever be. Remember the PGC goal for 5C was only 6 DPSM and the only thing that is preventing that goal is posted ground ,safety zones and municipalities where no firearms hunting is permitted.

I was just forwarded this from the president of one of the clubs I hunt. I was unaware of the problem.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/newsrel/2011/11_0103.htm

It's been confirmed by NJF&G, parts of Hunterdon, Mercer, Morris Counties have been hit

Whats the amount of doe tags in PA. (which I agree with your entire post by the way) have to do with you doubting that EHD. was infecting and killing deer in the author of this threads area?
I was just pointing out to you that EHD. kills deer in PA., NJ. and other bordering states every year. Pike

I had no intention of casting doubt on the effects of EHD in NJ. I even suggested that he report his observation to the DEP since there was no reference to the current outbreak of EHD on the NJ DEP website.

I referenced the high antlerless allocations in 5C simply to point out that high antlerless harvests year after year can have a greater effect on the herd than sporadic outbreaks of EHD.

This mornings Morning Call, A danielsville farmer who raises deer lost 89 of his deer to EHD through the month of august. Its on the front page. Thats just on the other side of the mountain from me.

Here is the link to the article on EHD in PA.

http://www.mcall.com/sports/outdoors...,6463707.story .

Since the experts claim EHD is only transmitted by midges,it is surprising that the farmer lost so many deer while there was no significant reports of the loss of wild deer in the surrounding area.

I would think those deer were in confined to a small area.

But didn't the experts say that EHD isn't transmitted from deer to deer and that it was only transmitted by the midges? If that were true there should have been significant impacts in other areas of 5C and 5D with high deer densities.

Its official!
 

Reports from my property are, no deer, no deer and no deer. A couple of doe pics in 2 weeks. No real sign or prints on our property in 2 weeks!! Looks like I'm hunting somewhere else this year.

The midges dont have to look very hard for a deer to infect when you have 89 of them trapped in a pen.

We got hit pretty hard with it in Salem county too, some areas wiped out. I have several cameras running with little to no activity.

Don't worry, Obama care will take care of it.

:bash: :bash: