Deer season is right around the corner! Now is the perfect time to renew your hunting license. This year, the Indiana DNR has a new license system, the Activity Hub. Users are encouraged to log in prior to the start of the season and make sure your account is ready to go. Purchase your licenses early to avoid last-minute lines and give yourself peace of mind knowing you’re set for the season.

  New Deer Regulations

For questions about equipment, regulations, or which license you need, contact the Deer Information Line at INDeerInfo@dnr.IN.gov or 812-334-3795.  

Changes to Indiana’s hunting deer regulations include:

The statewide bag limit is six antlerless deer and one antlered deer, except for in Deer Reduction Zones and during youth seasons.

There is a newly created County Antlerless Bag Limit instead of season antlerless bag limits and the County Bonus Antlerless Quota.

Hunters cannot harvest an antlerless deer with a firearm during firearms season on Fish & Wildlife-managed properties nor at Salamonie, Mississinewa, and Patoka lakes.

Only one antlered and two antlerless deer may be harvested with the bundle license.

The use of crossbow equipment is now allowed using the archery license.

Drones and/or devices with infrared sensors may be used to locate harvested deer (but they still cannot be used to hunt deer).

A new change in state law allows hunters to use rifles with a centerfire cartridge with a minimum bullet diameter of .219 inches (5.56 mm) or larger on both public and private lands.

Indianapolis Angler Catches State

Record Mooneye 

Indianapolis resident Tyler Baumann caught a 9-ounce mooneye on the East Fork of the Whitewater River on June 5 in Dearborn County, beating the previous record of 5.8 ounces set in 2019 on the Ohio River in Clark County. 

Baumann caught the 12-inch-long state record fish from a kayak using a night crawler under a bobber. State record fish are determined by weight rather than length.  

Mooneye are found in large rivers throughout Indiana. Mooneye and goldeye look similar and are often mistaken for one or the other. To differentiate between the two, look at where the dorsal fin starts in comparison to the anal fin. For mooneye, the start of the dorsal fin is either before or in line with the start of the anal fin. For goldeye, the start of the dorsal fin is behind the start of the anal fin.

Put-And-Take Pheasant Hunt Reservations

Reservations for put-and-take pheasant hunts opened Wednesday, September 10, at 7 a.m. ET and will continue through the end of the hunt period or until the hunts are sold out. The hunts take place from November 22–30. Hunters can reserve their spot at on.IN.gov/reservedhunt.

Participating Fish & Wildlife areas include Atterbury, Glendale, J.E. Roush Lake, Pigeon River, Tri-County, Willow Slough, and Winamac. Hunters seeking information about a scheduled hunt should contact the respective property. Contact information is available at on.IN.gov/dfwproperties. 

Reservations are sold for $30 on a first-come, first-served basis. A $1 tech fee is charged per reservation. Once the daily hunter quota is reached for each site, the location will be listed as unavailable. Hunters must possess a valid hunting license and gamebird habitat stamp to hunt pheasant. The bag limit is two pheasants per person, per day. 

Pigeon River, Willow Slough, and Winamac FWAs only permit hunting of male pheasants. Hunters should print their reservation confirmation sheet and bring it with them on the day of their hunts.

Hudson Lake Public Access Reopens

Public access to Hudson Lake has been restored after completion of the dredging of a navigation channel from the boat ramp to the lake. The ramp had been closed since mid-July.  

The project, funded by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) program and Hudson Lake Conservation Association, hydraulically pumped sediment from the access channel to an upland area on the northwest end of the lake.

‘till next time,  

Jack

Readers can contact the author by writing to this publication or e-mail Jack at jackspaulding1971@outlook.com 

Spaulding’s books, “The Best Of Spaulding Outdoors” and “The Coon Hunter And The Kid” are available from Amazon.com as a paperback or Kindle download.