Chances are pretty good that West Virginia squirrel hunters won’t have to walk far into their favorite stand of hickory trees to find squirrels moving this year.
"Looks like there will be a lot of squirrels this year," said DNR Biologist Jim Evans. "Our mast last year, particularly hard mast was really good. That allowed a lot of squirrels to winter over well. "
Squirrels are one species where the current year’s numbers are dependent on last year’s mast. During a poor mast year, squirrels will not produce a second litter of young, eroding the numbers for the following fall.
Seasoned squirrel hunters will tell you the hickory nut is the "chocolate" of the squirrel world. Evans says this year’s mast survey shows a good crop of hickory almost all across the state.
"Generally they’ll be in hickory and it will usually be cut out fairly early, but there’s so much of it this year, they’ll be in it a while,” said Evans.
The DNR’s 2008 Mast Survey reveals good hickory production, but acorns, which are a secondary food source for squirrels, are not nearly as abundant.
"There’s a really good crop of hickory, walnut, and beech,” explained Evans. "The oaks didn’t hit very well, they’re pretty spotty, in places there are a lot of oak–but in most places they’re not."
Saturday, October 11, is the opening day of West Virginia’s squirrel season. It’s anticipated a fair number of hunters will take advantage of the opening day, but squirrel hunting doesn’t hold nearly the allure it did at one time in West Virginia. The opening day of squirrel season was once as highly anticipated as opening day of deer season. Today however with increased numbers of deer, turkey, and bear and increased opportunities to hunt all of those with bow, gun, and muzzleloader outdoorsmen have lost much of their passion for the bushy tails.
"Squirrel hunting is a very good type of hunting, especially to introduce young people and for the elderly," said Evans. "You can hunt without a lot of physical exertion and it’s very enjoyable especially early in the fall when the season comes in the weather is very pleasant."