Resolutions that fit

It's hard to believe that we've already rung in a New Year. I was just getting used to the old one and now it starts all over again. It's like trying to break in a new pair of shoes that are already a size too small. It can be a real pain in the heal.While I'm hoping that people will tone down all the political rhetoric, stop using social media for name calling, that weight loss becomes easy, that trout and smallmouth will scramble to get to my lures, and that a gullible turkey will strut within range, I'll admit that I'm not very optimistic – especially about the turkey.It's customary to come up with a set of resolutions for the new year, but I doubt I'm the one that's going to be able to change anyone's minds or shrink two pants sizes. I guess I'll be patient and stick to the more familiar wildlife stuff and explore a few of my options.As the theologian Tertullian explained, "Hope is patience with the lamp lit." I discovered evidence supporting his point when I was first studying wildlife biology in 1973. Back then, the odds of taking one of Ohio's 45,000 whitetails was a bit less than one-in-four. Jumping into my time machine and landing in the deer woods during the 2025 season improved my chances to just over 50%. Even though there's a bit more competition due to deer hunting's growing popularity, Ohio's deer population had also increased to somewhere north of one-million.Deer management is no longer as much about increasing the number of animals, but rather about encouraging an increase in a controlled harvest – specifically does. This is important for wildlife managers who are trying to balance everything from crop, property, and woodland ecosystem damage with a vibrant and healthy herd. While I'm sure I'll address this in some future writing, just know that it's time to put "Take at least one doe during the 2026 deer seasons" on the list of New Year Resolutions.Next up on that annual to-do list has to be Lake Erie. If it's been a while since you've tossed a hook into the big lake, this should be your year. In fact, the next few years might be your years – and the right time to think about visiting a boat dealer.According to the Division of Wildlife's fish folks, the results of the sampling trawls used to survey walleye and yellow perch hatches got Chief Wecker pretty excited. Good hatches of these two-premier game-to-table fish can drive an uptick in fishing license sales – an important part in financing the division's wildlife work – for years. According to that much anticipated cyphering of statistics, the trawl surveys revealed the walleye hatch was the sixth largest of the past 38 years. Adding to that outstanding news, the western basin yellow perch hatch ranks as the seventh largest. Let's dive a little deeper into the depths of what the fish biologists have found in cracking those numbers. Hatches have remained better than average for eight of the last eleven years. While that's good news, it gets better. The 2025 western basin walleye hatch index was 128 fish per hectare – well above the average of 57 fish per hectare. The central basin walleye survey was also strong, with an index of 26 young-of-year walleye per hectare, well above the long-term average of 8, ranking it fourth during 36 years of surveys. Since I'm sure you're wondering, a hectare is equal to approximately 2.5 acres and is a standard measurement used in these surveys.As for yellow perch, the western basin survey was 733 young-of-year per hectare, above the average of 467, ranking seventh of the survey's 38 years. This year's strong hatch, along with contributions from previous years, is expected to support the trend of good yellow perch fishing in 2026 and beyond across the west zone. The central and eastern survey areas didn't fair quite as well. According to the division, "Frequent, strong winds limited survey days in the central basin and fewer trawls than usual were completed. Many anglers caught limits of large yellow perch near central basin harbors in late fall 2025, especially near Lorain and Cleveland, indicating that good seasonal opportunities still exist despite lower population sizes."What does all this mean for the angler? Walleye from these strong 2025 hatches should reach catchable size as early as spring 2027 and western basin perch fishing is looking good, too. Hatches like these can support incredible fishing for years!Since we're exploring sample resolutions, we might as well take a look at new fishing boats to go with those hatches – and maybe a camper. They're kind of a fringe benefit of making good choices. What better place to start than Ohio's sports shows.Kicking it off will be the Ohio RV and Boat Show to be held at the Expo Center at the Ohio State Fairgrounds on January 9-18. Visit www.ohioexpocenter.com/events/2026/ohio-rv-boat-show2 for more information. There's also the Cleveland Boat Show which will run from Jan. 15-18 at the I-X Center. Check it out at https://clevelandboatshow.com/. Maybe you have a boat – or better yet, a friend with a boat – or are just more interested in fishing. The National Fishing Expos-Columbus is celebrating its 11th year with an exciting event from January 30th-February 1st at the Ohio Expo Center's Bricker building at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Find details at https://www.nationalfishingexpos.com/. Getting back to a little terra firma – and to my DNR roots in Ohio's State Park System – it's only appropriate to add visiting a few of our award-winning parks onto the year's resolution bucket list. Kick it off with one of the guided winter hikes held at several parks, but especially one very special hike. It will be held on Jan. 17 at Hocking Hills State Park – the 60th anniversary of this winter walk. This year's trek isn't only a cherished Ohio tradition, but also one of the many 'America 250' celebration events happening throughout 2026 to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Learn more about Ohio's State Parks by visiting https://ohiodnr.gov/home and just click on the Parks and Watercraft patch.If you're resolutions tend to be more on the hunting end of things, the Northeast Ohio Sportsman Show might be just the ticket. It runs from Jan. 15-17 at the Mt. Hope Event Center, 8076 OH-241, Millersburg, OH 44654. Family friendly and in the middle of Amish country, it's hosting guide services, exhibitors, land and deer management information, seminars, and more. Visit https://ohiosportsmanshow.com/. I have to touch on one of the fastest growing outdoor pastimes – birding. This one needs to be on every birder's resolution shortlist. The Biggest Week in American Birding is a 10-day festival in northwest Ohio which will take place May 8-17 – allowing you to immerse yourself in spring songbird migration in the "Warbler Capitol of the World." The festival has something to offer fledgling birders to those shedding a few feathers. There'll be identification workshops, guided trips, daily walks through Magee Marsh, a Birder's Marketplace, Optics Alley, evening socials, and more. For details or to offer your help at this once-a-year event, visit https://www.biggestweekinamericanbirding.com/. Might as well address the turkey in the corner of the room. Seemingly ever illusive to my attempts, 2026 year should offer at least an average chance for my success. Ohio's wild turkey poult index, a metric used to estimate nest success and poult survival for the bird, was 2.7 poults per hen in 2025. That's slightly below the 10-year average of 2.8.The Division of Wildlife relies on public reports of wild turkeys and their young in July and August of each year to estimate nest success and poult survival. The annual poult index serves as an indicator of population trends. Turkey brood success is largely influenced by weather conditions, habitat, and predation. This year's index was based on 742 responses.Even though my chances remain average (at best) and really good for local turkeys, I'll still give it a whirl and keep a gobbler on my New Year's bucket list. After all, a close twin to patience is perseverance. "Imagination allows you to think of the journey worth making. Motivation gets you started. But, it's patience and perseverance that get you there.' – Ernie J Zelinski Along the WayHunters checked 15,835 whitetails on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20-21, during Ohio's gun hunting weekend. Last year, hunters took 17,386 deer during the bonus gun weekend, and the three-year average is 16,010. The top 10 counties for deer taken during the 2025 gun weekend were: Coshocton (576); Ashtabula (551) ; Knox (477) ; Tuscarawas (471); Columbiana (430) Carroll (427) ; Muskingum (398); Ashland (391); Richland (387) and Licking (381). Totals were lower than average in Athens: 55 (221); Meigs: 53 (233); Morgan: 105 (244); and Washington: 43 (278) counties as a result of an unprecedented outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) over the summer. The bag limit in those counties was reduced in response to the disease outbreak. A county list of all white-tailed deer checked during the 2025 deer gun hunting weekend is shown below. The first number following the county's name shows the numbers for 2025, and the three-year average of deer taken in 2022, 2023, and 2024 is in parentheses. Allen: 127 (114); Defiance: 144 (156); Hancock: 186 (153); Hardin: 163 (129); Henry: 70 (75); Putnam: 65 (78); Sandusky: 106 (85); Seneca: 255 (207); Wood: 97 (87) and Wyandot: 173 (170). Step Outside • Today-Jan 6: Ohio's Statewide Primitive Weapons Deer Season. • Tomorrow: Primitive Blackpowder Muzzle Loader Shoot, round ball only, 1 p.m. Black Swamp Muzzle Loaders Club, 8831 Township Rd. 19, McComb. Email: roadkill4u@hotmail.com • Tomorrow: Trap Shoot, 1 p.m. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township 186. • Jan. 11: Last Day to Apply to Become an Ohio Wildlife Officer. Applications are being accepted until Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, for the next Ohio Wildlife Officer training school. The Division of Wildlife is seeking to fill up to 12 wildlife officer positions throughout Ohio and training for new wildlife officer cadets begins in August 2026. This is the Division of Wildlife's 33rd Wildlife Officer Training Academy since 1951. Those interested in becoming an Ohio Wildlife Officer can complete an application at careers.ohio.gov. Abrams is a retired wildlife officer supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife in Findlay. He can be reached at P.O. Box 413, Mount Blanchard, OH 45867-0413 or via e-mail at jimsfieldnotes@aol.com.