Mother Nature conspired against the Taber Fish and Game Association with its annual Measuring Day this past weekend, as overall entries were way down.
“We only had around 80 entries this year, where in the past we were close to double, due to the fact there were less deer in Alberta from too severe winters,” said Dave Chontosh, vice president/treasurer of Taber Fish and Game Association.
Couple harsh winters, in which animal counts were already down, with extremely wet springs for muddy breeding habitats for biting midges and mild falls for them to linger, and you had the perfect breeding ground for disease for the hunted animals. According to Chontosh, Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) ravished the Montana and Alberta hunting areas.
“The biting midges cause internal bleeding that can cause death in an animal in a few days. It affects mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk and pronghorn, but it is particularly damaging to white-tail herds,” said Chontosh, who added increased poaching also affected numbers. “A lot of the concerned hunters noticed and knew there was less numbers, so they either never purchased a tag or fulfilled their tag so numbers could be replenished”
Nevertheless, sizes of racks were still solid despite the lower amount of entries, and youth participation was as strong as ever.
“The youth are generally not trophy hunters. They are just starting out and shoot a smaller horn-sized deer than maybe a trophy hunter would. Their overall entries are about the same,” said Chontosh.
Clay Leismeister grabbed pretty much ever junior award that was out there this year as Junior Bird Hunter of the Year, Junior All-Around Sportsman of the Year, Johnnie Osbourne Memorial Junior Fisherman of the Year and Gary Dickie Memorial Junior Male Big Game Hunter of the Year.
“He comes from a hunting family and on the youth side he did very well. In the fish and bird categories, he participated a lot in the outdoor pleasure of hunting and fishing,” said Chontosh.
Other big winners on the day were Cindy Kinniburgh, who earned Ladies Big Game Hunter of the Year. Jordyn Jensen was Junior Female Big Game Hunter of the Year. Other accolades included Braiden Thompson as Big Game Bow Hunter of the Year, Patrick Horvath earning Steve Sorgard Memorial All Around Fisherman/Hunter of the Year and Les Oddan winning Sportsman of the Year.
The following are results from the measuring day held at the Taber Community Centre on Saturday:
Youth typical white-tail deer: 1. Hunter Sorgard (150 2/8 inches. 2. Clay Leismeister (123 7/8 inches. 3. Logan Wiebe (110 4/8 inches.
Youth non-typical mule deer: 1. Clay Leismeister (161 4/8 inches).
Youth typical mule deer: 1. Logan Wiebe (146 2/8 inches). 2. Nick Sekura (116 7/8 inches).
Youth bear: 1. Clay Leismeister (16 13/16 inches). 2. Matthew Stanek (16 7/16 inches).
Youth antelope: 1. Clay Leismeister (70 6/8 inches).
Adult moose: 1. Kelly Kerner (131 inches).
Adult elk: 1. Patrick Horvath (343 6/8 inches).
Adult typical white-tail deer : 1. Bill Hansen (148 inches).
Adult non-typical white-tail deer: 1. Don Mustard (124 1/8 inches).
Adult out-of-province white-tail deer: 1. Jim Kinniburgh (157 4/8 inches).
Adult non-typical mule deer:” 1. Cindy Kinniburgh (182 3/8 inches).
Adult typical deer mule: 1. Monty Sorgard (164 inches).
Archery typical mule deer: 1. Brady Thompson (149 6/9 inches).
Adult bear: 1. John Horvath (17 11/16 inches).
Archer bear: 1. Nolan Werewka (16 7/16 inches).
Youth pheasant: 1. Clay Leismeister (38 1/2 inches). 2. Quinton Hamvas-Prato (36 1/4 inches). 3. Jedd Horvath (35 inches). 4. Dawson Gross (31 3/4 inches).
Youth grouse: 1. Clay Leismeister (2.1 pounds). 2. Matthew Stanek (1.28 pounds). 3. Matthew Stanek (1.28 pounds).
Youth partridge: 1. Clay Leismeister (0.88 pounds).
Youth Canada goose: 1. Clay Leismeister (12.88 pounds). 2. Logan Wiebe (11.18 pounds).
Youth duck: 1. Clay Leismeister (3.74 pounds). 2. Clay Leismeister (3.25 pounds.
Youth snow goose: 1. Clay Leismeister (6.4 pounds).
Adult pheasant: 1. Devin Werewka (38 inches).
Adult partridge: 1. Don Mustard (0.86 pounds).
Adult duck: 1. Ryan Leismeister (3.64 pounds).
Youth rainbow trout: 1. Clay Leismeister (3.16 pounds).
Youth cutthroat trout: 1. Clay Leismeister (3.18 pounds). 2. Mekenna Leismeister (3 pounds).
Youth pike: 1. Jedd Horvath (19.08 pounds). 2. Justin Astalos (4.92 pounds).
Youth goldeye: 1. Chase Kinniburgh (1.3 pounds).
Youth perch: 1. Taylor Irwin (0.72 pounds).
Adult men’s pike: 1. Patrick Horvath (4.4 pounds).
Adult ladies pike: 1. Eloura Egeland (5.52 pounds).
Most impressive head: Clayton Jensen (rocky mountain goat - 48 4/8 inches).
Scenic photo: 1. Patrick Horvath.
Sportsman in the field photo: 1. Patrick Horvath.
Wildlife photo: 1. Bob Powell.