This week on Kentucky Afield With deer season on the horizon, we're learning about a technique that bow hunters are using more and more often to get in close.

Next, we'll check out an endangered species and how they're being protected.

Then, we're squirrel hunting with a feist dog.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

Kentucky's deer archery season opens right around the corner on September the second.

And if you're looking for a new option for tree stand hunting, maybe the tree saddle is just for you.

Well, Shane, I know we're looking for a good tree for a saddle.

I don't have any experience for this.

You pick a tree out.

We can use it on about any tree, but that one, I believe, looks perfect Chad.

All right, that looks good to me.

Shane, you introduced something to me that I have actually still never done, but we've talked a little about it, and that is saddle hunting.

Tell me a little bit about generally what saddle hunting is.

And essentially this is using a harness system in lieu of a normal traditional tree stand.

Yeah.

So saddle hunting essentially is a lightweight form of hunting where you're wearing a harness.

It's it's a purpose made tree saddle that's built for the purpose of a hunter spending extended periods of time in it.

It's combined with a lightweight climbing method.

And you climb the tree and you will you will hanging, suspended from a tether which is attached to the tree tied to your harness that you're going to be sitting in or leaning back against, and your feet are going to be on a small platform of some type, it's going to be attached to the tree underneath you.

And literally when you leave the ground, you're going to be tethered to the tree where falling is not really a possibility all the way up until your hunting position.

Is that correct?

That's correct, yes.

Okay.

So using it in a way where you are attached and a fall is not possible, it is very, very, very important.

Yeah.

So the saddle system, what is the benefits of hunting with a tree saddle?

It's very lightweight.

It's very simple to walk in wit.

Instead of carrying a large stand in, it can be snagging on trees and branches.

You can literally wear it.

You are facing the tree, it gives you more usable range around the tree to shoot from.

Okay.

It's very safe.

You know, like you said, you're tied in from the minute you leave the ground to the minute your feet touch the ground again.

When a person sees this, they're going to immediately go, Well, that kind of looks like what I see a lineman wearing or maybe a rock climber.

It's very similar gear repurposed for hunting, correct?

Exactly.

I bet if you ask ten different climbers how they climb and what tools they need, you probably get ten different answers.

But to keep it simple, tell me exactly what equipment is needed here.

Set of climbing sticks is a great way to get started.

They're easy to use, they're easy to learn.

You're going to need a foot platform to put your feet on.

Once you get up to hunting height for stability to shoot off, you're going to need a saddle to hold.

You attached to the saddle is going to be a bridge.

Lineman's belt to help you get up and down on the sticks.

Some type of rope grab and a carabiner to attach that lineman's belt to your saddle and you're going to need a tether.

Again, some type of rope grab and a carabiner on that tether that goes around the tree, that attaches to your saddle to hold you when you're suspended.

So on the saddle, I step inside it, making sure to step through the bridge.

There are leg loops and attach them.

And this webbing, that the pad, the back of the saddle, is actually what's going to be holding me as I sit down.

So that's where the bulk of my bodies weight is going to be carried.

What are they rated to hold?

What type of weight?

Some of the lightest rated ones are rated around 350, 400 pounds.

They'll hold plenty of weight.

There's no concern there at all.

So the next step for me, is I'm going to take my step.

This small platform will actually be what my feet will rest against when I get to hunting height.

Okay.

You can purchase these online as well.

I made this one and tied it up.

It's a step aider.

A step aider essentially, when you're using a one step, just gives you two more steps?

Correct, yes.

That's all this is Is it a strap that's a two more steps to get you a little bit higher?

Correct, yes.

Okay.

So I walk up to the tree and I'm going to put it about this high.

So I want my first foot to be able to reach my step aider.

Okay.

Throw my rope around the tree.

I'm going to attach my step to the tree using the cam-cleat and the rope.

Make sure the rope's ran back out of the way so I'm not going to snag it and kick it loose with my feet.

So this type of cleat that is good right there?

Yes sir.

That's rated for 500 pounds plus.

It comes from the sailing industry.

It'll hold it will hold plenty of weight and will set my stick and we'll pull down on it.

Okay.

And then I'm going to put my body weight into it to set it a little bit more and I'll set my stick.

All right.

Now, the next step is to take the rope that I'm actually going to be using.

I will climb up this rope and I will also come back down this rope by rappelling.

Okay.

This is a simple knot.

Okay.

I'm going to tie simple overhand figure eight into it.

And you can buy these already pre-tied?

Yes sir, you can buy them pre-tied.

And I'm going to use the carabiner through the loop.

I'm going to then attach this around the tree.

And you say carabiner, these are not regular carabiners you go by Walmart.

They have a way that these these will tighten back down and screw closed.

Correct, yes.

Don't just grab any old regular carabiner that's not made for climbing, right?

Buy a climbing rated carabiner.

I turned it around so that my screw gate is facing out away from the tree.

It's not going to get bound up against the tree and that's going to hang for a second.

Okay.

So let me gather a couple of things here.

I'm going to need this in a moment to descend the tree.

This is a rappelling ring and another carabiner.

I'm going to take it and clip it on my belt right here.

It's going to be with me going up the tree.

I will need that to get down.

And I'm going to use an ascender.

It's a one way rope grab.

So i'm going to attach it to the rope and it grabs the rope.

I gotcha.

So it allows me to ascend up.

I release the tension on it.

I'm going to descend.

Okay.

So at this point, my carabiner is going to attach to my ascender, that attaches to my bridge.

Okay.

Once you pull that tight it's physically not possible for you to fall without a major malfunction.

Correct.

When I climb using an aider, I'm going to use a toe-to-tree method.

My toe is going to touch the tree.

That's what's going to lock me out and help me hold that rope steady and stable.

I'm going to go ahead and start working my tether up the tree.

The most dangerous time is when the tether gets below you.

That's correct.

The mid-point of your body, right?

I mean, every time you take a step, you're pulling it up.

Yes.

You want to pull that up every time.

Yeah.

And keep it tight.

Yeah.

So at this point, I'll sit back, always ease into my saddle slowly at first.

Okay.

Let it set.

Make sure my rope's, good.

I'm going to hang free.

All right.

So at this point, my tether has me.

I'm hanging in my saddle.

I want to reach down, grab this little wire, pull my step up, release my cam-cleat.

Step comes up with me.

You're going to start the whole process over, it looks like.

Yep, the whole process starts over.

I'm going to reset my step, set it back in my cam-cleat.

So let me ask you something.

If you were doing this and this tree had a big limb that come in right here, once you move your tether up over top of it, you could go around the limb here couldn't you?

That's correct.

And in that case.

But you're going to detach yourself for a split second to get above it, right?

No, sir, I would not.

What I would do is I would carry a second tether with me.

I would tie that one, tie off to it, and then I would leapfrog that tether over it.

I got you.

Okay.

On a traditional stand where you're climbing stand, you're limited to trees without limbs.

Correct.

With this with a second tether that's not a concern.

That's correct.

Yeah.

Man that little cam lock on there is really nice because you're reaching below you.

You want to make sure you got a way that you can take it off in there pretty quickly and easily.

That's correct.

Yeah.

Now, one thing we didn't showcase, you would have attached either your firearm, your muzzleloader, or your bow before you took off, and had that clipped to your belt.

Right.

I would have that tied on to my harness.

The top step of that stick is now my platform.

Okay.

So I've got a small rope that would tie up here.

I'd hang my bow, I would pull my bow and my backpack up.

Okay, hang that here.

And at this point, I've got shots.

I could shoot here.

I can come out on stick shoot over here.

I can come off to this side of the tree and that's how I hunt.

Can you turn and face the other way?

I can.

What if it was directly behind you?

Yes.

So now you're up there to your hunting height.

You're literally on the platform, which is your step.

So on your last climb, you just don't detach it and you leave it, right?

I leave it.

Yeah.

This becomes my tether, which will become my rappelling rope.

So when I get at the hunting height, pull my bow up, and I'm going to take this massive rope, but I'm going to tuck it back in my backpack to keep it up.

Another thing I really like about this, a deer walking under me does not see steps on the bottom of the tree.

Yeah, there's literally nothing until your last step.

There's no ropes and spending.

You've pulled everything up, so it's out of the way.

It's shooting from a seated position pretty easy.

I prefer to shoot from the standing position.

Okay.

So this is my favorite shot, is out here.

Now tell me how you navigate that rope with your bow string and your draw.

Is that something?

You're just over top of it.

I'm up over it.

Okay.

So I'm going to bring my bow out, I'm going to come across my tether and I'm going to draw here.

Okay.

So it is clear of it.

So in that saddle right now, how comfortable is that for an extended four or five, six hour hunt?

Oh, it's very comfortable.

I could spend a long time here.

All right.

It's very comfortable.

It's like you're sitting in a hammock against a tree.

Now, once your hunt is over, you've got to come back down.

There's a couple of different methods you could do this.

You could literally do it in reverse of the way you did this, where you could scoot your tether down a little bit, reach down, grab the step.

The quickest, easiest way for you would be to do what?

Simply rappel out of the tree.

So this is a very simple setup.

This is a rappelling ring.

I'm simply going to run a bite of rope through this ring, and I'm going to take a carabiner and run it through over here.

That just introduces friction to that rope.

That is then going to attach to my bridge.

There's many devices.

This is a simple, easy, cheap way to do it.

You can buy rappelling belay devices.

So any time I do this, I always I'm super slow and super careful from one device to another.

And that's something which is going to take some practice, look up on YouTube, different ways that people are doing this.

I probably wouldn't go buy the equipment and go out the very first day and climb up a tree stand.

I would do most of my trial and error at about three feet.

Four feet off the ground.

Yeah, absolutely you're right.

So if you see this knot that is behind my carabiner, this pull down rope, I'm going to take this figure eight.

After I've lowered my bow and my bows attach the other end of it.

I'm actually going to hook this carabiner into my rope and it's going to have a secondary function in a minute.

So just like I'm repelling anywhere else.

My weight is now on my repel rope.

So, I'm going to always check my equipment.

So I'm going to start coming down lowering the weight a little bit.

Everything's holding just fine.

So i'm going to come down.

I'm going to stop myself here, remove my step.

Okay.

Step's free and it'll be waiting for me at the bottom of the tree.

Now i'm just going to come on down the tree.

Just walk down the tree.

There you go.

And I'm down.

You might look at this and go, well wait a minute you got a problem.

Your rope is up there and you're down here.

So tell us how you're going to do this.

Right.

So I've got my pull down rope attached.

This is where your bow was attached.

It's a little heavier duty than a normal bow rope.

I'm simply going to pull my rope, work it loose and work it down the tree.

And there we go.

There you go.

Now you round up your ropes and your gear and shove it back into your backpack.

One great thing about this is completely approved and safe for public lands because I can't even tell you've been on this tree.

Literally less than a climbing stand as far as there's not a mark or scar on this tree.

I think it's a great tool for a hunter to have.

Located in Pulaski County is Rock Castle River Wildlife Management Area.

This WMA is nearly 3000 acres and offers excellent hunting and fishing opportunities.

This property consists of mostly wooded areas with some open fields and a handful of ponds.

You'll be excited to hear that this WMA is open under statewide regulations for all game species.

But there is no ATV, camping, horseback riding, or rock climbing allowed on the property.

For those upland bird and rabbit hunters, you must check in and out at a kiosk using a hanging tag.

Remember that wildlife management area users must abide by the Kentucky hunting, trapping, and fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind that regulations on WMAs often differ from statewide regulations, so be sure to review the hunting guide or website for the specific WMA that you are hunting.

And for more information about this WMA or the latest regulations or restrictions that pertain to it, visit our Website at FW.KY.GOV or call 1-800-858-1549.

Cave ecosystems can be fragile.

That's why when you have an endangered species like the Virginia big eared bat, we have to take extra precautions.

Virginia Big Eared bats are our most endangered mammal we have in Kentucky.

As best we can tell from the information we have available to us statewide, there's only somewhere between three and 4000 individuals currently.

The biologists here at Kentucky Fish and Wildlife spend a lot of time managing Virginia Big Eared bats.

The last year, as a part of our project with Virginia Big Eared bats we discovered a new or at least newly known to us maternity site for the species.

It's a pretty sizable site.

It holds maybe a little bit over 10% of all the Virginia Big Eared bats we know of in the state.

We were concerned that people could unknowingly go into the cave at the wrong time of year and disturb the bats and actually cause the population to decline.

So at that point, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife worked with the Daniel Boone National Forest with US Fish and Wildlife with the Kentucky Natural Land Trust and with experts in actually erecting these cave gates to get the site protected.

Using using a cave gate.

I need a piece.

A sill s-i-l-l 78 inches.

Yes.

When I say gate it, we're erecting these barriers that will allow the bat to move in and out of the cave freely, but that restricts human access.

Human disturbance, and most of the time it's unknowingly disturbing these bats, can actually have a negative impact on the population.

So if we get a lot of human disturbance at a cave that's used as a hibernaculum for example, while the bats are hibernating, the humans walking around will disturb them.

They'll wake up, they'll start depleting fat reserves, and they'll actually starve to death in the wintertime.

In the summertime, if it's a maternity site for a species you disturb the mothers with their pups.

Sometimes the pups, if you do at the wrong time of year, are unable to fly at this time, and they can actually fall down to the cave floor to their death.

So when you put these cave gates up or barriers up, it's there as a way of managing a very small number of the caves that we have in the state that that are the ones that are our most important cave resources.

We utilized our Kentucky Wild program to pay for a portion of the gate in conjunction with that to the imperiled Bat Conservation Fund administered by the Kentucky Natural Lands Trust, paid for a portion of the project as well.

So we were able to leverage Kentucky wild funds that are donated money from our Kentucky Wild members to actually get this site protected.

What we want to do is put in these management strategies with putting cave gates up, but then we also want to continue monitoring the sites to make sure that the populations are at least holding steady, although we would obviously prefer to have the the populations increase in size, a tool that we use for monitoring populations.

We can go in with thermal binoculars and monitor emergence at night and just get a count of how many bats are coming out in order to collect the most data from a site and to really see how our population is doing, we'll use a harp trap.

A harp trap is a metal frame with monofilament fishing line that you buy any baits to work around vertically.

And the idea is as the bats emerge out of the cave, they kind of bump into the fishing line that we've got pulled really tight, and it makes them fall into a little cloth bag at the bottom of the trap.

As soon as they hit the bag at the bottom, we have biologists on site that pull the bat out and that's when we really start collecting some good information on is this a site used by males or females?

Sometimes both.

Is it a maternity site where we have both mothers and pups there?

What's the reproductive condition and the body condition of the bats that we're catching?

And that's what we're also able to put bands on bat so that we can do these long term data sets.

That's essentially a way of marking the bat so that we can collect trend data on individuals.

We're able to band these bats in the summertime.

We'll go in in the wintertime to do the bat count.

And as we see, bats that have a band on them will pull that bat, look at the band report that.

And we're able to find the migration trend on species.

So by attaching these bands, we're able to start getting these links between where they're spending their summers and where they're spending their winters.

In addition, we're able to look year after year and see how long some of these bats live, which can actually be up to 20 years.

So by not only doing the monitoring that we've talked about, but by also installing these cave gates at appropriate sites, we're able to monitor and hopefully recover the species long term.

One of the things we want to make sure of is to protect the populations that we know of.

And then beyond that, once we get these sites protected, then we can work into some of the habitat work that needs to happen out on the landscape to make sure that the species is recovered.

Many of our fall Kentucky hunting seasons will be opening soon.

Starting first with squirrel season on August, the 19th.

Out here with Chelsea and Jordan here at the very end of squirrel season.

We've done this couple times before haven█t we?

Yeah.

So how old is Copper now?

He is four.

Four.

Yeah.

What type of breed of dog is this now?

Mountain Feist.

Mountain Feist.

Okay.

So when you guys run a squirrel dog like this, a lot of times you kind of get out of the car, get away from the roads, and then turn him loose and you kind of move in the direction that you want him to work, or do you just let them do their own thing until they tree one?

Usually, he█ll just kind of take off on his own for the most part.

He█ll usually just do one big, big circle around is usually how he usually operates.

We should have plenty area to work that dog and hopefully get to shoot some squirrels out too today.

Yeah, I think we will.

So we'll keep our fingers crossed.

I think I hear him now.

Let's move on that way.

I didn't know the dog had ran this direction actually went up that way.

And he's so fast.

You see it Chelsea?

No I am looking.

It's in this one, right?

There's the squirrel in the tree.

Oh, I see it now.

Good job.

Here he is.

Come get it momma.

Come on.

That a boy.

that's a good 110, 120 feet.

Leave it, good boy.

Good boy.

Good boy.

That is a big fox squirrel.

I don't think I've seen one this big before.

Nice job.

I think we're going to see a bunch of them today.

I really do.

Today█s not the perfect conditions.

You know, temperatures in the thirties.

But considering what we've had recently, it's a beautiful day.

Looks like Coppers treed.

This squirrel heard how Chelsea shoots that rifle it won't move.

It'll hide.

You already see it Chelsea?

I see it.

Perfect shot.

One gray, one fox squirrel.

Oh, Copper doesn't know it, but there's a good chance this might be his last squirrel hunt of the year.

Season is about wind down.

I hear it's got one treed.

See him Chad?

I got him.

Yeah.

Nice.

There you go, good boy.

Good boy.

Here we go.

Little bitty gray squirrel.

We're seeing good numbers of squirrels, that's for sure.

Really good for upcoming squirrel seasons.

He's got one treed.

I see one right here.

I'll tell you what I think I see another one.

Yeah, I think there's a couple in there.

Here it comes.

You see him?

Yeah.

Nice job.

Those are pretty good size.

Yeah, we shot that one.

Got him.

Perfect.

Oh, nice.

Because there's no leaves on the trees and it's just easy to navigate the woods.

There's no ticks.

We always try to do a squirrel hunt in this time of year.

I see it.

Up at the very top.

See it right there.

Oh, yeah.

That's a good shot.

There you go.

Nice shot.

Thank you.

I tell you what, we█re trying to get back in the truck.

We've had a heck of a day.

Yeah, and sure enough, he treed another.

Another squirrel.

We've got about 150 yards to go.

He may try another before we get out of here.

He may have one more in him.

We'll see.

This is my favorite time of year.

Once the leaves are off the trees, kind of deer seasons over turkey season is not here yet.

This is a perfect time to get out and take a walk through the woods, get a little work on the dogs.

Yeah, it's fun just watching him.

Really.

He's probably the best part of it.

He just gets excited about it and he gets to do what he loves and it's just exciting all around.

Well, I appreciate you guys bringing the dog out, and watching it work.

It was a lot of fun.

Thank you, guys.

He did great.

And hey, we got a mess of squirrels.

Yeah, we sure did.

All right, let's go.

Thank you.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun.

in this week's Ones That Didn't Get Away.

Here we have Aidan Myles with a nice hybrid that he caught at the Smithland Dam fishing with Jim Doom.

Here we have John, who knows how to be a little kid, and that's by wading a creek and catching crawdads in Mason County.

Here is Jacob Parks with his first deer ever, a nice 12 point buck that he took on his grandpa's farm.

Just a friendly reminder.

Kentucky's dove season opens on September the first, and if you plan on hitting the field, you'll need to take the HIP survey and it'll give you a number that must be written on your license.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles, and I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.

Have you ever had dove poppers?

If your answer is no, then you're missing out.

And you need to take advantage of Kentucky's dove hunting season, which is coming up soon.

Nice shot.

Grab your shotgun, some bird shot, and hit the dove fields with your friends and family to make great hunting memories and harvest some great tablefare while you're at it.

Be sure you have your hunting license, your HIP survey filled out and your migratory bird permit and are up to speed on the rules and regulations.

For more information, visit FW.KY.GOV or call 1-800-858-1549