Black Belt Outdoors

01/09/2025

The hunting at Southern Sportsman Lodge is good!

https://www.facebook.com/share/18bM2vyogh/

01/08/2025

Demopolis has great fishing!

Another Good Trip to Dempolis

01/06/2025

Cute catch in Lowndes County!

Darby Lynn Moncrief harvested this buck in Lowndes County - great job! Vote for Darby Lynn in our Big Buck Photo Contest at https://alabamablackbeltadventures.org/news-more/shoot-the-black-belt/big-buck-photo-contest/

01/06/2025

Big one in Wilcox County!

EJ Blackmon harvested this buck in Wilcox County - great job! Vote for him in our Big Buck Photo Contest at https://alabamablackbeltadventures.org/news-more/shoot-the-black-belt/big-buck-photo-contest/

01/06/2025

Check out the latest on your favorite public fishing lakes! Outdoor Alabama

Official Web Site of Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

01/04/2025

Hunting deer in Alabama is unique in one way, Alabama has multiple ruts. The rut is the deer’s mating season, and like males of many other species, male deer are not using their brain to its fullest extent while chasing down their favorite doe so hunters have a better chance of harvesting a trophy.
Chuck Sykes, Director of Alabama’s Department of Wildlife And Freshwater Fisheries explained that during the great depression, people hunted deer, and other species, for food or as a business to make money so they could buy food and other necessities. During this time of little regulation, the native populations were hunted to the brink of extinction. Sykes said in the mid-20th century, WFF undertook a massive repopulation effort. To accomplish this, deer from the Stimpson Sanctuary in Clark County and numerous other states and regions were trapped, brought to different regions of Alabama and released.
Sykes explained that although the time of the rut may differ from region to region across the country, the deer within that region will rut at pretty much the same time. This is why Alabama has so many different ruts. Scientists discovered that the deer here rut based on genetics, meaning they go into the rut based on when their ancestors went into the rut.
This gives Alabama hunters an interesting opportunity to increase the odds of bagging a trophy buck. However knowing where the deer are rutting and when would be a must. Sykes said this is why WFF has developed the rut map of Alabama.
Using this map, hunters can plan hunting trips to various areas based on when the deer are in peak rut. Sykes said “If you’ve got a couple of weeks vacation that you want to take, you can look at that rut map right now and you can plan your vacation time for next year. You may hunt Okmulgee one month, you may hunt Bankhead and Black Warrior another month you may go to Barber another month. You can plan hunting around the rut and hunt just the peak ruts around the state all on public land.” Sykes said the map is fairly detailed and gives hunters an advantage when planning a hunting strategy.
Sykes went on to explain that this repopulation program took place only on public lands, the Wildlife Management Areas, where WFF could control the hunting pressure on deer population to insure there will be no more over hunting. Sykes said from the Sixties to the early Eighties there was very little hunting on private land. The majority of hunting was on WMAs. However the deer populations on the public lands repopulated the private lands.
Sykes reminds hunters that preventing overhunting is the reason for hunting seasons and bag limits “because we’re not managing just for today we are managing for the future too.” He also reminds everyone to be safe, wear safety harnesses and be alert to all firearm safety rules. Mostly he said have fun and have a great hunt.
The rut map and much more is available at www.outdooralabama.com
Here is a direct link to the map pdf.
https://www.outdooralabama.com/sites/default/files/Hunting/Deer%20Hunting/Alabama%20Rut%20Map%202022%20Web.pdf

01/02/2025

Impressive numbers! Ecotourism is a major driver for the Black Belt!

2024 was a banner year for Alabama’s outdoors! Thanks to 's leadership, we achieved key milestones in outdoor recreation and conservation.

01/02/2025

Check out the updated CWD zones from Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. There's a public CWD meeting set for Jan. 9 in Phil Campbell. Read more at the link.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) has updated its chronic wasting disease (CWD) zone rule to allow the continued baiting of white-tailed deer in Franklin County through

01/02/2025

Big one in Greene County!

Congratulations to WMS team member Jeannie Colson on harvesting this great Greene Co. buck in her WMS Deer Magnet plot.

12/27/2024

See which Alabama anglers made the Bassmaster Elite Series roster for the 2025 season!

B.A.S.S. announces the entire Elite Series roster for the 2025 season.

12/27/2024

There are some bigguns in Lowndes County!

Congrats to hunter Wyatt Shook! He harvested this buck in Lowndes County - great job!

To vote for him or enter your own photo in out Big Buck Photo Contest, visit https://alabamablackbeltadventures.org/news-more/shoot-the-black-belt/big-buck-photo-contest/

12/27/2024

Heads up - CWD found in Colbert County!

A white-tailed deer recently harvested by a hunter in Colbert County in northwest Alabama has been confirmed positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). The detection of CWD in Colbert County

12/20/2024

Good one in Greene County!

Congratulations to Alexis Smith Sparkman on a big Greene County, AL buck!