Overall, the habits and patterns of deer in this region are somewhat different from the whitetails that call the mountains home. Once again, differences in terrain, habitat and food can dramatically alter a deer's general behavior.

The presence of agricultural crops is really what distinguishes the lower river valley land from the mountains in regard to patterning whitetails. Winter wheat, green fields and picked corn fields are excellent winter food sources for the deer. These areas will attract large numbers of deer during the post-rut and will be hotspots for the late-season hunter.

It is important to note when choosing a stand location that whitetails will, in order to conserve energy late in the season, generally bed close to the available food sources when at all possible.

An effective technique during this time of year is to implement a pre-rut strategy and position stands for evening hunts in staging areas bordering the food source. Does and some young bucks will sometimes enter open areas and feed during the late season just before nightfall. However, in most cases, a mature buck will wait for the cover of darkness to enter the fields. Bucks will often get off the bed to stretch their legs and will hold inside of the cover until it's safe. Hunters should not overlook these holding or staging areas in December.

In addition, harsh winter weather usually drives many of your fellow hunters out of the woods and into the comforts of a warm and cozy home. This is a perfect opportunity to take advantage of prime whitetail locations that receive heavy hunting pressure during the earlier segments of the season. Hunter participation during December is minimal compared to October and November. Limited hunting pressure due to late-season burnout and cold weather allows the deer to enter a more relaxed state. Whitetails can potentially become more active during the daylight hours creating a window of opportunity for die-hard deer hunters.

"December is when we have our antlerless quota hunts for Tennessee deer hunters. Therefore, participation is important for meeting overall doe harvest goals. Ironically, reduced hunter participation is why we have these hunts in December. Since we know that participation is lower during December, we can issue more permits giving more hunters the opportunity to take advantage of these hunts. The primary factor in this is the landowner harvest that allows landowners to take one deer on a quota hunt. By having the hunt later, fewer landowners participate, which allows us to have more permits in order to reach the harvest objectives," Gibbs explained.

Last year, the top five harvest counties were Hawkins (2,653), Claiborne (1,754), Johnson (1,388), Sullivan (1,226) and Carter (1,088). These counties are at the top because of habitat. Basically, all of Hawkins provides good deer habitat.

"A county like Sullivan may surprise many of our hunters," Gibbs noted. "There are two large cities, Bristol and Kingsport, as well as some national forest land within Sullivan County. While these areas don't have a great number of deer, there is some excellent habitat with a lot of agriculture in the center of the county."

Hunters can also take advantage of numerous tracts of public land in East Tennessee during the month of December.

"All of the Cherokee National Forest is available for hunters looking to fill a tag during the late season. However, hunters are not allowed to use the antlerless permits on the Cherokee. The deer population in these counties is not a problem in the national forest," Gibbs said.

However, crop depredation has become a problem in other areas of the county. Therefore, wildlife managers want to concentrate the doe harvest in the areas where the problems are. There are many other wildlife management areas (WMAs) in East Tennessee. Hunters can simply refer to the annual Tennessee Hunting & Trapping Guide for further information concerning locations and dates.

"In addition, there will also be a couple of new quota hunts offered in Knox and Blount counties. It may surprise hunters that these hunts will occur in two of the lowest harvest counties. However, Knox is pretty easy to explain, it's mostly urban and no more growth is wanted in the county. Blount is a different story, the Rockford area currently has a high number of deer and depredation is a problem, and the quota hunts are limited to this area only. Lastly, hunters need to make a note that only two antlered bucks can be harvested this year from Unit B," Gibbs commented.

With this in mind, remember not to allow late-season burnout and cold winter weather to deter you from filling that last tag this December. Now's the time to hit the deer woods of East Tennessee hard and take advantage of the hunting opportunities that are readily available. Planning a December deer hunt could potentially allow you to escape that last-minute holiday shopping and fighting all the crowds at the mall. Leave the holiday chaos behind, utilize the right game plan, dress warm and prepare to drop an East Tennessee winter whitetail. Good luck and good hunting!