Outdoors category, Page 11

An Erie angler caught the heaviest yellow perch on record in the state, according to an announcement Friday by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Kirk Rudzinski, 63, of Erie, landed the record-breaking perch on April 9 in Lake Erie, Harborcreek Township, Erie County, near the Brevillier Village high-rise. The...

When Monty Murty returned to Westmoreland County after retiring from careers in the Army and as a business consultant in Washington, D.C., he rekindled his love of trout fishing and became more active in the local Trout Unlimited chapter. “In particular, I love fly-fishing,” said Murty, now 76. “I began...

A Pennsylvania hunter has completed one of the most challenging goals in turkey hunting. Travis Thompson of Bulger, Washington County — formerly of Davidsville, Somerset County — has harvested a mature gobbler in 49 states. The accomplishment is what the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) calls the U.S. Super Slam....

To reduce the spread of chronic wasting disease in deer, the number of deer in an infected area must be reduced. That’s one of the takeaways Wednesday from the first of five virtual meetings to discuss the fatal disease in deer and elk. The National Deer Association, in conjunction with...

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The National Park Service is opening a rare opportunity for skilled shooters to help reduce the number of bison roaming the far reaches of northern Arizona. Come Monday, potential volunteers will have 48 hours to submit an application to kill the massive animals at Grand Canyon National...

Now that’s a whopper — a very old whopper! A 240-pound sturgeon that could be more than 100 years old was caught last week in the Detroit River by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The “real life river monster” was nearly 7 feet long, the agency said Friday on...

Tony Borelle, 63, of North Versailles took advantage of warm, sunny weather on an April day to fish along Turtle Creek in Monroeville. The retiree says he spends a lot of time fishing for trout in the creek. On this particular day, he hadn’t caught anything but remained hopeful as...

Parts of a 2,472-acre piece of game lands in eastern Westmoreland County likely will be sprayed sometime between the middle-to-the-end of next week to prevent the infestation of leaf-eating gypsy moths, which damage trees and impact wildlife habitat, the state said Monday. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is targeting blocks of...

Southwestern Pennsylvania bats were part of a new large national study that flagged a die-off nationally of more than 90% of certain bats in less than 10 years. The bats in question are the northern long-eared, little brown and tri-colored bats. Researchers also found declines in Indiana bat and big...

It’s almost turkey-hunting time in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania’s spring turkey season kicks off Saturday with a one-day youth hunt open to junior license holders and mentored hunters under 16 years old. Then on May 1, the statewide spring gobbler season opens and runs until May 31. It is Pennsylvania’s only springtime...

Travelers on the Great Allegheny Passage will see a new marker at the start or end of their journey on the 150-mile trail that goes through Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy on Wednesday unveiled a 48-inch granite medallion set in the ground at Mile 0 in Cumberland, Md.,...

HARRIBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission has approved concurrent hunting for antlered and antlerless deer through the duration of the 2021-22 firearms deer season. LNP newspaper reports that commission members acknowledged at their spring meeting Saturday that much of the feedback received since the two-week deer season was proposed in...

Residents from Sharpsburg to Pittsburgh’s East End could be connected by a four-mile bike/pedestrian corridor that would provide access to fitness, recreation, shopping and dining in a project that’s expected to cost nearly $14 million. Allegheny Valley Railroad has agreed to sell the Brilliant Line to Aspinwall Riverfront Park. The...

Pennsylvania hunters killed an estimated 435,180 deer during the 2020-21 hunting seasons, the state game commission announced Friday. That topped the previous license year’s harvest of 389,431 by about 12%, the agency reported. In the past 21 years, since 1993, the state’s hunters have harvested more than 400,000 deer in...

Area skiers whose appetite for one last ski run were whetted by Thursday’s snowfall will get their chance this weekend at Seven Springs Mountain Resort, the area’s only area slope still open for the season. The Somerset County resort, which is closed weekdays, plans to reopen Saturday. Briefly. “Saturday is...

BILLINGS, Mont. — Grizzly bears are slowly expanding the turf where they roam in parts of the northern Rocky Mountains but need continued protections, according to government scientists who concluded that no other areas of the country would be suitable for reintroducing the fearsome predators. The Fish and Wildlife Service...

As warmer weather moves into our region, many fishermen are looking forward to trout season, which begins in less than two weeks in Pennsylvania. Due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic, however, anglers can expect seasons, rules and regulations to be substantially different than in previous years, which means a little...

Several hundred gizzard shad fish were found dead in Saint Vincent Lake this week, officials with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission confirmed. An officer from the Southwest Regional Law Enforcement office was notified Monday of the fish kill, according to Mike Parker, spokesman for the commission. Parker said the...