Outdoors category, Page 19

Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more. Tip of the week It’s a simple thing that can make a big difference. If you’re hunting deer from the ground this season, standing at the base of a tree, take a...

They were stumped. The first Christmas after my love of the outdoors took root, my nonsporting parents asked what I wanted under the tree. “Hunting and fishing stuff,” I said. That did nothing to clear things up for them. Maybe you’re in the same situation, unsure what to buy the...

Outdoors Notices RIFLE LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Nov. 15, Fort Hand (4-2) defeated Murrysville (0-6), 1,161-1,153, and Butler (4-2) beat Clymer (4-2), 1,165-1,154, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Fort Hand (1.5-4.5) beat Murrysville (0.5-5.5), 1,109-1,080, and Clymer (6-0) defeated Butler (4-2), 1,141-1,140....

It was unusually spectacular in its familiarity. This was August, and lush seasonal streamside vegetation made casting a fly an occasional challenge. Low water flows and high humidity were constant ones. Still, Eric Hussar found himself working the usual summertime terrestrial patterns every trout fisherman knows — caddis flies, stoneflies...

• At Indian Lake, anglers are enjoying a consistent rainbow trout bite as a result of a recent stocking of the fish. According to reports, the most effective setup is flies and plastic worms. A number of catches measuring in at 16-plus inches were reported in recent days. • Twin...

No one hunts whitetails from a tree stand in Randy Flannery’s world. Not if they hope to actually, you know, see deer. The country is just too big, too remote, too rugged, too vast. Owner of Wilderness Escape Outfitters and a state-certified master guide, he leases 400 square miles —...

This is a story that reveals perspective. Those who are glass-half-full types will see it as evidence the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s walleye stocking program works. Those who fall on the glass-half-empty side of things will see this as a case of good intentions unfulfilled. Maybe it’s a story...

Take a quick look around the outdoors world with a tip, a new piece of gear and more: Tip of the week It takes more than just looking to see deer in the woods. Or more than just casual looking, anyway. Your best bet for spotting a whitetail is to...

A bill that would allow hunting on up to three Sundays per year in Pennsylvania is headed to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. Senate Bill 147 would provide for hunting on three Sundays annually: one during rifle deer season, one during the statewide archery deer season and one determined by the...

Outdoors Notices RIFLE LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Nov. 8, Fort Hand (3-2) defeated Clymer (4-1), 1,163-1,162, and Butler (3-2) beat Murrysville (0-5), 1,168-1,122, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Butler (4-1) beat Murrysville (0.5-4.5), 1,142-1,080, and Clymer (5-0) defeated Fort Hand (0.5-4.5), 1,146-1,097....

• The outflow at Conemaugh River Lake is providing anglers with some larger walleye catches of late. The walleye appear to be most interested in minnows and jigs, per reports. There were also a few crappie catches reported, with small jigs presenting a solid option. In recent weeks, bass and...

I never even got to say goodbye. My wife and I were hiking on a recent Sunday afternoon, following a trail through a state forest near our home. It was cool but not cold, just chill enough that the crisp leaves crunched beneath our feet with each step, like so...

Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. But you? This season, perhaps, you’re hunting black bears alone, without a gang to put on drives, in a state where using dogs to chase bruins or bait to draw them in are illegal. That’s the definition of going solo. Still, don’t despair about...

Deer hunters are killers, but not of each other or their neighbors. That’s what the research says, anyway. Ball State economics professor Paul Niekamp looked at the relationship between violent crime and deer hunting seasons in 21 states over 20 years. He recently released the results of that work. He...

This might be another case where Pennsylvania is catching up with the rest of the country. Lawmakers are close to expanding Sunday hunting opportunities. A bill that would allow it on three Sundays a year is moving through the legislature and could go to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature...

Tip of the week Ruffed grouse are notorious for holding tight, then flushing almost from under foot in a noisy explosion. It’s intentionally unnerving. There’s a way for hunters to, if not beat that strategy, at least increase the odds of getting off a shot, though. And that’s to react...

Outdoors Notices RIFLE LEAGUES • In the Allegheny Valley Rifle League on Nov. 1, Fort Hand (2-2) defeated Butler (2-2), 1,165-1,152, and Clymer (4-0) beat Murrysville (0-4), 1,169-1,157, in the A-team standings. In the B-team division, Butler (3-1) beat Fort Hand (0.5-3.5), 1,107-1,080, and Clymer (4-0) defeated Murrysville (0.5-3.5), 1,151-1,091....

Big Blue, as it’s known for short, simply got too big in the end. It’s dimensions didn’t change. A blue 18-gallon plastic tote, one with locking handles, it’s as squarish now as it was at the start of spring. But the lid didn’t seal completely on the edges anymore, even...

• Anglers fishing the Tionesta Outflow are finding an assortment of fish, including walleye, muskellunge and northern pike. Most of the catches appear to be occurring in the vicinity of the wall that stands near the campground side of the outflow. Fishermen are also reporting a small number of trout...

Survival situations are by their nature short on chances. In tough conditions, under difficult circumstances, with limited resources, you seize on finite opportunities when and where possible and live to fight another day. Or you don’t and become a statistic. That’s why this is so exciting. Here is a second...

There’s a lot to be said for this kind of consistency. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission biologists surveyed Raccoon Lake, the 101-acre centerpiece of Raccoon Creek State Park in Beaver County, in 2008. They went back and repeated that work earlier this year. The goal in each case was to...

Tip of the week Wading is a great, and oftentimes necessary, way to get within casting distance of fish in rivers and streams. It’s also potentially dangerous, especially at this time of year. Rain and snow can raise water levels quickly, and a fall into cold water can bring on...

The alarm goes off in the predawn dark and, rolling over, you touch the shoulder of your significant other. An affectionate yet sly smile crosses your lips. “Shh,” you say. “Shh. It’s OK. I’m just letting you know I’m leaving.” “Huh? What? Where?” he or she asks. “Hunting,” you answer....

To say fishermen sometimes stretch the truth is to say the sky is sometimes blue, the grass is sometimes green and oranges are sometimes, well, orange. Exaggerations, tall tales, even good-natured if otherwise bald-faced lies. Those are often their stock in trade. Often. But not this time. Biologists from the...