Outdoors category, Page 22

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is seeking public comment on a proposal to more actively involve deer hunters in the fight against chronic wasting disease, or CWD. The commission released a draft report and is accepting comments through Feb. 29, 2020 — in time for implementation in the 2020-21 hunting seasons....

“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn’t belong…” That’s an old tune from Sesame Street. It teaches children to identify differences in colors and sizes and shapes. It’s not the theme song of Hocking Hills State Park. But it could be. The park...

It’s a new way to fight an age-old problem. Sometimes, people drink alcohol when out boating. And, as a result, some of them die. But there are new tools out there to detect who has had too much. The U.S. Coast Guard recently released its 2018 Recreational Boating Statistics report....

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 153 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and nine managed perfect 25 straights in the final shoot of the regular season. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 195 targets. Ruffsdale (190), Hecla (188), Youngwood (187) and East...

Hunters seeking the chance to pursue deer or other game on Sundays in Pennsylvania have a fight on their hands. And it’s one they apparently will have to wage with kid gloves. State lawmakers, either surprisingly more polite or thin-skinned, made that clear this past week. Public hearing The House...

Lure of the week Lure name: Erratic shiner Company: LIVETARGET Lures (livetargetlures.com) Lure type: Spoon Sizes and colors: Available in four sizes — ¼-, 3/8-, ½- and ¾-ounces — in 10 colors, including gold/black, silver/blue, gold/green, glow/black and glow/pearl. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike, muskies, trout...

• Anglers at Keystone Lake are reporting plenty of largemouth bass catches, some of which are weighing in at more than a few pounds. As far as setup goes, crankbaits are fetching some lucrative results. While smallmouth bass are not being caught at the same rate as the largemouth bass,...

Long popular in the South, they recently have spread across the country. No, not mourning doves. They already are super abundant just about everywhere. Estimates are there are some 350 million of them across the nation. Hunters harvest 20 million annually. “These numbers make doves the widest ranging and most...

Gear of the week Gear name: Permethrin Company: Sawyer (everybodyshops.com/permethrin-clothing-and-gear-insect-repellent-18-ounce-spray.html) Gear type: Insect repellent Product description: Hunters, hikers, leaf peepers, steelhead and trout anglers and others will be walking through grass, brush and woods over the next few months as cooler temperatures and the attractions of fall come to pass....

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 168 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and 18 managed perfect 25 straights. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 200 targets. East Huntingdon (195), Ruffsdale (193), Youngwood (191) and Hecla (189) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (117)...

Maybe nature is balancing itself out at Pymatuning Lake. Anglers can’t be blamed for hoping so. For years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have talked about how many walleyes swim in the 17,088-acre lake in Crawford County. It’s the centerpiece of Pymatuning State Park, on the Pennsylvania-Ohio...

Chances are it’s going on in your neck of the woods right now. But if you want to see it, you better hurry. White-tailed bucks scrape and scratch the velvet from their antlers late each summer, in preparation for the fall breeding season, or rut. They do it every year,...

• Anglers casting their lines out into the waters around the Keystone Power Dam are reeling in some hefty walleye, with some catches measuring in at 20-25 inches. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are biting in this area, too. To add to that, the catch rate for muskellunge is on the...

Two state legislators are pledging a more aggressive approach to reclaiming a lake in Somerset County that experienced a serious fish kill this summer. State Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, and state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Connellsville, met with officials of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission and Pennsylvania Game Commission last...

Be warned: If heights set your knees to knocking, this is one hike that will involve plenty of trembling. After all, they don’t call it the “skywalk” for nothing. The trail leading from the visitor center at Kinzua Creek State Park is innocent looking initially. It’s paved, surrounded by mowed...

They are not new, not even here. Law enforcement officers long have used dogs — K9 companions — to help find evidence, track down criminals, recover lost people and more. That’s been true on and off at the Pennsylvania Game Commission, too. Rich Palmer is deputy executive director for field...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 169 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and 18 managed perfect 25 straights. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 199 targets. Ruffsdale (194), Hecla (193), East Huntingdon (190) and Youngwood (195) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (112)...

• Anglers visiting the Youghiogheny River are bringing back flathead catfish and channel catfish in solid numbers. The flathead catfish appear to be more prevalent, while the channel catfish are most active around dusk. The channel catfish are biting at typical live baits such as chicken livers. Meanwhile, a few...

Lure of the week Lure name: Frittside Company: Berkley (berkley-fishing.com/) Lure type: Crankbait Sizes and colors: Available a 2.25-, 2.5- and 2.75-inch models in 18 colors, including candy apple red craw, cream pie, honey shad, Lone Ranger, MF bluegill, sexy back, spicy mustard and spray tan. Target species: Largemouth and...

These are uncharted waters, even for an agency responsible for managing them. Right now, anyone who fishes Pennsylvania lakes, rivers and streams but calls another state home pays nonresident license prices. That’s $51, plus another $1.90 in fees. Such is how things always have been. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissioners...

More than a century ago, unregulated commercial harvest put much of Pennsylvania’s wildlife on the brink of blinking out. These days, disease is the threat. White-nose syndrome has reduced populations of some bat species by 99 percent. West Nile virus continues to hammer ruffed grouse and, perhaps, other birds. Chronic...

There are two seeming miracles here, really. The first is that the Chess family found ground flat enough, even relatively speaking, to build a cemetery. We were hiking in extreme southwestern Pennsylvania, fewer than a dozen miles from the border of the West Virginia panhandle. It’s a land of coal...

It’s not just about fishing. Austin Aikins is good at that. The senior at Central Catholic is one of two Pennsylvanians on the 2019 Bassmaster High School All-State Fishing Team. It’s a collection of 62 of the best, most well-rounded anglers from around the country. Sponsors nominate teens based on...

Gear of the week Gear name: Throwdown Company: Ameristep (everybodyshops.com/ameristep-throwdown-hunting-blind.html) Gear type: Hunting blind Product description: Concealment is key in so many hunting situations, whether it be chasing spring gobblers, calling in wily predators or sitting for white-tailed deer. But what if you’re a public-land hunter, without the ability to...