Outdoors category, Page 25

The question isn’t so much where are the turkeys, where aren’t there turkeys? The Pennsylvania Game Commission is conducting a turkey survey through Aug. 31 and is looking for residents to report their sighting via website and a mobile app. Observers need only report the number of turkeys, location, date...

Like the old gray mare, my memory ain’t what it used to be. Oh, I packed the sleeping bags on our last camping trip. The pillows, though, never made it to the Jeep in the driveway, let alone the campground five hours from home. They were sitting on the couch,...

• Anglers fishing Pymatuning Reservoir are hitting on smallmouth bass, with a few largemouth bass catches being reported as well. The walleye bite has slowed but fishermen are still catching them, albeit mostly at night. The strategy for picking up the walleye appears to be drifting crawler harnesses, per reports....

There are too many bald eagle nests for the Pennsylvania Game Commission to count on its own, and it needs the public’s help. The agency used to release bald eagle nest numbers each year around July 4, when the birds were considered threatened in the state. But a comeback from...

It seems now not a matter of if but when. On June 26, two days before taking their summer break, Pennsylvania state Senators approved an amended Senate Bill 147, perhaps — and as of yet, only perhaps — paving the way for expanded Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. Right now, hunters...

GEAR OF THE WEEK Double Action Gear type: Target Sugg. retail price: $12.99 to $24.99, depending on size. Company: Double Action Targets (everybodyshops.com/self-sealing-hit-indicating-cool-weather-black-green-target-double-action-targets.html) Available options: These are available in 4- and 6-inch models. All have a strap to use in hanging them from target stands. Product description: Self-healing targets aren’t...

So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...

As boats go they often are overlooked, or at least have been in recent years, as evidenced by the ebb and flow of consumer wants and demands. But perhaps that is changing. Solo canoes and more especially pack boats — a canoe-kayak hybrid — are, if not surging in popularity,...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 122 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and seven managed perfect 25 straights. Ruffsdale finished in first place with a score of 193 targets. Connellsville (188), Hecla (188), East Huntingdon (186) and Youngwood (182) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (72.5)...

• The Allegheny River in Venango County is offering up a variety of fish to anglers trolling its waters, including walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass. • According to reports, fishermen are gearing up with soft plastic baits and are receiving a good deal of interest from the fish. A...

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission will offer its second and final Fish-For-Free Day of the year on July 4 when anyone can fish, even without a state fishing license. All other fishing regulations apply, though. The commission offers the free days to open up fishing opportunities for the public,...

An angler won a game of tug-of-war with a snake trying to steal a rainbow trout from his stringer on Crooked Creek in Virginia, according to a report from Storyful. Larry Bobbit, the angler, shot a video on June 22 of the incident, which went viral on the social media...

So you want to catch some fish, huh? Well, here’s a tip. Start by casting your line where the fish are. Pretty sage stuff there, I know. Confucius-esque, almost. But if you want to catch fish, you’ve got to know what waters the fish call home and in what sizes...

It’s more evidence of a coming storm, perhaps. Fewer Americans than ever hunt these days. It recently hit a 25-year low. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service report, released in 2016, showed that 11.5 million Americans hunted. That was 4.4 percent of the population. If that sounds like a lot,...

There’s no official name, so far as I know, for the portal that took us into another world. But it hides behind a tricky entrance. We arrived at the state park boat launch mid-morning of a weekday. It’s summer, and school is surely out everywhere, but still, the crowd was...

LURE OF THE WEEK Lure name: Wameku Shad 70 Company: SPRO Lure type: Lipless crankbait Sizes and colors: Available in a 2.75-inch, ¾-ounce model in eight colors: crawfish gold, crawfish chartreuse, chrome shad, purple rain shad, Rayburn craw, matte sexy shad, delta craw and black back gold. Target species: Largemouth...

It seems not a matter of if, but when. Next week, the state Senate is expected to vote on an amended Senate Bill 147, paving the way for Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania. The original version called for allowing hunting on 14 Sundays, 10 in fall and four in spring. Sen....

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 153 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and seven managed perfect 25 straights. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 194 targets. East Huntingdon (193), Youngwood (190), Ruffsdale (190) and Hecla (190) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (69)...

• The largemouth bass bite is going strong at Yellow Creek Lake, with anglers catching bass in numbers from the shore and by boat. Fishermen are also picking up northern pike, some of which are measuring in at substantial lengths with one report claiming a 35-inch-plus catch. • Keystone Lake...

State game authorities have identified three more deer in Somerset County that have tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The white-tailed deer, which had been killed after being struck by cars, were tested after being picked up by the state’s roadkill contractor, the Somerset...

Every hunter, man or woman, who ever has stopped halfway up a hill, gasping for air, drenched in sweat, pulse racing, attached to a rope with a dead deer at the other end, has said it. I’ve got to get in shape before next season. Well, here’s your chance. Backcountry...

Justin Johnson never goes fishing intending to develop a hernia. But it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Blame it on a change of heart and a change in equipment that followed. Johnson, an East Tennessee native, was a bass fisherman. Then, one day in a tackle shop, he...

It’s all about speed when it comes to controlling chronic wasting disease. And yet, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is delaying release of its disease management plan. That’s by design, said Bryan Burhans, executive director of the agency. The new plan was due this month, but he didn’t feel like it...

Gear of the week Gear name: Select S1 Company: Sawyer (everybodyshops.com/sawyer-select-s1-filter-system.html) Gear type: Water filter Product description: Staying properly hydrated is hugely important in the backcountry or even when just out on a day hike in a local park or forest. So it’s critical to be able to make whatever...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES There were 152 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on Thursday, and six managed perfect 25 straights. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 195 targets. East Huntingdon (186), Youngwood (185), Ruffsdale (183) and Hecla (180) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (64)...