Outdoors category, Page 27

Waterfowl biologists up and down the East Coast warned a year ago about this coming. And so it has. Hunters are only going to be able to take half as many mallards per day in the Atlantic Flyway this year as last — and for the better part of the...

Fewer than half a dozen steps into the big box sporting goods store, and it was crystal clear. There, front and center, stood two stacks of kayaks each piled four wide and three high in an alternating pattern. Along the wall to the left at least three dozen more boats...

Gear of the week Gear name: Lucky 7 Company: Tri-State Bait (everybodyshops.com/lucky7-dough-ball-fishing-carp-catfish-bait.html) Gear type: Flavored dough bait Product description: Dough baits are a classic for targeting channel catfish and common carp. And they do catch fish. Lucky 7 baits in particular work because they’re scented, something that really appeals to...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • There were 184 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on May 9. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 198 targets. Ruffsdale (196), Hecla (192), East Huntingdon (189) and Youngwood (185) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (39) leads the season standings,...

• Anglers looking to squeeze in some extra trout fishing may want to explore Brady’s Run, as reports indicate plenty of rainbow trout and brown trout catches within the last week or so. The spot to zero in on is the windmill at the lake. Meanwhile, the bait of choice...

The reaction was as well intentioned as it was predictable. A friend called last spring. Hiking, not deep in the woods, but close to home, he and his wife came across a fawn. It was seemingly alone. There was no mother close by, so far as they could tell. Their...

They will fascinate some and annoy, likely even creep out, others. That’s just how it is with bugs and people. So it will be with periodical cicadas. Fish will love them, though. And so, too, will smart anglers. For both, the mass emergence of the insects — something that’s going...

Lure of the week Lure name: J.R.’s Frogwalker Company: Reno Bait Co. (renobaitcompany.com) Lure type: Topwater Sizes and colors: Available a 5-inch model in five colors: green white belly, green orange belly, chartreuse white belly, brown chartreuse belly and black orange belly. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth bass and northern...

A Lancaster County angler went fishing in the Susquehanna River last month. He ended up reeling in a flathead catfish that surpassed the state record, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. “It was such an amazing fish,” said Jeff Bonawitz, 54, of East Lampeter Township. The record setting...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • There were 191 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on May 2. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 196 targets. Ruffsdale (195), East Huntingdon (191), Youngwood (190) and Hecla (188) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (34) leads the season standings,...

It was further proof life often bursts forth in the unlikeliest of places. I was at a close-to-home shooting range, tacking up targets. Someone else’s was lying on the ground behind the backstop. It was discolored and degraded from soaking up water in what appeared to be a puddle. Retrieving...

Gear of the week Gear name: Tournament Touch Screen Company: Rapala ( Gear type: Scale Product description: Maybe you’re a tournament fisherman. Maybe you’re just someone who likes to know the specifics of the fish you catch. In either case, the Rapala touch screen tourney scale is a nice tool...

There’s a reason they call these decisions preliminary. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners voted at their April meeting to shrink the size of two of their remaining three wild pheasant recovery areas. They also voted to close another. Or, more accurately, deadlocked 4-4 on an attempt to reject a staff recommendation to...

They are not subtle, these bruising brawlers. Some fish have the reputation of being almost refined. Angling literature, for example, mythologizes brown trout for the way they selectively and daintily sip dry flies perfectly presented by the most reverential fishermen pure of heart. Sleek, athletic, strong, they fight hard when...

• While walleye season kicks off Saturday, anglers who are still in search of trout should visit Harbar Acres Lake, the recipient of a recent trout stocking. Anglers are reporting a large population of hungry trout in the lake, as they appear to chomp at most baits cast in their...

They’re twin tools of deception, turkey decoys and turkey calls, meant to fool lusty gobblers. Nate Hosie uses both. That’s not how things always were, though. When the host of “Headhunters TV” was a high schooler in Montdale, killing birds frequently enough to be known as “The Turkey Slayer,” he...

There are good times to catch big flathead catfish, and there are great times to catch big flathead catfish. We’re on the cusp of one of the great ones. So says Chris Souders, anyway. And he should know. The Ohio-based angler is a two-time Cabela’s King Kat tournament series angler...

Lure of the week Lure name: Bimbo Skunk Company: Bimbo Skunk Lure (bimboskunk.com) Lure type: Fly Sizes and colors: Available two colors, pink and chartreuse, both tied on a #10 hook. Target species: Bluegills and crappies. Technique: Fly fishing for panfish is lots of fun. Bluegills and crappies fight all...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • There were 175 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on April 25. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 195. East Huntingdon (194), Ruffsdale (194), Hecla (193) and Youngwood (192) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (29) leads the season standings, followed...

• Pymatuning Reservoir is offering up a variety of fish to anglers casting into its waters, including walleye, crappie and yellow perch. The crappie and the yellow perch are swimming in the vicinity of shallow structures in the reservoir. Fishermen are catching both fish using jigs tipped with minnows. Meanwhile,...

• Three Rivers Birding Club is holding an outing at 8:30 a.m. April 27 at Frick Park. The outing will be led by Jack and Sue Solomon. Participants will explore the park in hopes of seeing plenty of warblers. For questions, call the Solomons at 412-521-3365. • The 24th annual...

Notices Outdoors RIFLE/TRAP LEAGUES • There were 180 shooters who competed in the Twi-Night Trap League on April 18. Connellsville finished in first place with a score of 194. Hecla (191), East Huntingdon (185), Youngwood (185) and Ruffsdale (184) rounded out the scoring. Connellsville (24) leads the season standings, followed...

Don’t get too comfortable. Yes, it’s true that, statewide, there will be more antlerless deer licenses available in Pennsylvania this fall than last. Pennsylvania Game Commissioners allocated 903,000 doe tags for the 2019-20 hunting seasons. That’s up 65,000 from 2018-19’s 838,000. But the increase is not spread evenly across the...

Forget Game of Thrones. This is a Game of Secrets. And it’s underway right now. Hunters of a sort, armed with onion sacks and the like rather than firearms and bows, are taking to the woods, eyes to the ground. They’re seeking life amid decay. And when they find it,...