Breaking News

Outdoors

Mentor change may be most important

HARRISBURG — Just the thought or mention of deer in Pennsylvania is guaranteed to get the juices of sportsmen flowing. So, as expected, the news coming out of January’s quarterly meeting of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s board of game commissioners that a Saturday opener for the firearms deer season is in place got the most attention. On the back burner, however, was a matter that has finally been brought to a boil after simmering for far too long. At that same meeting the commission gave final approval to a measure that bridges the mentored youth and mentored adult hunting ...

Erie group helps Veterans gather for day of bird hunting and camaraderie

HARTSTOWN (AP) — Eyeing the pile of ring-tailed pheasants and chukar partridges in front of him, Dan Stafford of Erie wondered if he had enough to edge out his brother in the sibling competition the two had waged in fields about one mile north of Hartstown on Saturday. As it happened, his brother, Josh Stafford of Rochester, New York, had managed to lose count of how many birds he had taken. Whether Josh Stafford’s memory slip was unlucky or suspiciously convenient was unclear, but the spirit of fraternal conviviality and good-natured competition evident between the two proved a ...

NWTF survey enhances scouting and hunting

To borrow from lyrics written by Roger Waters, indeed it has been a helluva start for the National Wild Turkey Federation Pennsylvania State Chapter Hunter Co-op Survey — but the project could truly become a monster if even more turkey hunters participate and all pull together as a team. Organized and managed by Pennsylvania State Chapter treasurer and board member Jim Panaro, contributing to the Hunter Co-op Survey requires minimum effort from participants who keep a written record of what they see and hear during preseason scouting. Recording that information continues once the ...

GIS mapping is a hunter’s good friend

Nearly every state has some sort of public land access that allows hunting. That is really no surprise. What may come as a surprise is that through license purchases and conservation efforts hunters have not only supported these types of environments, but continue to fight hard for the right to keep these properties state owned and hunter-friendly. I grew up exclusively hunting public land in Northern Pennsylvania — Potter County, to be exact. I didn’t know what it was like to hunt a piece of private land until I was much older, and on the state owned land, the struggle was ...

North Dakota club teaches kids to enjoy fishing

COLEHARBOR, N.D. (AP) — Not even deep snow could keep nearly 200 anglers from descending on Lake Audubon. The occasion was the Bis-Man Reel and Rec’s 35th Annual Ice Fishing Derby, an event that has become a “don’t miss” for many fishermen. “This time of year people just want to get out and have some fun,” said Don Schick, Bis-Man president. “It doesn’t matter if it is three feet of snow and cold.” Several of the participants have been fishing the popular derby for many years, Minot Daily News reported. Mike Hutchins of Minot, who caught the largest northern pike ...

Earlier start OK’d for buck

HARRISBURG (AP) — Deer hunting season in Pennsylvania will be starting on a Saturday rather than a Monday beginning in November. The Pennsylvania Game Commission voted 5-3 Tuesday to move opening day of deer rifle season to the first Saturday after Thanksgiving. Rifle season for hunting deer in Pennsylvania has kicked off the Monday after Thanksgiving since 1963. The change expands the firearms season to 13 days, adding a third Saturday. Supporters hope a Saturday opening will bring back people struggling to find time to hunt and help high school and college hunters who don’t ...