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Outdoors

Group brings vets together for adventure

OHIOPYLE (AP) — Enjoying life: it’s just one of the things they went to war to preserve. A group of veterans came together in October to seek adventure and savor the day as a unit by hitting the rapids of the Youghiogheny River at Ohiopyle State Park. One of those veterans, Gail Schnell, who is a U.S. Army veteran from the Washington, D.C., area, said she looked forward to the trip because getting together with other veterans is one of the things she really misses about the military. “Taking this adventure and sharing these stories is really a great experience,” said ...

‘Fish Detective’ praised for research

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks biologist who identified an innovative forensic sleuthing technique to investigate illegal fish introductions is having his research published in an international peer-reviewed scientific journal. Sam Bourret, a fisheries biologist based out of FWP’s Region 1 office in Kalispell, was the lead author of a manuscript titled, “Using forensic geochemistry via fish otoliths to investigate an illegal fish introduction.” If that sounds like a mouthful, consider it in terms of a piscatorial crime scene investigation involving ...

Expert tabs eight go-to baits for fall bass fishing

HAMBURG — Outrageous. Bombastic. Competitive. Those adjectives — and many more — can and are used to describe professional bass angler and television personality Mike “Ike” Iaconelli. When he appeared at Cabela’s Hamburg to present a series of seminars on bass fishing, however, he displayed another side of his personality. Iaconelli was cooperative, patient and outgoing when bass anglers of all skill levels approached him with their questions. Of the questions he fielded, the suggestions he provided that are most useful as October reaches its final days and November looms ...

Cooler fall makes for hot fishing on Conneaut Lake

CONNEAUT LAKE — Like all experienced professional fishing guides, Darl Black hedges his bets when booking clients for a fishing trip on Conneaut Lake. Like all veteran outdoors writers, however, Black knows this gem of a lake in northwestern Pennsylvania is a go-to location when he needs ...

Big cats in Pennsylvania: Are they mountain lions or bobcats?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An instinct coiled way down in the human brain knows the difference between a bobcat and a mountain lion. A bobcat gives you a warm, that-kind-of-looks-like-my-cat-but-slightly-bigger feeling. Then there is Rocky. On a recent stifling morning in Adams County, the 290-pound mountain lion with perfect bone structure is ignoring the raw chicken breast and pork chops a handler tossed into his pen. He’s sitting in a plastic doghouse, paws crossed, amber eyes locked on the two men ticking him off by their mere presence out beyond the fence. It’s 90-something ...

Outer Banks is always a favorite spot

I consider myself fortunate to have spent time on dozens of different beaches on both coasts. From snorkeling in the Bahamas to kayaking in Alaska, I have witnessed the salt water crash on sand and stones in many well-known destinations. My favorite beach time is spent on my family’s annual trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. We stay in Hatteras Village, on the southern tip, which is a secluded town famous for a relaxing atmosphere and its world-class fishing. I could not wait to get back to Hatteras this summer to once again battle some large red drum or cobia in the big ...