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Russ Mason

Commentary: When it comes to hunting and fishing issues, grass not always greener

Featured, Fishing, Hunting, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Opinion /

In Trout Bum, John Gierach wrote: “The trout are always rising in the pool just out of reach.”
This idea that “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” likely resonates among most anglers. And it’s certainly popular among hunters who constantly compare units, counties, and even entire states, convinced that somewhere else holds more deer, bigger bucks, better age structure, or fewer restrictions.

Commentary: When it comes to hunting and fishing issues, grass not always greener Read More »

Overconfident fish? Eyes can be bigger than mouths

Featured, Featured, Features, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, National Fishing, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

Any angler who’s ever caught a 3-inch fish on a 4-inch lure must have wondered what, if anything, the fish was thinking.
Spoiler alert: It all boils down to the fact that evolution is a numbers game. There’s a certain kind of confidence – bordering on what humans might call delusion – that runs deep in the animal kingdom.

Overconfident fish? Eyes can be bigger than mouths Read More »

Commentary: Fish and wildlife conservation should not be another popularity contest

Featured, Featured, Fishing, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Opinion, Opinion /

Fish and wildlife conservation operates at the intersection of science, public values, and politics. Tensions are unavoidable, but increasingly, it’s tipped too far towards popularity. When conservation becomes a contest for public approval rather than a science-based discipline grounded in ecology and long-term outcomes, both wildlife and ecosystems pay the price.

Commentary: Fish and wildlife conservation should not be another popularity contest Read More »

Early spring fly fishing is often an exercise in restraint, patience

Featured, Features, Fishing, Home Page News, Michigan, National Fishing /

The first few warm days of the year are enough to get me out on the water with a fly rod. It almost never works out as I hope, most likely because of my own impatience.
Early spring is a season of contradiction for warm-water fly anglers. The air softens, days lengthen, and the urge to fish returns – but beneath the surface, species like largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and bluegill are still governed by winter’s inertia.

Early spring fly fishing is often an exercise in restraint, patience Read More »

Commentary: Can reforming National Environmental Policy Act help fish and wildlife conservation?

Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, Nature Page & Night Sky, Opinion /

Recently, the outdoor press has raised concerns about reforms the Trump administration has proposed to the National Environmental Policy Act. Mostly, articles have highlighted the potential for negative impacts to fish and wildlife conservation. Not surprisingly, the truth is more complicated.

Commentary: Can reforming National Environmental Policy Act help fish and wildlife conservation? Read More »

Survey shows that folks in Michigan favor hunting more than they do hunters

10 Comments / Discussions, Featured, Fishing, Home Page News, Hunting, Michigan, National Fishing, National Hunting, National News, News /

Citizens in Michigan are much more supportive of hunting and trapping than the general public in other states. 
Fishing also gets an enthusiastic “thumbs up.” Yet oddly – or maybe not so oddly – nonsportsmen and women here tend to be more supportive of those particular outdoor activities than they are of the hunters, trappers and anglers who participate in them.

Survey shows that folks in Michigan favor hunting more than they do hunters Read More »

Commentary: Why Illinois SB 2924, Indiana HB 1003, and Michigan HB 4445 threaten conservation

Featured, Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Illinois, Michigan, Opinion, Opinion /

Across the Midwest, conservation has long rested on a careful balance between public oversight, science-based wildlife management, and the principle that fish and wildlife are held in trust for all citizens.
Illinois Senate Bill 2924, Indiana House Bill 1003, and Michigan House Bill 4445 each undermine that balance in different ways. Taken together, they represent a broader shift away from conservation as a public good and toward deregulation, political convenience, and private advantage.

Commentary: Why Illinois SB 2924, Indiana HB 1003, and Michigan HB 4445 threaten conservation Read More »

Commentary: Warmer winters delaying duck migration

Featured, Home Page News, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Hunting, Michigan, Minnesota, National Hunting, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin /

About 10 years ago, the Louisiana Department Wildlife and Fisheries sent an April Fool’s email to stakeholders announcing a new sportsman’s group. Called ‘The Black Surface Society’, the goal of the society was to pave over most of the wetlands north of I-10 (and drain the rest). The reason was to encourage ducks to fly past the rest of the Mississippi Flyway during the fall migration.
To the department’s surprise, it was inundated with calls from constituents who wanted to join.

Commentary: Warmer winters delaying duck migration Read More »

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