At their spring meeting, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s board of commissioners voted unanimously to hold a porcupine season. The seven-month season is set to begin September 1, with a daily bag limit of six. From my perspective, this was one of the worst decisions that the PGC has made in recent years. If the agency was looking for a way…
During my writing career, I have covered many hunting and fishing contests. The events are certainly exciting and draw large crowds. However, without fail, grumblings and accusations about some type of foul play are heard at every contest. The organizers must attempt to prevent and deal with suspected cheating. It is not an easy job.Take something as traditional and sporting…
One month ago, in a 22-page decision, Commonwealth Court dismissed the lawsuit filed against the Pennsylvania Game Commission by the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit had claimed that the agency was using fraudulent science to manage deer. It also alleged that the deer herd was not being managed in the best interests of hunters or the deer themselves. This…
Since New Year’s Day, I have been anxious to do some winter trout fishing, but central Pennsylvania has had a colder than average winter. Any remotely possible weather day just never suited my schedule. Finally, on Feb. 16, we had a day with great potential for winter trout fishing.Freestone or limestone stream — there wasn’t really a choice. Bald Eagle…
One oft-debated “Deer Wars” topic here in Pennsylvania is the length and timing of antlerless deer season. Hunter views run the gamut from supporting 12 days of concurrent buck and doe season, favoring 7 or fewer days of concurrent, to 1 to 3 days following buck season or just being against doe season entirely. I began hunting during the era of…
Hunting, fishing and just getting out is the fun part of this job, but unfortunately many of the decisions that greatly affect our favorite sports are made in meetings. One such event was the Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 PA Game Commission meeting in Harrisburg. The official news releases tell everyone what happened – a longer bear season, altered turkey seasons,…
We are only about a week away from the Pennsylvania Game Commission Board of Commissioner’s meeting, which will be held in Harrisburg, Jan. 30 – Feb. 1. This is the meeting where commissioners will give preliminary approval to the seasons & bag limits for the coming hunting seasons. As always, the big topic will be deer. Last year at this…
Some hunters and anglers miss the boat when they are unwilling to participate in other non-hunting or non-fishing outdoor activities. In early January, my daughter, her husband, and I were part of the Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. The Pennsylvania Game Commission encourages participation. It was our third year. We have an assigned territory within the Bald Eagle State Park…
I recently had the opportunity to observe a group of deer feeding undisturbed through the forest. I watched these deer for nearly an hour as they meandered here and there. I’m always interested in what the deer are eating, and as a hunter, you should be, too.Our acorns are long gone. As I observed with binoculars, the deer reached high…
I don’t know if you are like me, but after a couple of deerless days in my treestand, I start to question a lot of things, such as why aren’t I seeing any deer? Is this hunting spot as good as I thought it was? Can the deer easily see or smell me? Never mind all of those bucks to…
The 2010 bear season is history. The results, with a much lower than expected kill, beg more questions than answers. Did the altered format, with a Saturday opening day, increase or decrease hunter participation? Were more school-age hunters involved? Are hunters happy with the change?While the Game Commission claims higher bear license sales, there were widespread pre-season reports of long-time…
