Should the DEC’s Summer Sighting Survey confirm the writer's observations, the low poult numbers this year will mean fewer jakes on the landscape next spring, and even more importantly, fewer 2-year-old longbeards in the spring of 2020.
Make it hurt now and it will hurt a little less when it's time for that future hunt of a lifetime.
It’s been a bit of an unusual spring and early summer for Paula and me, since we haven’t done much fishing, although I did make a western New York swing earlier this month for some bass and walleye action on Chautauqua Lake…
For dogs’ sake, this writer is keeping porky numbers in check.
We’ve pretty much arrived at that point in the spring gobbler season where it’s easy to come up with an excuse to turn off the 3:30 or 4 a.m. alarm and go back to sleep. It’s too windy, too rainy,…
Still, the excitement surrounding turkey hunting is the very reason we arise in the middle of the night and head out into the turkey woods.
And other simple things to remember as we begin another season in the turkey woods.
While turkey numbers are clearly driven primarily by production in the spring and Mother Nature, there are other factors playing into the decline.
I always enjoy working the New York Outdoor News booth at the winter sport shows. It’s a great time to connect with readers, hear what they like or don’t like about the paper, and trade hunting and fishing stories with…
I’m heading to Newfoundland on a moose hunt in September and I’m not even bringing a rifle. Or a bow. It’s not my hunt. This time, since I’ve already taken a Newfoundland moose, it’s Paula’s turn. We can’t wait for this…
Perhaps nowhere is the phrase “looks can be deceiving” more appropriate than when applied to the mute swan. Yes, they are beautiful. But they are much different than the trumpeter swan, despite the physical similarities. The non-native, invasive species displace native wildlife species, degrade water…
I’m already looking ahead to spring and, obviously, turkey hunting, but also to the open-water fishing season. Paula and I didn’t get a lot of fishing in last year and I can’t remember why, but I know some of it was…
I’m never sorry to see deer season come to an end because, by early December, I’ve had plenty of time in a tree, usually have enough venison in the freezer, and have made enough memories in the field that I’m ready…
When it comes to any trip involving considerable effort – and expense – Paula and I tend to research and plan thoroughly. That said, when the time finally arrives for a memorable excursion, we enter it with the mentality that chances…
Author was ready to surrender, then his buddy called, convincing him to give it one more try. And it paid off.
I hunted fall turkeys one day last week in Tioga County, visiting Pete Clare at his storied Turkey Trot Acres hunting lodge, where fall turkey hunting with dogs has emerged as an autumn tradition, albeit a shortened one given New York…
A little positivity will go a long way toward becoming a dedicated hunter.
Call me a “gametime decision” every day in October and into November, with a lot of factors coming into play.
Put a little thought into it by working the colors of the spectrum and going from one extreme to the other, working back and forth between light and dark until you connect on the color the fish want.
Outdoor News, at times, has a roving office, which allows us to be sportsmen, just like our readers.
Make the time now and break up the monotony of the solo backyard shooting session by using a few tricks to spice things up. Or head to the 3-D range for some different target looks and some quality practice and just plain fun. It’s time.
Don't wait for later, when you likely won’t be able to enjoy the adventure nearly as much because of the physical limitations brought on by age.
Getting out to trap, skeet, sporting clays, and the rifle and pistol ranges are just plain fun. But the shooting sessions will also almost assuredly pay dividends in the fall when you’re hunting small or big game.
I’m always amazed at today’s fly tiers who can create exact replicas of various insects...
They know the rivers intimately, know what works and what doesn’t.
Steve Piatt has served as editor of New York Outdoor News since its launch in 2004, and has been a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 30 years. He’s an avid outdoorsman who’s hunted and fished across North America. He loves spring gobbler hunting (taking the grand slam); deer hunting with bow or rifle; fly fishing the Adirondacks and Catskills as well as backcountry brook trout streams; and hunting pheasants with one of his three Labrador retrievers. Steve is a member of National Wild Turkey Federation, Trout Unlimited and National Rifle Association, and works out of his home office in Elizabethtown in Essex County, about 10 minu
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