Finally, good news on combating chronic wasting disease
Someday, perhaps, someone somewhere will find a cure for chronic wasting disease, or CWD. That will be a happy day indeed. But in the meantime, here — finally, at long last — is at least one bit of good news concerning the troubling ailment. Scientists with the National Institutes of...
Work to drain, rebuild Somerset Lake finally begins
It took a lot longer than expected to get here. But work to completely drain and rebuild southwestern Pennsylvania’s 253-acre Somerset Lake is finally underway. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission last month began efforts to completely drain the lake. It was done incrementally, at a “manageable pace,” to get to...
Off-grid camping offers few amenities but plenty of fun
It goes by a couple of different names, the right one depending on just how “fancy” things are. Not that this is anything extravagant in any case. Not unless, that is, you count the scenery in every direction, the stars above, the quiet all around, the overall peacefulness that’s so...
Tips on storing canoes and kayaks in outdoor extras
Lure of the week Lure name: XTS Mini Dad (basspro.com/shop/en/bass-pro-shops-xts-mini-dad-crank-baits) Company: Bass Pro Shops (basspro.com/shop/en) Lure type: Crankbait Sizes and colors: Available a 1.5-inch model in 11 colors, including stream crawfish, yellow brown molting craw, Louisiana craw, green craw, dirty brown craw and matte tiger. Target species: Crappies, yellow perch,...
Hunting, fishing, shooting, trapping? Americans support them all
Intent matters, in the woods, on the water and at the range. So say your neighbors. A new study — “Americans’ Attitudes toward Hunting, Fishing, Sport Shooting and Trapping” — says most people across the nation support those activities. But, it adds, that approval ebbs and flows based on sportsmen’s...
Tips on catching fall steelhead, trout from beaches
Rod and reel? Check. Fliers, lures or bait? Check. Waders and net? Check. Oh, and martial arts training, too. It seems, at times, you need all of the above to chase steelhead in fall. Lots of anglers crowd small Great Lakes tributary streams then, targeting the fish making their annual...
A new venison recipe and other outdoor extras
Gear of the week StrapPack Pouch Company: Clakit (everybodyshops.com/clakit-smartphone-pouch.html) Gear type: Phone carrier Product description: For some, getting outdoors is an opportunity to leave the workaday or regular world behind. And such time away can restore your soul. But having your cellphone on hand can help in emergencies and allow...
Yurts provide new camping experience in ancient way
Funny, I didn’t feel like looting and pillaging. Maybe it was the refrigerator. I mean, yeah. It was nearly 90 degrees. The air was uncomfortably thick and sticky — reminiscent of a locker room shower — courtesy of an early morning shower. And the fishing was slower than hoped. The...
Six tips for early archery season success
You might compare it to Christmas morning in a tropical jungle. Think thrilling, exciting, heart-pounding at times. Full of the kind of smiles that only show up when weeks and weeks of anticipation are finally realized. But also muggy, buggy, sweaty, maybe even stinky. That’s the early days of archery...
E-bikes in the crosshairs as a tool for exploring public land
The very thing that makes them so attractive is what has some people worried. E-bikes, or electric bicycles, sport pedals like traditional bicycles. But they also have electric motors. Land managers and lawmakers categorize them as either class 1, 2 or 3, with the difference largely dependent on whether the...
Keystone Wild Outdoors finds a new TV home
Keystone Wild Outdoors may just have found a home by, well, coming home. The Pennsylvania-based TV show is the child of Steve and Joe Rocco of Westmoreland County. It launched on the digital network Hunt Channel TV in 2016 and stayed there for two years. Last year it moved to...
What chronic wasting disease looks like and how to handle it
Chronic wasting disease is deadly. Forget the politics of the disease, the debate about where it comes from, the seemingly constant social media arguing about who is to blame for its existence and spread. For just the moment at least, forget all that. And know this. Hunting aside, deer with...
An RV tip, salmon recipe and more in outdoor extras
Lure of the week Lure name: Mag Lip Finesse 3.0 Company: Yakima Bait Co. (yakimabait.com) Lure type: Casting plug Sizes and colors: Available in 2.5- and 3-inch models in eight colors, including California craw, Canada craw, mud minnow, coppertreuse, peanut butter and jelly, purple haze, sprayed grass and green pumpkin...
Panfish, bass, channel cats, more at neighborhood lakes
Once-in-a-lifetime fishing trips are called that for a reason. They’re epic, awe-inspiring, spectacular, even, for the fish, the scenery, the camaraderie, the adventure involved. But they are not in and of themselves the kind of things that create an angler. Consistent access to waters close to home is important, too....
Find the food to see wildlife and more outdoor extras
Gear of the week Gear name: Tick Remover Company: Sawyer (everybodyshops.com/tick-remover-plier.html) Gear type: Pliers Product description: There are a lot of tremendous reasons to be outdoors now and in the coming weeks. Hunters have their fall seasons, anglers their cooler water, hikers trails ablaze in color, campers less crowded places...
New York’s Stony Brook State Park beautifully scarred
When it comes to hiking, New York’s Stony Brook State Park is more mom-and-pop store than big box outlet. Options are limited. The 577-acre park has just three trails, none more than a mile long. Two snowmobile paths add another 21⁄2 miles or so of possibilities. And that’s it. But...
Ohio state park Hocking Hills worth a visit around the crowds
“One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn’t belong…” That’s an old tune from Sesame Street. It teaches children to identify differences in colors and sizes and shapes. It’s not the theme song of Hocking Hills State Park. But it could be. The park...
Boating accidents: A look at how, when and why they occur
It’s a new way to fight an age-old problem. Sometimes, people drink alcohol when out boating. And, as a result, some of them die. But there are new tools out there to detect who has had too much. The U.S. Coast Guard recently released its 2018 Recreational Boating Statistics report....
Sunday hunting push faces obstacles in Pennsylvania
Hunters seeking the chance to pursue deer or other game on Sundays in Pennsylvania have a fight on their hands. And it’s one they apparently will have to wage with kid gloves. State lawmakers, either surprisingly more polite or thin-skinned, made that clear this past week. Public hearing The House...
A dove recipe and more outdoor extras
Lure of the week Lure name: Erratic shiner Company: LIVETARGET Lures (livetargetlures.com) Lure type: Spoon Sizes and colors: Available in four sizes — ¼-, 3/8-, ½- and ¾-ounces — in 10 colors, including gold/black, silver/blue, gold/green, glow/black and glow/pearl. Target species: Largemouth and smallmouth bass, walleyes, northern pike, muskies, trout...
Managed dove fields can provide good hunting
Long popular in the South, they recently have spread across the country. No, not mourning doves. They already are super abundant just about everywhere. Estimates are there are some 350 million of them across the nation. Hunters harvest 20 million annually. “These numbers make doves the widest ranging and most...
A goose recipe and more outdoor extras
Gear of the week Gear name: Permethrin Company: Sawyer (everybodyshops.com/permethrin-clothing-and-gear-insect-repellent-18-ounce-spray.html) Gear type: Insect repellent Product description: Hunters, hikers, leaf peepers, steelhead and trout anglers and others will be walking through grass, brush and woods over the next few months as cooler temperatures and the attractions of fall come to pass....
Pymatuning Lake walleyes still abundant, maybe easier to catch
Maybe nature is balancing itself out at Pymatuning Lake. Anglers can’t be blamed for hoping so. For years, biologists with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have talked about how many walleyes swim in the 17,088-acre lake in Crawford County. It’s the centerpiece of Pymatuning State Park, on the Pennsylvania-Ohio...
Velvet antlers about to disappear for another year
Chances are it’s going on in your neck of the woods right now. But if you want to see it, you better hurry. White-tailed bucks scrape and scratch the velvet from their antlers late each summer, in preparation for the fall breeding season, or rut. They do it every year,...
Hiking through the sky, below it at Kinzua Bridge State Park
Be warned: If heights set your knees to knocking, this is one hike that will involve plenty of trembling. After all, they don’t call it the “skywalk” for nothing. The trail leading from the visitor center at Kinzua Creek State Park is innocent looking initially. It’s paved, surrounded by mowed...
