Outdoors category, Page 22
Fishing report: Loyalhanna Creek offering steady action with trout
• At Loyalhanna Creek, anglers are seeing steady action with trout while using live bait. For the most part, fishermen are finding trout around the deeper pockets of water. Carp catches are occurring with some regularity, and a few muskellunge catches were reported as well. • Green Lick Reservoir is...
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...
Outdoors notices for Oct. 6, 2019
Outdoors Notices HUNTER SAFETY COURSES Note: All hunter safety courses require preregistration at www.pgc.state.pa.us. • Shanksville High School, Somerset County, 3:30-7:30 p.m. Oct. 8, 10. Class limit 50. • Murrysville Gun Club, Westmoreland County, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Oct. 12-13. Class limit 55. • Monroeville Public Safety Training Center, Allegheny County,...
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...
Fishing report: Walleye active along Monongahela River in Washington County
• Walleye are starting to bite more and more throughout the stretch of the Monongahela River that winds through Washington County. In particular, the walleye appear to be most active around the locks and dams. Anglers are reporting a handful of white bass catches as well. • Dutch Fork Lake...
Photo gallery: Fox hunting returns to Ligonier Township this weekend
The opening day of fox hunting season is Saturday for Rolling Rock Hunt, which will host a Blessing of the Hounds and a joint meet with Sewickley and Chagrin hunts at Blandings in Ligonier Township. A landowner appreciation BBQ Bluegrass party will be held afterward at Stonehenge Lodge in Donegal...
Invasive northern snakehead fish caught in Monongahela River
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission confirmed Monday that an invasive species, the northern snakehead fish, was recently caught in the Monongahela River. It is the first confirmed snakehead fish in Southwestern Pennsylvania, according to Kris Kuhn, chief of the fisheries management division for the commission. The invasive fish has...
Outdoors notices for Sept. 29, 2019
Outdoors Notices HUNTER SAFETY COURSES Note: All hunter safety courses require preregistration at www.pgc.state.pa.us. • Keystone Shooting Center, Allegheny County, 5-8:30 p.m. Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Class limit 20. • East Huntingdon Sportsmen’s Association, Westmoreland County, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 5. Class limit 60. • Paris Sportsmen’s Club, Washington County, 9...
Fishing report: Smallmouth bass popping in the Yough
• The Youghiogheny River is shaping up to be a productive spot to visit for anglers who are in search of smallmouth bass. The bass seem to be particularly active during the day time. Additionally, fishermen are reporting more than a few catfish and freshwater drum catches. • The Allegheny...
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...
Georgia jogger saves baby deer stuck in fencingVideo
A Georgia woman who was out for a jog saw a baby deer caught in some iron fencing and sprung into action to save it. The heroics were caught on film near Stone Mountain Park in an east Atlanta suburb. The woman, who was identified on Twitter as Chloe Dorsey,...
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....
Outdoors notices for Sept. 22, 2019
Notices Outdoors HUNTER SAFETY COURSES Note: All hunter safety courses require preregistration at www.pgc.state.pa.us. • Ambridge Sportsmen’s Club, Beaver County, 5:30-9 p.m. Sept. 23-24. Class limit 40. • Aliquippa Bucktails, Beaver County, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sept. 28. Class limit 50. • Kingston Veteran’s and Sportsmen’s, Westmoreland County, 8 a.m.-4 p.m....
Fishing report: Bass, trout biting at Blue Spruce Lake
• The fishing at Blue Spruce Lake is picking up as anglers are catching bass and trout at an increased rate. For the trout, using a spoon jig with a minnow as bait is typically a good approach. Meanwhile, an approach that includes spinnerbait, crankbait or jerkbait should lead to...
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...
