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Outdoors

New doe license process unveiled

At their regular quarterly meeting last weekend, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners approved the antlerless deer license allocations for 2024-25. Last year, of course, was the first time hunters could purchase their antlerless deer licenses directly, either in person or online, through the electronic licensing system rather than the cumbersome mail-in process to a county treasurer’s office, which had been prescribed by state law for generations. To alleviate some of the problems that occurred early on with the new system last year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has ...

Fishermen find trout streams very manageable

By John Hartsock jhartsock@altoonamirror.com HOLLIDAYSBURG — After steady and sometimes heavy rain pelted this area daily last week, stream conditions for Saturday’s opening day of trout season were expected to be abysmal. As it turned out, however, even though the water levels on ...

2024 trout season starts next weekend

The first Saturday in April, of course, is now the first day of trout season throughout Pennsylvania. Thousands of anglers will converge on their favorite waterways to make their first cast of the season at the official start time of 8 a.m. next Saturday. More than 3 million trout were stocked in the weeks leading up to the opening day. To fish for trout, all anglers 16 or older must have a valid Pennsylvania fishing license and a trout/salmon permit. Last fall, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission gave final approval to an interesting new special regulation that will affect ...

Memorial Youth Trout Day just around the corner

On Saturday, March 30, Mentored Youth Trout Day in Pennsylvania will be held. This event was created several years ago to provide an opportunity for an adult mentor to introduce a young person to trout fishing without being subjected to the crowded atmosphere that often occurs on some waters on a typical opening day. Following are some of the requirements and proceures for the program. All stocked trout waters in Pennsylvania are included in the program, and fishing hours will be from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Any young angler under the age of 16 is eligible to participate in the program, ...

Late winter offers fishing opportunities

With the official first day of spring now less than a week and a half away, it’s probably safe to say that this winter was generally a mild one. Only a few times did our area experience days with more than a couple of inches of snow. That situation suits me just fine, especially since there wasn’t any worthwhile snow during deer season, the only time I am even remotely tolerant of the white stuff. Having lived here in central Pennsylvania all my life, I’m well aware we could get several inches of snow between now and the first week or two of April, but thankfully, it will be ...

Bear harvest down slightly

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Game Commission released the black bear harvest totals for the various bear hunting seasons throughout the state. The final tally revealed Pennsylvania bear hunters bagged 2,920 bears, which amounts to 250 bears fewer than the 3,170 taken in the 2022 seasons. The all-time record bear harvest for Pennsylvania occurred in 2019 when hunters bagged 4,653 bears. Hunters have several different opportunities to hunt bears in Pennsylvania. Bowhunters took 702 bears during the archery seasons in September and October. Also in October, the muzzleloader ...