Breaking News

Outdoors

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 ...

Trout stocking gets underway this week

After a few days of wonderful weather with temperatures approaching 60 degrees earlier this month, February was only too eager to remind us that it’s still winter by dumping a couple of inches of snow on us one night last week. As I brushed off my car the next morning, I enjoyed some satisfaction in the fact I had gone trout fishing on one of those nice days. Somehow, that made the snow-removal chore a little more bearable. This year, the statewide trout season will begin on Saturday, April 6 with the Mentored Youth Trout Day on Saturday, March 30. That means the annual ...

Wild turkey survey; Wild Game Feast

If you happen to observe a flock of wild turkeys this winter, the Pennsylvania Game Commission would like to know about them. Last month, the Game Commission activated a special web page to encourage the public to report the locations of their wild turkey sightings until March 15 to support several ongoing turkey studies. The online address for the web page is pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBroodSurvey. It can also be accessed from the Game Commission’s website, pgc.pa.gov. On the homepage, click on the “Wildlife” tab and scroll down the menu and click on “Wildlife Species.” ...

Game Commission’s seedling sale begins

The past few weeks have served up an ample dose of winter weather throughout our region in the form of frigid temperatures, high winds and several inches of snow. Those harsh conditions often prompt some well-meaning folks to make an effort to feed wildlife during the winter. While this might seem like a worthwhile and compassionate gesture, the conventional wisdom on this practice is simply “don’t do it.” In most cases, putting out food for wild animals usually does more harm than good for any number of reasons. And in some situations, doing so may be illegal. Most of ...