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Trout season business looks brisk

Fish facts First lines in: The Pennsylvania trout season begins at 8 a.m. Saturday for all counties across the Commonwealth. Creel limits: From Saturday until midnight on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 5, Pennsylvania fishermen will be able to keep a limit of five trout measuring at least seven inches in length daily. From Tuesday, Sept. 6 until Dec. 31, the daily creel limit is three trout. License fees: The annual Pennsylvania fishing license for fishermen ages 16 to 64 will cost $25.47 this year, an increase of $2.50 from a year ago. The trout stamp will cost $12.47, also an increase ...

Join your youngster for youth trout day

With the official arrival of spring last Monday, anglers of all ages are likely to be thinking about the first day of trout season on April 1. However, this weekend is Mentored Youth Trout Day throughout Pennsylvania. This event offers a great opportunity to introduce a young person to trout fishing without the crowded atmosphere that often occurs on some waters on a typical opening day. All stocked trout waters in Pennsylvania are included in the Mentored Youth Trout Day, and fishing hours are from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. To participate in the 2023 Mentored Youth Trout Day, anglers ...

Bill aims to establish new population goal for wolves

MADISON, Wis. — A pair of Republican legislators recently circulated a bill that would require Wisconsin wildlife officials to establish a new population goal for wolves in the state in their next management plan. The state Department of Natural Resources has operated since 1999 under a wolf management plan that limits the statewide population to 350 animals. As the number of wolves in the state has increased — DNR estimates released in September put the statewide population at about 1,000 wolves — hunters have pointed to that number as justification for setting generous quotas ...

Game Commission asking for reports of ‘tame’ grouse

By Walt Young sports@altoonamirror.com During the winter of 2008, I had the good fortune to observe and photograph an amazingly friendly wild ruffed grouse. My friend, Bill Carter, first encountered the remarkable bird near the gate to his hunting camp in Huntingdon County during deer season that fall. On subsequent visits to camp in December and January, the curious bird would literally come running most days when it heard him opening the gate. Not only was this particular grouse apparently unafraid of humans, it actually seemed to enjoy human contact. That offered me one of ...

Nature’s spring flings area ready to begin

Let the party begin! The spring dance in the woods is already underway. Every bird, from robins to wild turkeys, is gearing up for the process of attracting a mate and building a nest. Ruffed Grouse will find the edges of dirt roads to be great spots to strut and spread that ruff and try to look like the most desirable fellow in the woods. He’ll establish his territory around a drumming log and wear himself out with all the drumming and preening it takes to turn a hen’s eye. Wild turkeys have come through the winter pretty well — they are extremely hardy birds — and the ...

State hunters bag 3,170 black bears

The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently released the bear harvest figures for the 2022 bear hunting seasons, indicating that hunters harvested 3, 170 Pennsylvania black bears. That total is 451 bears fewer than the 3,621 taken in 2021 and ranks as the 14th highest season total of all time. The all-time record bear harvest for Pennsylvania occurred in 2019 when hunters bagged 4,653 bears. Bear hunting continues to enjoy a wave of popularity in Pennsylvania with sales of bear licenses for 2022 totaling 213,639, the third most ever. Pennsylvania residents bought 203,922 bear licenses ...