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Hearing important with gobblers

By Shirley Grenoble For the Mirror Spring gobbler hunters face two hunting scenarios: birds that hang out in farm fields or flocks that feed and breed mainly in forests, usually State Game Lands or State forest Land. How turkeys interact among themselves, and with hunters, is usually dictated by which of these two habitats they live and love in. The main difference between forest turkeys and field turkeys is that forest birds do a lot more talking among themselves than field turkeys. It’s a necessity. Since forest turkeys cannot keep track of one another by sight, they do it ...

Be aware of who’s awaken in the woods

Ah April! We all feel better when April arrives. So do wildlife, flowers and trees, and sports all seem to start in April. Especially, so do winter-stressed black bears. Small birds and animals that did not survive the winter are choice snacks to a bear. Garbage cans, dog food dishes sitting on the back porch, bird feeders are all desirable to bears, awakening from a long winter’s sleep and perhaps finding themselves with two to four cubs to now care for. When the bears emerge from the winter den they are hungry and begin at once to sniff out anything they can find to eat. As ...

Reporting harvest a must

Successful turkey hunters must immediately tag their bird before moving it from the harvest site and are required by law to report the harvest to the Game Commission. Hunters, by law, must report harvests within 10 days. Reporting harvests is key to turkey management, as it allows the Game Commission to more accurately estimate harvest and population totals. Hunters can report turkeys in any of three ways: n by visiting [http://www.pgc.pa.gov”]http://www.pgc.pa.gov” TARGET=”—blank www.pgc.pa.gov and clicking the blue “Report a Harvest” button near the top of the home ...

Gobbler season around corner

Timing alone would make it special. Pennsylvania’s upcoming spring gobbler season — the state’s only big-game hunt outside of fall and winter — takes place when the world seems new, freshly green and alive. This year’s season begins on Saturday, April 23 with a one-day hunt for junior and youth mentored hunters, then runs from Saturday, April 30 to Tuesday, May 31 for everyone else. But it has a lot more going for it than just that. Gobbler hunting is huge on excitement, too. No wonder more than 150,000 hunters take to forests and fields each spring to chase these ...

Some tactics for week 2 of trout season

By Walt Young For the Mirror It is now the second week of trout season. And what a difference a week makes. On the opening weekend, countless anglers flocked to just about every trout stream, but in spite of the crowds and all the ensuing commotion, many of those hopeful fishermen were able to hook a trout or two for their efforts. Plenty of folks will also be out fishing for trout this weekend but in only a fraction of the numbers that turned out for the season opener. That trend will continue over the next few weeks. The reason so many folks turn out for opening day and then ...

Even Smoky Mountains hit by tough economy

The Associated Press GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced a plan earlier this week to start charging parking fees along with higher rates for campsites, day-use cabin rentals and picnic pavilions starting next year. Visits to the park have increased 57% over the past decade to a record 14.1 million last year and have taken a toll on facilities, the park said in a news release. Additional revenue from the changes would allow the park to address renovations along with law enforcement staffing challenges and services including trail maintenance and trash ...