Breaking News

Outdoors

Deer harvest reports are released by PGC

From Mirror reports HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently reported results from the 2021-22 deer seasons, which ended in January. Hunters harvested an estimated 376,810 white-tailed deer. The statewide buck harvest was estimated at 145,320 and the antlerless harvest at 231,490. That take, overall, is down about 13 percent compared to 2020-21, when hunters recorded the largest deer harvest in 16 years, harvesting an estimated 435,180 deer. It is, however, similar to the estimated statewide deer harvests during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. That’s not cause ...

The wait will be over soon for local fishermen

By Walt Young For the Mirror Next Saturday, April 2, is the opening of trout season throughout Pennsylvania. In 2007, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission adopted two regional opening days for trout season, which started trout season two weeks earlier in 18 southeastern counties than the rest of the state. Along with returning to a single statewide opening day, the first day of trout season is now set for the first Saturday of April, two weeks earlier than the traditional mid-April opener. While the annual opener is always a much-awaited day for many trout anglers, some avid ...

It’s time to start scouting for your fish bait

By Shirley Grenoble For the Mirror As much as Walt Young has tried to convert me, I cling to my bait-casting stuff and so it is time for old-timers to start looking for worms. Well maybe in a couple weeks would be better because of all the snow we recently endured. I smile a bit at the leaves I didn’t get raked up in the fall and know that soon I’ll overturn them looking for fat earthworms. So go get a coffee can ready and start scouting for the worms. It won’t be long before you have a full can. The fly-fishing zealots among us have already created their dandruff-sized ...

Poacher pleads guilty

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California man who admitted to taking two bear cubs from their den and notified officials after he was unable to care for them pleaded guilty to possession of a prohibited species, wildlife officials said. Cody Dylon Setzer, 29, and a co-worker who has not been identified and cooperated with authorities took the month-old bears from their den in a tree that had fallen across a forest road, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday. Setzer contacted wildlife officers on March 9, 2019, and told them he had found the baby bears. ...

Maine’s Sunday hunt legislation shot down

The Associated Press AUGUSTA, Maine — An attempt to open up Sunday hunting in Maine has been shot down in committee. Hunting big game animals such as bears and moose is a popular activity in Maine, but the state is home to a law that bars hunting on Sunday. The Maine Legislature’s Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife voted against a proposal to end the ban earlier this week. There have been many attempts to repeal or alter the ban over the years and none have succeeded. The latest proposal, from Democratic Sen. Jim Dill of Old Town, would have allowed Sunday hunting ...

Hunters, anglers applaud MAPLand passage

From Mirror reports WASHINGTON, D.C. — The House of Representatives passed the Modernizing Access to our Public Land Act earlier this week, which would enhance outdoor recreation opportunities on public land by investing in modern mapping systems that provide Americans with the public access information they need while using handheld GPS technology commonly found in smartphones. Introduced by U.S. Representatives Blake Moore (R-Utah), Kim Schrier (D-Wash.), Russ Fulcher (R-Idaho), and Joe Neguse (D-Colo.), the MAPLand Act has been a top priority for hunters and anglers. It was ...