Fishing Large Lakes Key For Catching Slab Crappies

By Bob Frye, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Anglers looking for an edge should keep this advice in mind.

If you want to catch especially large crappies, go fishing right now, and do it on a big body of water. Why?

Statistics show that, in Pennsylvania, spring on large lakes is by far the best time for bringing home slab-sized fish.

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has an “angler awards” program that recognizes fishermen for catching large fish, by species. It is neither rigorous nor scientific. Unlike with potential state records, there's no process whereby anglers must have their fish weighed on certified scales or examined by a commission biologist or conservation officer. Everything is done on the honor system.

Still, the awards can sometimes reveal trends. That's the case here.

A look at the top five crappies, by weight, reported caught each year between 2008 and 2012 — fish between about 2.5 and 3.5 pounds — shows 15 of the 25 came from lakes of 1,000 acres or more. That's 60 percent.

That trend has been even more pronounced lately, with 11 of the top 15 crappies coming from big lakes over the last three years. That's almost 75 percent.

Rick Lorson, the commission's area fisheries manager based in Somerset and someone who has studied crappies, said that's not surprising.

“Generally as a rule for crappies, the bigger the water, the better the fish,” he said.

Greg Martin, president of the North East Panfish League, said on-the-water experience tells him that's true.

“That's the rule of thumb. The bigger the water, the bigger the potential for fish to grow large,” Martin said.

Food is the reason. When crappies reach about six inches in length, they switch over from feeding on invertebrates to minnows and other fish, Lorson said.

If they can't find enough of that kind of food consistently, as is often the case on smaller lakes, they often max out at eight or nine inches, he said.

“It's kind of like the theory that says bigger bait catches bigger fish. The bigger the food particle, the bigger the fish,” Lorson said.

“They need that bigger particle size, otherwise they're using too much energy just to get by.”

That's not to say you'll only find big crappies at big lakes. Smaller waters can produce the occasional whopper. The commission's angler awards show six of the top 25 crappies of the last half-decade came from waters less than 70 acres.

But those “are the exceptions to the rule,” Lorson said.

As for when big crappies are most often caught, the same angler awards show six of the 25 biggest were nabbed in May.

Only one other month — April — was as productive, and that may be an anomaly. Three of the six April fish were caught in one year, 2008, whereas May has given up at least one of the top five crappies in four of the last five years. June gave up four of the top 25 fish.

That's not surprising either, said Bob Lorantas, warmwater unit leader for the commission. Historical data collected over decades reveals angler catch-per-hour rates for both black and white crappies are significantly higher in May than at any time of the year.

“Fishing opportunities for crappies are about to become phenomenal, if they are not already phenomenal right now,” Lorantas said.

There are indeed indications the crappie bite is turning on.

“I talked to one guy this past week who said he got over 100 in one day at Loyalhanna Lake,” said Amil Zuzik, a deputy waterways conservation officer with the commission, speaking of that 480-acre water. “He said a lot were small, but he also got some slabs. He said a couple were up to 15 or 16 inches.”

Catches have gone up in “just the last couple of days” at 3,200-acre Lake Arthur, said Jerry O'Donnell of O'Donnell's Sports Supplies in Portersville. The action has likewise started to pick up at 1,800-acre Lake Wilhelm, 3,500-acre Shenango Lake and 17,100-acre Pymatuning Lake, according to various reports.

So if you want a slab crappie, do some fishing now, and do it on a big lake.

“I always say, we live and die by statistics, so if you want to catch lots of big crappies, you should go to a big water,” Lorson said.

Creating Illusion In The Turkey Woods Leads To Success

By Bob Frye

Bill Bassinger demonstrates the three-bird setup he uses when hunting
turkeys — a sitting and a standing hen out front with a jake a few feet
behind — Friday, April 26, 2013, at his Boggs Township home

When Bill Bassinger talks to kids about what it takes to be a successful turkey hunter, he offers three pieces of advice.

The first is, don't move. The second is, don't move. The third? Don't move.

Violate any of the three rules and a gobbler likely will spot you and be gone long before you can draw a bead on him, said the Kittanning man.

“Their heads just never stop, and their eyesight is just unbelievable,” Bassinger said. “They're on a swivel all the time, just looking.”

Bassinger combats that by giving suspicious gobblers something else to look for besides himself. He hunts often, if not always, with a turkey decoy or three. He's far from being alone that way.

There was a time when turkey decoys were unheard of. That's changed in more recent times, to the point now that many consider them as essential as their calls. That will be obvious again in the coming weeks — turkey season opened Saturday and continues through May 31 — when fake birds will fill the woods.

“If turkey hunters have an empty pocket in their turkey vest, they've got to fill it with something. Decoys are another tool that some hunters swear by,” said Kristen Giger, a project biologist for the National Wild Turkey Federation based in Warren.

They're growing more popular because they work, said Tad Brown, a Missouri turkey hunter and product developer for Flambeau Outdoors. A former guide, he and his brother made their first turkey decoy more than 25 years ago. It was a plywood silhouette of a bird, with Styrofoam glued to the sides to give the body shape and real turkey wing feathers wired to it for color.

Today, hunters can buy any and all manner of decoys, from those mimicking hens to others meant to look like jakes and mature gobblers. They come in all manner of poses, from standing to feeding to even breeding. Some are meant to elicit an aggressive or jealous response from male birds; others are meant to attract hens that might pull in a trailing gobbler.

All work best if they make birds feel comfortable, Brown said. “A decoy paints a more realistic picture of what's going on. It makes a situation look right,” Brown said. “And the better job you can do creating the illusion that everything is good, the better your chances of success.” How realistic a decoy looks is not the most important thing, Giger said.

“The idea is not for a gobbler to come in and check the decoy out too closely, though we've all seen video of birds attacking or trying to mate with decoys,” she said. “The idea is to bring a gobbler within gun range. The hope is that by the time he gets close to the decoy, you're ready to pull the trigger.”

There are tricks to making that happen.

Bassinger prefers using two hens and a jake, with the idea that a mature gobbler will see that kind of mini-flock and try to take over. “When a longbeard gobbler comes in, he sees that jake and maybe gets mad, then he'll come in to fight. That's when I surprise him with a load from my shotgun,” Bassinger said. “I've done that many times.”

Brown's ideal setup involves putting out four decoys — after dark the night before a hunt if possible — with one being a hen looking ready to be bred, another a combination gobbler/hen in the midst of breeding, and a couple of feeding hens.

He always positions the birds so that they're partially concealed and facing toward him, too.

“If a gobbler thinks a hen is looking at him and pointed in his direction, he may think, ‘I'll just wait for her to come to me.' If the hen's pointed away from him and toward me, though, and it looks like they're walking away from him, he's got to hurry and catch up if he wants to meet her,” Brown said. “That brings him right in to where you are waiting.”

Of course, decoys aren't foolproof turkey getters. Some, like Bassinger, think turkeys shot at and missed over time become decoy shy. Others, like Brown, doubt the birds make the connection between decoys and danger.

Both, though, agree they're often worth using. “Being able to call a bird into you, that's the fun of the sport. That's why it's my passion,” Bassinger said. “But a decoy can really help sometimes. The combination of the two, calling and a decoy, it's worth the while.”

Bob Frye is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at bfrye@tribweb.com or via Twitter @bobfryeoutdoors.

Details

Outlook good for a loud spring season

Hunters killed an estimated 35,392 gobblers last spring across Pennsylvania, according to game commission estimates. That was up slightly over the two previous springs.

The outlook for this year is similarly promising, given that turkeys made it through the winter in good shape in most places, said Mary Jo Casalena, the commission's turkey biologist.

“Gobblers are in good condition this spring, despite the cold winter, because of abundant mast in most of the commonwealth, excluding the southwest counties,” Casalena said.

The state's turkeys may be especially vocal this year, she added. Cooler-than-normal temperatures in March and early April suppressed early gobbling activity; warmer weather in the coming weeks should spark an increase in that activity, she said.

As always, hunters are limited to taking one gobbler unless they've purchased a second tag. All birds killed must be reported to the commission.

Hunters can chase birds until noon daily through the first two weeks of the season. In the final two weeks, hunting is allowed from one half-hour before sunrise until one half-hour after sunset. Last spring — the first when all-day hunting was allowed in even a part of the season — 6 percent of all the gobblers taken by hunters were shot in the afternoon. Most of those were taken between 6 and 8 p.m.

Pennsylvania Residents Support Deer Hunting

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Keystone State residents have a great affinity for white-tailed deer, enjoy having them nearby and support regulated hunting as the best method to control them.

Released last week, a public opinion and attitude survey commissioned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and conducted by Virginia-based Responsive Management found positive attitudes toward deer and deer-related recreation. The study said 77 percent of Pennsylvanians like having deer around, and a large majority, 85 percent, support the legal regulated hunting of deer.

The telephone survey reached some 9,200 adult residents with at least 400 interviews in each of the state's 22 wildlife management units, and included hunters and non-hunters. Coren Jagnow of the Game Commission's Research and Education Division said the results will be used to help the agency fulfill its mission to manage wildlife populations for all Pennsylvania residents.

"This study was important because it didn't just look at hunters but at the residents of the commonwealth as a whole, and it let us know what they think," he said, in a written statement. "... We are encouraged by a lot of the results, such as high levels of support for deer hunting and satisfaction with the size of the deer herd."

Queried about the agency's three primary deer management goals:
• 91 percent agree with managing for healthy and sustainable deer populations.
• 89 percent agree with managing the deer for a healthy and sustainable forest habitat.
• 84 percent agree with managing for safe, acceptable levels of deer-human conflicts.

While 85 percent support legal regulated hunting as a population control method, 46 percent support fertility/birth control (current technology would require each individual doe in unfenced populations to be inoculated every year). Use of sharpshooters is supported by 39 percent; 24 percent support trapping and killing excess deer.

Deer watching is a pastime enjoyed by more than half the state's residents. The survey found 56 percent spent time viewing or watching deer around home, 22 percent took a trip to view deer, and 8 percent intentionally fed deer.

Among those who enjoy having deer around, 28 percent said they worry about the problems that deer may cause. Slightly more than half of all respondents, 54 percent, said the deer population in their area is just right. Twenty-five percent identified themselves as hunters. Find the full report at www.responsivemanagement.com.

Western Pennsylvania Has Seen A Spike In Lyme Disease Cases In Both People And Dogs

By Rick Wills, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

In the six years he's worked as a veterinarian in Butler County, Dr. Hisham Ibrahim has

treated 63 dogs that tested positive for Lyme disease.

When Ibrahim practiced in the South Hills from 1999 to 2007, he encountered about two dogs each year with the disease.

“We have had very high numbers of Lyme disease in the past five years or so. It's a new development,” said Ibrahim.

Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks, can be treated with antibiotics and other medications to control joint pain and other symptoms such as fever, chills and body aches.

Humans are unlikely to get the disease from dogs unless they try to remove an engorged tick from the animal, Ibrahim said.

The spike of Lyme disease in dogs is mirrored in the number of people in Butler County who have contracted the disease.

In 2011, the last year for which figures are available, 93 Butler County residents were reported to have contracted the disease, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The county has about 185,000 residents.

In Allegheny County, which has 1.22 million residents, there were 58 cases of Lyme disease in 2011. Westmoreland County reported 12 cases that year.

Numbers from the state show a gradual increase since 2000 in many Western Pennsylvania counties. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2008 broadened the definition of Lyme disease, but numbers were on the rise even before then.

The range of the tick that carries Lyme disease is expanding, said Richard Ostfeld, an disease ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y.

“Western Pennsylvania and Western New York have seen a sharp increase in cases of Lyme disease,” he said.

The deer tick flourishes in forests, not in the heavily agricultural areas in the Midwest. In 2011, 96 percent of Lyme disease cases were reported from 13 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The disease was first identified in Lyme, Conn., in the early 1970s, when a mysterious series of rheumatoid arthritis cases occurred among children there.

The prevalence of the disease is linked to increasing populations of deer and mice, Ostfeld said.

It is also linked to the acorn crops from oak trees that are common in forests in the Northeast and Midwest, he said.

“This year, ticks might not be as bad. Acorns vary year to year quite a bit. Last fall was a total bust for acorns. They have crashed in numbers,” he said.

Long winter, recent cold may keep mating turkeys muted

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Hunters can yelp, cackle, kee-kee and cutt when spring gobbler season opens Saturday. But this year, simply talking turkey may not be enough.

Mating, nesting and hatching are expected to follow their usual seasonal schedules. But experts say the long winter and recent cold snap may muzzle much of the gobbling. With the birds keeping their mouths shut, aggressive calling may seem unnatural to wary toms.

"Unlike last year's warm early spring weather, which triggered an early start to gobbling, this year's cooler-than-normal March and early April have suppressed gobbling activity," said Pennsylvania Game Commission wild turkey biologist Mary Jo Casalena, in a spring gobbler forecast she generally described as "promising."

"Our research has shown that although weather affects gobbling, it does not affect the onset of egg laying by hen turkeys," Casalena said. "Rather, photoperiod, the amount of daylight, triggers it."

After the Dec. 22 winter solstice, days grow progressively longer. The increase in lighted hours in February and early March stimulates the pituitary gland of wild turkey hens, causing them to ovulate.

Breeding activity begins in early March, but fertilization isn't immediate. Hens gather and store active sperm from a variety of gobblers outside their ovaries. The oviduct containment lasts 56 days in domestic turkeys -- there's been no conclusive study of delayed fertilization among wild turkeys.

Casalena said spring gobbler season is intentionally scheduled to open around the peak of nest incubation to minimize hen disturbance and the number of mistaken kills.

Over a period of about two weeks, hens will lay a clutch of about a dozen eggs, leaving the nest immediately after each egg is laid. Egg mortality is high, and they don't immediately begin to incubate.

When the clutch is fully laid, the hen settles on the nest for some 20 hours per day, raising their temperature and prompting incubation. The eggs hatch together in 26 to 28 days.

"Nesting hens are less prone to come to a hunter's call and abandon their nests," Casalena said. "... The arrival of warmer temperatures will bring more gobbling activity, and just in time for the spring turkey season."

Bob Eriksen, a New Jersey-based biologist with the National Wild Turkey Federation, said hunters will have to adapt to a quieter hunt, at least early in the season.

"What you may see is some remnant of winter flocks that have not broken up efficiently yet," he said. "In some situations you might see two to four gobblers with a dozen hens or so. But that will be the exception, not the rule."

Wind and rain, as well as unseasonably warm or cold temperatures, typically impacts gobbling. A quieter mating season puts the jakes at a biological disadvantage. With less calling going on, the younger birds may have trouble finding hens, while veteran longbeards rely on experience to find willing females.

"Those older gobblers may not gobble, but they know were to find hens," Eriksen said. "If you notice in your pre-season scouting a gobbler displaying in an area, remember the spot. Even if you don't hear a gobbler in the morning [during a hunt], you may want to revisit that spot because the gobbler may return. If you have patience and stick it out, it may pay off."

The gobblers may not be gobbling, but the hens will be listening. During a quiet early season such as this, Eriksen said, a counter-strategy is to cackle aggressively in an attempt to annoy a dominant hen. When she approaches in a jealous rage, the tom may follow.

Casalena said most gobblers made it through the winter well, relying on ample mast everywhere except southwestern Pennsylvania.

With that in mind, this year's pre-season scouting may be more important than ever.

"Scouting improves hunters' chances, especially if they line up multiple locations for the spring season," she said. "Learning several gobblers' favorite strutting areas also is helpful for determining the best in-season set-up. This requires early-morning preseason scouting, but the potential in-season reward is worth it."

Leave the calls at home while scouting.

"It will educate birds and cause them to be less inclined to respond to the early-morning calls of in-season hunters," Casalena said.

Fish and Boat Commission Backs Off Boat Registration Proposal

By Bob Frye 

It looks as though Frank Berarducci and others like him are off the hook for now.

Berarducci is co-owner of Youghiogheny Canoe Outfitters in West Newton. From there, he and his brother-in-law, Orlando Lash, rent canoes and kayaks to boaters who float the river. They've got nearly 90 boats.

None of them are registered.

The rules say that's OK. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission regulations say only motorboats need be registered, at a cost of $26 to $52, depending on size, for two years.

There's been talk of changing that, though. Desperate for cash to meet looming budget shortfalls tied to health care and pension costs, the commission has been talking about requiring all boats — including the estimated 137,750 canoes, kayaks, rowboats and other nonpowered boats — to be registered.

Berarducci doesn't want that.

“That would put a heck of a damper on our profits. It's not something we'd like to see,” he said.

“That would be a lot of registrations for us, a lot of stickers, a lot of paperwork, a lot of numbers on boats. That's definitely something we'd be against.”

He's not been alone in expressing those kinds of opinions. Several Fish and Boat Commissioners, at their meeting this past week, said they've heard similar sentiments from boaters and lawmakers around the state.

That prompted several, such as Ed Mascharka of Erie County and Warren Elliott of Franklin, to say they oppose registering nonpowered boats. The result is that the registration idea has been put on hold, for now.

That doesn't mean commissioners hate the concept completely. Rather, several said the problem is how it's structured. Its impact on liveries like Berarducci's is an issue, said commissioner Rocco Ali of Apollo.

“I have heard nothing about the commercial guy who owns these kayaks and how that's going to impact him. That is a concern,” Ali said.

There's also the issue of rowboats and other small crafts on things like farm ponds, said commissioner Bob Bachman of Lancaster County. Many of those never get used off those tiny waters, he said.

Yet a rule requiring all nonpowered boats to be registered would include them, too.

“It seems like a great, big, broad sort of thing,” Bachman said.

Commission staff, in presenting the proposal, noted that all boaters, whether their crafts are registered or not, benefit from the commission's work in some ways. That includes the pollution monitoring behind clean water, enforcement of safety rules, fish regulations and more, they said.

“I think we have to get paid for the services we render,” said commissioner Bill Worobec of Lycoming County.

But how to do that needs to be better fleshed out, he said.

Ali agreed, saying the commission recently created a firestorm by announcing it was closing two trout hatcheries as a cost-cutting move without notifying lawmakers first. Many responded angrily enough that the commission backtracked and has agreed to keep both open while the search for the money needed to run them long-term goes on.

Unless the commission has taken the “political pulse” of lawmakers on this registration issue and is sure it won't likewise create a problem, it should be wary, Ali said.

“I would hate for us to get into the same sort of thing we got into before, where we upset a lot of people for nothing,” Ali said.

Not every commissioner agreed. Len Lichvar of Somerset County said the commission's fiscal concerns are such that it needs to make hard and perhaps unpopular decisions.

It's time for everyone to pay their way, he said, rather than relying on a few to pay for the services all enjoy.

“I don't think anyone deserves a free ride any more. And I think we have some free riders out there,” Lichvar said.

Given that the board itself is split, though, the commission largely has shelved the idea until there's more consensus, said executive director John Arway.

“This is now a low priority. It's not going to get a lot of staff time,” Arway said.

National Rifle Association is taking over the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show

By P.J. REILLY

The National Rifle Association next year will run a new show at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg to replace the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show.

Scheduled to run Feb. 1-9, which is about when the Eastern show traditionally was held, the Great American Outdoor Show will be bigger and better than its predecessor, according to the NRA.

"Next February ... the place to be if you're an outdoorsman or outdoorswoman, if you're a family that's interested in the outdoor sports, the place to be will be Harrisburg, Pennsylvania," said David Keene, president of the NRA. 

"This is going to become a national show with implications way beyond the borders of this state and this county, and it's going to attract people from all over the country — not just next year but for years to come."

Keene said the show will include country music concerts, national speakers and conferences, all to be held after show hours.

The desire to expand the show is what made the NRA rise above the 16 other promoters who applied to the state Department of Agriculture, which owns the Farm Show Complex, to take over the show, according to Jeff Haste, chairman of the Dauphin County commissioners.

"Going through the proposals, there clearly was one vendor that stood out from the rest," Haste said. "There was one producer who looked at the show as a reason to be here."

That applicant was the NRA, Haste said.

"Having been the host of this show for over 60 years, here in Dauphin County, it's become a tradition of ours," he said. "It has been something that has driven our economy."

When Reed Exhibitions, which owns the Eastern show, canceled this year's event, Haste said, it "was like a stock market crash — our own economy took a crash right there. It had over an $80 million economic impact to our citizens." 

Reed canceled the show after hundreds of vendors and celebrities boycotted the event, due to a rule imposed by Reed just three weeks prior to its scheduled start on Feb. 2.

Under that rule, Reed banned the sale and display of semiautomatic assault rifles and high-capacity magazines — both of which can be legally bought and sold in Pennsylvania.

Reed officials indicated such products might have created a distraction at the show, given the political turmoil in the wake of the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., by a man carrying a semiautomatic rifle.

One of the first exhibitors to pull out of the Eastern show and to denounce Reed's actions as an attack on the Second Amendment was Lancaster Archery Supply.

Owner Rob Kaufhold said Tuesday he was pleased to hear the NRA would be taking over the show, and he said Lancaster Archery will exhibit at the new event.

"The whole reason for the boycott was there was someone running the show that obviously was working against the interests and core beliefs of sportsmen — those of us that believe in the Second Amendment," he said.

"The NRA is very good at organizing sportsmen and gun people."

Keene promised "all legal firearms and products" will be allowed to be displayed and sold at the Great American Outdoor Show.

That was good news to Joe Keffer's ears.

Keffer owns The Sportsman's Shop in New Holland. He said he was directly affected by Reed's weapons ban.

The Sportsman's Shop had planned to sell semiautomatic rifles at the Eastern show.

"I'm looking forward to it," Keffer said of the NRA-led show. "At this moment in time, it would be our intent to pursue space at the show."

And if the show grows under the NRA, that's even better, he said.

"Anything you can do to make it bigger and better — I'm all for that," he said. "If they bring in more people, we can sell more stuff."

PA 2013-2014 Seasons And Bag Limits Adopted; Doe License Allocations Set

Includes adoption of new Wildlife Management Unit 2H

HARRISBURG – The Board of Pennsylvania Game Commissioners today adopted seasons, bag limits, and elk and antlerless deer license allocations for the 2013-14 license year, which begins July 1. The board also finalized the inclusion of Wildlife Management Unit 2H during its quarterly meeting.

An antlerless deer allocation of 839,000 was approved by the Board for the 2013-14 seasons. Allocations by WMU are as follows: WMU 1A, 49,000; WMU 1B, 31,000; WMU 2A, 49,000; WMU 2B, 62,000; WMU 2C, 43,000; WMU 2D, 61,000; WMU 2E, 22,000; WMU 2F, 29,000; WMU 2G, 28,000; WMU 2H, 6,000; WMU 3A, 23,000; WMU 3B, 39,000; WMU 3C, 35,000; WMU 3D, 32,000; WMU 4A, 28,000; WMU 4B, 24,000; WMU 4C, 27,000; WMU 4D, 35,000; WMU 4E, 26,000; WMU 5A, 19,000; WMU 5B; 50,000; WMU 5C, 103,000; and WMU 5D, 18,000.

The board also approved an elk license allocation of 86; 26 will be antlered elk tags. Allocations by Elk Hunt Zone (EHZ) are as follows: EHZ 2 – 3 antlered, 10 antlerless; EHZ 3 – 2 antlered, 6 antlerless; EHZ 4 – 3 antlered, 2 antlerless; EHZ 5 – 4 antlered, 11 antlerless; EHZ 6 – 3 antlered, 12 antlerless; EHZ 7 – closed; EHZ 8 – 1 antlered, 1 antlerless; EHZ 9 – 1 antlered, 4 antlerless; EHZ 10 – 3 antlered, 5 antlerless; EHZ 11 – 1 antlered, 1 antlerless; and EHZ 12 – 5 antlered, 8 antlerless.

Other highlights of the new slate of seasons and bag limits included subdividing WMU 2G into two WMUs, which are now recognized as WMUs 2G and 2H (they will be featured in the 2013-2014 Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest); allowing qualified adult mentors to transfer one Deer Management Assistance Program antlerless deer permit to a youth they are mentoring as part of the Mentored Youth Hunting Program; changes to fall turkey seasons in several Wildlife Management Units to accommodate ongoing research; a return of the statewide snowshoe hare hunting season with a shortened season in WMUs 3B, 3C and 3D; increased daily and season bag limits for beavers in certain WMUs; and the addition of WMUs 3A, 3D and 4E to the list of WMUs open for fisher trapping. Another change eliminates the extended regular firearms season in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, except in Special Regulations Area counties – Allegheny, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, which will retain the extended regular firearms season in these WMUs.

Hunters and trappers – particularly those setting vacations for this fall and winter – also are advised that several seasons will open or run about a week later in the 2013-14 license year to accommodate calendar swings – related to the timing of Thanksgiving – that occur about every seven years.

A listing of most 2013-2014 seasons and daily bag limits can be found by clicking here

Outdoor 3-D Archery Shoots Every Month At Bull Creek!

3-D Archery Shoots at Bull Creek will be held on the following dates:

SUNDAYS:

REGISTRATION   9:00am-2:00pm

APRIL 14

MAY 12 Mother's Day Shoot- mothers shoot Free!

JUNE 9

JULY 7

AUG 4

SEPT 1

MACKENZIE TARGETS, IBO RULES

FOOD AND BEVERAGES

COMPOUND - TRADITIONAL - CROSSBOW

REGISTRATION   9:00-2:00

ADULTS $8.00    YOUTH UNDER 16 $4.00

Pair of bald eagles in Hays may have hatched a baby

By John Hayes / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A prominent Pittsburgh couple may have something to celebrate.

The eagles of Hays have yet to announce an expansion of the family, but mom and dad appear to be tending to at least one eaglet. No sightings have occurred, but eagle watchers have noticed a change in the birds' behavior indicative of a hatched egg.

Since nesting in February on a steep hillside near the Glenwood Bridge and the Monongahela River, the bald eagles have caused a stir. The nest is clearly visible in the pre-foliage skyline. Eagle watchers gather almost daily on the Three Rivers Heritage Trail near the Keystone Iron and Metal scrap yard.

The male, which frequently rests on a nearby branch, has been hunting more often and bringing more food to the nest. In recent weeks, the female had been less visible, leading some to speculate she was incubating an egg. Over the weekend, she suddenly became more active inside the nest.

"Behavioral changes lead us to believe one or more eggs have hatched, but we're waiting for them to get larger to be sure," said Samara Trusso, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife management supervisor for the southwest region.

"You can't see the baby, but there's definitely at least one there," said Robin Weber of the National Aviary, who monitored the site Monday. "We observed the male returning to the nest with food and hopping in. The female was in, and even without binoculars we could see her tail end sticking out. We're assuming she was feeding an eaglet."

"Based on the behaviors we've seen, we should have visible confirmation in the next week, two at the most," Ms. Trusso said.

Henry Kacprzyk of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium said mid-April is the right time for bald eagle eggs to start hatching.

"Typically, two to three eggs would be normal. If one has hatched, the next would come in a few days," he said.

Following a hatching, a female eagle generally spends most of her time inside the nest, Mr. Kacprzyk said. The male hunts frequently, bringing food back to the female, who takes it into her craw and regurgitates into the offspring's mouth. Fledging, when the young birds leap off the edge of a nest and learn to fly, generally starts in June.

A sign describing the Game Commission's advice for eagle-watching etiquette has been posted near the bike trail. Ms. Weber said people so far have kept a respectful distance.

Mr. Kacprzyk said the most sensitive time for the birds, the mating period, has passed. But if offspring are in the nest, unintentional human behavior could still be disruptive.

"They've apparently gotten used to all the activity," he said. "But if an egg or eggs have hatched, the adults could be driven off often enough that they'd provide insufficient nourishment to the young."

Elsewhere in Allegheny County, eagles have left a nest on a cliff near the Hulton Bridge in Harmar. Ms. Trusso said the original inhabitants of that nest, a pair of red-tailed hawks, have reclaimed it.

Crowds marveled at the aerial display as the eagles and hawks battled for control of the nest.

"Without being able to get inside the mind of an eagle, they must have decided that it wasn't their preferred nesting site and wasn't worth the fight," Ms. Trusso said.