Into The Outdoors

Well, the long wait is finally winding down.  Before long, in fact, this Saturday,  the early small game season will be underway yet again.  For me, that means squirrel hunting, my absolute favorite kind of hunting.  Unfortunately, the first week of squirrel season coincides with the Early Muzzleloader Season for deer, in which I wish to participate.  Personally, I love squirrel hunting even more than deer hunting, but some of that first week will be dedicated to the frontloader.  Having said that, I must state that, even before the Game Commission ruined deer

With a lot of hunting action just around the corner, it’s probably a good time to take a little look at hunting safety.  We are, however, going to focus on something a bit different from that to which we are accustomed.  Of course, firearms handling safety, along with making sure of your target and backstop are of vital importance.  There are, though, some other considerations, which are sometimes overlooked, and they will be the focus of this week’s column.

Last week, my son, Ray, and I went on a salmon fishing trip to Lake Ontario.  Since I just finished a meal of salmon filet, I thought I would share with you one of my all time favorite recipes for the preparation of these magnificent gamefish. 

For openers this week, let’s take a little look at black bears.  When I was a kid, bears were never, and I mean never, seen anywhere near where I grew up.  This was the case in many parts of the state.  Nowadays, this is not the case.  Where a bear sighting would have once made the news, it’s now actually fairly commonplace to spot one of the bruins.  These facts have led to much unjustified fear, as well as much unwise bravado when it comes to dealing with the animals.  My friend, Dave Lewis, has spent considerable time and treasure learning all he

Well, here we are. Summer is, for the most part, shot. That doesn’t mean that we are out of luck as far as fishing is concerned.  My fellow outdoor writer, Darl Black, points out that there is still a lot of great fishing left in Lake Erie.  For openers this week, let’s look at our biggest body of water.  Here’s what Darl, one of the best anglers in Pennsylvania, has to say.  This is from his Northwest PA fishing report.  I thought readers might find it useful.

As the early small game season, and, especially, the Youth Squirrel Hunting Season, draw ever closer, a lot of youngsters out there are getting more and more excited about the prospect of their first season.  With what appears to be a declining interest in hunting on the part of kids, making the first season a good one is more important than ever before.  Not long ago, I was in a local sporting goods store as a man was trying out a gun for his young daughter.

For openers this week, I’d like to focus a bit on a type of fishing I’ve never tried.  That would be burbot fishing.  The burbot is the only freshwater member of the cod family, and is found in Pennsylvania mostly in Lake Erie and the farthest northern parts of the Allegheny river.  I stumbled upon some information about them recently, and my interest was piqued.  I’d like to share with you what I found out. 

This week, we are going to look at fall charter fishing on Lake Erie.  Since so many people think of charter fishing as a spring and summer activity, charter captains often have plenty of openings in the fall.  In actual fact, some of Lake Erie’s best fishing action can be found from now until the really cold weather sets in.  In Erie, PA, Port Clinton, OH and Marblehead, OH, all have walk-on perch fishing party boats.

It’s incredible how fast the summer is flying by.  It seems like just last week that the leaf buds were coming out.  Now, even August is on the wane.  Students and teachers are experiencing the gastric problems connected with the resumption of school.  While nice overall, this time of year is not without its depressing elements.  There are, of course, some good things, too.  One of these is catfishing.  I have always found catfish, and the pursuit of them, fascinating.  It’s hard to explain, but it goes all the way back to when I was a kid

Perhaps it’s my imagination, but there seems to be an extraordinarily large number of dead raccoons along the roads this summer.  The recent decline in hunting and trapping seems to have resulted in an overabundance of these critters.  When I see one, I can almost hear the bawl of a Bluetick or a Black and Tan hound, in the flickering beam of a carbide light on a crisp Autumn night.  Rather than the hunting aspect, however, I thought it might be interesting to take a little look at the raccoon itself.  With their Lone Ranger mask and ringed tail, they are one of th