FLW Live Reel Chat with Brent Ehrler March 15 – FLW Outdoors

Chat directly with 2010 FLW Tour Table Rock winner March 15 on FLWOutdoors.com. Submit questions early!

08.Mar.2010

In an ongoing effort to make world-class anglers available to fishing fans everywhere, FLWOutdoors.com announces the 35th installment of FLW Live Reel Chat. On Monday, March 15, at 2 p.m. Central time (3 p.m. ET), visitors to FLWOutdoors.com will get a chance to correspond directly with National Guard pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif. – the 2010 FLW Tour Table Rock Lake winner – in a special live chat-room format.

With nearly $1.4 million in career earnings at FLW Outdoors events, Ehrler has recorded 21 top-10 finishes, including two FLW Tour titles (2006 Forrest Wood Cup, 2010 Table Rock), two FLW Series victories (2010 Lake Shasta, 2009 Lake Havasu) and an American Fishing Series crown (2004 championship).

Not even a quarter of the way through 2010, Ehrler has already staked out his territory as arguably the best bass pro fishing fishing in FLW events. With a tremendous amount of momentum on his side, Ehrler will try to keep his hot streak alive when the Tour visits Lake Norman in Charlotte, N.C., March 24-27.

How to participate in the FLW Live Reel Chat

Participation in FLW Live Reel Chat is simple. Beginning immediately, visitors to FLWOutdoors.com can log on and submit questions for the Brent Ehrler chat. However, if that is not feasible, readers can also wait until the start of the live chat on March 15 and submit questions while the chat is ongoing.

During the March 15 chat, fishing fans will be able to pose questions directly to Ehrler about his most recent FLW Tour win on Table Rock, his past championship wins, the challenges anglers face fishing for a living or anything else that comes to mind.

In addition, bass-fishing fans who missed out on any of the previous FLW Live Reel Chats can view the archived transcripts by clicking here.

FLWOutdoors.com will offer the FLW Live Reel Chat format continually, with regularly scheduled chats occurring after the conclusion of major FLW Outdoors tournaments. Also, additional chats will be added throughout each month as anglers or celebrities become available.

via FLW Live Reel Chat with Brent Ehrler March 15 – FLW Outdoors.

Officials hunt for way to keep herd healthy | Mansfield News Journal

By KRISTINA SMITH HORN

The spread of a deadly brain disease could threaten Ohio’s deer population and the revenue the state receives from hunters.

Chronic Wasting Disease, an illness among deer and elk that causes the brain to deteriorate, has been found in Midwestern states including Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. So far, Ohio has been successful in keeping the disease out of its deer herd.

“People come from all over the country to hunt our prized deer,” said Larry Mitchell, president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen. “Our big concern is CWD coming into the state.”

That’s why state Sen. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, and Rep. Mark Okey, D-Carrollton, have proposed bills to have businesses that keep commercial deer apply for a permit and be subject to fencing requirements and other control measures.

The concern is that deer in breeding facilities and preserves — where operators buy trophy-sized deer from around the country and people pay to hunt them — could become infected, get loose and infect the native deer population. Chronic Wasting Disease can spread through feces, urine and saliva and by animal-to-animal contact.

The bills also would give the Ohio Department of Agriculture sole authority to regulate commercial deer. That’s where the controversy comes in.

Who controls the deer?

In a memo last month, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources opposed the bills because the agency wants to retain oversight of the deer population.

ODNR has regulated hunting preserves — most of which are in central and southern Ohio — since 1953 and deer breeders since 1994, according to the memo. The Department of Agriculture has authority over health issues and already regulates sale of captive deer across state lines, said Jim Lehman, Division of Wildlife law enforcement administrator.

“We want to make sure that we maintain authority over those animals,” Lehman said. “(CWD) is not easy to fix once you’re dealing with it. It’s much easier to prevent it.”

The League of Ohio Sportsmen encourages hunters to call legislators to speak out against the bills.

“Without the Division of Wildlife’s authority, it could get out of hand,” Mitchell said. “If there was a problem with a herd inside a place, the Division of Wildlife would have no control over anything. The department of agriculture does not have the manpower to do this.”

ODNR and the agriculture department are working together to reach a balance on the issue, Lehman said. Gibbs said he and Okey want that balance. Gibbs feels the sportsmen’s opposition is misguided and premature.

“We’re both hunters, and we’re both sportsmen, and we want to protect the deer herd,” he said. “Unfortunately, the ODNR has the sportsmen all riled up. We can sit down and work this out.

“We’re not going to pass a bill that sportsmen aren’t going to be comfortable with.”

Gibbs said he proposed the bill because operators of hunting preserves in his district — including Holmes County, which has four preserves — asked for regulations. Okey did not return a message seeking comment.

“There’s no framework about what the regulations are now,” Gibbs said. “They want a structure in place. I’ve toured the farms, and they’re pretty impressive.

“If something happens, they want to make sure they work with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.”

Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Ottawa Hills, who represents Ottawa County and is co-sponsoring the Senate bill, said his understanding is the bill would help the state better regulate deer sold as livestock. ODNR would retain oversight of the native deer herd, he said.

“It’s a bill that makes sense and should be at least considered,” he said.

The agriculture department monitors domestic deer that are sold across state lines, said Robert Boggs, Ohio Department of Agriculture director.

The department oversees shipping, making sure shipments match the manifest, Boggs said.

“We just keep them honest,” he said. “You don’t get three strikes and you’re out. You’re out on the first strike.”

A captive deer must go through five years of inspections before being considered disease-free, he said. If farms don’t have that certification, they can’t market their animals.

His agency and ODNR work together, he said. The agriculture department tests for diseases among the animals, and ODNR uses its 137 wildlife officers to monitor deer across the state.

“They’re very important in enforcement in keeping us informed in other parts of the state,” Boggs said. “We have no problem with them, and they have no problem with us.”

Since July 2007, ODNR’s wildlife officers have conducted 395 inspections of deer-holding facilities. They documented 41 issues or problems and filed 16 charges, including conspiracy and interstate transportation of non-certified deer.

“The Division of Wildlife, with its significant numbers of well-trained law enforcement officers, is uniquely suited to dealing with laws and rules dealing with captive (deer),” according to the ODNR memo.

Gibbs, however, said wildlife officers’ visits to the preserves have been sporadic. He thinks more stringent oversight would be beneficial.

His and Okey’s bills propose to have breeders and operators of hunting preserves apply for a permit to keep commercial deer — which would come with a $300 fee. If approved, they would be subject to state regulations.

“If you don’t want to be involved with it, you stay the same,” he said. “This is voluntary.”

Regulations including criteria for fencing, records of all deer kept, sold and killed on the property and tissue samples of 10 percent of the operation’s deer, according to the bill.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture works with deer farmers more than ODNR does, Gibbs said.

“We do have interest in the bill, but only the disease portion,” Boggs said.

Boggs commended Okey for moving to take more precautions against Chronic Wasting Disease.

“It’s something we think will move us much further on in terms of the disease,” he said.

mkhorn@gannett.com

via Officials hunt for way to keep herd healthy | mansfieldnewsjournal.com | Mansfield News Journal.

Bagging an Osceola turkey is a big deal for sportsmen | ChipleyPaper.com

“As I see it”

FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto

Florida is known, near and far, as the “Fishing Capital of the World” and with good reason. But the Sunshine State also enjoys some pretty good hunting opportunities, with arguably the best gator and wild hog hunting around. And Florida is home to one game animal that has hunters from all over the world planning trips here for the chance at harvesting one of these fine birds.

I’m talking about the Osceola wild turkey, also known as the Florida turkey.

What really makes the Osceola special is that it lives on the Florida peninsula and nowhere else in the world. That fact alone makes the bird extremely popular with out-of-state hunters who might be trying to complete a Wild Turkey Grand Slam by harvesting each of the four subspecies that occur in the United States – those being the eastern, Rio Grande, Merriam and the Osceola.

When it comes to appearance, the Osceola looks very similar to the eastern subspecies, found in the Panhandle, portions of North Florida and the rest of the eastern United States and parts of Canada. The Osceola, however, tends to be a bit smaller and typically a darker shade with less white barring on the flight feathers of its wings.

The most noticeable difference is the white bars on the Osceola’s primary flight feathers; they’re narrower, with an irregular, broken pattern, and they don’t extend all the way to the feather shaft, as compared to the eastern.

When you observe a turkey in a relaxed posture, the whitish, triangular patch that is formed when its wings are folded across its back is less noticeable on the Osceola than it is on the eastern, because of the reduced white barring on the Osceola. Another visible difference is the feathers of an Osceola tend to show more iridescent green and red coloring, while the eastern’s feathers have more of a bronze coloring to them.

Now, it can be argued that the truer Osceola turkey is found in the southern portion of the state. But to help clarify for hunters where each subspecies resides, for record-keeping purposes, the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) recognize any wild turkey harvested within or south of the counties of Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval to be the Osceola subspecies. Eastern turkeys occur north and west of these counties into the Panhandle.

And regarding turkey hunting, I am very pleased to announce that in February at the FWC meeting in Apalachicola, Commissioners passed into law a new rule, establishing a special, two-day youth turkey hunt the weekend prior to the opening of spring turkey season in each hunting zone. I need to mention, though, that this youth spring turkey hunt weekend applies only to private property and does not come into play until the 2011 spring turkey season.

Only those under 16 years old are allowed to harvest a turkey while supervised by an adult, 18 years or older during the new youth season. However, any adult supervisor who has a hunting license and turkey permit will be allowed to “call in” a turkey and otherwise participate in the hunt, but only the youths will be permitted to harvest one.

So, this spring, you can expect to see some new hunters in our turkey woods, and I’d like to personally welcome them to our great state. After all, these visitors help stimulate our economy, plus, there’s plenty of Osceola longbeards to go around.

Good luck and happy hunting.

via Bagging an Osceola turkey is a big deal for sportsmen | osceol – Sports – ChipleyPaper.com.

Wolf supporters howling | CJOnline.com

By Marc Murrell

The reintroduction of wolves to western habitats has met with plenty of controversy. Landowners, sportsmen and conservation groups have been on one side or the other since the project began. And now the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is calling the bluff of pro-wolf groups like Defenders of Wildlife, Western Wildlife Conservancy and others for their manipulative use of data concerning the relationships between elk and wolves.

The rub lies in these groups’ use of RMEF statistics that supposedly show an increase in elk populations in the northern Rockies as a result of the wolf reintroduction program. Letters to the editor in western newspapers by these groups, coupled with Western Wildlife Conservancy Executive Director Kirk Robinson’s testimony before Utah lawmakers prompted the RMEF to take action and set the record straight.

“The theory that wolves haven’t had a significant adverse impact on some elk populations is not accurate. We’ve become all too familiar with these groups’ tactics of cherry-picking select pieces of information to support their own agenda, even when it is misleading,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “We will not allow that claim to go unchallenged.”

The RMEF gets its data from state wildlife agencies. Information shows that elk populations are expanding in the northern Rockies, but only in areas where wolves aren’t present.

And quite the opposite is true where elk share habitat with wolves such as the greater Yellowstone area. Since the reintroduction of gray wolves to the area in the mid-1990s, the northern Yellowstone elk herd has plummeted from 17,000 animals to just over 7,000 animals. Other localities in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are also documenting downward trends.

Additionally, some research shows that high wolf numbers in areas can cause elk to experience nutritional problems, lower body weights and declining birth rates.

“Every wildlife conservation agency, both state and federal, working at ground zero of wolf restoration —Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming — has abundant data to demonstrate how under-managed wolf populations can compromise local elk herds and local livestock production,” Allen said. “There’s just no dispute, and emotion-over-science is not the way to professionally manage wildlife.”

The RMEF continues to support state-regulated wolf management to include hunting and other viable methods. When populations of furbearers like wolves get too high without any control, disease becomes a problem as seen in packs of Yellowstone wolves.

“When wolves are too abundant, they’re more susceptible to diseases, just like all wildlife. The viruses and mange now spreading through wolf packs is another sign of way too many wolves,” said Allen. “Defenders of Wildlife would like to spin sick wolves as a reason to end hunting. But real conservationists know that diseased wildlife populations need better management. Hunting as a management tool delivers that, period.”

“Remember, pro-wolf groups make their living by prolonging this conflict,” he added. “There is no real incentive for them to admit that wolves are overly recovered. Fundraising is their major motive and they’ve built a goldmine by filing lawsuits and preaching that nature will find its own equilibrium between predators and prey if man would just leave it alone.

“That’s a myth. The truth is that people are the most important part of the equation. This isn’t the Wild West anymore. People live here — actually, quite a lot of us. So our land and resources must be managed. Wildlife must be managed. Radical spikes and dips in populations show that we should be doing it better. It’s not profitable for plaintiffs, but the rest of us would be better served if the conflict ended and conservation professionals were allowed to get on with their business of managing wildlife, including a well regulated hunting strategy.”

The RMEF first got involved in wolf litigation in 2009 and supported defendant agencies by filing legal briefs in federal court to help delist wolves and proceed with hunting — “facts conveniently ignored by groups who misuse our name, data and credibility to prolong the conflict,” Allen said.

“We stand for elk and other wildlife and what is happening right now is simply not good wildlife management,” he concluded.

via Wolf supporters howling | CJOnline.com.

Hunting: ‘Deer audit’ recommends Game Commission release population estimates – post-gazette.com

By Ben Moyer

If you hunt deer, you’ve heard the question — possibly asked it yourself: “How many deer are in Pennsylvania?”

Some kind of answer may be on the horizon. The long-awaited “deer audit,” released Feb. 16 to the state Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC), says the Pennsylvania Game Commission should make public the deer population estimates it uses to set antlerless license allocations.

Titled “The Deer Management Program of the Pennsylvania Game Commission: A Comprehensive Review and Evaluation,” the nonbinding review of the deer management plan was conducted by Wildlife Management Institute (WMI), a non-political organization based in Washington, D.C. WMI has conducted similar reviews of fish and wildlife programs in 40 states and four Canadian provinces. In view of hunter discontent with the Game Commission's current deer program, LBFC commissioned the audit to determine if the program was scientifically sound.

“The PGC should publish the estimates of population size and age and sex structure …,” the audit states. “WMI does not agree that population estimates need to be shielded from the public. Doing so, in WMI’s view, has weakened the trust placed in the PGC by the public and has affected the agency’s credibility.”

The Deer Management Program of the Pennsylvania Game Commission

How many of the state's 800,000 deer hunters have read the audit isn’t known, but many who have appear to agree.

“I don’t see why making the population estimates public is a problem,” said Randy Santucci, southwest director for the Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania. “Transparency in government is always positive. Yes, the trend analysis is there, but we don’t see any quantifiable data to support [the PGC's] qualitative approach. It’s all very abstract.”

In April 2008, Unified Sportsmen filed a lawsuit against the Game Commission alleging that the agency “improperly authorized the decimation of Pennsylvania’s deer herd.”

Jerry Feaser, Game Commission press secretary, admits that his agency has population estimates for each wildlife management unit, but maintains the estimates themselves are not the point.

“[The audit] is suggesting that we offer population estimates to the public. We will discuss that, but obviously it will reignite the controversy over a number, which, while satisfying that interest does nothing to further management,” Feaser said. “An exact number is irrelevant to the goal of this program, which is to balance hunting recreation with the impacts deer have on society and on their own habitat.”

Feaser said there’s a “pitfall” in focusing on numbers.

“We don’t have an estimated number of deer, we have a range,” he said. “[Exact numbers] draw attention away from the real issues. Tracking the trends is what’s important, and we do that.”

Despite WMI’s suggestion that PGC publish its population estimates, the audit commended the deer program in concept.

“All parties interested in deer management in Pennsylvania can be confident in the ability of the PGC to track deer population trends at the statewide and wildlife management unit scale through the SAK [sex-age-kill estimating model],” the audit states.  Click link below for full story!

via Hunting: ‘Deer audit’ recommends Game Commission release population estimates.

Kentucky Bass Forecast- Kentucky Game and Fish

Here’s a statewide look at how things are shaping up for bass enthusiasts throughout our state for the new season.

By Jeff Samsel

Dozens of streams that are large enough to float in canoes provide a wealth of opportunities to target mixed bags of black bass, which are normally dominated by smallmouths.

Kentucky, the black bass state. OK, maybe it doesn’t have quite the same ring as the Bluegrass State. Nevertheless, anyone who has spent much time bass fishing in Kentucky knows how fitting this nickname would be. Beyond boasting an enormous numbers of bass-supporting rivers and lakes, Kentucky offers outstanding variety to its black bass fishermen. Largemouths, smallmouths and spots (commonly called Kentucky bass) all inhabit various waterways, and fine bass-fishing waters range from small municipal lakes to the mighty Ohio River and vary in character from shallow and turbid to deep and clear.

Along with so many waterways comes an even greater need for proper management, and fisheries biologists with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) are working tirelessly to meet those needs. Black bass research biologist Chris Hickey heads statewide black bass management efforts; he works closely with district biologists, who monitor fisheries and carry out management plans for all species within their respective regions.  Click link below for full story!

via Kentucky Bass Forecast- Kentucky Game and Fish.

Looking on the bright side

By Steve Miller Outdoor columnist

I am still waiting on circulation to return to my fingertips after spending a few days on the lake last weekend in frigid temperatures. As I wait to regain feeling, I also wait for warm weather to arrive.

By this time of year outdoors enthusiasts usually have a couple of adventures under their belts. Whether it is a hike, fishing trip or late-season hunt, February usually opens small windows of mild weather to break the spell of winter. This year, most outdoor-minded people are cursing the groundhog who saw its shadow and waiting for the ice, snow and wind to subside.

There is some good to come from the lingering arctic weather. Granted, this is not much consolation to those chomping at the bit to get outside, but the cold weather will improve future outdoor prospects.

Anglers should be the biggest beneficiaries of this long winter. As long as the water temperatures hover just above freezing, the shad population in the lakes will decrease. Shad die in water below 40 degrees and Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley will benefit from a massive shad die-off.

The immediate advantage of a shad kill is that anglers will encounter larger fish. Gamefish are gorging themselves on these dying shad and their girth will show come spring. In cold water, shad becomes almost completely paralyzed as they near death, and become prime targets for predators. Incapable of escaping, a large shad becomes a quick and easy meal for a predators.

Fewer shad should also result in a better spawn. The fry of this year’s spawn will have less competition as they feed on the same plankton as shad species.

There is an overlap between young threadfin, gizzards and young gamefish for the same plankton in shallow water during the spring and summer. Less shad should mean better population and growth rates of gamefish in future years.

All outdoorsmen will benefit from the harsh winters effect on insect populations. While the cold weather will not completely wipe out annoying insects, it may make outings more enjoyable.

Turkey hunters should see a reduction in ticks this spring. Hikers and campers will not be devoured by mosquitoes during summer evenings and early season bowhunters should be more comfortable in their tree stands come September.

All this time I spend inside allows me to reflect on the good that may come from this long winter. We may not appreciate it now, but come spring and summer we can all reap the benefits of these cold days. Until then I will wait – for the feeling to return to my extremities, the arrival of warmer weather and the opportunity to take advantage of the harsh winter.

via The Murray State News – The Great Outdoors 2-19-10.

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – The Value Of A Hunting And Fishing License

FRANKFORT, Ky. – For less than a single round of golf, you can fish all year long. You can hunt squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and coyotes all season for less than the cost of a tank of gas. Fifty dollars buys you the opportunity to take two deer – hundreds of dollars worth of meat when compared to grocery store prices.

As the new license year approaches, Kentucky’s hunting, trapping and fishing opportunities remain one of the state’s best recreational values. Families are pinching pennies wherever they can find them, and licenses offer an incredible value not only for a year’s worth of fun on the lake or in the woods, but for plenty of chances to bring home dinner at a bargain price.

“A fishing license is a great deal for families looking for cost-effective recreation,” said Benjy Kinman, deputy commissioner and former director of fisheries for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “Kids under 16 fish free and parents pay less than the cost of a night at the movies to fish all year long, or they may simply purchase a one-day license. Fishing gets everyone outdoors, away from the TV. Fishing is an enjoyable escape and creates lifetime memories.”

Kentucky Fish and Wildlife stocks more than four million fish each year into the state’s lakes, rivers and streams. The department builds and maintains public fishing piers and bank fishing access areas, enforces fishing and boating laws to ensure public safety and protection of fishery resources, and runs an expanding Fishing in Neighborhoods Program (FINs) to provide urban area residents with a place to fish nearby. License dollars create so much opportunity that Kentucky is known beyond its borders as a fishing destination.

Money from license sales produces many of the same benefits on land. Deer and turkeys, whose numbers dwindled in the early twentieth century, now thrive in Kentucky. The state routinely ranks in the country’s top five for Boone and Crockett trophy deer taken. A healthy elk population now roams eastern Kentucky, along with a growing number of black bears. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife continues its concentrated habitat efforts to stabilize and rebuild small game numbers statewide.

“Through purchasing a license, you are contributing to the conservation and management of wildlife in Kentucky,” said Karen Waldrop, wildlife division director for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “License money pays for the restoration of species like deer and turkey, land acquisition, and the continued management of fish and wildlife habitat and populations.”

Education programs reach hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians each year through classroom conservation education, conservation camps, hunter safety courses, aquatic education and more. Since the department receives no tax dollars from Kentucky’s general fund, none of this would be possible without the support of license buyers.

Some of the most popular licenses include the annual fishing license, which is just $20; a resident combination hunting and fishing license for $30, which covers fishing, as well as hunting for small game and furbearer species; and a statewide deer permit, $30 for Kentucky residents, which in combination with an annual hunting license allows the holder to take two deer – one antlered and one antlerless, or two antlerless. Families will find a great value in licenses – a joint husband and wife fishing license is available for $36, and kids under 12 don’t have to buy most hunting licenses at all.

Sportsmen and sportswomen who fish and hunt for multiple species could find themselves paying up to $145 for the licenses and permits needed to take deer, turkeys, small game, ducks and geese, furbearers and all species of fish. This is why Kentucky Fish and Wildlife offers a Sportsman’s License. It’s a package deal that shaves $50 off the cost of buying those licenses and permits separately. The $95 Sportsman’s License, available only to Kentucky residents, includes a combination hunting and fishing license, a statewide deer permit, spring and fall turkey permits, a state waterfowl permit and a trout permit. It’s like having year-long movie tickets or a season pass to your favorite amusement park. The only extras hunters need are a federal duck stamp to hunt waterfowl, and an additional permit if they want to hunt at Peabody Wildlife Management Area or Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. A bear hunting permit, trapping license and an elk lottery application must also be purchased separately.

For complete licensing information, pick up a copy of the 2010-11 Kentucky Fishing and Boating Guide, or the 2010 Kentucky Hunting Guide for Spring Turkey & Squirrel, available online at fw.ky.gov and wherever licenses are sold.

Getting a good value for your money is more important than ever. Kentucky hunting, trapping and fishing licenses are still one of the best deals around. Fore more information, call Kentucky Fish and Wildlife toll-free at 1-800-858-1549, or go online to fw.ky.gov

via Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources – The Value Of A Hunting And Fishing License.

The Anahuac Progress- Hunting for sheds

By Larry Wilburn

Each spring, many collectors scour the brush and woodlots searching for the antlers that bucks drop off or shed. The shedding of the antlers is a natural occurrence that happens as the testosterone levels in the buck subsides and the chemical change causes the pedicle to soften and the antlers fall off. There is no set time when this occurs but its usually in early spring and does vary from area to area. The deer rarely sheds both antlers at the same time so its somewhat unusual to find a matching set. You can consider yourself lucky if you do find a matched set.

Just like collecting sets of antlers, shed collecting is rapidly catching on throughout the country. So much so that the North America Shed Hunters Club (NASHC) was founded in 1991 to record and recognize exceptional shed antlers that are found.

Found in 1996, the Texas state record single typical shed has 6 points and scores 84 2/8 points. The world record typical shed measures 104 6/8. The states top non-typical shed was found way back in 1899 and scores a whopping 144 3/8. If the other side matched it would be one of the highest scoring bucks of all time. The world’s largest non-typical shed scores 148. The most amazing find was the set of matched sheds found in Minnesota that scored an incredible 310 5/8 without any spread credit added in. Assuming the rack would have had a 20-inch spread the score would be 330 5/8. That would make that buck the highest scoring wild deer to ever walk the face of the earth.

*

The really big time shed hunters have turned to dogs to help find sheds. Labrador retrievers are especially popular as shed hunting dogs but most sporting breeds can be trained. After all, dogs like bones and that’s all that antlers are — an unusually shaped bone. Dogs are not the only creatures that like the bones. Mice and squirrels are particularly fond of the discarded antlers and will quickly eat the shed up to get the minerals that the antlers contain. In fact it’s unusual to find a shed in the woods that does not have chew marks.

I enjoy getting out and looking for sheds. It gives me an opportunity to scout for the next season. Finding sheds will let you know that bucks are using the area. The size of the sheds lets you know something about the quality of the bucks in the area. This is especially helpful if you are on a new lease that you are not familiar with. I have a few sheds in my antler collection but nothing like the hugh sheds I mentioned earlier. I have not scored any of my sheds but I do have one that has 11 points with 3 points that have been broken off.

The bucks have now started to shed their antlers around the state. Trail camera pictures that showed bucks with antlers last week show those same bucks with no antlers this week.

If shed hunting is something you might be interested in, the NASHC has a web sight, www.shedantlers.org. or you can contact the organization by e-mail at nashc@aol.com or by phone at 952-846-4754

via The Anahuac Progress.

The Outfitters’ Lament: Too Few Kids With Guns | By Mark Yost – WSJ.com

By MARK YOST

Harrisburg, Pa.

The Eastern Sports’ Outdoor Show is a sportsman’s paradise, but one where trouble is brewing.

There were lots of kids here with their families, walking the nearly 300,000 square feet of the State Farm Show Complex. They were checking out the newest fishing lures, gun blinds and camouflage clothing. But many of the outfitters who set up booths at the show and sell mountain-lion stalks in New Mexico, bear hunts in Maine and African safaris are worried that they’re in a dying business.

“Most kids wouldn’t know a deer from a dog,” said Jim Paine of Illinois Trophy Bowhunters, an outfitter in west central Illinois. “It’s sad.”

Indeed, many of the outfitters said that the majority of their clientele are 50-year-old men, a growing number of women, but very few kids. Most pinned the blame on one thing: video games.

“Why are they going to come out and freeze in a blind all day and maybe get one shot when they can sit in their living room and shoot all day long?” asked Brad Bowser, owner of a Linneus, Maine, guide service. Mr. Bowser’s daughter, Sienna, is 14 and hunts regularly, but she said that she’s an anomaly among her friends.

Video games are the easy villain, but the problem goes much deeper.

Since the 1920s, more people have lived in cities than on farms. There’s also the stigma of guns. In the 1950s, nearly every high school in New York City had a shooting team. Today, if you brought a gun to school you’d be expelled.

Then there’s economics. Many of these trips aren’t cheap and they’re often paid for with discretionary income. That means that when times are tough, often one of the first things to get cut from the budget is the annual hunting trip.

Robert Dunn of Dunn’s Sporthunting said one of his clients brought his three grown sons on an African safari. The cost was $79,000, with another $10,000 for airfare.

“These trips are not for the faint of wallet,” Mr. Dunn said.

Fishing is hurting, too. Tom DePersia, a boat captain from Marshfield, Mass., said that 20 years ago there were what he called “dock rats,” kids who hung out and begged to go out and work the charter boats. Many of them went on to become boat captains and deck hands as adults. Today, Mr. DePersia said, there are no more dock rats. “They’re all at home doing this crap,” he said, moving his thumbs and mimicking a video game controller.

He also blamed broken families. “A 10-year-old kid can go out and play baseball without his dad, but they can’t go hunting or fishing,” he said.

At his booth here, Mr. DePersia runs a continuous videotape of a 17-year-old kid hauling in a 1,000 pound tuna off Cape Cod, but the video is 20 years old. “We just don’t get kids like we used to,” he said.

The outdoor industry is aware of the problem and trying to fix it. Outfitters are offering father-son and father-daughter trips, but with little success. Of the hundreds of hunts he led last year in Maine, Mr. Bowser said, only a dozen or so included families with children. Mr. Dunn said he’s tried to get outfitters to offer half-price trips to kids accompanying a full-fare parent, but it’s been a tough sell.

Still, gun sports are trending younger in one way: It used to be that you had to be 13 or 14 to hunt, but some states have changed the law so that children as young as 5 can go out and hunt under adult supervision. Craig Cushman of Thompson/Center, a unit of Smith & Wesson, said the problem is the “kid bubble.” Thompson/Center sees kids hunting and shooting from age 6 to about 13, then loses them during their teenage and college years. A few come back in their 20s and 30s, but most never do.

Some are hoping that a proliferation of cable television shows featuring young, attractive female hunters will also appeal to a broader audience, especially girls. “The message is that it’s OK to have pigtails, wear makeup and shoot things,” said Kandi Kisky, who hosts “Whitetail Freaks” on the Outdoor Channel. Thompson/Center, trying to ride this trend, has a pink version of its Hot Shot, a single-shot .22 rifle designed for youngsters.

Ted Nugent, the rock guitarist and hunting advocate, thinks the problem is that even pro-hunting groups are too timid. “We need to be celebrating the utter joy and spirituality of hunting, not apologizing for it,” he said.

But the answer for many of these outfitters may not be hunting at all. Many here have started offering safaris that substitute cameras for guns.

“It very well may be the future of this business,” said Mr. Dunn.

Mr. Yost is a writer in Chicago.

via The Outfitters’ Lament: Too Few Kids With Guns | By Mark Yost – WSJ.com.

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