With the bitter cold weather we experienced in January, the popular toboggan slide at Eagles Mere has again been built. Our frigid temperatures during the month of January allowed the ice on the lake to be frozen enough for the toboggan slide. This is the first time in 11 years. The ...
During the Tuesday, Jan. 7 public meeting with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission on Tuesday, Jan. 7, the prevalence of blotchy bass syndrome within smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers was brought up. Blotchy bass syndrome is hyper-pigmented melanistic skin lesions, which was first documented in the 1980s in the Hudson River in New York, and was first seen in Pennsylvania in 1986. While it has been observed since 1986 in the Commonwealth, committee member Geoff Smith who gave the presentation regarding the syndrome noted that it was not something that came up ...
It was cold and the wind was blowing hard, but there I was with two friends scanning the whitecaps of Rose Valley Lake, hoping for a fallout of waterfowl and vagrant species. Winter birding in these kinds of conditions can be challenging, but also rewarding. We didn’t find many birds on ...
Through the years, I have often been asked what is your favorite season to be in the woods? I always respond the fall when I watch the leaves changing colors and also hear the occasional flushing of a grouse from a stand of aspen trees. Later I question my answer when I think of spring, with ...
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is recruiting the 27th class of Waterways Conservation Officer trainees. The State Civil Service Commission will begin accepting applications now through February 3, 2025. The class of trainees will undergo a comprehensive training program at various training sites in the Commonwealth, including the PFBC’s H.R. Stackhouse School of Fishery Conservation and Watercraft Safety in Bellefonte, Centre County. Trainees will study law enforcement principles and practices, fish and boat laws, watercraft safety, environmental ...
One of the common questions I get from non-hunters and anglers is why? Why do I spend hours, even days at a time, on the water or in the woods? Why do I spend so much money on gear, license, and travel? What is it about hunting and fishing that makes it worth it? People say they hunt or fish for plenty of reasons, but are they the real reason? Some claim they do it for meat, but when you think about it, it is more of a product, not the actual reason. Very few sportsmen truly need the meat to feed themselves or their families. Even if they are, the cost of equipment, licenses, and ...
