Ohio Valley Outdoor Times 12-2014

OutdoorOhioIce Fishing 101Story inside page 08 December 2014

FREE!Ohio Valley

Late season muz-zleloader is my fa-vorite time of year.Something about thecold and snow getsme excited to go deerhunting. When I tellpeople that, theyshake their heads andtell me I’m crazy.After all, who reallywants to sit in a tree-stand in single-digit temperatures? Well,I do!Late season is a great time to deer hunt.

Many of the bucks are post rut. Nolonger are they chasing does all over thecountryside trying to breed. This time ofyear, they settle into a daily routine thatrevolves around two things – food andcover. And because bucks are now feed-ing frequently to restore all the nutrientstheir bodies lost during the rut, they be-come almost predictable in their patterns.I prepare for muzzleloader season in

much the same way that I prepare forarchery. All of my hunting clothes getwashed and doused with scent elimina-tor. All of my gear gets treated, too.My stand locations are usually in much

tighter areas, typically in funnels andpinch points between bedding and feed-ing areas. Bucks have been pressured all

season, which means they’re more likelyto move during the first and last couplehours of daylight. Despite that, though,I prefer to stay on stand all day long forthe simple fact that so many otherhunters head back to their vehicles atlunchtime. When hunters start movingaround they push deer, so lunchtime canbe a great opportunity to bust a buck.It can be hard to stay on stand all day,

though, especially if it’s really cold. Istill remember the 2010-11 Ohio muzzle-loader season. Daytime highs topped outat 15 degrees the first couple of days withwind chills below zero. They were long,grueling days, but I had lots of action.Deer were up and moving all day long,which helped keep me focused and pos-itive. At 3:30 p.m. on the second day, adecent buck trotted within range. It hadfour points on one side and a thick,blade-like spike on the other. If bothsides had been equal to the strong side, itwould’ve been a 120-class buck. As itwas, it was a “cull” buck of sorts and ahard-earned trophy. Field dressing andhauling it out of the woods was the onlytime during those two days that I felteven remotely warm, but the experiencewas worth it.Usually I have a pretty good tolerance

for the cold. I dress in layers and pack areally big lunch full of sandwiches, gra-nola bars, and other snacks. Basically, Ifeed all day long, and it’s amazing howsomething as simple as eating can keep

MAKING A DIFFERENCE - P.07

Late SeasonSmoke

Turn To Smoke Page 4Ohio Valley Outdoors–Photo by Ralph Scherder

The author with a nice Ohio muzzleloader buck,taken during the 2010-11 season on a very cold winter day.

By Ralph ScherderHunting Editor

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Times

OHIO VALLEY OUTDOOR TIMES2 December 2014

men`tor - noun (men,-tor, -ter): A person orfriend who guides a lessexperienced person bybuilding trust and mod-eling positive behaviors.An effective mentor un-derstands that his or herrole is to be dependable,engaged, authentic, andtuned into the needs ofthe mentee.

Bob Chambers was all of those things toCurt Grimm, although Grimm didn’t realizeit until recently. Chambers was always a fam-ily friend to Grimm’s family. Grimm, a retiredteacher, veteran hunter, outdoorsman and nowoutdoor writer, didn’t think of Chambers as amentor until he started penning an articleabout his long-time friend. Read his article onPage 7.

As a way to thank his friend Grimm wantedto write about how he initially got interestedin hunting and being outdoors. Of all of thethings he wrote about — including his love ofrunning marathons — focused toward oneperson. His path in life — how he did his job,his hobbies, and love for the outdoors — wasfostered from his relationship with BobChambers.

“I then realized that Bob really was a men-tor to me,” said Grimm recently.

His thoughts about Chambers haveweighed heavily on Grimm and his family re-cently. Chambers died just a few days afterGrimm wrote the short essay about his friend.Grimm was pleased he was able to let Cham-bers hear of his reverence for the old man. Heread the article to Chambers for his approval.Grimm even took his beloved dogs with himto visit Chambers — for what would be thelast time. “He loved my dogs. Bolt (Grimm’sYorkshire terrier) sat on his lap while I readthe article to him,” said Grimm.

“He really liked the article,” added Grimm.Chambers’ family liked the article too.

After his death, during a memorial service for

Grimm’s friend, the article was read aloudduring the service, per the family’s request.“They asked me to read it. I couldn’t, it wastoo emotional for me, so my brother Garyread it. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place,”said Grimm.

Chambers’ wish was to be cremated afterhis death and have his ashes spread in thePennsylvania mountains, near where his hunt-ing camp was — and shared by many of hisfriends and hunting companions, includingGrimm’s family.

Grimm’s article about Chambers offers thisadvice to readers: “If you have a person likeBob in your life, take time to thank them forbeing a part of your life. I did, and I’m sothankful.”

APerfect ‘Badger Dog’ for the JobFor the love of falconry and photography, I

again chased/followed Mick Brown’s littledogs around a tree farm recently (see story onPage 10). These little wiener dogs (actuallyminiature dachshunds) are so tough. They areperfect for the job as they are used for in fal-conry. Their German name means: badgerdog. That fits.

I know, they’re hunting dogs and that’swhat they’re bred for, but these short-leggedcanines can go on forever, lookingfor/smelling for rabbits and rummagingthrough, digging in piles of brush and heavygrass. They’re bred to go into rabbit holes.I’ve seen that. And I’ve seen them dive intobrush so thick they had to be pulled to safety.

And an additional trait that the long-haireddachshund variety possesses helps in huntingfor rabbits in the winter. The long hair, allowsthe dogs to push on with snow and ice ballshanging from their fur, and allows the dogs toshed off briars and thorns found in openfields. It’s a perfect model to kick up bunniesthat are used in falconry. They’re just part ofa perfect team of hunters.

A good ‘badger dog’ offers a better dayafield for everyone.

Thanking aMentor

3 Ohio Deer GunSeason Opens

ODNR

5 Central PA Fall TroutJeff Knapp

7 Making A DifferenceCurt Grimm

8 Ohio Ice Fishing 101Scott Albrecht

11 Casto Named WVOfficer of Year

WVDNR

12 Bow Length: Does itMatter?

Brian Miller

14 Winter WildlifeManagement

Austin Delano

18 PA Elk Harvest Totals88; 25 are Bulls

PAGC

INSIDE THIS MONTH

10 Rabbits Elude Hawks Again

Indoor Pistol Shooting - Dec. 19, 26 (every Fri. until Apr. 25) 7-10 p.m. at Columbiana CountyFish & GameAssociation, 45716 Middle Beaver Rd, Lisbon, OH. Also Indoor .22/Air Rifle Shoot-ing every Tues. 6-9 p.m. All open to public. Website: www.columbianacountyfishand game.comTrap Shooting/Winter Jackpot - Dec. 14, 28, Jan. 11, 25, Feb. 8, 22. Weds. 6-9 p.m., Sun. 11-4.Columbiana County Fish & Game Association, 45716 Middle Beaver Rd, Lisbon, OH. Open topublic. Website: www.columbianacountyfishandgame.com.Old Fashion Style Turkey Shoot - Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28 each Sunday thru March at Beaver CreekSportsman Club, Washingtonville, OH. Field stock guns, .680 choke max., no scopes. For info.contact Tom Brunner 330-692-6577 or email:[email protected] Show by Mahoning Valley Gun Collectors - Dec. 27-28 *Note this is a new date. (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) at Lowellville Rod and Gun Club. Admission $4, vendor tables $25.For info. callBill at 330-506-9194.

By Larry ClaypoolEditor

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OUTDOOR CALENDAR

Publisher/Editor, Larry [email protected]

Graphics Designer, Linda [email protected] Consultant, Tracy Bissell

[email protected]@ohiovalleyoutdoors.com

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OutdoorOhio Valley

TimesDecember 2014 VOL. 6, NO. 12

Contributing EditorsRalph Scherder, Hunting Editor

Jeff Knapp, Fishing EditorBrian Miller, Field Editor

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS

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Send us something [email protected]

OHIO VALLEY OUTDOOR TIMES 3December 2014

COLUMBUS, OH — Hunterschecked 17,512 white-tailed deer on De-cember 1, the opening day of Ohio’sdeer-gun hunting season, according tothe Ohio Department of Natural Re-sources (ODNR).New for the 2014 deer hunting season,

rifles using specified straight-walled car-tridges can be used. Gun hunters tookadvantage of the new opportunity onMonday, checking in 1,805 deer withstraight-walled cartridge rifles.Counties reporting the highest num-

bers of deer checked in on Monday in-clude: Coshocton (793), Tuscarawas(667), Muskingum (652), Ashtabula(586), Knox (573), Guernsey (512),Licking (501), Holmes (477), Harrison(455) and Carroll (451). Last yearhunters checked 22,619 deer on the firstday of deer-gun season.Ohio’s deer-gun season remained

open through Dec. 7. Find more infor-mation about deer hunting in the Ohio2014-2015 Hunting and Trapping Regu-lations or at wildohio.gov. An updateddeer harvest report is posted online eachWednesday.

Hunting is the best and most effectivemanagement tool for maintaining Ohio’shealthy deer population. During the2013-2014 hunting season, Ohio hunterschecked 191,459 deer. Ohio ranks fifthnationally in resident hunters and 11thin the number of jobs associated withhunting-related industries. Hunting hasa more than $853 million economic im-pact in Ohio through the sale of equip-ment, fuel, food, lodging and more,according to the National ShootingSports Foundation’s Hunting in Amer-ica: An Economic Force for Conserva-tion publication.The ODNR Division of Wildlife re-

mains committed to properly managingOhio’s deer populations through a com-bination of regulatory and programmaticchanges. The goal of Ohio’s Deer Man-agement Program is to provide a deerpopulation that maximizes recreationalopportunities, while minimizing con-flicts with landowners and motorists.This ensures that Ohio’s deer herd ismaintained at a level that is both accept-able to most, and biologically sound.Until recently, the populations in

nearly all of Ohio’s counties were abovetheir target numbers. In the last fewyears, through increased harvests, dra-matic strides have been made in manycounties to bring those populationscloser toward their goal. Once a county’sdeer population is near goal, harvest reg-ulations are adjusted to maintain thepopulation.ODNR ensures a balance between

wise use and protection of our naturalresources for the benefit of all. Visit theODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.A list of all white-tailed deer checked

by hunters during opening day of the2014 deer-gun hunting season is shownbelow. The first number following thecounty’s name shows the harvest num-bers for 2014, and the 2013 numbers arein parentheses. Adams: 219 (375);Allen: 98 (77); Ashland: 353 (318);Ashtabula: 586 (880); Athens: 305(529); Auglaize: 77 (99); Belmont: 329(530); Brown: 183 (262); Butler: 38(92); Carroll: 451 (698); Champaign:103 (137); Clark: 39 (56); Clermont:131 (160); Clinton: 51 (68);Columbiana: 372 (584); Coshocton: 793(940); Crawford: 161 (140); Cuyahoga:4 (2); Darke: 53 (44); Defiance: 280(269); Delaware: 119 (100); Erie: 45(43); Fairfield: 186 (228); Fayette: 25

(24); Franklin: 19 (25); Fulton: 125(127); Gallia: 282 (382); Geauga: 124(153); Greene: 57 (66); Guernsey: 512

Ohio’s Deer-Gun Season Openswith 17K Deer Harvested

Ohio Valley Outdoors–Brandon Easter with a 4-pt buck, taken

in Columbiana County, OH. Hechecked in the deer at Runzo’s Sports

Center in Beloit, OH.

Turn To Deer-Gun Page 4

you warm – which is why deer are con-stantly feeding this time of year, too.During late season muzzleloader, food

sources become king. Any mast, such asacorns, still in the woods will drawwhitetails like crazy, as will food plots.Also, this time of year baiting can be ex-tremely effective. Very few deer, includ-ing bucks, can pass up the opportunity ofan easy meal at the feeder. However, baitstations aren’t the end-all solution to har-vesting a nice buck. It’s how you set upand use the bait station that makes it ef-fective.Many hunters, when using bait, will

set up practically on top of the corn pile.There’s nothing wrong with this, espe-cially if they’re just looking to harvest adoe and put some meat in the freezer.Most mature bucks, though, instinctivelyavoid the feeder until after dark or in thewaning minutes of daylight after legalshooting hours. Same goes with buckscoming out into food plots. They’ll typ-ically only venture out into the wideopen under the safety of darkness.Hunting over bait or food plots can be

a lot trickier than most people realize.I’ve hunted all types of situations – baitstations, food plots, and many times with

neither during muzzleloader season –and I think the hardest way to kill a bigbuck is over a corn pile simply becausethey’re extremely cautious about comingto it. They approach slowly and con-stantly check the wind for danger. That’swhy it’s so important to take all the stepsto be as scent-free as possible.Rather than hunt within close range of

the bait, though, I prefer to back off ashort distance, perhaps even a couplehundred yards. Many times bucks willsatellite around the bait station, checkingthe wind. A typical stand I set up is in atravelway or funnel about a hundredyards downwind from the corn pile andin an ideal location to intercept thesesatellite bucks.I view putting out corn differently than

most hunters. I view it as establishing afood source that draws deer the sameway that a food plot or stand of oaksdraws deer, and I hunt it the same way.Deciding what gear to take on a late

season muzzleloader hunt is pretty easy.I pack the same things I normally takewhen archery hunting, including mygrunt call.Although we are now entering the

post-rut phase, bucks will still respond togrunts. It’s possible, too, that a few deercould be in a second rut phase. Basi-

cally, the second rut occurs approxi-mately 30 days after the first rut, whenmany of the does and yearlings that weretoo small to be bred in November havenow gained enough weight and maturityto breed. How strong the second rut isdepends on the intensity of the first rut,but typically the second rut is just a ghostof the first.Some years, the November rut occurs

later than usual and is a little more spo-radic and spread out over a longer periodof time. From my observations duringarchery season, this year seemed to fallinto that category. I witnessed a buckbreeding a doe the day after Thanksgiv-ing and saw a couple other small bucksactually chasing does around that sametime. In the past, during years similar tothis, I’ve even seen bucks with rut-swollen necks after Christmas. It doesn’thappen often, but it does occasionallyhappen.So here we are. The snow is falling

and so is the temperature. The deer aremoving and there are still plenty of nicebucks out there if you have yet to harvestone. This is a great time of year to hunt.It’s winter. It’s muzzleloader season.Keep warm and good luck!


Smoke From Page 1(742); Hamilton: 29 (42); Hancock: 127(89); Hardin: 141 (142); Harrison: 455(738); Henry: 98 (112); Highland: 230(294); Hocking: 284 (382); Holmes: 477(521); Huron: 296 (338); Jackson: 222(325); Jefferson: 303 (448); Knox: 573(645); Lake: 35 (30); Lawrence: 142(276); Licking: 501 (572); Logan: 183(186); Lorain: 174 (157); Lucas: 17 (27);Madison: 28 (26); Mahoning: 157 (227);Marion: 83 (76); Medina: 139 (146);Meigs: 251 (435); Mercer: 57 (72);Miami: 66 (53); Monroe: 203 (364);Montgomery: 24 (34); Morgan: 272(387); Morrow: 184 (176); Muskingum:652 (831); Noble: 234 (402); Ottawa: 17(25); Paulding: 151 (158); Perry: 326(419); Pickaway: 78 (102); Pike: 140(198); Portage: 104 (150); Preble: 46(73); Putnam: 85 (72); Richland: 337(314); Ross: 227 (307); Sandusky: 61(60); Scioto: 113 (264); Seneca: 205(199); Shelby: 98 (111); Stark: 183 (243);Summit: 18 (23); Trumbull: 331 (482);Tuscarawas: 667 (853); Union: 77 (82);Van Wert: 69 (42); Vinton: 248 (397);Warren: 66 (78); Washington: 350 (497);Wayne: 170 (190); Williams: 286 (340);Wood: 95 (59); Wyandot: 207 (178).Total: 17,512 (22,619).

Deer-Gun From Page 3

NONRESIDENT HUNTERSQ. Is the buck season a hunter’s choiceseason?No. Hunters must possess a valid ClassNN stamp to hunt antlerless deer. The2014 antlerless deer season will be opento nonresidents on Oct. 23-25, 2014 (pri-vate land only) and on private and publicland during Nov. 24 - Dec. 6, Dec. 18-20and Dec. 29-31, 2014, in 50 counties orparts thereof. This is not a hunter’schoice season in the counties where theantlerless deer season is open at the sametime as the buck firearms season. Huntersmay take two deer per day; however,only one antlered deer may be taken onany given day.Q. I’m a nonresident and I am coming toWV to hunt deer. Does my 14 year oldson need a license?Yes. All nonresidents (except those whohave a WV lifetime license), regardlessof age, are required to possess a nonresi-dent license. Both resident and nonresi-dent hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1975,must show proof of completing a certi-fied hunter education course prior to pur-chasing a base license. Nonresident

hunters between the ages of 8 and 17may purchase a nonresident juniorsportsman license (XXJ) for $16 alongwith a CS/LE stamp for $13 to take onebuck gun, one archery and one muzzle-loader deer (during the traditional sea-sons). Additional licenses are required tohunt antlerless deer and to take additionalarchery and firearm deer.Q. I live in Ohio and I own property inMarion County. Can I hunt without a li-cense on my own property?No.Nonresidents, even though they ownand pay taxes on property in WV, cannothunt on the property they own in WVwithout first obtaining a nonresident li-cense.Q. I am a nonresident and possess ClassE, CS/LE stamps. Am I required to pur-chase a Class UU stamp if I substitute mybow for a gun during a regular gun sea-son?No, except that a bow may not be substi-tuted for a gun during the muzzleloaderseason.Q. I purchased a Class X license in Jan-

West Virginia Facts & Questions2014-15 Hunting and Trapping Regulations

Turn To WV Q&A Page 5

uary and moved to PA in June. Can I stillhunt as a WV resident in November?Yes.Aresident, who purchased a licenseduring the year and holds a valid residentlicense when he moves out of the state,may continue to use the resident licensefor the rest of the calendar year. Onlysenior citizens over 65, Class Q and vet-erans surrender their hunting privilegeswhen leaving the state.Q. I am a nonresident and only want tohunt bear, what licenses do I need?Nonresidents who plan to hunt only bearmust purchase a nonresident bear hunt-ing license Class EE ($162), a BearDamage Stamp DS ($10), and a Conser-vation/Law Enforcement Stamp ($13),unless they hold a Class DT license. AClass I ($2) stamp is needed for huntingon a National Forest. To hunt otherspecies, a nonresident must have a ClassE ($119) license and appropriate stamps.Q. I am a handicapped nonresidenthunter. Can I participate in the specialClass Q hunts for deer in WV?Yes, provided you qualify for and obtaina Class Q hunting permit from the stateof WV and purchase the appropriate li-censes (i.e., Class E and Class CS/LE).

RESIDENT LANDOWNERQ. How many deer can I kill on my own

property?A resident landowner on his own prop-erty can kill the same number of deer asa licensed hunter and no more. A hunter(licensee or landowner) cannot exceedthe number of deer allowed in the re-spective season.Q. I bought a Class X Hunting and Fish-ing license and own property in BrookeCounty. Can I kill my first deer as a li-censed hunter and then kill my addi-tional deer as a landowner?Yes. However, the additional deer mustbe killed on your own land.Q. I bought a Class X Hunting and Fish-ing license and own property in BrookeCounty. Can I kill my first buck duringthe buck-firearms season as a landownerand then kill an additional deer on aClass X license on my buddy’s property?Yes. The hunter may kill his first deer asa landowner (fulfilling his RG privilege)and his additional deer on his Class X li-cense.Q. I am a West Virginia resident; can Ihunt without a license on my residentparents’ property?Yes. WV resident children may hunt ontheir resident parents’ property without alicense. Resident parents may hunt ontheir resident children’s property withouta license.

The drive up StateRoute 2004 – betterknown as FishingCreek Road – waslike entering a cathe-dral. A few mo-ments earlier we’dbeen surrounded bythe broad fertile val-leys common toCentre and southernClinton counties.Then, with the early morning sun illumi-nating the remaining foliage, we were ina narrow, wooded corridor, one drainedby an absolutely gorgeous section oftrout stream.It was a multi-day trip I’d promised

myself for some time, one to centralPennsylvania and the wild brown troutthat prosper in the region’s many lime-stone spring creeks. While I visit thesestreams during the spring and summer,come fall, like many outdoors folks, Iparticipated in other forms of huntingand fishing. Not this year!My friend Mark Transue joined me on

the trip. Mark’s a skilled fly fisher, one

who has fished these streams fordecades. But like me, he’d never triedthem during late fall.“It will probably be tough,” he pre-

dicted prior to our outing. “The streamswill be low and clear. Unless there’ssome kind of hatch coming off, the ac-tion will probably be slow.”These creeks, which include Clinton

County’s Fishing Creek (commonlycalled Big Fishing Creek) and CentreCounty’s Spring Creek, harbor excellentwild brown trout populations. So anylack of sport wouldn’t be due to a short-age of fish. But these streams are alsoloaded with natural food. In addition toan assortment of mayflies and caddisflies, they also host a variety of crus-tacean — scuds and sowbugs mostly.They can afford to be selective.Another issue is that fertile spring

creeks commonly contain an abundanceof vegetation — beds of watercress andweed-coated rocks. Fishing subsurfaceflies means dealing with regular coat-ings of slimy and clingy green growth.Dry flies are an obvious solution; youhope there’s enough bug activity to have

the trout looking up.Mark’s prediction was correct. We

worked hard for fish, but managed to geta few to hand. And those we did cameon dry flies, size 18 and 20 blue-wingedolives and equally small Griffith’s Gnatsthat mimicked, at least closely enough,the tiny natural insects the finicky troutwere rising to. We had to drop down to7X tippets as well.During our trip we fished both Spring

Creek and Big Fishing Creek. Both wa-ters are under special regulations.Much of Spring Creek (16.5 miles) ismanaged with Catch and Release, AllTackle Regulations. Fishing is permit-ted year-round, with all legal forms oftackle (flies, lures, live bait), but all troutmust be released. Spring Creek also hasa Fly Fishing Only project, located nearthe Bellefonte Fish Hatchery. It too isopen year-round, on a catch-and-releasebasis, with only traditional fly fishinggear being permitted. No wading is al-lowed in a portion of this project, onecommon known as Fisherman’s Para-dise. A small section of Spring Creeknear the town of Bellefonte – the Exhi-bition Area – is closed to fishing.The portions of Big Fishing Creek we

visited also come under special regula-tions. Two stretches are managed as


Central Pennsylvania Fall Trout

Turn To Trout Page 6

Ohio Valley Outdoors– Photo by Jeff KnappMark Transue displays a nice wild

brown trout taken fromClinton County’s Big Fishing Creek.

By Jeff KnappFishing Editor

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WV Q&A From Page 4


Which is safer, clear ice or cloudy ice?This is actually a trick question- NO

ICE IS SAFE ICE! Regardless of howthe ice looks, always proceed with cau-tion since there are always thin spots onlakes and ponds. But, as far as which iceis better, clear ice is better than cloudyice. It is very intimidating if you step outonto a lake or pond and can see clearlyto the bottom. But with the way iceforms, the clearer it is, the less impuritiesand irregularities is has. So, inch forinch, clear ice is stronger since it’s purer.There is no one on the lake and I hearweird noises. Is that the sound of theice cracking?Probably not. The ice on a lake is in a

difficult position: cold air above, warmwater below, and only so much room toexpand. So when ice forms, it will actu-ally “sing.” This is the result of the icepressing against itself as it expands. It ishard to describe, but with experience,you can distinguish between the muffledmusic of forming ice vs. the dangeroussound of ice cracking.

True or False- Speaking of water tem-peratures, the warmest water will benear the top since the sun can stillwarm the water.False! Believe it or not, water can

have different density depending on thetemperature. Water is MOST densewhen it is at 4°C (39°F). Instead ofwarm water at the top and cool water atthe bottom in summer, the warmestwater in the winter will be at the bottomwhile the coolest water will be at the top.This cool water will eventually freezefirst and become the first layer of ice. Sowhen you start your day ice fishing, tryputting your lures near the bottom firstsince that is where it is the warmest.True or False- Why go ice fishing?The fish are “turned off,” so theywon’t bite.False! Just like everything else, fish

need to eat to survive. Now granted, theydo eat less when the waters get coldsince their activity level decreases. Butthey do need to eat enough to maintaintheir body condition, and make it to thespring when they will reproduce. They

aren’t going to eat much, and what theywill eat will basically be a snack. Soscale down the bait size, present it a bitslower, be patient, and that Fish Ohio-sized crappie might be on your line be-fore you know it!True or False- During the winter,aquatic vegetation dies off, and thelake bottoms are flat with no featuresor cover for fish.False! Aquatic vegetation can last

throughout the winter as long as sunlightcan penetrate the ice. If you ever reel upsome vegetation in the winter, and it isgreen, it is probably alive. However, ifthe ice is cloudy or there is an excessamount of snow on the ice, this cancause the vegetation to die off. If the die-off is severeenough, a“winter kill”of fish canhappen sincedecomposingvege t a t i onreduces oxy-gen in thewater thatfish need tosurvive.

Ice Fishing: Frequently Asked Questions

COLUMBUS, OH — Hunters har-vested 1,238 wild turkeys during Ohio’s2014 fall wild turkey season, accordingto the Ohio Department of Natural Re-sources’ (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.Ohio’s 2014 fall wild turkey hunting sea-son was open in specific counties Oct.13-Nov. 30.This year’s total is a 19 percent in-

crease from 2013, when hunters har-vested 1,037 wild turkeys.The top 10 counties for fall wild

turkey harvest were: Ashtabula (54),Coshocton and Guernsey (45 each),Geauga and Jefferson (36 each), Holmesand Knox (35 each), Tuscarawas (34),Trumbull (32) and Williams (31).Hunters could pursue a wild turkey of

either sex in 56 counties.A list of all wild turkeys checked dur-

ing the 2014 fall hunting season isshown below. The first number follow-ing the county’s name shows the harvestnumbers for 2014, and the 2013 numbersare in parentheses.Adams: 23 (23);Ash-land: 14 (18); Ashtabula: 54 (41);Athens: 21 (12); Belmont: 23 (14);Brown: 16 (22); Butler: 11 (10); Carroll:24 (18); Clermont: 29 (33); Columbiana:29 (52); Coshocton: 45 (31); Cuyahoga:

8 (1); Defiance: 20 (19); Delaware: 17(6); Fairfield: 8 (8); Franklin: 3 (2); Gal-lia: 30 (16); Geauga: 36 (24); Guernsey:45 (28); Hamilton: 7 (18); Harrison: 22(33); Highland: 27 (24); Hocking: 18(13); Holmes: 35 (29); Huron: 7 (11);Jackson: 25 (15); Jefferson: 36 (21);Knox: 35 (44); Lake: 15 (7); Lawrence:23 (14); Licking: 30 (22); Lorain: 18(20); Mahoning: 27 (21); Medina: 7(13); Meigs: 23 (14); Monroe: 15 (19);Morgan: 19 (9); Morrow: 12 (9); Musk-ingum: 26 (14); Noble: 26 (20); Perry:26 (12); Pike: 17 (18); Portage: 19 (20);Richland: 21 (25); Ross: 22 (21); Scioto:20 (8); Seneca: 12 (7); Stark: 21 (23);Summit: 17 (11); Trumbull: 32 (28);Tuscarawas: 34 (28); Vinton: 21 (6);Warren: 9 (12); Washington: 14 (17);Wayne: 12 (9); Williams: 31 (24). Total:1,238 (1,037).

Ohio Fall Turkey Harvest Tops 1,200

Have a question forthe OVO Pro Staff?

Please submit questions on a variety oftopics to members of the Pro Staff via

email at:[email protected].

Trophy Trout Projects. Waters under thisdesignation can be fished all year with ar-tificial lures and flies. From opening dayof trout season until Labor Day two trout,minimum 14 inches in length, can becreeled. The remainder of the year alltrout must be released. Another nearbytwo-mile section is managed as Catchand Release. Both flies and artificiallures are allowed, but all trout must be re-leased year-round.Since I visited both Spring Creek and

Big Fishing Creek during the same trip,care was taken in regard to wading gear;more specifically, different waders andwading shoes were used in each stream.New Zealand mud snails have been dis-covered in Spring Creek, and can betransferred from one water to another viaboots. Complete drying of wading gearis one way of preventing the spread of in-vasives. Since that’s not practical on atrip such as this, waders/boots designated“Spring Creek only” were used.More information on preventing the

spread of invasive species can be ob-tained by visiting the Fish and Boat Com-mission

Trout From Page 1

Sometimes whenyou take time to re-flect back on lifeyou recognizesomeone who hasbeen a major influ-ence in your life.Often the mainfocus centers onsomething thatmade days an enjoy-able experience. Itmay revolve around a hobby or sportyou’ve enjoy during your lifetime. Forexample, golf, football, or some othermajor sport; but in my case it was cen-tered on enjoying the great outdoors andappreciating the excitement and beautyit had to offer. Hunting and fishing be-came my passion and my favorite thingto do.Taking the time to let that person

know they were truly appreciated shouldnot go unaddressed. It is a very reward-ing experience for both parties involved.For me, Bob Chambers represented thisas a role model and teacher. Bob was ourdad’s best friend, and was there when Iharvested my first squirrel, rabbit and

deer. He taught me how to find turkeysand use my first turkey call. We went onmany long hikes together and he tookme over miles and miles of farm and for-est land.I gained valuable exercise to pursue

game and set the stage for my years ofrunning through what I’ve learned fromBob. My marathon running, triathlonsand high tech adventure racing was builtfrom the foundation I learned while tak-ing long hikes with Bob. My nickname,The Marathon Hunter, was originatedbecause of my association with this man.I never realized what a role model

was. But Bob never expected anythingin return and he was always there to pro-vide guidance and advice for me and myfamily. Every fall my brothers andfriends go to a camp in the Pennsylvan-ian mountains to hunt and photographthe Pennsylvania elk herd.We also makeannual deer and bear hunts that are veryexciting. Bob was the original owner ofour camp and always encouraged us touse it at no expense. He later sold thehunting camp to one of my brothers andwe still continue to make our annualtrips.

For the last 30 years we have made anannual bear hunting trip to the centralPA camp. Over the years Bob was theonly one fortunate enough to harvest a

trophy bear near his favorite place tohunt that he called, Dice Rock. The bearwas over 400 pounds. Since then we’ve


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Ohio Valley Outdoors–Photo by Gary GrimmThe author (left) with his mentor, Bob Chambers, at his home in late November.

Chambers, at age 85, died a few days after this photo was taken.

By Curt GrimmThe Marathon Hunter

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By Scott AlbrechtIce fisherman in Ohio are gearing up

for the 2014/2015 season with hopes thatthis year will be just as good as last. LakeErie received heavy attention early lastyear for the trophy walleye and perch itwas producing on ice and for the firsttime in a while, ice fishing in Ohio wassomething top of mind in this state andnationwide.As popularity for the sport of ice fish-

ing grows in Ohio, so does the interest ofthose who have have not ice fished be-fore. As a sponsored angler in the icefishing industry, I get the privilege ofsharing my experiences with these new-comers and help them learn the basics ofice fishing in Ohio.Whether in seminars, or during on-ice

demos, the first topic of discussion hasto be ice safety. Ice safety boils down tobeing informed. Knowing where safe iceoccurs in Ohio, the proper technique fortesting ice thickness with a spud bar asyou walk out, and what to do if youbreak through are necessary topics to un-derstand.

New ice anglers can conduct online re-search, call around to local baits shopsand inquire on online ice fishing forums(like www.icefishohio.com) before ven-turing out. I recommend ice fishing withsomeone who has experience for yourfirst time out on the ice and never icefishing alone.Now that you understand the basics of

ice fishing safety, warmth is the nexttopic to tackle. Many anglers underesti-mate the importance of layering with theright fabrics and the use of rubber insu-lated boots.Agood outfit for a day on theice should include a base layer that fitsclose to the skin, a mid-layer made up oflooser insulating fabrics (avoid cotton asit tends to let cold air and moisture in),and an outer layer with insulation, a wa-terproof, wind breaking material and insome instances a material that floats. Iuse the Striker Predator suit which floatsand is versatile for ice fishing in all kindsof conditions in Ohio.Equally important to being safe and

warm on the ice is catching fish, youshouldn’t need more than an hand auger,ice scoop, 2 rod reel combos (one

backup one in case you break off or gettangled), some ice fishing line, and ahandful of jigs to get started. You canadd a 5 gallon bucket to the above list tosit on while you fish and store your gearor fish while on ice.Typical bait used in Ohio for ice fish-

ing are small tungsten or lead jigs tippedwith wax worms, spikes, or Euro Larvae.Soft plastic imitations of the above arealso starting to catch on. I like to usestrike indicators at the end of my ice fish-ing rods to indicate a bite when fish arefinicky. Some rods, like the Sportsmen’sDirect Flatline rod, even have one builtin as a feature at the end of the rod.Once your hole is drilled and you have

removed the slush from your hole, dropyour baited line down the hole and startworking the jig/bait combination withslight jiggles and pauses as you lower thebait down through the water column.When your jigs hits the bottom, work thebottom few feet up and down with dif-ferent jigging progressions until you fig-ure out what jigging pattern the fish wantthat day.Catching that first fish through the ice

is a magical experience even after 20years of doing it. I hope you get a chanceto ice fish this winter in Ohio. I will beconducting free seminars and on ice

demonstrations this winter.For information on seminars and loca-

tions, check www.iceprofromohio.com.You can also submit a question about icefishing and I will respond.


Ohio Ice Fishing 101

Ohio Valley Outdoors– Photo courtesy of Scott AlbrechtThe author with a nice perch,

taken during an ice fishing trip in Ohio.


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Dale Carnegie,theAmerican authorand motivationalspeaker, often dis-cussed attitude. Inhis sixth book, pub-lished in 1948, hepenned a chapter ti-tled “If You Have aLemon, Make aLemonade.” My 14-year-old daughter Leia was born with alemon in the form of a malignant eyetumor that rendered her virtually blindin her left eye. However, you only needone eye to look through a scope. Thisobvious fact became stunningly appar-ent early in the spring of 2014.

As a father of five, hunter, and aspir-ing marksman, I am passionate aboutmy four daughters, my son, and my arse-nal. My arsenal includes a ModernSporting Rifle chambered in 22LR. Leiatook an interest and after receiving basicinstructions in marksmanship and safety,she was soon connecting with a plate

target positioned 40 yards off our backdeck. Later, the 100 yard swinging steelplate swung to and fro as round afterround maintained the momentum. Thebottom line — Leia was a natural marks-man. She expressed a desire to run withthis new sport and I sought to oblige herfledgling interest.

My search for a youth shooting organ-ization resulted in a referral to the Jef-ferson County 4H. I spoke with JanineYeske (740-264-1112) and she sharedwith me that once Leia was affiliatedwith one of the many local 4H clubs, shewould be granted access to 4H shootingsport activities. She directed me to anold friend Tom Perrin (740-765-4602).Tom explained to me that he was takingthe first steps down the path of reintro-ducing 4H shooting sport opportunitiesin the area. He invited Leia and I to thesecond 4H shooting sports event. OnJune 14, 2014, Leia and I joined Perrin,five youth participants, and 4H shootingsport instructors Dave Hendricks andBob Hickle at the Steubenville Rifle and

Pistol Club, Inc. (SRPC), located inRichmond, Ohio.

The day began with an overview ofgun safety including the understandingthat a gun is a machine and that all ma-chines can fail. This understanding nat-urally progressed into a discussion aboutthe four rules of gun safety. I will takethis opportunity to regurgitate theserules: 1. Treat every gun as if it isloaded; 2. Always point the barrel downrange; 3. Always know the target andwhat is beyond the target; and 4.Alwayskeep your finger off the trigger until youare ready to shoot. As a safety practi-tioner, I appreciated the demonstrationof range safety including a demonstra-tion of the range horn and range lights.

The participants and attending parentsadsorbed the safety briefing as well asthe explanation of traditional buck hornand iron and peep sight usage and targetacquisition. However, the smilesformed on the faces of the shooterswhen the instructors retrieved the boltaction Winchesters from their cases andplaced them, bolt open, on each of fourSPRC shooting benches. After donninghearing and eye protection, each shooterwas handed 22LR cartridges. Shootingbegan in earnest and instructors tweakedperformance. The first round of shoot-

ing occurred with buck horn sights at 25yards. Shooting and education contin-

4H Shooting Sports Returnto Jefferson County Ohio

Ohio Valley Outdoors– Photo by Travis R. HuntThe author’s daughter, Leia (standing, right)

and five other youth participants,take a moment for a photo during thefirst 4H shooting sport activities sessionheld at the Steubenville Rifle and Pistol

Club (SRPC), in Richmond, Ohio.

By Travis R. HuntOVO Pro Staff

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Indoor Pistol Shooting - Dec. 19, 26(every Fri. thru Apr. 24) 7-10 p.m. (open topublic) at Columbiana County Fish & GameAssociation, 45716 Middle Beaver Rd, Lis-bon, OH. Also Indoor .22/Air Rifle Shootingevery Tues. 6-9 p.m. New website:www.columbianacountyfishandgame.com.Indoor .22/Air Rifle Shooting - Dec. 16,

23, 30 and every Tues. thruApril 28 6-9 p.m.(open to public) at Columbiana County Fish& Game Association, 45716 Middle BeaverRd, Lisbon, OH. Website:www.columbianacountyfishandgame.com.Trap Shooting/Winter Jackpot - Dec.

14, 28, Jan. 11, 25, Feb. 8, 22. Weds. 6-9p.m., Sun. 11-4. Columbiana County Fish &Game Association, 45716 Middle BeaverRd, Lisbon, OH. Open to public. 50 targets,$10 entry ($2 goes in jackpot). Website:www.columbianacountyfishandgame.com.Old Fashion Style Turkey Shoot - Dec.

14, 21, 28 each Sunday thru March at BeaverCreek Sportsman Club, Washingtonville,OH. Field stock guns, .680 choke max., noscopes. For info. contact Tom Brunner 330-692-6577 or email: [email protected] Show by Mahoning Valley Gun

Collectors - Dec. 27-28 *Note this is a newdate. (9 a.m.-4 p.m.) at Lowellville Rod andGun Club. Admission $4, vendor tables $25.Buy, sell and trade. Free appraisals, free

parking. GPS address 6225 Quarry Road,Lowellville, OH. For info. callBill at 330-506-9194.West Virginia TrappersAssociation Fur

Auction - Jan. 9-11, 2015 at Glimer CountyRecreation Center, Glenville, WV. Severalvendors. For info. call Scott Schimmel at304-462-7270, email Janet Hodge [email protected] or visit website at:www.wvtrappers.com.Ohio State Trappers Association Fur

Auction - Jan. 10 at Crawford County Con-servation League, 3477 St. Rt. 98, Bucyrus,OH. Starts at 9 a.m. Call-ins for lot numbers(for all three auctions) will be taken on Jan.2 only from noon - 9 p.m. Call Steve Hiller at937-206-1934. For info. contact Hiller,OSTA Fur Auction Coordinator via email:[email protected]. Visit the OSTA websiteat: www.ohiostatetrapper.org.Ohio State Trappers Association Fur

Auction - Feb. 7 at 50 Boyer Lane (just offRt. 41) in Jeffersonville, OH. Starts at 9 a.m.Call-ins for lot numbers (for all three auc-tions) will be taken on Jan. 2 only from noon- 9 p.m. Call Steve Hiller at 937-206-1934.For info. contact Hiller, OSTA Fur AuctionCoordinator via email: [email protected] the OSTA website at:www.ohiostatetrapper.org.

Calendar of Events

This hunt startedout with freezingrain. After a 90-minute rain delayMick Brown decidedit was safe to fly hisHarris’s hawk Pipa.His miniature dachs-hund, Zoey, wasmore than ready tohunt after a nearlytwo-hour car ride in hiscar carrier. Tippy, the elder dachshund,and Zippy, Brown’s older Harris’s hawkwould have to stay in their cages a fewhours longer, to work the second shift onthis day.The falconry hunt took place on a

Christmas tree farm (Windy Hill TreeFarm) near East Liverpool, OH. Brown,a master falconer from Martins Ferry,OH, was in charge of this hunt. WindyHill owner Gregg Ludwig and I taggedalong, occasionally kicking up brush try-ing to assist in the hunt for rabbits. Thatwould be the quarry for the day— and afew field mice the hawks would spot andstalk.The dachshunds did kick up two rab-

bits on the day but Pipa and Zippy eachmissed their one shot at a meal. They hadto settle for ‘treats’ Brown offered dur-ing breaks in the hunt (that keeps thebirds of prey happy, yet still hungryenough to hunt) and baby chick meal atthe end of their hunts.This was the third hunt I’ve accompa-

nied Brown— and his crew— on with-out a bunny harvested.Ludwig’s tree farm is a perfect hunt-

ing location for hawks. There’s a lot ofbrush piles and high weeds that rabbitslike to hide and live in. The birds gener-ally hang out in nearby trees abovewhere the dogs are scurrying throughbrush piles. Sometimes they stationthemselves in nearby Christmas trees,waiting for any movement near theground. The dogs bark too when they de-tect any foreign scent. When a rabbit isspotted by the falconer he yells a distinc-tive sound as to alarm both the dog andbird. Brown likes to use, HO, HO, HO!Although no wild game was caught

during the hunt it was a good workoutfor everyone involved, including thedogs and birds. Brown said he adjusts

meals for his birds according to whenthey fly and hunt. Falconry birds are keptat a very specific weight so they arestrong enough to fly, and hungry enoughto hunt.Brown plans several falconry hunts

each month (mostly weekends) duringhunting season, which runs concurrentwith small game hunting season in Ohio— November 7 to February 28. Formore information about falconry, visitthe websites: www.ohiofalconry.org andwww.americanfalconry.com. ContactMick Brown at 740-359-1341.


Ohio Valley Outdoors–Photo by Larry ClaypoolFalconer Mick Brown and Pipa, a Harris’s hawk,

work a Christmas tree farm near East Liverpool, OH.

Ohio Valley Outdoors–Photo by Larry ClaypoolZoey, a miniature dachshund, works throughsnow and high grass, looking for rabbits.

Ohio Valley Outdoors–Photo by Larry ClaypoolZippy, a Harris’s hawk works with handler and masterfalconer Mick Brown near East Liverpool, OH recently.

Rabbits EludeHawks Again

By Larry ClaypoolEditor

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PARKERSBURG, WV — West Vir-ginia’s 2014 Natural Resources PoliceOfficer of the Year is J.R. Casto of theWest Virginia Division of Natural Re-sources (DNR) District 6. Col. JerryJenkins, chief of the DNR Law Enforce-ment Section, presented Officer Castowith the award during a recent ceremonyat the DNR District 6 Office in Parkers-burg.Each year, one officer from each of thesix DNR districts is nominated for theaward. The nominations are reviewed byan awards committee and the final selec-tion is made based on several categories,including attitude, leadership, team-work, public outreach, achievements andaccomplishments.“Officer Casto’s nomination notedthat he is an excellent role model fornew officers and routinely assists othersin investigations,” said Col. Jenkins.“Officer Casto has been an asset inworking investigations initiated by theInternet and social media. He neverceases to volunteer for new assignmentsand goes above and beyond the call ofduty.”

Officer Casto, who is assigned toWood County, traveled to Destin,Florida, in October to represent West

Virginia at the annual meeting of theSoutheastern Association of Fish andWildlifeAgencies. At the meeting, Offi-cer Casto received a plaque and pin dur-ing two separate awards ceremonies inrecognition of his distinguished service.

Casto Named WV Officer of the Year

Ohio Valley Outdoors– Photo courtesy of WVDNRDNR Col. Jerry Jenkins presents the 2014 Officer of the Year Award to NRPO Jonathan R.

Casto during a ceremony at the DNR District 6 Office in Parkersburg.

Difference From Page 7

always made sure to hunt around his fa-vorite spot. Over the years a few bearshave been spotted in the Dice Rock area,but his was the only one to make it to thetaxidermist.We all should feel that it is importantto take the time to let a person like Bobknow he is appreciated. A person shouldnot wait until tomorrow, because tomor-row may never come. It is a very satisfy-ing experience to share stories and laughswith fellow hunters that have been part ofyour hunting party and close friends.It’s also important to realize that youcan become a hunter and fisherman thathas the ability to impact someone else’slife and teach them safety and the enjoy-ment of the great outdoors. If you have aperson like Bob in your life, take time tothank them for being a part of your life. Idid, and I’m so thankful.

Editor’s Note: Just a few days after theauthor penned this article Bob Chamberspassed away, at the age of 85. Grimmhad visited Chambers to read him this ar-ticle, for his approval. He approved, andGrimm said he was thankful he was ableto share his thoughts with his mentor.


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email to:[email protected] to: Photo Showcase210 East Fourth St.East Liverpool, OH 43920

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PamWilliams1st deer, muzzleloaderJefferson County, OH

ued for the next hour until Tom Perrinannounced that lunch was served. TheSPRC not only supplied the ammunitionbut the sloppy joes as well.Lunch was consumed, all were full,

and the targets were moved to 50 yards.Leia worked with the instructors to be-come not only accustomed to, but profi-cient with fixed sights. Then the stopswere pulled out and the targets weremoved to 100 yards. A longer distanceresulted in the need for bolt actions,dressed with peep sights. Once againthe instructors provided the participantswith an explanation of the dynamics oftarget acquisition, but this time withpeep sights.The shots continued to ring out for the

next few hours and ultimately hundredsof rounds were thrown down range. Be-fore the afternoon was concluded, in-structors and students alike nodded insatisfaction as they acknowledged thereturn of 4H shooting sports. The ques-tions began to swirl. The participantsand instructors decided to meet andshoot on a monthly basis. Perrin con-firmed that the SPRC will continue tohost and sponsor the event. Instructionand practice will continue but Leia

wanted to know where this will lead.She questioned if a 4H shooting sportsteam will emerge. Tom and I looked ateach other and almost in unison uttered“maybe.”Author’s remarks: Between the writ-

ing and research for this article, the Jef-ferson County 4H Shooting Sports listof participants has grown to 14. By thetime this article is published the 2014 4HShooting Sports season has concluded.However, the tentative itinerary for the2015 season is detailed in the facts boxbelow. Additionally, I would like to ex-tend a warm thank you to theSteubenville Rifle and Pistol Club, Inc.for selflessly advancing and promotingthe children who are the future of shoot-ing sports. After all, these children mayone day become hunters, soldiers, policeofficers, or simply chose to responsiblyexercise the Second Amendment, andfor that I am grateful.2015 Jefferson County 4H ShootingSports Itinerary:• Meeting day - 2nd Saturday of eachmonth from May-November• Location - Steubenville Rifle and Pis-tol Club, Inc., Richmond, Ohio• For information - Tom Perrin (740-765-4602)• Cost - free

4H From Page 9

And the debatecontinues: do longerbows really providebetter accuracy? It istime to look deeperat the facts related tobow length. Manu-facturers have beenin a head-to-headrace to build morecompact bows, follow-ing the recent craze togo shorter and more compact. A shortbow can be wonderful but I have longbeen a proponent of longer bows. It’stime to call in an expert to find out iflonger bows really provide better accu-racy for hunters.Coming from my perspective, a 30

inch bow seems short. The first com-pound bow I purchased was a 50 inchOnieda Eagle. Not 12 years ago I wasstill using a 39 inch Matthews Q2XL,which is a long axle-to-axle bow bytoday’s standards. On the other hand, ahunter just getting into archery doesn’tknow what it is like to shoot a really

long bow, so their perception may bedifferent then mine. Let’s dig in and dis-cover the advantages and disadvantagesof each style — long verses short.Bow designs have radically changed

in the past 10 years. Parallel limbs al-lowed the design of shorter, more com-pact bows. Bow risers became longerand limbs became shorter and parallel.This redesign started the craze to buildmore and more compact bows. A long40-inch axle-to-axle bow from yesterdayis now been shortened to under 34inches on today’s bows. Many huntingbows fall into the 28 to 34 inch range.Competition bows have a much longeraxle-to-axle than hunting bows. For thisconversation we’ll define a short, com-pact bow to be 32 inches or less. Longerbows will fall above that length withmany in the 33-34 inches.When comparing compact bows to

longer bows it has helped me to under-stand the physics involved before mak-ing any decisions. However, I don’tmake my decision blindly on sciencealone. My determination it is also based

on field testing and what works best formy hunting situation.When comparing bows, a longer bow

has a higher inertia than a shorter bow

of the exact same mass. Inertia is the re-sistance of an object to changing its stateof motion. That means the longer axle-

Bow Length: Does It Matter?

Ohio Valley Outdoors– Photo by Brian MillerCompact bows are also great for shorter draw lengths,

which is why women generally shoot well with shorter bows.

By Brian MillerField Editor

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HARRISBURG, PA— It’s prime timefor Pennsylvania hunting and, with anyluck, some game bags or ear tags havebeen filled already, or are nearly about tobe. Each year, the generosity of Pennsyl-vania’s hunters results in about 200,000meals for the state’s hungry.By donating venison through Hunters

Sharing the Harvest – a program thatworks through a network of meat proces-sors to channel venison donations tolocal food banks, soup kitchens and hun-gry families – hunters extend their help-ing hands to those in need.And this year, the Pennsylvania Game

Commission and other partners havemade it easier than ever for hunters tohelp out. The Game Commission thisyear has donated $20,000 to the pro-gram, and the donation has helped en-able Hunters Sharing the Harvest to nixthe $15 fee previously paid by eachhunter donating his or her venison.With its donation, the agency hopes to

spur additional venison donations by

hunters and help Hunters Sharing theHarvest reach its goal of 100,000 poundsof venison donated this hunting season,Game Commission Executive DirectorR. Matthew Hough said.“Nationwide, Hunters Sharing the

Harvest has been the leader among pro-grams facilitating charitable venison do-nations, and we’re proud of what theprogram represents and what it showsabout the generosity of Pennsylvania’shunters,” Hough said. “Our hope is thatby removing the fee, more and morehunters will consider the program andtake part in it, making our gift one thatkeeps on giving, and one for whichmany will be thankful.”All deer donated through Hunters

Sharing the Harvest must be processedprofessionally by a participating butcher.For information on where to take deer tobe donated, or to learn more about theprogram generally, visit Hunters Sharingthe Harvest’s website,www.sharedeer.org.

PA Hunters Sharing the Harvest

to-axle bows hold steady better and aremore forgiving than their shorter coun-terparts. In addition, the density of theriser factors into this equation. Essen-tially, the distribution of weight near thetop and bottom of the bow helps the bowhold steadier then placing all the weightin the middle near the grip. You can testthis theory yourself by taking a shortbow and turning it sideways then takinga much longer bow and doing the same.You will find it is harder to turn thelonger bow.Testing different axle-to-axle length in

the field shows there is an advantage tolonger bows. This is most evident atlonger distances beyond 30 yards. Thereare many hunters today that have excep-tional shooting form. Those hunters ini-tially may not see a great difference inaccuracy related to bow length until theirform degrades.Hunters with a longer draw length —

over 29 inches — often require a longerbow. In addition, the string angle is lesssevere when at full draw the on a longerbow, so the peep remains at an adequatedistance from your eye.Shorter bows are more susceptible to

grip errors and more sensitive to anchor

point movement. These issues presentthemselves most commonly throughbow torque. Archery form problems be-come most prominent during thosestressful moments when wild game givesyou only a few seconds to pull off a shot.What advantages do shorter axle-to-

axle bows offer? Compact bows allow ahunter to squeeze through smallerspaces. Ground blind hunting, a tighttree stand, and spot and stalk throughthick brush are all easier with compactbows. They provide exceptional maneu-verability in tight situations.

Editor’s note: Read the rest of this ar-ticle in the Winter Issue of Ohio ValleyOutdoors magazine. On newsstandsnow.

Bow From Page 12

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Call 330-385-2243

By Austin DelanoThe Gamekeepers ClubThe winter can be a great time to take

a look back on how your season hasgone and make a checklist of things youwould like to improve in the comingyear. Call it a new year’s resolution forwildlife management purposes.To ensure you can grow the best food

possible for all the critters you are try-ing to manage, late winter can be a greattime to soil test. Getting the areas thatyou plan to plant in food plots or mastproducing trees tested and properlyamended with the recommended limeand fertilizer will be the best money youcan spend. I encourage land managers toget their lime spread in the late winterfor a couple of reasons.Ag lime can takemonths to begin to break down and neu-tralize the acidity of your soil, the finerthe mesh that the lime is screenedthrough at the quarry, the sooner it willbreak down. If you usually use the localco-op to spread your lime or rent equip-ment from them to do it yourself, latewinter is a good time to get it done be-

fore the row crop farmers begin theirplanting season. Getting your plotsamended with the proper amount of limewill increase the effectiveness of yourfertilizer which will positively impactthe growth and palatability of yourspring and fall food plots.This can also be a great time of year

to create a tree plot by utilizing hard andsoft mast producing trees. Many of ushave those hard to reach fields or grownup areas that don’t make great food plotsbecause of their tough access or poorersoil types. These areas can be turned intoa tree plot by selecting mast producingtrees that will drop highly covetedacorns and fruit for your wildlife. Onegreat tactic I like to use is taking a cou-ple of acres and selecting 2-3 tree vari-eties that drop their mast at differenttimes, this creates 2-3 month source offood. For example, persimmons andswamp white oaks can be planted for agreat early season drop tree, and Shu-mard oaks can be used for the mid to lateseason drop. The guys at Mossy OakNativ Nurseries in West Point MS havethese and many other varieties of bene-

ficial wildlife plantings available.Most of us have at least a couple

weeks or more of deer season left tohunt this year and many of us have filledour freezer and more by this time ofyear. If you live in the southern portionof the country you are gearing up for therut and ready for a shot at the bucks youhave protected all year. Take the timethis year to take a kid or an adult thatmay not have an opportunity or the re-sources to get out and enjoy God’s cre-ation. A positive impact can be made onso many people by taking them out andshowing them all the different ways wework and enjoy the land. Simple man-agement chores on the farm can be agreat way to spend time with kids andteach them things they don’t get from aclassroom. Planting trees, working onfarm equipment, building duck boxes,are just a few of the hundreds of thingswe need to make sure we are passing onto not just our kids, but any others whoshow interest.To learn more about improving your

hunting grounds join the new MossyOak GameKeepers Club atwww.gamekeepersclub.com or call 844-256-4645.


Winter Wildlife Management

COLUMBUS, OH — Ohio’s younghunters checked 6,453 white-tailed deerduring the two-day youth gun season,November 22-23, according to the OhioDepartment of Natural Resources(ODNR). This season provided youthhunters with their first opportunity topursue deer with specific straight-walledcartridge rifles and young hunters, tak-ing advantage of these rifles, harvested378 deer over the weekend.The Ohio counties that reported the

most checked deer during the 2014youth gun season were: Coshocton(282), Tuscarawas (220), Holmes (218),Knox (207), Guernsey (191), Musk-ingum (187), Licking (168), Ashtabula(167), Carroll (145) and Meigs (143).Coshocton was also the top county in2013. Last year youth hunters checked6,640 deer.Youth hunters could pursue deer with

a legal shotgun, muzzleloader, handgunor specific straight-walled cartridge rifleand were required to be accompanied bya nonhunting adult during the two-dayseason. The youth deer-gun season isone of four special youth-only huntingseasons designed to offer a safe and earlyhunting experience for young hunters.

Youth hunting seasons are also set asidefor small game, wild turkey and water-fowl.Youth hunters can commemorate their

hunt with a First Harvest certificate,available at wildohio.gov. Participantscan upload a photo and type in their in-formation to personalize the certificate.Hunters can also share photos by click-ing on the Photo Gallery tab online.Ohio offers many more opportunities

for hunters of all ages to pursue deer.Deer-muzzleloader season is January 2-5, 2015. Deer-archery season is openthrough February 1, 2015.Visit the ODNR website at

ohiodnr.gov.A list of the top white-tailed deer

checked by youth hunters is below.Ashland: 127 (122); Ashtabula: 167(112); Athens: 104 (127); Belmont: 135(165); Carroll: 145 (161); Columbiana:121 (120); Coshocton: 282 (248);Guernsey: 191 (182); Harrison: 127(165); Holmes: 218 (196); Jefferson: 107(156); Knox: 207 (189)Licking: 168(189)Mahoning: 63 (62); Muskingum:187 (212); Trumbull: 81 (72); Tus-carawas: 220 (220). Total: 6,453 (6,640).

Ohio’s Youth Hunters Harvest 6,400+ Deer

Photo courtesy of Gamekeepers ClubTo ensure you can grow the best food possiblefor all the critters you are trying to manage,late winter can be a great time to soil test.


HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsyl-vania Fish & Boat Commission (PFBC)is now offering a discount for anglers forthe upcoming 2015 fishing season andbeyond. For the first time in the Com-mission’s history, the prices of fishing li-censes are being reduced.Throughout the month of December,

anglers who buy a 3-year or 5-yearmulti-year fishing license will enjoy $3and $5 off their license purchase. But,

this deal is only good through the monthof December.Anglers can also enjoy $1 off on resi-

dent, non-resident and senior residentannual licenses purchased anytime dur-ing the 2015 season.The 2015 Pennsylvania fishing li-

censes went on sale December 1, and an-glers can purchase licenses and giftvouchers online atwww.GoneFishingPa.com.

PAMulti-year Fishing LicensesDiscounted in December

By BRADY McCOMBS,Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY (AP) — It’s

turkey time in Utah, and not just for peo-ple getting ready to sit down for Thanks-giving feasts.A wild turkey hunt was back in Utah

for the first time in three decades.With the state’s wild turkey population

swelling to the healthy level of morethan 20,000, the Utah Division ofWildlife Resources decided to allow thehunt again for the first since it wasceased in 1984.Nearly 300 hunters received permits

for a hunt that started on November 1,said Jason Robinson, the state’s uplandgame coordinator. Hunters were drawnto the event not only for the sport of it,but by the allure of being able to bringhome their own turkey for Thanksgiv-ing, Robinson said.But it’s far from a guarantee everyone

will get a bird. In the spring hunt that hasbeen going on for years, only one out ofthree hunters kill a turkey, he said.

These are not lazy, butterballs waitingto be snatched, he said. Wild turkeys aresmart and quick with great eyesight andhearing.“The odds are actually stacked against

you,” Robinson said. “It’s a sport, it’schallenging. But at the end of the day, ifthe hunter is successful, the hunter has areally big bird that can provide a goodmeal for the family.”“They are really, lean athletic birds.

They have to be able to escape preda-tors,” he said.Permits were taken fast for the fall

hunt, which continues through Decem-ber in the northern part of the state andthrough Jan. 15 in the southern part ofthe state. But hunters can still apply forpermits to hunt wild turkeys in thespring.Wild turkeys live all over in Utah, in-

cluding as high up as 10,000 feet eleva-tion in the mountains. They need accessto food, water and cover, and tall treeswhere they can sleep to avoid predators,Robinson said.

There’s debate about whether turkeysare native to the state. Wildlife officialssay it appears the Merriam’s subspeciesis native to southeastern Utah, based onturkey bones and turkey rock art foundnear ancient ruins.Others believe turkeys might have

been traded and weren’t native. Thereisn’t evidence of turkeys in the areawhen pioneers arrived in Utah.The first turkey hunt in the state was

held in 1967, but the fall hunt was elim-inated in 1984.

Turkey Hunt Back After 30 years

Ohio Valley Outdoors - Photo by AP Photo/The Salt Lake TribuneWild turkeys are active and calling while roost-ing in the tops of cottonwood trees just beforedawn outside Mountain Green, Utah. With thestate’s turkey population swelling, hunting al-

lowed again for the first since 1984.

PA Bear HarvestClose to 2013 Totals

HARRISBURG, PA — In the wintryweather that enveloped much of Pennsyl-vania on November 26, the final day ofthe statewide firearms bear season,hunters harvested 100 bears, according topreliminary figures released by the Penn-sylvania Game Commission.That final-day total pushed the harvest

during the four-day 2014 season to 2,444,down slightly compared to the 2,473bears taken during the statewide seasonin 2013.Extended season harvest totals, as well

as harvest totals from the bear archeryseason and other early bear seasons willbe released following the close of all bearhunting in late January.Bears were harvested in 54 counties

during the statewide season.And two of the larger bears in the har-

vest were taken beyond the season’s mid-way point. John L. Thrush, of BoilingSprings, on Nov. 26, harvested a bear es-timated at 597 pounds while hunting inDelmar Township, Tioga County; whileGabriel J. Heckman, of Shelocta, took a579-pounder inArmstrong Township, In-diana County of Nov. 25.


Malakia Hilton20-pt., 19-5/8" spread


James Paul III10-pt., 22-5/6" spreadPortage County, OH

Cole Carbone20-pt., 22" spread, longbow

Stark County, OH

Dan Aquino22-pt., bow

Richland County, OH

Vincent Campbell20-pt., 21" spreadStark County, OH

Josef Kirkpatrick9-pt., 15" spread

Stark County, OH

Send Us Your PhotosWe’ll print your hunting, fishing or trap-

ping photos in the next issue of OV Times orOhio Valley Outdoors magazine. Send pho-tos via mail, email or Facebook.Email to: [email protected] to: Photo Showcase210 East Fourth St., East Liverpool, OH 43920

Luke Flickenger1st deer, 3-pt.

Mahoning County, OH

PHOTO SHOWCASE SPONSORED BY


Jeff Ingledue11-pt.


Greg Gullett12-pt., 20-7/8" spreadColumbiana County, OH

Marvin Butler11-pt. buck

Guernsey County, OH

Mike Southers IIpiebald

Carroll County, OH

Dave Bloor10-pt., 17-7/8" spreadColumbiana County, OH

Debbie Rockhold12-pt. buck

Ohio County, WV

Eric Abbott9-pt., 15-15/16" spreadColumbiana County, OH

Justin Whitehair10-pt., 20-11/16" spreadJefferson County, OH

Linda Showers10-pt., 13-1/2" spreadGuernsey County, OH

Mark Rastetter10-pt., 16" spread

Harrison County, OH

Ken Hoopes12-pt., 20-7/16" spreadColumbiana County, OH

Chris Didick9-pt., 15 1/4" spread


HARRISBURG, PA— More than 82percent of the hunters participatingPennsylvania’s 2014 elk hunt were suc-cessful at claiming a trophy.The Pennsylvania Game Commission

recently announced 88 elk were taken byhunters during the regular one-week elkseason that ended November 8. And forthose licensed to hunt antlered elk, alsoknown as bulls, the success rate was 93percent.The 2014 harvest included several

large elk. Sixteen bulls were estimatedto weigh 700 pounds or more, with theheaviest bull taken in this year’s hunt es-timated at more than 872 pounds. Thatbull, which sported a 7-by-7 rack, wastaken by Mark Colt, of Ligonier, PA.The largest bull in terms of rack size

was an 11-by-7 harvested Nov. 8 byRobert C. Baker, of Worthington. Thatbull weighed an estimated 851 poundsand its rack initially was measured at414 inches, according to Boone &

Crockett big-game scoring standards.The second-highest-scoring bull,

taken by Michael B. Weaver, ofHanover, had a 7-by-7 rack initiallymeasured at 398 inches. That bullweighed 786 pounds.Other large bulls taken included a 7-

by-8 weighing 830 pounds taken byFrederick J. Kass, of Glenside; a 7-by-6weighing 837 pounds taken by GeorgeOko, of Wilkes-Barre; a 6-by-7 weigh-ing 829 pounds taken by John G. Trout,of Felton; a 7-by-8 weighing 780pounds taken by David L. Bailor, ofMadera; a 5-by-6 weighing 772 poundstaken by Justin Forsythe, of Imperial; a7-by-5 weighing 772 pounds taken byLlewellyn Kauffman, of Red Lion; an 8-by-7 weighing 715 pounds, taken byDavid Condie, of Pittsburgh; an 8-by-6weighing 715 pounds taken by DeanErney, of Telford; a 7-by-7 weighing715 pounds taken by Mark Wickizer, ofDickson City; and a 7-by-8 weighing

702 pounds taken by Christopher Mum-ber, of Richlandtown.Oko, just 15, of Bear Creek Twp, PA

harvested his bull elk on Nov. 3 whilehunting with his father, George Oko Sr.,and a guide in Weedville, which is nearBenezette in Elk County.There also were some large antlerless

elk taken in the harvest. Twelve of the63 cows taken by hunters during theone-week season weighed over 500pounds.Twenty-five of the 88 elk harvested

were taken on the opening day of the elkseason Nov. 3.The Pennsylvania Game Commission

typically doesn’t release informationabout license holders, but those who aredrawn to participate in the annual elkhunt often give their consent to releasetheir names or other information. Infor-mation on successful hunters who do notsign and submit a consent form prior tothe hunt is not released.To participate in the elk hunt, hunters

must submit an application, then must

be selected through a random drawingand purchase a license. The drawing an-nually attracts more than 20,000 appli-cants.


Ohio Valley Outdoorswww.ohiovalleyoutdoors.com

PA Elk Harvest Totals 88; 25 are Bulls

Ohio Valley Outdoors - Photo courtesy of PAGCKeith Akam, of Erie, took this 6-by-7bull on the second day of PA elk season.It was one of 27 bulls, and 88 total elk

harvested in the state in 2014.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A TV specialby South Dakota native Tom Brokawthat chronicles the start pheasant huntingseason is now available for online view-ing.The one-hour program, called “Open-ing Day,” debuted in November on theNBC Sports Network.Brokaw examines traditions aroundthe beginning of hunting season and howthe state made itself a destination. Healso visits the annual dinner of PheasantsForever and goes out with fellowhunters, including Ted Turner.The former NBC anchor got rid of his

guns while living in LosAngeles in 1968but took up hunting again a couple ofdecades later.Brokaw, one of the greatest story-tellers of his generation, returns to hishome state of South Dakota to takeviewers through the hunting fields andintroduce them to the people that high-light every third Saturday in October.Brokaw has been attending Opening Dayfor more than 25 years.The show can be viewed on the nbc-sports.com site at http://bit.ly/1typeRt.


Brokaw Featured in Pheasant Hunting Special

MUD LAKE, Idaho (AP) — Threesoutheastern Idaho men have beenbanned from hunting for a year after oneof them used a powered parachute tospot deer and radio back information totwo others on the ground.The Idaho Department of Fish andGame in a news release Monday saysparachute flyer Braxton Tomlinson ofTerreton, Jake Tanner of Rigby and NeilWood of Dubois also received sus-pended jail sentences of 10 days.

Authorities say they responded in lateOctober to the Mud Lake WildlifeManagement Area following a report ofa low-flying powered parachute.The three men pleaded guilty in Jeffer-son County Court to violating Idahorules prohibiting the use of aircraft to lo-cate game and communicating that infor-mation to hunters on the ground.The three also received $500 fines,with $400 suspended.

Powered Parachutist Spotting Deer Fined

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Federalprosecutors say a bookkeeper for anArkansas hunting club has pleadedguilty to defrauding the club of morethan $540,000.The U.S. attorney’s office in Memphissaid recently that 58-year-old HazelCathy Wadley faces up to 20 years inprison at sentencing in February.

Prosecutors say Wadley, of Memphis,performed bookkeeping duties for theMenasha Hunting and Fishing Club inTurrell, Arkansas.Between October 2007 and August2013, Wadley used funds in Menasha’sbank account to make online paymentsfor personal debts and expenses.

Hunting Club Bookkeeper Scams 540K

ONEIDA,Wis. (AP)—Adispute overa nine-point buck in Wisconsin was set-tled with a coin flip.Wisconsin’s deer season was just acouple hours old when D.J. Jorgensonsays his 11-year-old son, Kameron,wounded the buck in the Town ofOneida.Jorgenson told WLUK-TV(http://bit.ly/1uGWtCm ) they tracked itto a neighbor’s property. NeighborRandy Heyrman shot twice from hisstand to finish off the buck.

With the deer dead and the huntersdeadlocked over who could keep it, theyflipped a coin.Kameron called tails. It came upheads. Heryman claimed the buck. AllKameron got was a photo.Shad Webster of the Oneida Conser-vation Department says hunters needpermission to follow a deer onto privateproperty, and the landowner has a rightto take the deer.Information from: WLUK-TV,http://www.fox11online.com

Dispute Over 9-pt Buck Settled With Coin Flip

Hearty VenisonLasagne

www.SportsMansTable.comhttp://recipes.sportsmanstable.com/

• Prep Time: 20 min. • Cook Time: 45 min. • Ready In: 2 hrs 10 mins. • Yields: 8 Servings

1 lb. lasagne noodles1 lb. ground venison1 32 oz. jar tomato sauce4 cups ricotta cheese2 cups shredded Mozzerrella cheese1/4 cup Parmesan cheese4 eggs1 packaged chopped frozen spinachfresh parsley amount to tastesalt amount to tastepepper amount to taste

Directions:Brown meat, add sauce. In the meatime, cook

noodles, drain and cool. Blend eggs into ricottacheese and drained, thawedspinach, add salt and pepper to mixture. In a largebaking pan, layer meat, noodles, 1/3 of ricotta mix-ture, sprinkle ofmozzarella, meat sauce and repeat. Reverse lastlayer so mozzarella is on top of meat sauce. Bake at350 degrees for approximately 45 min. Serve witha parsley sprig and parmesan cheese.

Ohio Valley Outdoor Times 12-2014

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