Here’s what’s worth reading today, Friday, May 17, 2019:
Missing bear hunter found dead near Kodiak: The remains of a Delta Junction man missing during a bear hunting trip near Kodiak were discovered by one of his companions according to Alaska State Troopers, who are investigating the nature of his death.
Wild pig wars: Controversy over hunting, trapping in Missouri: Under gray skies on a fall morning, Rick Clubb wears an expression of disbelief as he walks across 10 acres of strafe-bombed pasture and stares down at ground turned upside down overnight. Wild pigs have unleashed hell. Again. The field is flipped and cratered, green gone brown in multiple stretches, testament to the wrecking ball capacity of a phenomenally opportunistic survivor. Head in hands, Clubb rubs his temples as the proverbial dollars drain from his pockets, keenly aware of the stark reality on his southeast Missouri farm: The wild pigs always return. “I call it the hog apocalypse,” he says. “They’re multiplying so fast and nobody in my state wants to damn well admit it.”
Fishing report: Beware the brackish boogeymen: There are few surprises in the fishing scene this week. So I thought we’d take a minute to talk about another kind of surprise always waiting out on the water. Yeah, dead batteries and empty fuel tanks are a pain, especially if you go down 50 miles offshore. But if you want to talk about pain, ask Jack Cressman. In the ICW and the surf, “Pain, thy name is Gafftop.”
Invasive lionfish make themselves right at home on Texas coast
Elephants can’t vote, but they may decide Botswana’s election: For Botswana, elephants are becoming a dilemma. The government wants to lift a ban on hunting wildlife because the pachyderms are destroying crops and occasionally killing people, arguing that while the nation’s savannas may be popular with wealthy foreigners who pay $355 a night for a luxury lodge, trophy hunting would bring in more revenue. An elephant hunt in neighboring countries costs about $45,000.
These horrifying pictures show the exact tick bite symptoms to look for: You just spent the day outside hiking, grilling or tending to your yard — but now you have a nasty, red, scratchy, bumpy bite on your arm. Could it be a tick bite? Unfortunately, figuring out the source of your bug bite can be tricky, especially because mosquitoes, spiders and fleas also come out to play when warmer weather hits — not to mention, bedbugs and other critters that may wind up in your home.
What’s predictable about turkey hunting? Plans will change: Humans very rarely trick wild animals into believing something is real when it is not. This is true even of hunters, the more experienced of whom concede the odds are stacked against them, no matter the quarry.
The long-simmering fight over wolf hunting in Minnesota is political — and emotional: The last time the federal government removed endangered species protections for wolves in Minnesota, the state held recreational hunts aimed in part at culling the population. The open seasons between 2012 and 2014 were controversial, yet backed by both Democratic and Republican leaders, including DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. Now, as the federal government prepares to cut gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act again, long simmering debates over wolf hunting in Minnesota are emerging anew. Yet opponents are wondering if the political winds on the issue have shifted in their direction this time.
Proposed bill would make veterans’ hunting/fishing licenses portable to other states: A bill authored by state Rep. Karen Boback (R-Luzerne/Lackawanna/Wyoming) would make Pennsylvania hunting and fishing licenses portable for men and women who serve and who have served in the Armed Forces.
Couple goes fishing, catches burglars’ bag containing guns and sorority pins stolen 26 years ago: Sam Nichols III was out in the fields in Auburn, Alabama, when his wife told him he got a call from the sheriff’s office in Greene County, Georgia. A couple that had gone fishing on Lake Oconee, caught a bag containing two guns and gold fraternity and sorority pins and turned them in. After some sleuthing, authorities had good reason to believe the pins belonged to Nichols’ parents, stolen during a burglary in 1993.
The best women’s fly fishing gear of 2019: Gear so capable, the trout will practically come to you.
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