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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Monday, August 26, 2019:
Dove hunting is tricky, but tips can help: Successful dove hunting can be challenging, but that’s where the knowledge of experienced hunters like Calvin Hudson comes in handy. Hudson, an Erath County resident and Tarleton State University graduate, retired in 2006 after 26 years as ag teacher and career and technology director at Stephenville High School. He became an avid hunter at a young age, learning from his father and grandfather. In his younger years, he was shot by fellow hunters on four different occasions. Fortunately, none of the wounds were life-threatening. He still carries a few randomly-placed shotgun pellets under his skin. Through the years since then, Hudson soaked up knowledge and now teaches hunter safety education classes. Not surprisingly, he emphasizes safety first, including wearing a bright orange hunting hat and vest, plus the essential advice, “Know your firearm.”
‘Now I know why they shoot them’: Texas fisherman lands 8-foot halibut near Kodiak Island: A halibut believed to weigh nearly 500 pounds needed three shotgun blasts, two harpoon strikes and a screwdriver before it could be landed a week ago off Kodiak Island. The fish, estimated to weigh 499.1 pounds based on its 96-inch length, was caught by a Texas fisherman last Saturday in Ugak Bay. “If it hadn’t been for the squid and the fish it coughed up, it would’ve been 500 pounds,” joked Brian Barnes of Rapid City, South Dakota, who was part of the fishing party. Damon Nelson of Houston, hooked the monster while fishing with master guide Brian Peterson of Ugak Bay Lodge. Its girth measured 84 inches and it was 18 inches thick when laid on the ground, Peterson said.
What matters most in hunting success? Every year at this time I am reminded of a topic of conversation a group of us hunters had many years ago. The basis of the conversation was about hunting, shooting and being in good physical condition and which one was most important to be the most successful in the field. Each topic was argued and discussed in depth to the point that most of the rough edges were rounded down. I am not certain we came to one conclusion that everyone agreed on and, in fact, I am not sure even today which one is the most important aspect of being a truly great hunter. Let me try and explain the conversation in a little more depth.
‘Kali’s Law’ requiring kill switches on boats 26 feet or less in Texas begins Sept. 1
When kids go fishing, it sure is fun: Baseball, hot dogs and apple pie. American stuff. Things that are synonymous with our traditions and heritage. There are two other things I’d like to throw in there. Actually, they go hand and hand. That is the incomparable combo of kids and fishing. Sure, you could probably toss video games, Xbox and electronic devices in the modern, millennial mix of “all things growing up.” But I’m old school, slow and a little bit in the way. When I was a child growing up, I had a bicycle, baseball bat and glove, and a fishing rod and reel. That’s about it, and I was happy to have that. My summer days were filled with long bike treks in search of bass, bluegills, catfish and carp and any other specie that would dare feast on my simple hook and line efforts of garden worms or the occasional doughball.
Protestors claim that alligator hunting season is ‘cruel’ and ‘inhumane’ Florida’s alligator hunting season is underway but some say they want it to stop. Protestors lined up at the entrance of Cameron Wright Park in Sanford, holding signs calling the hunt cruel. They argue that it is inhumane and that the alligators suffer for a long time after being pulled from the water. Bryan Wilson from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida told Fox 35 that “the way these animals die is not in any way, shape or form quick or painless. These animals are dragged with hooks or shot with bow and arrow, they are dragged through the water until they become exhausted.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife offers youth python hunting program: Python hunting isn’t just for adults. Take a look at this photo posted to Florida Fish and Wildlife’s Facebook page. One of the members of their youth hunting program got some hands-on learning. After thorough training, youngsters of FWC’s program are able to capture four of the invasive snakes. The youth hunting program allows youths between 12 and 17, who have passed the hunting safety course, to hunt with an adult.
“Brave little boy”: Family releases statement on 8-year-old son’s mountain lion attack: The family of an 8-year-old boy who was attacked by a mountain lion in Bailey this week said the child had surgery for multiple lacerations on his head and face and that he was still recovering this weekend. “Our son is a compassionate and brave little boy,” the family said in a statement released through the Platte Canyon Fire Protection District on Saturday. “He will need time for additional treatment and healing. We thank everyone for their overwhelming support, expressions of concern and offers of help. At this difficult time, we ask for your patience and the time for our family to adjust and heal.”
It’s time to end blue-law restrictions on Sunday hunting: The state’s approval of Sunday bow hunting on private land was a step in the right direction, but it fails to address the core issue: The state should remove the rest of the existing prohibitions on Sunday hunting. In some ways, the recent law change flies in the face of what American hunting culture has represented for centuries — the basic idea that anyone, not just landowners, can hunt. The pursuit of fish and game was the foundation of a system that propagated values such as access to our public land, the holding of wildlife in public trust managed by state biologists, and the sustainable harvest of renewable resources.
Electrofishing boats show dangerous Asian carp population growth: There’s a threat lurking in freshwater rivers from West Feliciana Parish all the way to the coast. Asian Carp, an invasive species, are taking over, outnumbering native fish. It doesn’t take long for boaters to notice the fish. They fling themselves into the air. “They do injure boaters and damage equipment and they’re definitely a public safety hazard,” said Tim Ruth, a Wildlife and Fisheries biologist. Wildlife and Fisheries agents are now taking extreme measures to track how bad the problem is with the use of electrofishing boats. “It’s going to produce a current that will go out of the boat and loops. The current will travel from the water to the fish tissue and basically cause a convulsion in the fish,” said Ruth.
Versatility key for late summer bass fishing: Cool weather will arrive soon to usher in some of the year’s best bass fishing. In many respects, fall fishing is even better than it is in the spring because there are a lot fewer anglers on the water. From late August through September, they’ll spend their weekends at deer camp getting stands ready, tending to food plots and feeders, and cutting shooting lanes.
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