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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Monday, September 23, 2019:
A retirement hobby became a 40-year passion for oldest deer hunter: Deer hunting is sport, and like all sports, score is kept and records stored. Some standards, we may be safe to assume, nobody is liable to ever break. Clyde Roberts holds one such record. Has there ever or will there ever be anyone who has gotten more than his money’s worth out of a $5 Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries lifetime hunting license than Roberts did? Roberts was 65 when he retired from Rubatex in Bedford. His son Mike had bought him a gun in hopes his father could cotton to a new hobby once he was free of the working world. Clyde bought his own lifetime permit. He harvested his last deer last season at age 105. Widely acknowledged as the continent’s oldest active hunter, Roberts would have celebrated his 106th birthday in late October and been in the woods for another deer season, which had been in his plans. Those plans were interrupted by the Evington resident’s death Sept. 10, a peaceful event. The elder Roberts was sent on his way with a .270-caliber cartridge tucked safely in his pocket, his son said.
Man accidentally shoots father dead during boar hunt: An Italian man mistook his father for a boar and fatally shot him during a weekend hunting trip in southern Italy. Local media reported the duo were moving through thick bush on the outskirts of Postiglione on Sunday when the 34-year-old glimpsed a shadow in rustling foliage and opened fire. What he thought was a boar was his father, 55-year-old Martino Gaudioso, who was hit in his lower abdomen. His son, who has not been publicly named, called for help and tried to stem his father’s wound and keep him alive. However, medics were unable to save him and Mr Gaudioso succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
Avid fisherman identified as man found dead in SC lake after tournament, officials say: The body of a man who disappeared during a fishing tournament was found in a South Carolina lake Sunday, the Department of Natural Resources said. DNR officials said the body was recovered in Lake Hartwell just before noon, on the second day of the search. The search took place on the Anderson County side of Lake Hartwell, Capt. Robert McCullough said in an interview with The State. It began Saturday after an empty boat was found drifting in the middle of the water, according to McCullough. DNR believes the boat was being used by a man who was competing in a fishing tournament held on the lake.
The heat is on, and it’s affecting the fishing: Predictions are part of our everyday lives. We watch weather forecasters try to figure out when the weather will start acting like it should this time of year; we bet hard-earned money on sports teams and players based on predictions from “experts” who try and figure out advantages based on matchups, injuries, weather conditions, and other factors; and outdoorsmen make plans based on the fishing and hunting outlooks from folks who have long-term experience or educational backgrounds in fish and game behavior. Weather is an important factor in all of the above — rain, snow, extreme heat, etc. can significantly impact the outcome of a football game, and weather conditions have the same effect on hunting and fishing prospects. The amount of precipitation determines how fish and wildlife adapt to their habitats, in turn determining how hunters and anglers plan their strategies for bringing home food for the freezer. The calendar says it’s fall, but the reality of stepping outside into 95-degree heat says otherwise.
5 fly-fishing destinations that will take your breath away: Imagine you’re preparing for an amazing fly-fishing adventure. You’ve spent some time finding just the right gear — the perfect rod, some great flies. Now it’s time to pack up your tackle box, along with some hearty eats and waterproof attire, and get out on the road. Arriving at your secluded destination bright and early, your heart rises when you see the sparkling water and breathe in all that fresh air. You step into your waders and then venture out into the cold river, ready to cast your line. Propelled by the graceful whipping and coiling of your line, your fly lands gently on the surface just above a fish. Thinking it’s just seen an insect up above, the fish takes your lure. With great satisfaction, you begin to reel in your first catch of the day. Now envision doing all that in some of the most stunning and untouched destinations on Earth.
Elk calf seen chewing on hunter’s bow in amazing up-close video: A fearless elk calf was caught licking and chewing on a very still Utah hunter’s bow in a video that was shared on social media. The incredible up-close encounter was shared by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources on Facebook. Bowhunters Chad Bassett and Lindsay Christensen captured the video while hunting in San Juan County during the 2019 archery season, and shared it with Utah DWR, saying the incident was “hard to describe.” In the amazing footage, Bassett is seen standing remarkably still as an elk calf approaches him and begins nuzzling and licking his bow.
Revamping a key conservation fund: If you know an outdoor recreationist who hunts, shoots, fishes, or boats in Montana, you know a conservationist. Despite the well-worn typecast pitting tree-hugging, critter-loving hippies against gun-toting hunters, the North American Conservation Model and the modern environmental movement is rooted in hunters and fishers and their engagement with the great outdoors. To wit: the lion’s share of funding for state wildlife conservation programs comes from the sale of guns, ammunition, and other hunting supplies, due in large part to an 82-year-old piece of legislation called the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, also known as the Pittman-Robertson Act.
Successful quail hunting takes advance scouting: When it comes to big game hunting, there are few hunters who will argue the importance and the value of preseason scouting, especially when one will be hunting in a new area or is looking for an animal boasting a specific class of antler growth or body size. My nephews, for example, invest considerable time in the scouting process and as a result have documented numerous mature deer and elk while also becoming intimately familiar with the ground the animals live in. This is true even in years when they don’t have a big game tag in their pocket because they enjoy learning as much as they can about the game they pursue and the places they live. When it comes to hunting small game species like Gambel’s quail, however, many hunters discount the importance of scouting. Perhaps it is because upland birds can sometimes be relatively easy to find if you know where to look and if the habitat is in good condition. But that isn’t always the case, and there is more to scouting than finding the game you seek.
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