As we’re in the midst of the prime hunting seasons with pheasant, rabbit, grouse, squirrel and archery deer seasons underway, the latest opener is the statewide rifle bear season that runs Nov. 20; Sunday Nov. 21 and Nov. 22-23. 

The season reopens again on Nov. 27; Sunday, Nov. 28; Nov. 29-Dec. 4 in Wildlife Management Units 1B, 2C, 3A, 3B, 3C, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E and 5A. In WMU’s 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, the season runs Nov. 27, Sunday, Nov. 28; Nov. 29-Dec. 11. 

While bears inhabit big Pocono Mountain woodlands, it’s not surprising that some drifted down to Lehigh County. 

During the 2020 bear seasons, Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) harvest records show that in Lehigh County the archery season showed that three bears were taken, the early season recorded two, the extended season had one and muzzleloader season resulted in one. 

Over in Northampton County, the archery season resulted in eight bears, the early season six, extended two, muzzleloader season six and the regular firearms season one. 

While these hunting seasons are ongoing, the fishing season has slowed in area streams but according to Willie’s Bait & Tackle in Whitehall, anglers have been doing well on catch-and-release largemouth bass at Leaser Lake. Anglers are throwing live shiners and Rapala crankbaits. Bass range from 2-4 pounds with some five pounders reported. 

Chris’s Outdoor Sports shop in Mertztown echoes Willie’s Leaser report by having customers telling him they’re hitting nice largemouths there, however no muskies. But Chris says that will change when we get colder temperatures and the toothy fish will go on the feed. 

Otherwise, Ontelaunee Reservoir has few reports but there is a Facebook posting of a nice buck swimming across a portion of  the lake last week. The hot spot though is Blue Marsh Lake in upper Berks County where largemouths, smallmouths, some stripers and dandy crappie action has been taking place. One customer said he caught 56 crappies one day last week on fatheads and crappie jigs. Stripers on the other hand are favoring shiners and large crankbaits. 

Down at the Jersey shore, enormous amounts of bunker are fueling striped bass action that has been epic, insane and historic says the fishing reporters from On the Water Magazine. 

Their reports include Tackle World in Rochelle Park who reported bass are everywhere with keepers mixed in with jumbos from Raritan Bay to Island Beach State Park. Capt. Phil Sciortino Jr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, said bass fishing is just nuts especially Raritan Reach around Buoy 19 that was loaded with bass. Stripers are hitting Mojos, flutter spoons, shads and live bunker. 

Tak Waterman shop in Long Branch said Raritan Bay is still lit up with linesiders that are chasing flutter spoons, Doc spoons, shads, livelining and trolling. The fish are between 20 inches to 50 pounds 

The Reel Seat Bait & Tackle in Brielle, reported striper fishing is pretty consistent. Boat anglers are getting fish in the 40-pounds class by jigging shads, livelining and trolling 
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As for beach action, it picked up especially at night for anglers throwing metal-lipped swimmer lures. 

Bowhunters are beginning to see the start of the deer rut when bucks begin chasing does for their mating season. When that occurs, wary bucks throw caution to the wind and run across roadways and highways in pursuit of a doe in-heat. 

It’s at this time when deer-vehicle accidents are common in the fall, so drivers need to be alert to the danger, suggests Whitetails Unlimited Director Russ Austad. “According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are approximately 1 million car accidents with deer each year. These accidents kill 200 Americans, cause more than 10,000 personal injuries, and result in $1 billion in vehicle damage.”

Deer are primarily active at night and particularly during the hours between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Dawn and dusk are main travel times as they move from bedding areas to feed in the evening, and back in the morning. Even during the day when they’re on the chase. 

State Farm Insurance Company estimates there were over 2 million animal collision insurance industry claims for the past year. This marks a 7.2 percent increase over the previous 12 months, according to State Farm. 

Animal strike claims typically rise dramatically in the fall, and peak in October-November.  Insurance claims from 2006 through 2020 show claim frequency in November was more than twice the monthly average, when such claims are least likely to be filed.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that about 20 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths result from the vehicle leaving the road and striking a solid object, like a tree or utility pole. Due to the risk of leaving your lane, losing control and leaving the road, braking in a straight line is better than a sudden swerve in many cases when encountering a potential animal strike.

There are a number of things a driver can do to be safer during this time of year:

* If you see one deer, assume there are others around. Deer often travel in groups.

* Deer crossing signs along the highway are there for a reason – deer are known to cross the road in that area so be  extra cautious. 

* Reduce your speed and watch the edges of the road, as well as ditches and tree lines along the highway. At night, drive within the limits of your headlights and use your high beams when you are able to. Headlights will pick up reflections from the deer’s eyes long before you will be able to see the entire deer. If you see these reflections, start to slow down.

* If a collision with a deer is inevitable, avoid swerving to miss the deer and do not go into the ditch or cross the centerline into oncoming traffic. Most experts advise hitting the deer instead of swerving sharply into the side of the road and possibly losing control of the vehicle, hitting a roadside object, or rolling the vehicle.

* If you do hit a deer call police as insurance companies normally require a police report if there is damage that needs to be repaired. Do not approach a deer that is injured but still alive. It will be scared and want to flee, and you can be injured by hooves or antlers. Police officers and game wardens are permitted to destroy injured animals, but it’s usually not legal for individuals to kill a deer out of season or without a license, regardless of circumstance.

Seeing a deer in the woods is a unique experience, but it’s scary when you see one in front of you when you’re driving. 

WATERFOWLERS    
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As a “heads up” for you waterfowl hunters, local farmers have started taking down their corn and soybean crops so this should be inviting for ducks and geese to begin feeding in these harvested fields. In Lehigh County, I’ve seen early morning flights of small flocks of geese taking off from the Lehigh River around 7:30 a.m. and they all seem to be flying West. 

With the pheasant hunting season set to open Oct. 23, allow me to reminisce a bit. 

In years past, the opening of pheasant hunting season in Pennsylvania was almost as popular as the deer opener. It was a time when upland hunters would walk the fields and woodland edges in hopes of flushing a long-tail as they’re often called. The cackle when one would flush was startling and awakened the senses.  

When I was 12, my grandfather, who lived in Ironton, and my one uncle took me and my single shot, 16-gauge shotgun on my first pheasant hunt on farmland that is now the Whitehall Mall. We also hunted around my grandfather’s house and the fields around Egypt and Ormrod. That’s when there were wild pheasants to hunt. There were also wild pheasants in the fields around the West Catasauqua woods (by Walmart, Dicks, oil tank fields) near my parents’ home. In fact, one morning there was one walking around our backyard  that evidently came from those same fields and woodlot. 

Going back even farther, the late former outdoor writer Charlie Nehf used to write about taking a trolley from Allentown to Fogelsville with his shotgun to hunt pheasants and rabbits in the large fields there at the time. Can you imagine that happening today. SWAT would be called out to arrest him. 

But those good old days are gone and never to return as development both housing and commercial ate up an appreciable amount of pheasant habitat.  

Today, hunters have to rely on the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s pheasant stocking program. Unfortunately, it’s like the trout stocking program, that is essentially put and take. 
And what hunters don’t take, great-horned owls, fox’s and  coyotes take. 

Some years ago, the PGC sponsored the Farm-Game Co-op program wherein farmers would allow hunting on their property that would be stocked with pheasants and they would be given posters to post to show their relationship with the PGC and hunters. Today, that former program is now called the “Hunter Access Program.” Unfortunately, those lands have pretty much  dried up as well for hunting. 

As such, the PGC now stocks primarily state game lands and state parks. In Lehigh County it’s SGL #205 in Lowhill Township. In Berks, SGL #106, 280, Blue Marsh State Park, French Creek State Park – Big Woods Tract. Unfortunately, Northampton County has no listed stocking areas. 

For Lehigh, the PGC lists the pre and in-season stocking time frames with the number of pheasants in parenthesis. Pre-season stocking will be Oct. 20-22 (370); 1st in-season, 26-29 (440); 2nd in-season, Nov. 2-5 (440); 3rd in-season, Nov. 8-12 (430); 4th in-season, Nov. 17-19 (400); Xmas season, Dec. 22-23 (400); 1st late season, Dec. 28-29 (220); 2nd late season, Jan. 5-6 (180).

All totaled, the PGC will have stocked a total of 3,360 pheasants  that includes an added 480 for the youth pheasant hunt held Oct. 7-8. 

Back in 2017, the PGC conducted a daily survival rate between male and female pheasants and between public and private properties, and among pheasants released during different stockings during the season. Overall, 53.8 percent of males and 41.1 percent of females were harvested. Harvest rates were similar between other public properties (50.7 percent) and SGLs (48.7 percent), but were significantly higher than harvest rates on Hunter Access properties (37.3 percent). 

The pheasant season is split in three parts beginning Oct. 23-Nov. 26; Dec. 13-24; and Dec. 27-Feb. 28. The daily limit is two birds with six in possession. 
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The second part of the statewide bear hunting season for archery and muzzleloader hunters gets underway Sat. Oct. 16, but has been open in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D since Sept. 18. 

Bear season in Pennsylvania has gained in popularity the last few years. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), a record 220,471 people (211,627 Pennsylvania residents) purchased bear license in 2020. That was up from 292,043 in 2019, 174,869 in 2018 and 147,728 in 2009. 

Perhaps the main reason for the increase is that it has become known throughout the country that Pennsylvania has some very large bears, many weighing more than 600 pounds. On Nov. 7, 2020, Abby Strayer of McConnelsburg took a 719-pound male bruin with a crossbow in Ayr Township, Fulton County. 

As for bowhunters, who had two weeks last year to hunt rather than one as in the past, they took a record 955 bears. The  harvest was 1,041 in the 2-year-old muzzleloader/special firearms seasons, and 1,177 during the general firearms season.  

Hunters took bears in 59 of 67 counties and in 22 of Pennsylvania’s 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).

Potter County led the state in the bear harvest with 188; Lycoming was next best at 186; Tioga had 185; Clearfield, with 158; Monroe, with 152; Clinton, with 150; Elk, with 140; Luzerne, with 125; Centre, with 117; Bradford, 108; Pike, 105; Wayne, 100; and Carbon, 97. 

There is something new for the 2021 season. In the past, many WMUs will allow bear hunting during the first – and in some units even the second – week of the statewide firearms deer season. Unlike last year, though, when bears didn’t become legal game until the first Monday, hunters in 2021 will be able to harvest them on the opening weekend of deer season, both Saturday and Sunday says the PGC. 

Another regulatory change is that properly licensed bowhunters may carry muzzleloaders when any deer or bear archery or muzzleloader seasons overlap again this year. 

Also, and aside from the exemption that applies during overlaps in the muzzleloader deer and bear seasons, holders of License to Carry Firearms may possess their permitted firearms while bowhunting. 

Successful bear hunters must not forget to have their bears checked at a bear check station that are listed in the 2021-22 Hunting & Trapping Digest. 

DEER RUT REPORT

According to Bob Danenhower, of Bob’s Taxidermy in Orefield, this season could prove to be an early rut. He’s seeing deer hammering soybeans the past few weeks and they love the leaves as they turn yellow, although many bean fields are already brown. Plus, corn crops are about two weeks ahead of normal. He says oak trees are showing above average yield and early dropping white oaks are always a sure bet. Chestnuts too, look big and plump. 

His customers have been seeing large bucks on their trail cams, many of which are not yet on the move during the day, but staying close to or in the tall standing corn. 

Danenhower believes now is an ideal time to use cover scents with buck urine preferred because many bucks are still in bachelor groups and they’ll seek out other bucks. As such, Danenhower handles fresh weekly Yurin-Luck buck scent that he and many of his customers use on the bottoms of their shoes as they walk to and from their stands. Later on, when the rut heats up, he’ll have fresh doe-in-heat scent available. 

TROUT STOCKING

The Little Lehigh Creek in Lehigh County will be stocked Oct. 18 and Lake Minsi in Northampton County on Oct. 14. 
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​As we’re now in October with dipping temperatures, the recreational boating season is about over for the year. Only avid boating anglers can be seen on local lakes and the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. 

If you’re not among the latter, this may be a good time to winterize your boats’ outboard motor. According to BoatUS, when freezing temperatures prevail, and if there is water inside your engine or gear case, the result can be a cracked block or housing. This could cost you a repair bill that could run into four figures.  

BoatUS recommends following the owner’s manual for winterizing, but in the absence of one, the organization recommends the following.

*Freshwater flush: Using a flushing attachment run your outboard in a tank filled with clean water. 

*Empty fuel lines and carburetors: While the engine is still running, disconnect the fuel line from the engine and when it dies, the fuel delivery components will be empty which prevents gums from forming in the stagnant gas and clogging lines, jets or injectors. 

*Fog the carburetor intake(s): Before the engine runs out of fuel, spray fogging oil into the carburetor(s). It acts as an anticorrosive to protect the carb and cylinders. 

*Drain cooling passages: Disconnect the flush attachment or remove the motor from the flush tank. With the motor upright, let all water drain out of the pick-up. Open the drain plugs. Crank the motor a couple times by hand or “bump” it with the starter to empty the water pump. Remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into the holes to coat the interior of the cylinders. While the plugs are out, check and regap or replace them. 

*Drain and refill gearcase: This will prevent condensation from forming inside the tank.

*Drain fuel tank and supply lines: Drain the fuel that remains and use it in your car or snow blower, but leave the tanks empty. If emptying tanks is not practical, top it off to 95 percent full. Gasoline with ethanol is subject to phase separation if water gets into the fuel which will happen with a half-empty tank over the winter. Filling the tank limits the air space inside the tank and reduces the potential for internal condensation. 

*Stabilize the fuel: If leaving the tank full, dose it with an appropriate amount of gasoline stabilizer to combat the formation of passage-clogging gums. 

*Clean and lubricate propeller shaft: The off-season is perfect to have the prop(s) serviced. If storing your craft at home, leave it off to discourage theft. 

*Store upright: Laying the engine down risks water draining where it shouldn’t. An engine stand is easy enough to cobble together. 

These suggested BoatUS maintenance items will go a long way for trouble-free spring-time boating. 

TROUT STOCKING

The Lehigh County Fish & Game Protective Association stocked a portion of the Little Lehigh yesterday (Oct. 1) with trout from the Lil Le Hi Trout Nursery. Stream reporters say the fish, however,  were far and few between, But the PF&BC will stock the Little Lehigh on Oct. 18. Over in Northampton County, Lake Minsi gets stocked Oct. 14. 

  Well if it isn’t deer with Covid, now we have rabbits with Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) that affects domestic and native wild rabbit and hare populations.

   RHD is a foreign animal disease caused by a virus that can only infect lagomorph species. The virus variant responsible for the current RHD outbreak in the United States is RHDV2. This variant of RHD-causing viruses, is the only one known to affect native North American lagomorphs.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has taken steps to address RHD by prohibiting the importation into Pennsylvania of any wild lagomorph – a group that includes rabbits, hares, and pikas – or any of their parts or products, including meat, pelts, hides and carcasses, from any state, province, territory, or country where Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus Serotype 2 (RHDV2) has been reported. This ban will remain in effect until further notice. 

  This is one of many PGC strategies drafted to minimize the introduction risk and impact of RHD on Pennsylvania’s native wild rabbit and hare populations. The agency’s importation ban complements a similar quarantine order covering domestic lagomorphs recently issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA).   

   According to the PGC, RHDV2 cannot infect humans or other animals, but it is highly contagious and no specific treatment is available. Infection can occur through ingestion or inhalation of the virus, which is shed predominantly by infected lagomorphs in their urine, feces, and respiratory secretions. The virus can contaminate equipment, tools, enclosures, and therefore can inadvertently be spread by humans and other animals. Disease control or eradication is inherently challenging as the virus is extremely resilient and can remain infectious on the landscape for months.

   The PGC goes on to explain that the infection with RHDV2 is often fatal, resulting in large, localized mortality events. It can easily spread between domestic and wild populations. Infected lagomorphs may exhibit blood-stained noses due to internal bleeding along with other non-specific clinical signs, but an RHD outbreak in wild populations would be suspected if multiple dead rabbits or hares are observed in the same relative location and over a short period of time with no obvious cause of death.

   To date, RHDV2 has been detected in domestic and/or wild populations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Canada, and Mexico, but so far, not in Pennsylvania. While the detections in Florida and Georgia have been restricted to domestic rabbits, they highlight how easily RHD can spread across great distances due to human-driven transportation of infectious animals or materials.

With the upcoming rabbit hunting season (Oct. 16), the PGC recommends  cleaning and disinfecting  any surfaces or equipment that may have been contaminated by harvested rabbits and wildlife in general. After cleaning with soap and water, a 10 percent household bleach disinfectant should be applied. Following a 10-minute contact period, the surfaces or equipment should be rinsed with clean water and allowed to air dry.
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   Anyone who finds two or more dead rabbits or hares in one location with an unknown cause of death, is advised not to touch or disturb those animals. Instead, they should contact their local PGC office, who along with the PDA and federal authorities, will conduct an investigation. 
   
   

During the recent cool nights we’ve been having, it’s a good time to open the windows and experience some night sounds. What I’m referring to are the sounds of crickets. 

These seldom seen but heard during late summer nights, crickets are distributed around the world except in latitude 55 degrees or higher. They can be found in varied habitat from grasslands, bushes, forests, marshes, beaches and caves. In most of our Lehigh Valley yards, they hide mostly in flower beds or along walls or fences with high grass. 

Crickets are mainly nocturnal and best known for their loud, persistent chirping song of males trying to attract females, although some species are mute. The singing species are said to have good hearing. Proof of this is upon approaching one in your yard when they’re chirping, they’ll immediately stop. 

As for the chirping, a male cricket, with its head facing its burrow in a flower bed for example, creates its chirping using its leathery fore wings to scrape against each other to produce the sound. Its burrow acts as a resonator to amplify the sound. 

According to entomologists, crickets have a vein that runs along the center of each tegmen, with comb-like serrations on its edge forming a file-like structure. At the rear edge of the tegmen is a scraper. The tegmina are held at an angle to the body and rhythmically raised and lowered which causes the scraper on one wing to rasp on the file on the other. Most female crickets lack the necessary adaptations to stridulate, so make no sound. 

Like birds, crickets have several types of songs in their repertoire. The calling song attracts females and repels other males, and the latter is fairly loud. The courting song is used when a female cricket is near and encourages her to mate with the caller. A triumphal song is produced for a brief period after a successful mating, and may reinforce the mating bond to encourage the female to lay some eggs rather than find another male.

As for their diet, some species will feed on flowers, fruit and leaves, with ground-based species favoring seedlings, grasses, pieces of leaf and the shoots of young plants. Others are more predatory and include invertebrate eggs, larva, pupae, moulting insects and aphids. Many are scavengers and will consume various organic remains, decaying plants, seedlings and fungi. 

Crickets’ lifecycles consist of an egg stage, a larval or nymph stage that increasingly resembles the adults that eventually form into an adult stage. 

Their predators are mostly opossums and skunks. We’ve had a cricket in our flower garden beneath our bedroom window the last two months. Last week, we smelled a skunk and upon checking our security cameras the next morning, low and behold old stinky was foraging around in our garden evidently looking for a cricket meal. 

So, before the cold temperatures of fall arrive and the crickets burrow in for the winter, enjoy the night sounds of summer. 
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The much-anticipated archery deer hunting season is set to open in a split season beginning Sept. 18 including a Sunday date on Nov. 14, in Wildlife Management Areas 2B, 5C and 5D. After that in these WMU’s, the season runs Nov. 15-20; continues on a second Sunday, Nov. 21; and goes from Nov. 22-26 and again Dec. 27-Jan. 29.

The statewide season opens Oct. 2. To Nov. 14 (Sunday), then again on Nov. 15-19, then Dec. 27-Jan.17.

In 2020, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) reported that 373,700 archery licenses were sold, a big difference from the 5,500 sold during the first archery season in 1951. These numbers go to show the increase in popularity of bowhunting in Pennsylvania. 

These totals also reflect that bowhunters managed to take 160,380 deer of which 80,130 were bucks in 2020. This accounts for 37 percent of the overall 2020 deer harvest.  

The local WMU archery seasons estimated harvest breakdown is as follows. The numbers in parenthesis are last season’s totals with “A” representing antlered and “AL” representing antlerless deer AL.

WMU 3C: 2,670 (2250) A; 2,240 (1,470) AL
WMU 4C: 3,260 (3,550) A; 2,890 (2,960) AL
WMU 5C: 5,810 (5,330) A; 7,410 (7,075) AL
WMU 5D: 1,790 (2,180) A; 4,310 (4,460) AL

Here are some PGC rule updates for the upcoming season. 

*Hunters may use illuminated nocks for arrows and bolts, as they aid in tracking or locating the arrow or bolt after being launched. However, the PGC says transmitter-tracking arrows remain illegal. 

*As for tree stands and climbing devices, the PGC mandates that both forms that cause damage to trees are unlawful to use or occupy unless the user has permission from the landowner. Tree stands or steps that penetrate a tree’s cambium layer causes damage and is unlawful to build or occupy tree stands screwed or nailed to trees on state game lands, state forests or state parks are illegal. Portable hunting tree stands and blinds are allowed on state game lands, must be removed no later than two weeks after the close of the flintlock and late archery deer seasons in WMU’s being hunted. And those used on state game lands must be conspicuously marked with a durable I.D. tag that identifies the stand owner and include the hunter’s full name, legal home address and nine-digit CID number that appears on their hunting license. 

Some other tips for tree stand hunting is hunters should use a fall restraining device, preferably a full-body harness and be used the moment leaving the ground. The PGC strongly suggests not climbing on dead or icy trees and to stay on the ground on blustery days. 

Oh yes. And don’t sleep in a tree stand. If sleepy, get down. 

In retrospect I once owned and used a Screaming Eagle fixed  tree stand. It was made of heavy steel and very sturdy. The company, at the time, would advertise it showing it holding a VW beetle bug coupe. Only part that would worry me was during set-up as it came with a hefty chain that would encircle the tree then hook onto the stand. To complete the installation, the company recommended jumping on it a couple times to set it onto the tree as I hugged the tree. At that time there were no body harnesses on the market, so I used a utility line worker’s type belt with rope, carabiner and thick steel O-ring for attachment. But it still worried me that the stand would slide  down as did a Loggy Bayou climber I once owned. 

Every year a few hunters fall from a tree stand, some of which are fatal falls. So a word to the wise, use a harness, even on a ladder stand. 

Here are a few more safety tips on tree stands from the PGC.
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*Choose a live, straight tree and avoid ash that may decline due to emerald ash borers. 
*But Smart. Only use stands certified by the Treestand Manufacturers Association,
*Inspect your stand each time you use them for wear and tear and before erecting it.
*Don’t go too high. The higher up you go, the vital zone on a deer decreases, while the likelihood of a serious injury increases. 
*Be careful with long-term placement as exposure to the elements can damage straps, ropes and attachment cords. Plus, a stand’s stability can be compromised over time, and as the tree grows.