With summer on the wane and local fishing is slow, the Jersey shore is a viable alternative8/23/2024
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The small game season kicks off Sept. 2 when dove hunting season opens. The season runs in a split season of from Sept. 2-Nov. 29 and again from Dec. 21- Jan. 4 with a 15 daily and 45 in possession bag limit. At the same time, the early Canada goose season begins for a Sept. 2-25 initial run. But both dove and geese will be tough to hunt at this time of year since corn crops are still standing and soybean fields are just beginning to develop beans at many places. What this means for the hunter is that if downing a dove and it flies into standing corn, it’ll be tough to find unless you have a good hunting dog. Soybean fields are a bit easier in that they are low in height allowing you to mark the spot where the dove went down. Just be courteous when doing so as to not trample the farm crops while retrieving the dove. And above all, get permission from the landowner before hunting adjacent to the fields. Since there are fewer and fewer places to hunt considering all the development taking place. There are the game lands and in particular SGL #205 in Lowhill Township and off Rte. 100 in Lehigh County where there are Managed Dove Fields. This is where game commission personnel plant food crops for dove. These fields are managed specifically for the doves to take advantage of the food, grit and loafing areas that dove prefer. In Northampton County you can try SGL # 168 on the Blue Mountain located in Bushkill Township and north of the town of Clearfield. It’s not certain though if there are Managed Dove Fields there. In Berks County, it’s SGL #182 off Rte. 222 north of Kutztown. And if not there, Berks has more open farmland than the other two counties. Most of these are owned by Mennonite families and they are generally receptive to allowing hunting on or near their land. In fact, one parcel I passed on the outskirts of Fleetwood even has posted signs indicating it’s a “Hunter Access Cooperator.” Older signs may say “Public Access Cooperator.” Years back this was called the Farm-Game Co-Op program where farmers would allow hunting on their land and in exchange they would get pine seedlings to plant on their property and free PA Game News magazines. Again, permission to hunt is needed. As for geese, the best bets is to check harvested cut wheat or alfalfa fields that are close to a pond or lake. Until the corn is harvested, goose hunting may be even tougher right now. Hunters should not forget that a Migratory Game Bird license is required to hunt doves in addition to a general license. These can be purchased at a licensing agency or on the game commission’s website under the heading of licensing for all you newcomers to the area.  With the dove and early goose hunting season a mere two weeks away, this may be a good time to reflect on small game hunting as it was in the past. Many moons ago I recall the story about the late Charles Nehf, a local outdoor writer, who would write about hunting for pheasants and rabbits in the Fogelsville area and he traveled there by taking a trolley from Allentown to those Lehigh County farm fields. In so doing, he was all decked-out in his hunting clothes and carrying his 12-gauge shotgun. Imagine doing that today on a Lanta bus? The SWAT team would be called. Aside from that, it would be interesting to know the cost of hunting and equipment back then. In fact, let’s refer back to 1930 when a Witwer Jones Sporting Goods store, located then at 949 Hamilton Street, ran an advertisement in the local newspaper listing prices for shotguns, shot shells and hunting clothes. The ad listed shotguns from Lefever priced at $24.85, a Fox shotgun for $32.10, an Ithaca for $33.00, a Smith for $35.10, a Winchester for $43.25, a Parker for $48.40 and a budget-minded Springfield double barrel shotgun for $15.75. Checking these similar shotgun prices in the 25th Edition of Gun Trader’s Guide, they list the Springfield Arms Company’s (built by Savage Arms in Utica, NY) double-barrel hammerless shotgun at $325, a Lefever plain ejector 12-gauge double barrel now goes for $3,188, a Fox single-shot double-barrel, $294, and their Skeeter model $4,494. Checking further, an Ithaca, Model 87 Ultralite in 12 or 20 gauge goes for $369; an (L.C.) Smith, made from 1890-1945, double-barrel Field Grade fetches $1,119, and their Pigeon Grade for $3,563. A Winchester Model 12 Field Gun is priced at $688 and a Parker, 12 or 20-gauge at $3,119. Many of these are now collectibles and difficult to find, and their prices would likely increase since Gun Digest printed their guide. Especially since the models listed are no longer made. As for shotgun ammunition, the ad lists Remington Shurshot box of 25 for 85 cents. In checking recent ammo pricing, a box of Winchester 12-gauge, #8 shot is $13.00 for 25 rounds at Outdoors Limited’s website, and $34.99 for a box of 12-gauge Aguila #7.5 shot at Boyers Hardware in Slatington. And for hunting adult general hunting licenses, they were $2 back then, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Today, the same general hunting license costs $20.97. The ad also lists hunting coats for $3.25, hunting boots for $6.35, vests for $1.85 and Red Top Socks for .75 (I still have a pair). The latter brings back memories going back to the 50s when red was the safety color that was worn and before blaze orange became the law. Going back to those days when prices were cheap and pheasants were truly wild and plentiful in fields, is now merely a cherish-able memory. 
Last Wednesday, the Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery in Allentown received a total of 15,660 trout fingerlings for their holding ponds that nursery volunteers feed and raise until they’re ready to be stocked in local streams. Of that number, there were 4,200 brook Trout, 11,300 rainbow trout and 160, 4-5-inch golden trout. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission delivered the fingerlings in their aerated fleet of white stocking trucks, however, there were no brown trout delivered because the Little Lehigh Creek that runs adjacent to the nursery, is Class A trout waters that hold native trout. When arriving at the nursery, the fingerlings are 1-3 inches long after being hatched from eggs at the fish commissions’ Benner Springs Trout Hatchery in Midstate. The trout will live at the nursery for about two years and until they reach about 14-16 ounces before being released into area streams. Their average size upon being released into local streams is about 12 inches. To get to that size, trout need to eat about 1.6 pounds of food daily to grow to a pound during their two-year stay at the nursery. In addition to being fed daily by volunteers, visitors can buy fish food at the nursery for supplemental feeding. For kids, even adults, it’s an enjoyable experience to see the trout jump and splash to catch the pellets fed to them during their feeding frenzy’s. Currently, there are 2,000 mature trout in the nursery that are waiting to be stocked in local streams by the volunteers. But because of low and warm water conditions, the stocking is on hold. We’ll keep you posted when they will be. NEW JERSEY SHORE FISHING If your late summer vacation takes you to the Jersey shore, your timing may be good as our reporters from On the Water Magazine say that tuna fishing is at the top of the charts right now with inshore bluefin and offshore yellowfin, plus bigeye, grabbing the attention. Added to this, they say fluking is good for both surfcasters and boaters. Bluefishing is picking up for boat and beach anglers. At the same time mahi-mahi and bonito are starting to show up. It’s surmised that Spanish mackerel and false albacore can’t be far behind. Sea bass fishing has also been good with lots of jumbos caught and as summer is in the home stretch, crabbing is sensational. The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports fluke action in the Sandy Hook surf offers lots of action, however there aren’t many keepers. A lot of bunker are showing up offshore and big bluefish were blowing them close to the Atlantic Beach Reef. There was also cobia in the area along with loads of sharks. Anglers are pitching live eels into the bunker to hook cobia. There are also mahi-mahi showing up on the pots while Crabbing is off the charts. |
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