Don't put your hunting gear away yet

Deer season has come and gone and that might be a signal for some
sportsmen to pack away their gear for another year, but that would
be a mistake. These days, more than ever, there are plenty of
reasons for hunters to keep going afield. Everything from deer to
small game to waterfowl come back in season at various points in the
next few weeks. The statewide late archery and flintlock muzzleloader
deer seasons, for example, run from Dec. 26 to Jan. 14. Flintlock
hunters also have the option to use crossbows. They can take a buck
provided they have an unused back tag, or a doe using either their
back tag or a unit-specific doe tag.

Hunters with a doe tag also can chase does in wildlife management
unit 2B over the course of those 21/2 weeks from Dec. 26 to Jan. 14.
In the Allegheny County portion of 2B, hunters are limited to using
shotguns. The parts of Beaver, Butler, Washington and
Westmoreland counties that also are a part of 2B are open to rifles
during the extended season.

Squirrels, rabbits and pheasants are in season from Dec. 26 to Feb. 4.
Male and female pheasants are in season on those same dates in units
1A, 1B, 2D, 2E, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4A, 4B and 4D. Grouse are in
season Dec. 26 to Jan. 28. Snowshoe hares are fair game from Dec. 26-31.
Hunters using archery or muzzleloader licenses are not required to
wear fluorescent orange clothing, but Game Commission officials
recommend that they do when their seasons overlap with others.

Winter trout

Just in time for the start of ice fishing season, the Pennsylvania
Fish and Boat Commission is stocking 20 lakes around the state
-- including several in this region -- with trout. A total of 21,600
fish will be released through Friday. Most of the fish, 16,000, will
be rainbow trout. There also will be 3,350 brook trout and 2,250
brown trout stocked. Waters locally getting fish are Lower Twin
Lake in Westmoreland County, Lake Rowena in Cambria County,
and Lake Pleasant in Erie County on Tuesday, and Cloe Lake in
Jefferson County on Wednesday. Justus Lake in Venango County
was stocked in November. Extended trout season rules apply at
each lake, meaning that anglers are limited to keeping three fish
per day. They must be at least seven inches long.

Good Fishing

A number of anglers recently have reported finding some good
fishing for bass and walleye on the Allegheny River, near the West
Penn Power discharge just above the Templeton boat access. The
Kinzua Dam tailwaters, meanwhile, have been producing some
walleyes on minnow imitation lures and live baits like minnows.
There have been a few reports of trout being caught, too.

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