The Susquehanna River is in good shape at the moment, actually better than it has been for most of the year.
We are concluding what was one of the highest summer river levels many can remember. The fishing is still a little spotty. Some days you seem to be able to light them up, the next day you struggle for a bite.
The past couple times I was out, it was tough fishing until the sun started to set. When the sun got off the water, the fish seem to come alive. You can catch them on a variety of lures; it seems that it’s a timing thing, like they want a meal before they go to bed. A couple evenings I stayed after dark and fished for quite a while, looking for that wisened lunker that only ventured forth under cover of darkness. My only reward was the scolding squawk of a blue heron from the darkened shoreline brush.
We’ve had some downright chilly nights this past week. Cool enough to stir the hunters’ blood.
I find myself looking for deer all the time. Drives my wife nuts. We’ll be driving somewhere and I’ll spot one and say, “There’s a deer.” Of course, she’ll do the safe thing and panic. She’ll grab the steering wheel and say, “How can you drive and look for deer at the same time?”
She thinks she has to help me steer the car. “Here, I’ll steer and you look for deer.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well, you make me nervous.” Brother.
I guess when it comes to archery hunting, I’m a stubborn old-timer. I’m still shooting the faithfull old bow I bought a long time ago. It weighs about a hundred pounds and is about 6 feet long. At least it seems like that compared to the sub-compact, high-performance bows most guys are carrying around. Actually, my old bow shoots quite nicely and fills an archery tag most years. I do have to replace a sight pin.
I shoot one pin, and a couple of years ago I took the quantum leap from a painted dot pin to a fiber optic pin. Somewhere in the woods a tree reached out and busted the fiber optic pin, so that needs a replacement. I also did the Simms laboratory silencer/dampening deal. For an older model, she shoots pretty good. I’m half afraid to upgrade to a newer bow. Me and this bow know each other and know what each other can do. We are quite comfortable in our relationship, other than the fact that I neglect her during most of the summer. I should shoot more. I just don’t care for shooting when it’s hot out.
Cool nights. Hunting season is coming and I can’t wait. For those who don’t partake, it is hard to understand the call of the wild. The return to the swish of tall grass in the field, the bark of a beagle on the trail or a pointer locked up, shivering on a frosty morning. The smell of the brilliantly painted forest, the flickering of a distant tail lit up by the rising sun. Was it a deer?
You watch, you wait, a doe slips silently toward you and passes by. She never knew you were there. You start to breathe again.
You realize you actually missed the trees. It’s good to be back in the woods.
-- Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section.
Sports
Timing the bite just right
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College Lacrosse: Bucknell men prepare to improve upon great season
LEWISBURG -- It started a handful of years ago, when the Bucknell men's lacrosse team put a big 'X' on the national map in Central Pennsylvania with an upset of No. 1 Maryland. From that point on Bison coach Frank Fedorjaka has had a difficult time getting big-time opponents on the schedule, even with Bucknell opting to travel under the worst of circumstances.
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High school football: Pratt says Kutztown the right fit
SUNBURY -- When Shikellamy's Tyler Pratt joins the Kutztown University football team as a free safety next fall, he will already have a good feeling for what his position coach will expect from him. Pratt, who signed a national letter of intent this week to accept a scholarship offer to play for the Golden Bears, will be under the tutelage of his father's high school football coach.
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Todd Stanford On high school boys basketball: Increasing the refs' workload
If two heads are better than one, does that mean six eyes are better than four? Not necessarily, according to some Heartland Athletic Conference officials. There is a move afoot in the HAC to cut the number of basketball referees from three to two for part of the season beginning next year.
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High School Roundup: Greenwood boys complete perfect TVL season
Greenwood capped off an unbeaten 2011-12 Tri-Valley League season by crushing Halifax 61-38 on Thursday Night.
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Shikellamy Braves pull away from Shamokin
SUNBURY — Tyler Pratt kept Shikellamy in the game in the third quarter Wednesday, scoring all seven of the Braves’ points. He then got some help in the fourth.
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High School Roundup: Selinsgrove tops Jersey Shore
JERSEY SHORE — With the game tied at 32 at the half, the Selinsgrove boys basketball term went on a big run in the third quarter to open up the game and take a 65-56 Heartland Athletic Conference Division I win over Jersey Shore on Wednesday.
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Shikellamy Braves rally to stay alive
SELINSGROVE — With 11 losses, the Shikellamy girls basketball team is teetering on the brink of elimination from the District 4 Class AAA playoffs. And on Wednesday night, it looked like the Braves were going to go quietly into the offseason when Selinsgrove built a 14-point lead early in the third quarter.
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They learn to be tough young
It's difficult to recall exactly how the sequence unfolded because it happened so darn fast. Shikellamy made a couple baskets, and the crowd began to stir. It was still anybody's game, and the Braves had some momentum late in the third quarter of a recent run with Danville.
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Motorsports: Selinsgrove, Lincoln speedways to host 360 sprint series
MECHANICSBURG -- Mach 1 Chassis of Mechanicsburg will be the title sponsor of the Mid-Atlantic 360 Sprint Car Championship Series, a $120,000 six-race tour that will include five shows at Selinsgrove Speedway and one event at Lincoln Speedway in 2012.
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Girls basketball: Records fall, Red Tornadoes stay unbeaten
SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT -- An overflow crowd zealously cheered Tierney Pfirman's pursuit of the South Williamsport scoring record throughout Tuesday's game, until their breathless faces matched the Mounties' royal blue.
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