If you’re a grouse hunter, this may very well be the very best time of the year to be in the woods in search of the King of Gamebirds. The leaves are off the trees, there’s not yet any snow on the ground, the archery and turkey hunters are gone, and temperatures are still rather pleasant.
From all I’ve been able to gather it’s not going to be a very good year for grouse chasers in the Keystone State. Heavy spring rains throughout much of the state played havoc with nesting grouse and turkeys. Re-nesting was largely non-sucessful, so bird numbers will probably be down this year. Most of the birds found will likely be older, therefore smarter, birds. Not good news for those of us who love to run bird dogs, but I’ll still be out there trying to beat the odds.
I lost a couple of the best weeks of woodcock hunting this year, but when we did get out we did very well. Grouse numbers, however, were another matter. We moved about one bird per hour, which is not good. I’m of the opinion that we don’t have a definite grouse cycle here in the east like they do in the upper Midwest. In my opinion our numbers are governed more by year-to-year weather and food factors, rather than a predictable 10-year cycle.
If the grouse population is down, the tick population certainly is not. I’m getting reports of dedicated hunters who have actually given up taking to the woods because of the tick infestation. I have a Potter County friend who has actually come down with Lyme disease and is on antibiotics. Lyme is nothing to mess with. It can end up being a very serious ailment which can affect your body in many ways, both physical and even mental. If you’re heading to the woods, take precautions to protect yourself from ticks, such as using repellent containing DEET, tucking your pants into your boots, and checking yourself for ticks as soon as you leave the woods. If you’re running a dog, be sure they’re protected by one of the topical products, such as Frontline, Advantage or Bio-Spot. These products get into the bloodstream and kill ticks before they can spread disease. I find them to be very effective, and well worth the cost.
The traditional firearms big-game seasons begin tomorrow in Pennsylvania. Bear season is this coming week with the two-week deer season to follow starting the Monday after Thanksgiving. Regional Wildlife Conservation Officers are reporting excellent bear populations in most areas. Deer numbers are also said to be good, but I’m sure there are a good number of hunters who’d dispute that claim, especially with regard to deer numbers.
The PGC is reminding deer hunters to report all deer kills. Hunters can now report their kills online. Just go to www.pgc.state.pa.us, click on the blue box marked “Harvest Reporting”, click on the “start here” button at the bottom of the page, and follow the directions.
The PGC is also reminding hunters that it is still necessary to display your hunting license on an outer garment, just as it always has been. The Commission is backing a bill in the legislature that would end the requirement, but, at least for this year, the display requirement remains.
-- E-mail comments to jdsteese@yahoo.com.
Sports
A reason to grouse
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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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High school roundup: Rosini pin lifts Ironmen over Tigers
DANVILLE -- Steven Rosini's pin over Connor Houseknecht in 37 seconds in the final bout of the day at 132 pounds prevented disaster for Danville as the Ironmen pulled out a 40-36 Heartland Athletic Conference crossover victory on Tuesday.
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College sports notebook: Antensteiner starts, finishes fast
ANVILLE -- Ines Antensteiner, a member of the powerful Lewisburg girls track & field team for the past four seasons wasted little time making her presence felt in college. On Monday, Antensteiner, a freshman at Lebanon Valley, was named the Middle Atlantic Conference's Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week after a pair of event wins at Saturday's Ducharme Invitational.
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Bill Bowman's column on college sports: Tale of two teams in the clutch
Because basketball season is so long it is easy to forget that one or two moments in a single game can essentially make or break an entire season. While teams might play 30 games or so, most of them come down to a couple of possessions, spots where one little thing can be the difference between winning and losing, between making the postseason tournament or turning in the uniforms.
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Sports court strips Contador of 2010 Tour title
MADRID -- Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title Monday and banned for two years after sports' highest court found the Spanish cyclist guilty of doping. The Court of Arbitration for Sport suspended the three-time Tour champion after rejecting his claim that his positive test for clenbuterol was caused by eating contaminated meat on a 2010 Tour rest day.
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H.S. boys basketball: Selinsgrove rallies to top Southern Columbia
CATAWISSA -- In a battle between two schools better known for their football programs, Monday's game between host Southern Columbia and Selinsgrove naturally featured plenty of physical play. After a combined 43 fouls and 55 free-throw attempts, the Seals finally pulled it out. Reserve guard Tyler Krebs made five foul shots in the final minute and a half in Selinsgrove's 54-53 victory.
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High School Bowling: Kratzer, Hartranft take home Pro-Am titles
SUNBURY -- The name might have changed, but the results were the same. Now called the 13th annual Best Bowl/Strike Zone High School Pro-Am Scholarship Challenge, the two-day tournament was another success as it pitted some of the Valley's best young bowlers against each other in friendly competition.
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