Many outdoors folks have been practicing with their archery gear the last few weeks in readiness for the Oct. 1 southern zone big game archery season opener in New York state. The good news for all of us is that wild forest fires, Greek alphabet hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, mud-slides (not with ice cubes), tropical storms and more, are not in our outdoor forecast. We don’t need to worry much about evacuation orders, lest we run from the NY taxes. All things considered, we live in a pretty safe place. If you fish and hunt, hike or camp, bird watch or like to photograph the beautiful outdoors, you may already realize that where we live offers more goodness than we often realize. There are tranquility and peace from our plentiful birds, animals and so many fish.
Mike Ziehm with a giant King Salmon he caught fishing from shore in the Lower Niagara River near Devils Hole State Park.
Whether you visit the walking trails that abound in Western New York, the boat docks at Buffalo Harbor State Park, Sunset Beach or Woodlawn Beach, you’ll find animals, birds and fish. If your timing is right, you’ll find cheerful anglers with coolers of fresh-caught fish from Lake Erie, walleye and perch, and are heading to the cleaning table.
The walleye catch from Cattaraugus Creek has been hot with lots of limits, the bass fishing from near the Buffalo Small Boat Harbor has offered an early-autumn start to the fall smallmouth bass binge-feeding season. If you travel to the Niagara Gorge at the Lewiston Landing, king salmon have started their spawning runs. Some fish weigh-in at more than 30 pounds! Contact Captain Frank Campbell at www.niagaracharter.com/ to check in on this fall trophy fish bonanza. If you fish from shore, #4 spinners are hooking monster fish near Devils Hole.
The forests offer plentiful deer herds for the upcoming archery season. There has been an increasing number of black bear sightings in WNY and the big game season opener for bear coincides with the deer opener (Oct. 1). The red, gray and black squirrel populations are an all-time high. Squirrel season opened in NYS on Sept. 1. There is increasing interest in small game hunting from a large number of new young hunters this year. Remember this, if you harvest small game or big game, don’t waste it. Clean it, prepare it, store it, consume it or don’t go to the woods to shoot it. Hunting does not consider catch and release. Be responsible.
Local butterfly populations offer exciting picture-taking opportunities.
My dad was my mentor. He was a hard worker and a home garden sod-buster who worked 8 to 5 every day of his life to ensure his kids. The three of us – my brother, sister and me – understood that money did not grow on that part of nature he called the backyard trees. We didn’t take vacations; there was no money for that. We enjoyed veranda beach, as some call home in the summer. So he taught us to tie hooks onto fishing leaders, how to make trout flies, to cast a fishing line, to follow the laws of the outdoors, to plant a garden and, in short, how to survive with just about nothing at all. I love him for that, though I hated all that backyard tree work and garden-digging growing up as a kid. He taught us to stay solvent without any money. We learned to hunt squirrels, rabbits, pheasants and how to clean them for my mom, “So mom doesn’t have to get messy.” That’s what dad would say. So we each had a pocket knife and he taught us how to keep it sharp and how to use it for preparing small game for the freezer and the table. In between weeding the garden, all of these things were lessons in the outdoors that none of us will ever forget. We had been taught to be mini-outfitters, outdoor guides by any measure, but never thought about it that way. Pandemic survivor training? No, it was just “the way we were.” For that new group of 42,000 young hunters preparing for their first season in the woods right now, don’t hesitate to drop me a note (nugdor@yahoo.com) if you have any questions or need some friendly help. Your local environmental conservation officer (ECO), yes – the game warden) is also nearby to answer questions you might have (www.dec.ny.gov/about/28461.html#Region_9). They really know the outdoor ropes and it’s good to meet those folks when you can or have a legal/law question. They are there to help all of us. Develop a partnership with the outdoors, whatever way you can. Read, be mindful, look forward to placing your complete attention to safe fun in the outdoors.
Hunters and anglers have not been personally hurt by the pandemic, it has, in fact, expanded the simple outdoors for the entire American population. More free time does that. What has been hurt are the many outdoor organizations, dozens of them, that rely on gatherings and banquets for primary fund-raisers to stay afloat. Most hunters and anglers belong to one or more local and national conservation organizations. When Governor Cuomo and the rest of the country locked folks down to stay home last spring, it occurred during the heart of banquet season. The cash-cow support events were all cancelled. Whatever group you belong to can likely use your support right now. Consider a small cash donation to help them overcome the banquet season blues, their revenue implosion, if you can.
Let’s overcome restrictions on public gatherings by getting outdoors to fish and hunt. Stay safe, go lean, good luck in the woods and on the water.
Outdoors Calendar:
Sept. 24 – 3-D archery shoot, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., 20 targets, 4 p.m.-dark.
Sept. 25 – Canada goose season closes in upstate (15 bird bag limit per day).
Sept. 25 – 3-D Archery Shoot, Hawkeye Bowmen, 13300 Clinton St., 430 p.m.-?, under the lights course.
Sept. 26 – National Hunting and Fishing Day at Elma Conservation Club, CANCELLED due to pandemic.
Sept. 30 – 3-D archery shoot, Evans Rod/Gun, 864 Cain Road, 15 targets, 4 p.m.-dark.
Sept. 30 – Safe Harbor Bass League, open to the public, 5:30-8:30 p.m., best 3 fish, $40 per boat, one and two-person teams, pay at launch, Safe Harbor Marina.
Oct. – NYS Southern Zone big game archery season (deer and bear) opens at sunrise.
Oct. 1 – NYS small game season for coyote, cottontail rabbit, woodcock, and ruffed grouse opens at sunrise.
Nov. 2 – NYS Southern Zone regular big game season (firearm and crossbow) opens at sunrise.
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September 26, 2020 at 06:30PM
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Rod, Gun & Game: Plan now for fish and game adventure during autumn season - Springvillejournal
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