Successful Season So Far for New Hampshire Deer Hunters

It has been a successful season so far for deer hunters in the Granite State.  The estimated statewide harvest as of November 26 was 11,135, a 12% increase over the 2016 kill at this point in the season and the second highest in the last nine years.

See a breakdown by county, with comparisons to the previous eight years, at www.huntnh.com/hunting/deer-harvest.html.  These numbers are estimates based on the number of deer registered in each county (not necessarily killed there) and may not represent information from all registration stations.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/30/Successful-Season-So-Far-for-New-Hampshire-Deer-Hunters

Registration Opens for Free Winter Indoor Archery Programs

Are you interested in trying archery for the first time? This winter, the N.H. Fish and Game Department is once again offering free archery programs for beginner archers who want to learn the ins and outs of shooting a bow and arrow. Programs will be held at Fish and Game's Owl Brook Hunter Education Center, located at 387 Perch Pond Road in Holderness, NH. Registration is now open.

Each archery program will meet one night a week, from 6:00-8:00 p.m., for four consecutive weeks.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/28/Registration-Opens-for-Free-Winter-Indoor-Archery-Programs

Drop off toys for kids in need at MassWildlife FHQ

Get in the holiday spirit by donating a toy to a child in need! MassWildlife’s Field Headquarters (FHQ), located at 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581, is now a Toys for Tots drop-off location. MassWildlife FHQ is open Monday through Friday, 8 AM – 4:30 PM, and will be accepting toys for children in need through December 8th. If you love the outdoors, consider passing on the tradition to the next generation with the gift of a fishing pole or pair of binoculars.

The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community in which the campaign is conducted. For the last 70 years, the United States Marine Corps has distributed over 542 million toys to more than 250 million children. This year, MassWildlife joins other partners in Worcester County as a toy drop-off location. Collected toys will be donated to children in need in Worcester County. If you want to help but don’t live nearby, find other Toys for Tots gift drop-off locations.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/27/Drop-off-toys-for-kids-in-need-at-MassWildlife-FHQ

Vermont Lifetime License Lottery

Feeling Lucky? Why not try your luck at winning a lifetime license.

For $2.00 you can enter our annual Lifetime License Lottery. Each year some lucky individual's name is drawn to win a license for a lifetime of FREE hunting and fishing in Vermont!

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/22/Vermont-Lifetime-License-Lottery

K-Drill Ice Auger System

The K-Drill Ice Auger System is designed specifically for modern high powered cordless electric drills. It drills fast and with ease, and makes for a very lightweight ice auger system. The super-efficient chipper blade design ensures you’ll be able to drill ice fishing holes easier and with more confidence than ever. For more information, visit - www.kdrillauger.com

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/20/K-Drill-Ice-Auger-System

Motorists Advised to Watch for Deer on the Roads

Motorists are advised to watch for deer crossing roadways this time of year, especially at dawn and dusk.  Deer are very active right now, as the mating season, or rut, is underway and bucks and does have their minds on other things than traffic!

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game Department deer biologist Dan Bergeron, a hefty percentage – almost a third – of all deer/vehicle collisions in New Hampshire occur from mid-October through the end of November (see graph at www.wildnh.com/wildlife/brake-for-deer.html).  In a typical year, an estimated 1,200 deer/vehicle collisions occur in New Hampshire.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/17/Motorists-Advised-to-Watch-for-Deer-on-the-Roads

General Firearms Deer Season Began November 15 DEEP Reminds Outdoor Enthusiasts to Be Safe

Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) today issued a safety reminder for outdoor enthusiasts as a variety of hunting seasons are currently underway – most notably the opening of the fall firearms deer season, which began on Wednesday, November 15. Specific deer hunting season information is available on the DEEP website at www.ct.gov/deep/hunting.

“This is a popular time for others to enjoy the many outdoor opportunities that our state has to offer, such as hiking and biking,” said DEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen. “Therefore, it is especially important for all outdoor users to respect the rights of others and be aware of all activities that may be occurring outdoors. Connecticut hunters have an excellent safety record, and awareness on the part of all outdoor users can help in our efforts to keep hunting safe for everyone.”

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/16/General-Firearms-Deer-Season-Began-November-15-DEEP-Reminds-Outdoor-Enthusiasts-to-Be-Safe

Report 2017 Striped Bass Catch and Effort Online

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department is asking anglers who have fished for striped bass in New Hampshire's coastal waters this year to report their catch and effort online at www.fishnh.com/surveys/striped-bass.html. You’ll be helping marine biologists manage these popular sport fish – and you could win a prize just for taking part in the survey effort.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department's Marine Fisheries Division has conducted an annual Striped Bass Volunteer Angler Survey since 1993. Each year, volunteers of all experience levels fill out logbooks documenting information about their striped bass fishing trips in New Hampshire's coastal waters.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/newsroom/news.html?news=809

Fall Foods Abundant for Wildlife

Vermont Fish & Wildlife is reporting that several important fall foods for wildlife were abundant this year.

“Fish & Wildlife staff surveyed 27 mast stands around the state in late September and early October and found that beechnut counts were excellent, with the highest numbers recorded since 1998,” said State Wildlife Biologist Forrest Hammond. “They also found abundant deer and bear sign in the beech stands.”

http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/cms/One.aspx?portalId=73163&pageId=11282986

Ice Spoons for Early Ice Crappies

Where has, the fall gone, we have gone from late summer conditions straight into the winter weather. We fishermen truly enjoy our fall fishing and are missing out on it this year, but what is this doing to the fish?

The fish usually have a time frame that they can adjust themselves into the winter mode of feeding and follow the water cooling trends. This year, they have been forced much quicker into preparing for the winter months and having to start their feeding mode. For the last month or so, they had been scattered in smaller groups, but finally now, getting into their early winter schools.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/15/Ice-Spoons-for-Early-Ice-Crappies

http://www.northlandtackle.com/ice-spoons-for-early-ice-crappies

Trapping Contributes to Wildlife Management in New Hampshire

Sharing the outdoors is a longstanding tradition in New Hampshire. A part of that tradition involves a skilled group of outdoor enthusiasts who take part in trapping, a highly regulated activity that provides important benefits to the state.

Trapping seasons in New Hampshire typically run from October through March statewide, with the bulk of trapping activity on land occurring during the months of November and December.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/14/Trapping-Contributes-to-Wildlife-Management-in-New-Hampshire

Vermont Fish & Wildlife Conserves Unique Shoreline Along Sunset Lake in Rutland County

The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department has added nearly 50 acres of lakeshore property to the Pond Woods Wildlife Management Area in Benson, Vermont. The property was conserved in part using funds from the Habitat Stamp program, a voluntary donation to habitat conservation in Vermont that was launched in 2015.

The land was sold to the Fish & Wildlife Department by the Green Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts. As a result, this forested shoreline property is now permanently conserved, and is open to the public for wildlife-based recreation such as bird-watching, hiking, fishing, and hunting. Sunset Lake is known for its remarkably clear, clean water, holding the record for the greatest water clarity measured in any water body in Vermont.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/13/Vermont-Fish-Wildlife-Conserves-Unique-Shoreline-Along-Sunset-Lake-in-Rutland-County

Ban On “Actual” Emerald Shiners Won’t Impact Anglers, Will Help Keep Invasive Minnow Species Out Of Maine

A revised law recently banned the sale or use of Emerald Shiners and two other fish species from the list of legal baitfish. The ban on Emerald Shiners has received particular attention, even though it likely will not affect what anglers use for bait.

For many years, the term “Emerald Shiner” has been used by Maine anglers and bait dealers to describe what are actually Eastern Silvery Minnows (Hybognathus regius) or Common Shiners (Luxilus cornutus).

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/10/Ban-On-%25E2%2580%259CActual%25E2%2580%259D-Emerald-Shiners-Won%25E2%2580%2599t-Impact-Anglers-Will-Help-Keep-Invasive-Minnow-Species-Out-Of-Maine

Wildlife Biologists Complete Annual Duck Banding

New Hampshire Fish and Game wildlife biologists have completed the annual effort to attach hundreds of metal bands to ducks throughout the state. The pre-season banding effort is conducted in US states and Canadian provinces throughout the Atlantic Flyway in August and September.  This considerable effort provides survival rate data that is used in combination with breeding plot data, parts collection data, and HIP (National Migratory Bird Harvest Information Program) survey data as inputs for the model used to determine annual season regulations in the spring.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/newsroom/news.html?news=805

Prepping for Winter Crappie

Many boats have already been put away and the ice gear is at the ready, as the latest cold snap has ice fishing on everyone’s minds. There are still some of us that ice will be a while before we can walk on water again, so we are still taking to the open water in search of crappie.

This time of year, the waters are continually cooling and this effect, has the crappie getting into their schooling patterns. They will hold these patterns right into the ice season and finding them before freeze up, gives you a good starting point once safe ice comes.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/09/Prepping-for-Winter-Crappie

Special Trout Stocking For Veterans Day Weekend

In honor of all veterans, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is stocking ponds across Rhode Island with some 4,000 trout in advance of Veterans Day – a popular time for recreational fishing.

The following waters will be stocked this week: Barber Pond, South Kingstown; Carolina Trout Pond, Richmond; Carbuncle Pond, Coventry; Meadowbrook Pond, Richmond; Olney Pond, Lincoln; Silver Spring Lake, North Kingstown; Wyoming Pond, Hopkinton; Wood River, Exeter (Barberville), Hope Valley (Dow Memorial Field), Hopkinton (Mechanic Street and Horseshoe Dam), Richmond (Alton Pond), and Exeter (Deep Pond for fly-fishing only); and the Pawcatuck River, Hopkinton (Bradford) and Charleston (Lower Shannock Brook). Carbuncle Pond, Olney Pond, Silver Spring Lake, and Lower Shannock Brook offer universal fishing access for disabled anglers. For daily updates on stocking locations, follow DEM's outdoor education page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rioutdooreducation, or call 401-789-0281.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/08/Special-Trout-Stocking-For-Veterans-Day-Weekend

Fall Shoreline Bass

More and more of our lakes are becoming void of activity as the weather is cooling off quickly, hunting seasons are underway and hints of ice fishing is coming very quickly. For those that are still out on the open waters, the fish are feeding and why not take that opportunity at catching them.

https://www.kevindahlkeoutdoors.com/single-post/2017/11/07/Fall-Shoreline-Bass