FRANKFORT, Ky. - Results of the Kentucky elk hunt lottery drawing are now available online at fw.ky.gov.

Final results show that 33,675 people submitted an application for one of the 905 quota hunt permits to be issued by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources this year.

Kentucky’s hunt of a lifetime drew interest from hunters across the country, including three from Hawaii, 25 from Alaska, 24 from Maine and 59 from California. Hunters could apply for up to two permits. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife received 59,672 permit applications, meaning the majority of hunters applied more than once.

The Kentucky Commonwealth Office of Technology conducted the drawing Thursday, May 3, using a random computer program.

Hunters may visit the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website to check if they were drawn. Hunters must either enter their social security number, or their birth date and the 19-digit number they received while applying. Applicants should enter the information carefully to make sure they do not put in an incorrect number.

Drawn hunters also will receive a notification letter from Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. Hunters have until July 1 to apply online for an Elk Hunting Unit (EHU). Kentucky’s elk hunting zone is subdivided into units to help spread hunting pressure. A second drawing is conducted to determine an individual’s hunting unit.

Hunters should visit the department website for more information regarding hunting unit selection. The website also contains maps and additional information on public hunting lands within the elk zone.

Photo courtesy of KDFWR

FRANKFORT, Ky. - The crappie spawn often coincides with the blooming of dogwood trees in Kentucky. Many anglers plan a crappie fishing trip to Kentucky Lake at that time of year.

This typically occurs in mid to late April, just after the conclusion of what country people call redbud winter, the cold snap following the first real warm weather of the year.

This year, you don’t have to wait until redbud winter passes to catch crappie at this world renowned lake. The crappie are biting now.

“I went yesterday and caught 13 keepers in the first two hours,” said Paul Rister, western fisheries district biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “I had as many throw backs as I did keepers. Most of the throw backs were 9 to 10 inchers.”

Rister reported the water temperature hovered around 55 degrees, unusually warm for mid-March. “They are definitely close to spawning,” Rister said. “With air temperatures in the 80s for a while, there will be some fish spawning maybe as early as next week.”

Vertical jigging red and chartreuse and purple with pearl 1/16-ounce tube jigs produced Rister’s fish. He said a co-worker and friend drifted their baits over flats and had their limits by 1 p.m.

“All of my fish came from 8 feet of water or less,” Rister said. “The water is heavy stained to muddy and that definitely helped. Of the 20 fish in my limit, 15 were white crappie and five were black crappie.”

Productive white crappie fishing is soothing to the soul of many crappie anglers on Kentucky Lake. Strong reproduction in 2009 and 2010 should provide plentiful white crappie fishing in the future.

The heavy stained water in Kentucky Lake right now allows anglers to catch black crappie with traditional white crappie fishing presentations. However, when the water clears again, that goes out the window.

Fishing for black crappie is a lot of fun, but a different beast than fishing for white crappie. This difference can be a source of frustration for crappie anglers steeped in the white crappie techniques of drift fishing, vertical jigging or fishing close to shallow brush piles or stake beds.

Black crappie are now the dominant species in Kentucky Lake due to improvements in the lake’s water quality over the past couple of decades.

The drought conditions in the late 1980s and 1990s along with improvements in agricultural practices cleared the water coming into Kentucky Lake. The lake’s water holds less silt than it did years ago. Clearer water favors the black crappie over the white crappie.

Black crappie spook easily in normal, clear water conditions. They scatter when a boat passes over them. Noises from a tackle box lid or a dropped set of pliers send black crappie fleeing for safety. You must stay well away from black crappie and cast to them, similar to bass fishing.

“I cast to rocky banks for black crappie,” said Ryan Oster, fisheries program coordinator for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “This time of year, if you can find a rocky bank with isolated timber or brush that makes it golden for catching both prespawn and spawning black crappie.”

He prefers red and chartreuse, green or white 2-inch tube jigs. “I don’t mess with minnows this time of year because you don’t need them,” said Oster, who formerly served as assistant western fishery district biologist and helped manage Kentucky Lake. “I vary the colors until you find what they want that day.”

Black crappie also often act like summertime largemouth bass – they strike best in the first and last hours of daylight. “You can really waylay the black crappie when you cast the bank at those peak times,” Oster explained. “You can catch them at other times of the day, but those times are best, even in spring.”

White or chartreuse Roadrunners, a horsehead-shaped leadhead jig with a small spinner attached and dressed in marabou or a soft plastic trailer, are also good lures to cast the banks for black crappie at Kentucky Lake. A local favorite for black crappie is a 2 1/2-inch lime green curly-tailed grub rigged on a 1/8-ounce red leadhead.

Oster explained north facing banks are usually best in spring for black crappie because the warmer southern winds heat the water more quickly than southern facing banks.

Don’t delay until a week before the Kentucky Derby to head to Kentucky Lake for a spring crappie trip.

“Yesterday was my first trip out this year,” Rister said. “It was definitely good fishing. That was the first limit I’ve caught in some time.”

Check out our other features of the March Fishing Madness Kickoff on a new page at the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website at fw.ky.gov. If you plan to fish, you’ll need to buy a new 2012 Kentucky fishing license, available in the sporting goods section of department stores and tackle shops. You may buy one by visiting the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife homepage at fw.ky.gov or by calling 1-877-598-2401.

Author Lee McClellan is an award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

NASHVILLE — Tennessee hunters will be eligible to use any gauge of shotgun during the upcoming spring turkey hunting season. The Young Sportsman Hunt is March 24-25 while the Statewide Season is March 31-May 13.

Shotguns using ammunition with No. 4 shot or smaller is legal hunting equipment this spring. The change was made during the setting of the 2011-12 hunting seasons by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission last year.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is offering the clarification to the change due to last year’s regulations which appeared in the latest issue of Tennessee Wildlife magazine.

—TWRA—

Photo courtesy of NCWRC

BREVARD, N.C. (March 6, 2012) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will host a free “Talkin’ Turkey” program March 24, from 9 a.m. until noon.  The program is being coordinated by the Commission’s Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education.

The informative program is suitable for ages 12 and older. Wildlife enforcement officers will discuss the history of wild turkey in North Carolina, hunting methods and equipment, calling techniques, safety concerns, and other helpful hunting strategies and tips. Pre-registration is required by calling 828-877-4423 or registering online.

The Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education is one of four learning facilities operated by the Commission. Located south of Asheville off U.S. 276 and next to the Davidson River, the Pisgah Center offers free admission, daily showings of an award-winning documentary, and online schedules of upcoming events and conservation activities.

Visit http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/EducationCenters/Pisgah.aspx or call 828-877-4423 for directions, program schedules and additional information.

Photo courtesy of Arkansas Game & Fish

WYNNE – Less than two weeks after an Arkansas largemouth bass record apparently was set, an investigation by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has revealed that the fish was caught illegally.

Paul Crowder of Forrest City claimed to have set the record Feb. 28 on Lake Dunn near Wynne. Crowder’s fish weighed 16 pounds, 5 ounces, which would have broken the record by an ounce.

The AGFC discovered that a license was purchased for Crowder three hours after he claimed to have caught the bass. Crowder’s fishing license expired in April 2011. Under AGFC regulations, it is illegal for any person 16 years of age or older to fish without possessing a current Arkansas fishing license. State record-fish rules require that an angler hold a valid license at the time of the catch.

Crowder has been charged with fishing without a license. He faces up to a $1,000 fine and up to 30 days in jail. The fish was seized as evidence by AGFC wildlife officers. Crowder has a court hearing March 19 in Wynne District Court.

Crowder’s fish would have broken the 36-year-old record set by the late Aaron Mardis of Memphis. Mardis set the state record March 2, 1976, with a 16-pound, 4-ounce largemouth caught on Mallard Lake near Manila in Mississippi County. Crowder’s fish was not fully certified as the state record by the AGFC’s director and chief of fisheries. The AGFC will continue to recognize the Mardis fish as the state record.

AGFC Chief of Fisheries Mark Oliver said he was disappointed that a bass large enough to be a state record can’t be certified because of illegal activity.

“At this time, we are still confident in the size and weight of the fish and proud that such a monster was produced in Arkansas waters,” Oliver said. Crowder’s fish measured 26½ inches long and 22¾ inches in girth.

The 80-acre Lake Dunn is in Village Creek State Park in Cross County. The AGFC is testing the fish to determine the genetic strain of the bass.

March 2, 2012

The 29,630 acres acquired by LDWF will link with the eastern and western sections of the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area (WMA) to create a 103,374-acre public outdoor recreation property. The purchasefromThe Conservation Fund will ensure that the acreage remains undeveloped and continue to provide inland coastal protection to adjacent communities.

“Our citizens, and visitors to the state, now have additional outdoor recreation acreage available within easy driving distance from two major metropolitan areas,” said LDWF Secretary Robert Barham. “We commend the efforts of The Conservation Fund, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation, CPRA and Mr. M.C. Davis in the transfer of these lands to the state.The Louisiana congressional delegation played a key role in securing federal funding from the Coastal Impact Assistance Program for this acquisition.”

The newly-acquired land includes acreage in Livingston, Ascension, St. James and St. John the Baptist Parishes and is accessible from I-10 between Sorrento and Laplace, and located approximately 30 to 45 minutes from Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The acquisition, together with nearby protected lands, connects approximately 140,000 acres within the Maurepas / Pontchartrain Basin.  The linking of these critical wetland areas enables LDWF and CPRA to meet various long-term goals that include:

• protecting important habitat for a myriad of wildlife species including habitat for threatened species, neotropical migrants, wading birds, and waterfowl, as well as resident game species;
• protecting important nursery grounds for a variety of aquatic species, whose sustained populations are important to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries;
• expanding public recreation opportunities, which contribute statewide more than $4.7 billion annually  to Louisiana’s economy; and
• providing protection from future storm surges and their destructive impacts to personal property and municipal infrastructure within and adjacent to the Maurepas / Pontchartrain Basin.

Recognizing the environmental value of the property, the previous owner, M.C. Davis, sold the tract to The Conservation Fund in April 2011. The Fund utilized a generous program related investment, also known as a PRI, from The McKnight Foundation to purchase the property. CPRA, through its Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative, provided $4.5 million from the federal Coastal Impact Assistance Program and the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation (LWFF) provided $2 million, enabling the transfer of the property to LDWF last month.

“Coastal forests such as the Maurepas Swamp are one of the most effective natural barriers to hurricane storm surge. We must protect these assets.  This partnership with Wildlife and Fisheries is a win-win. It allows us to protect these ecological treasures while providing additional hunting and fishing opportunities for our sportsmen,” said CPRA Executive Director Jerome Zeringue. “This acquisition is just the first through the Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative. And I want to point out that this is a completely voluntary program. Its primary focus is to acquire land rights from willing landowners like Mr. Davis to give us the opportunity to restore or enhance the sustainability of coastal forest tracts. They provide significant ecological value and serve to reduce storm damage.”

Significant hydrological restoration work on the property is expected to restore freshwater and nutrient flow, increasing the quality of the coastal wetland habitat and providing a buffer against the impact of storms battering the coast. Louisiana’s coastal forests face threats from levees, navigation, historic oil and gas canals, railway embankments, and other factors. Over time, these factors have contributed to degradation of the state’s coastal forests.

Additionally, alterations to hydrology have led to saltwater intrusion, prevention of river inflow (thereby accelerating subsidence and reducing nutrient input), and the retention of water on the forest floor for greater periods of time, lessening or eliminating the productivity that second-growth forests once had and severely compromising the potential for forest regeneration. The CPRA’s Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative is part of an overall strategy for restoring, protecting, and conserving Louisiana’s coastal communities.

“The expansion of the Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area is a victory for Louisiana’s environmental heritage,” said Congressman Bill Cassidy.  This will open new lands for hunting and outdoor recreation and preserve a pristine part of our outdoors. Louisiana should be proud of the Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative.”

“The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Foundation is pleased to be a partner in this project as Wetland Protection and Wildlife Management Area Programs are part of our major initiatives,” said Kell McInnis, LWFF executive director. “The Foundation was formed to provide a means by which individuals and corporations can become partners with the Department and the Commission in the challenge of conserving Louisiana’s wildlife and fish resources. Funding from mitigation agreements required us to focus on land acquisition in the coastal zone and this opportunity is a perfect fit.”

“Our ultimate goal is to protect and enhance the connectivity of this quintessential South Louisiana coastal wetland environment across a large landscape, and this acquisition was a very important piece of the puzzle,” said Ray Herndon, Louisiana state director for The Conservation Fund. “To date, together with numerous partners,the Fund has conserved approximately 160,000 acres across the Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain Basin, much of which connects the Joyce, Manchac and Maurepas Swamp WMAs. We are proud to be a part of this partnership that has completed the very first Coastal Forest Conservation Initiative.”

“The Audubon Society is thrilled to see this tract of bottomlands set aside for conservation of birds and other wildlife in the West Pontchartrain-Maurepas Swamp Important Bird Area, a site that is continentally important for many bird species, including the Prothonotary Warbler, locally known as the golden swamp canary,” said Melanie Driscoll, Audubon Society’s director of Bird Conservation for the Mississippi Flyway.

For more information, contact Bo Boehringer, La. Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, (225) 765-5115,bboehringer@wlf.la.gov; Chuck Perrodin, CPRA, 225-342-7615, chuck.perrodin@la.gov; or Ann Barrett, The Conservation Fund, (703) 908-5809, abarrett@conservationfund.org

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Media contact: Tony Young

Better start brushing up on your turkey calling, because spring gobbler season is here. Whether you prefer to use a mouth call, box call, slate or any combination, March means it’s time to start talkin’ turkey.

Youth hunters benefited from a rule passed last year by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) that established a two-day youth spring turkey hunting season on private property the weekend prior to the opening of spring turkey season in each hunting zone. The new Youth Spring Turkey Hunt was such a success that the FWC expanded the opportunity to 78 of its wildlife management areas (WMAs) beginning this season.

In Zone A (south of State Road 70) this year, that weekend is Feb. 25-26. In the rest of the state, that weekend falls on March 10-11.

Only those under 16 years old are allowed to harvest a turkey while supervised by an adult, 18 years or older. On private land, no license or permit is required of the youth or supervising adult, unless the adult plans to help “call-in” the bird or otherwise participate in the hunt. In that case, he or she will need a hunting license and turkey permit.

Forty-nine of the 78 participating WMAs require a youth spring turkey quota permit, and if the adult supervisor is going to attempt to call in a bird on any of the 78 WMAs, he or she also will need a management area permit in addition to a hunting license and turkey permit.

But, keep in mind that adults are not allowed to do the shooting – only the kids may harvest a bird.

For safety reasons, the FWC passed another rule last season that limits the methods of take allowed during spring turkey hunts on WMAs. The rule restricts firearms to shotguns and muzzleloading shotguns only, using shot no larger than No. 2. All legal bows and crossbows can also be used, but all rifles, pistols, buckshot and slugs are prohibited during spring turkey hunts on WMAs.

This rule does not apply, however, to private property, where any legal rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, crossbow, bow or pistol can be used to take turkeys.

One of the most coveted and sought-after game species inFloridais the Osceola turkey, also known as theFloridaturkey. This unique bird is one of five subspecies of wild turkey inNorth America.

The Osceola lives only on the Florida peninsula and nowhere else in the world, making it extremely popular with out-of-state hunters. They’re similar to the eastern subspecies (found in the Panhandle) but tend to be a bit smaller and typically are darker with less white barring on the primary flight feathers of their wings.

The National Wild Turkey Federation and the FWC recognize any wild turkey harvested within or south of the counties of Dixie, Gilchrist, Alachua, Union, Bradford, Clay and Duval to be the Osceola subspecies. Eastern turkeys and hybrids are found north and west of these counties into the Panhandle.

For us adults, the highly anticipated spring turkey season comes in first in Zone A and runs March 3 – April 8. In zones B, C and D (except for Holmes County), it runs March 17 – April 22. In Holmes County, the season runs March 17 – April 1.

Hunters may take bearded turkeys and gobblers only, and the daily bag limit is one. The season and possession limit on turkeys is two, except in Holmes County, where the season limit is one.

Shooting hours on private lands are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, but on WMAs, you must quit hunting at 1 p.m.

To participate in spring turkey hunting, you’ll need aFloridahunting license and a turkey permit. If you plan to pursue a gobbler on one ofFlorida’s many WMAs, you also must purchase a management area permit.

All of these licenses and permits are available at county tax collectors’ offices, most retail outlets that sell hunting and fishing supplies, by calling 888-HUNT-FLORIDA (486-8356) or online at MyFWC.com/License.

And if you didn’t put in for a special-opportunity or quota permit, don’t worry; several WMAs don’t require them. Visit MyFWC.com/Hunting and under “Turkey,” click on “Where to spring turkey hunt without a quota permit” to see a list of WMAs where you need only a hunting license, management area permit and turkey permit to hunt spring turkeys.

Photo courtesy of USFWS

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas’s bear harvest continues to be strong. Hunters harvested more than 400 bears during the 2011-12. Last year, hunters harvested more 450 bears. During the 2009-10 season, hunters harvested a record 530 bears.

The harvest totals were presented to commissioners of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission during its monthly meeting on Thursday.

Bear Program Coordinator Myron Means said the harvest numbers could be attributed to private land hunters using bait. “Mast failure caused bears to seek baits more than in the past,” Means said. Means added that the sex ratio was good and the statewide harvest goal is between 350 and 400 bears each year.

Polk and Scott counties were again the two top counties for bear hunters. In Polk County, 51 bears were harvested, followed by 45 bears in Scott County.

Means said that future considerations for bear season may include removing the two-day early modern gun hunt in Bear Zone 2. “The two-day gun season has been successful in increasing bear harvest for Bear Zone 2. However, it also has increased the female harvest ratio from roughly 35 percent to 50 percent,” Means said. “A 50 percent harvest rate of adult females is not sustainable over the long term,” he warned.

In other business, the Commission:

*Announced that Jeff Crow has been named the new Chief of Enforcement for the AGFC. Most recently Crow served as the Law Enforcement Management Specialist for the University of Arkansas’s Criminal Justice Institute. Crow replaces Mike Knoedl who was promoted to deputy director.

*Approved up to $500,000 to fund eight Wildlife Recreation Facilities Pilot Program projects around Arkansas. The money for the projects comes from natural gas lease revenues the AGFC has received.

*Approved up to $1 million to fund 13 grants through the Wildlife Observation Trails Pilot program. Money for the program also comes from natural gas lease revenues.

*Heard a proposal for a new code concerning non-liability for wildlife damages.

*Approved a budget increase of $121,621 to repair the Gurdon Lake Dam spillway. The dam was damaged during flooding in 2010. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the AGFC $118,121 of the total cost.

*Approved the renaming of an access on Dry Run Creek in Baxter County. The access will be renamed Larry Rider Dry Run Creek Access after the former fisheries employee. Rider was instrumental in establishing Dry Run Creek as a catch-and-release are for youths and mobility-impaired anglers.

*Approved a budget increase of $115,800 for habitat restoration and stream bank stabilization in the White River basin. The money will come from the Environmental Protection Agency through the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission.

*Approved the purchase of 41 vehicles at a cost of $977,234. The vehicles will replace 41 vehicles that have are nearing or exceeded 150,000 miles. Each of the replaced vehicles will be sold and removed from inventory as soon as equipment is transferred to the new vehicles.

*Approved a budget transfer of $62,800 for improvements at Henry Gray Hurricane Lake and Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek WMAs.

*Approved a budget increase of $90,000 from an EPA grant to study the Arkansas West Gulf Coastal Plain wetland terraces.

* Honored Sgt. Floyd Harper with the Shikar-Safari Wildlife Officer of the Year award. Harper is based in Monticello and patrols southeast Arkansas. Award winners are selected on the basis of their professional relationships with hunters, anglers and landowners in their districts, their job performance and dedication to the wildlife law enforcement profession and participation in activities outside of daily enforcement work.

*Read a proclamation from Gov. Mike Beebe honoring the 75th anniversary of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program.The WSFR program is the revenue foundation for most fish and wildlife conservation programs. First created on Sept. 2, 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act, the program raises funds through a dedicated excise tax on sporting guns and ammunition. In 1950, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act was enacted and added to the WSFR program. Through this law, funds are provided for fish conservation and boating and fishing recreational programs in each state through an excise tax placed on certain fishing and boating equipment and fuels.

The annual hunt is for youth between the ages of 6-16 will be conducted on more than 20,000 acres of prime wild turkey habitat at Cheatham WMA. The hunt provides an opportunity for the young turkey hunter to hunt the WMA that is only open to juveniles.

Participants 10 years and older must have successfully completed the hunter education class and must have the appropriate licenses and permits. In addition, volunteers 18 and older that have turkey hunting skills, are needed to serve as mentors and share the experience of the outing.

There will be a cookout and campout for volunteers and participants on Friday, March 23. Lunch will be provided on Saturday. Door prizes will also be given to the young hunters in attendance.

Registration forms are available on the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org and for assistance and further information any of the following persons can be contacted:
Davidson County          Darren Rider                 (615) 781-6669
Dickson County            Mitchell Bailey                (615) 441-1142
Robertson County        Mike Murdock                 (615) 696-2775
Williamson County        Donald Hosse                615) 781-6541
Cheatham WMA          Randy Cromer                   (615) 792-4510
Cheatham County         Eric Tummins                (615) 294-5432