Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i Game & Fish East

Many hunters wear glasses to enhance their vision and protect their eyes. Using sound amplification devices to enhance and protect your hearing while hunting is no different. Here are several models worthy of field. CHAMPION VANQUISH PRO ELITE The best over-the-ear electronic hearing protection I’ve found is the Vanquish Pro Elite earmuffs from Champion. They’re very comfortable, have two, full-dynamic-range HD speakers and an omnidirectional microphone, minimize wind noise, and are Bluetooth capable. While you’re wearing them you can listen to music or even answer a phone call. They’re also equipped with a 12-hour-run-time, rechargeable lithium battery. Of course, they are, like all over the earmuffs, a bit bulky. $249.95; championtarget.com WILDEAR FIELDEARZ My primary hearing protection are custom-fit in-ear devices from WildEar. You create a mold of your outer…

How much equipment do you need to hunt cottontails with beagles? Not much, but here are a few items that are worthwhile investments for rabbit hunters. BENELLI NOVA: The Benelli Nova pump shotgun is available in 12 and 20 gauge and features a steel frame with overmolded polymer. This durable exterior surface is perfectly suited for hunting in brush, thorns and heavy forest. With a push of the button you can unload the chamber without emptying the magazine, which is convenient when crossing fences or catching dogs. It’s an extremely reliable gun that will serve hunters well in all seasons. $449 to $559; benelliusa.com GARMIN ALPHA 10: Garmin’s brand-new Alpha 10 is a compact handheld GPS tracking device that allows you to track and train up to 20 dogs at…

Readily accessible, reliably bright light for outdoor adventures is a valued commodity. The ability to immediately illuminate the darkness can save a hunt or fishing trip and make any outdoor pursuit safer and more enjoyable. Streamlight’s Pocket Mate USB ($29.99; streamlight.com) is a microlight that clips onto a keychain, rainsuit zipper, backpack, hat bill or countless other items. The CNC-machined aluminum body, with its stout integrated snap hook, features a polycarbonate lens and shockproof LED (50,000-hour lifecycle). An onboard lithium-polymer battery charges via a provided USB cord, offering a 1-hour runtime on low (45 lumens) and a 20-minute runtime on high (325 lumens). An oversized, recessed on/off switch eliminates accidental activations and is easy to find and operate in the dark. It is a welcome deviation from the tiny switches…

Winter cottontail rabbit season in Pennsylvania is held Dec. 27 through Feb. 28. There is a four-per-day bag limit on cottontails. Residents can hunt rabbits with a general license, and nonresidents might consider purchasing an affordable seven-day small-game license ($31.97) for a rabbit road trip. There is a limit of one snowshoe hare per day in the Keystone State. In West Virginia, rabbit and hare season runs from Nov. 6 to Feb. 28. A $27 nonresident small-game license allows hunting for six consecutive days, though hunters must also have a Conservation/Law Enforcement Stamp ($13). There is a five-cottontail daily bag limit, and hunters are allowed two snowshoe hares per day. Speaking of snowshoe hares, the rolling landscape of western Pennsylvania and eastern West Virginia is about the southernmost fringe of…

GIANT ’21 WHITETAILS We have details on many of the biggest whitetails taken last season. “Big-Buck Stories: 10 Huge Whitetails from 2021” offers inside-the-hunt perspectives. TRADESHOW SEASON New firearms, bows and accessories were unveiled at the ATA and SHOT shows in January, and we were there. Check the “Gear” menu for in-depth coverage. GET READY FOR BASS Our exclusive video series, “Crash Course” and “Beyond the Bait,” are must-sees for those who chase bass. Go to our “Watch” tab to prepare for spring. BEER FOR DEER See what goes into crafting a beer for field-to-fork dining and cooking with venison. Read “Deer Beer: Brew a Perfect Pairing for Venison.” SHOOTING WITH AIR There’s a wide variety of air rifles for plinking, hunting and even survival. Watch episodes of “Modern Air…

This is when winter settles in. The holidays are behind us, spring is somewhere on the distant horizon and here we sit in February—the longest shortest month. For outdoors-men in the northern part of the region who can’t stand to be cooped up indoors, ice fishing offers a nice getaway. In the more southerly reaches, opportunities are somewhat more plentiful. Here’s a look at some of the most promising ones. BUNNIES IN THE BERKSHIRES Snowshoe hares are fairly ubiquitous in New York’s Adirondacks, eastern Vermont, northern New Hampshire and Maine, but they are often overlooked in northwestern Massachusetts. They do quite well there, though, particularly in the Berkshires, and small-game hunters have plenty of opportunity to chase them on state land in the region. Some good bets for snowshoes include…

Squirrel meat is mild and flavorful and can be used in any number of recipes, but the trick is to get it tender, typically by pressure-cooking or parboiling it in a large pot for about 45 minutes. Test the squirrel pieces with a fork occasionally until they reach the desired level of tenderness, then remove the pieces from the pot and set them aside. Retain the broth from parboiling the squirrels and heat it in a seasoned cast iron skillet. Bread the squirrel pieces with your favorite seasoned coating, or simply add salt and pepper to all-purpose flour (my mother uses ground-up saltine crackers). With sufficient bacon grease or cooking oil in the skillet, fry the squirrels to a golden brown and remove from the skillet. If you want gravy…

I remember my first predator call well. Coyotes were still a novelty in my native northeastern Ohio back in the 1970s, but we had plenty of foxes—grays and reds both—and it was these crafty furbearers my dad and I targeted. This was before MP3 this and Bluetooth that. Before compact discs, even. The unit itself was of my father’s design. It began with an old cardboard cigar box fitted with an 8-ohm speaker that, if memory serves, Dad pulled from the door panel of a 1965 Ford 500. Twenty-five feet of red-and-white speaker wire and a male jack connected our speaker to the sound system, an old portable, battery-powered Panasonic five-button cassette player. A Burnham Brothers cottontail-in-distress tape—adult on Side A, young bunny on the flip side—rounded out the high-tech…

GREAT EAST LAKE, ME/NH Great East Lake is located near Acton, Maine, and Wakefield, N.H., and is home to both largemouth and smallmouth bass. The western section in New Hampshire is deep with rocky shorelines and is prime smallmouth habitat, while the eastern end is shallow and good for largemouths. Being a boundary water, special regulations apply, so be sure to check. LAKE CHAMPLAIN, VT/NY The best largemouth water will be on the southern end from about Crown Point, N.Y., to Addison, Vt. Prime smallmouth areas are in the central and northern portions, from just north of Plattsburgh, N.Y. to Colchester, Vt. Ice conditions can vary greatly and some years the lake doesn’t completely freeze over, so check for conditions. Special regulations also apply. MARSH CREEK LAKE, PA Located in…

Spring provides renewed opportunities for multiple species, but like any other time of year, certain presentations will be more productive than others. Get your season off to a memorable start by using the following baits. PANFISH 2-Inch Big Bite Baits Crappie Minnr on 1/16-ounce jig This extremely versatile soft-plastic offering can be cast and retrieved, fished vertically or even slow-trolled behind the boat. bigbitebaits.com Rapala Ultra Light Rippin’ Rap An excellent choice for covering water and triggering the largest fish in a school, this compact Rippin’ Rap shines in the often-turbid waters of early spring. rapala.com BASS Z-Man ChatterBait Extract early season bass from wood and weed cover by dressing this vibrating jig with a soft-plastic fluke or boot-tail minnow trailer. zmanfishing.com LiveTarget Sunfish Rattlebait Whether it’s fished fast or…

The dark, cold water slipped past the muddy riverbank. I had three beaver sets out along the river and could tell by the tight cables that disappeared into the water that two had connected. By the time I had dragged the sled with two large beavers in it back to my pickup I was completely worn out—but in a good way. Fur trapping provides a wonderful opportunity to get into the fields and forests during the winter months. I used to think that, as a bowhunter, I had a firm grasp on the nuances of wildlife in their natural habitats. It wasn’t until I started trapping that I realized that while a bowhunter needs his quarry to be within 30 or so yards to be successful, a trapper needs an…

A chilling calm draped the river as the sun dropped below the western ridge. The moderate breeze that had persisted throughout the day now absent, I dropped anchor near the mouth of a feeder creek, hopeful that the boat would settle in the perfect spot to target the walleyes I expected to appear on their evening twilight feeding spree. Nearby, a shore angler set up for the final minutes of the day, also anticipating some fast action at the junction of the two flows. I explained to my guide clients how the spot was laid out, pointing the direction to aim their casts. In the ensuing 30 minutes, they boated numerous walleyes—a good, though somewhat typical, late-winter afternoon on a walleye river where we’d eked out deeper holding fish earlier…

That scrumptious Christmas goose is nothing but a memory now, just like the Christmas cookies, the New Year’s Day brunch and the countless extra-cheese pizzas eaten during college bowl games. And now, here in the heart of winter, you might be feeling all that gluttonous inactivity creeping toward your waistline. But you don’t have to resort to eating nothing but salads for the next month to get back to your fighting weight. In fact, getting up off the couch, heading out the door and chasing some salad-eating critters is a far better idea. Cottontail rabbits are prevalent throughout most of the region, but there’s perhaps no better place to chase them than the border country of southwestern Pennsylvania and northeastern West Virginia. Seasons are open in both states until February…

We don’t always get ideal weather conditions when we hunt, but there are silver linings to those storm clouds. Rain, snow, wind or a mixture of all three keeps many hunters home, which means less pressure on days when the weather takes a turn for the worse. Plus, some big-game species move better when the temperature drops or a front rolls in. To stay comfortable and hunt effectively in these conditions requires gear that’s up to the task, including rifles that can handle moisture without rusting or shifting their zero. Here’s a batch that will hunt hard regardless of the weather, just like you. BROWNING X-BOLT HELL’S CANYON MAX LONG RANGE The popular Hell’s Canyon series continues with an offering from Browning designed to tackle the elements as well as…