Whitehall-Coplay Press

Southwick Associates just released their March/April angler survey, wherein they interview anglers online to get their preferred angling methods, gear, locations, general interest and fishing opinions.

The questions and respective percentages indicate the most annoying problems with angling today. They are as follows:

Q: What is the biggest problem facing fishing today?

While the deer hunting season closed in January, it doesn’t have to end if you take to the woods and fields in search of antler sheds.

According to Pennsylvania resident Bob Foulkrod, a RedHead Pro Hunting Team member, outdoor TV personality and outdoor writer, “From a practical standpoint, hunting sheds is a tremendous aid in hunting the deer that grew them. Finding shed antlers in your hunting area in late January and into February and March, can tell you a great deal about the number and quality of bucks you are likely to see during next hunting season.”

With Memorial Day traditionally kicking off the pleasure boating season, and if you own a boat or watercraft, this list, prepared by the Boat Owners Association of the United States (BoatUS), tallies the most popular boat names.

The tradition dates back a quarter century, with the list derived from adding up requests for boat name designs from BoatUS Boat Graphics. Each reveals something about the personality of the vessel’s owner. And the list is entertaining to say the least.

The 2019 BoatUS Top 10 Boat Names:

At this time of year, wildlife is blooming with newborns - be it songbirds, geese, ducks, foxes and deer fawns. The Pennsylvania Game Commission asks that people avoid disturbing or picking them up, especially deer fawns.

Most deer fawns are born in late May and the first and second weeks of June, according to the PGC. During this time, it’s best to keep your distance because the fawn’s mother is almost always nearby. When people see a small fawn alone, they often mistakenly assume it is helpless, lost or needing to be rescued.

Youngsters 15 years of age and under are invited to enter the free 2019 Annual Fishing Derby on May 25, 2019, at Hokey Park located on Lehigh Street in Whitehall.

The derby is open only to children and is hosted by the Whitehall Township Recreation Department with sponsorship from Willie’s Bait & Tackle Shop in Cementon, who provides the prizes for the winners.

In my opinion, there’s no bird as interesting and fun to watch as hummingbirds. And they’re on the way through the area right now as they’re on their way north, according to the Birding Wire.

As per Perky-Pet’s birding website, a Rufous Hummingbird was spotted on April 29 in Media, PA, and on April 26 a Ruby-Throated was seen in Nesquehoning.

Youngsters 15 years of age and under are invited to enter the free 2019 Annual Fishing Derby on May 25, 2019, at Hokey Park located on Lehigh Street in Whitehall.

The derby is open only to children and is hosted by the Whitehall Township Recreation Department with sponsorship from Willie’s Bait & Tackle Shop in Cementon, who provides the prizes for the winners.

There will be lots of clucks and gobbles emanating from Penn’s Woods on Saturday, April 27, when the spring turkey season opens statewide.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC), there is a turkey population of about 215,000-225,000 turkeys in the state. Last year, an estimated 174,500 hunters pursued them and took 40,303 of them. This was up from 38,101 in 2017. The PGC claims it set the highest hunter success rate in years. And this year’s forecast looks promising, despite a low fall turkey harvest and a rainy spring season in 2018.

Trout fishing is tops on the local fishing menu, but following a close second and third are shad and stripers.

Chris’ Bait & Tackle in Mertztown reports good trout action in all area streams thanks to recent stockings. At Ontelaunee Reservoir in upper Berks County, the crappie action died down and the overall bite is slow. At Blue Marsh Lake, anglers are doing really good on catch-and-release bass using large shiners. Crappie guys are also doing well there and picking up quite a few. Chris believes more warm weather is needed for them to turn on.

Pennsylvania hunters posted their highest overall deer harvest in 14 years when they took 374,690 deer during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons. But the buck harvest dropped.

The 2018-19 deer harvest topped the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10-percent. The last time the total deer harvest exceeded this season’s total was in 2004-05.