Whitehall-Coplay Press

As we’re in the last of the summer doldrums with fishing being poor because of rain and dove hunting is only upcoming, now’s a good time to catch up on what’s new in the outdoor related marketplace.

If you’re firearms buff, collector or historian, Jerry Lee’s 2018 Gun Digest is a necessary read. In fact, you can spend the remainder of the summer reading this vast collection of firearms information Lee has assembled in his latest work.

If you’re a motor boat owner and are you having motor problems because of ethanol contaminating the innards of your motor, a new survey by Boating Industry Magazine says those in the boating industry that manufacture, sell, repair and store recreational vessels are seeing a growing number of problems caused by ethanol-related fuels. Said one boat dealer in the survey, “Ethanol fuels are great for our service department but bad for our customers!”

In these Dog Days of summer, fishing in local waters often becomes slow due to high temperatures and low water conditions. All of which makes many fish lethargic. But instead of pursuing them with rod and reel, why not try a bow and arrow.

With the Fourth of July holiday this week, many Lehigh Valley folks take off and many go fishing. As such, here’s a rundown on what’s been happening on local waters.

Willie from Willie’s Bait & Tackle in Cementon says the Lehigh River is fishing good for almost everything. Big trout, smallmouth bass, rock bass, perch and fallfish. Sizeable smallmouth are readily taking leeches. In fact, Willie recalls taking his grandson down to the falls in Cementon last summer and every cast his grandson took a fish with a leech.

With the Cementon Fair soon to begin, patrons may be treated by seeing a black bear.

No, it’s not part of a fair act, but a wild bear was seen (and photographed) last Wednesday running across Main Street and onto the Cementon Playground property.

Second only to trout, black bass is the most popular sport fish that Pennsylvania anglers fish for. And beginning June 17, the season for them opens with a creel limit of six and a size limit of at least 12 inches.

Despite this, most bass anglers wisely practice catch-and-release. It’s not because largemouth and smallmouth bass aren’t good eating, because they are. It’s because they’re more fun to catch-and-release as they can be caught again another day.

Doug Koenig, former Alburtis now Hamburg resident and professional handgun shooting competitor who shoots for Team Smith & Wesson, has won another prestigious Bianchi Cup. This makes it 18 for Koenig, a title that is unprecedented in the Cup’s history that began back in 1979.

And it’s considered the first of the triple crown with the others being the IPSC U.S. Nationals and Steel Challenge.

If you’re an avid saltwater fishing fan, you have to attend the only saltwater fishing show in the northeast. And until you can wet a line in the suds, the Saltwater Fishing Expo in New Jersey serves as a primer to the upcoming saltwater season.

This annual saltwater expo kicks off its three-day run on Friday, March 17. It features the latest in saltwater tackle, boats, watercraft gear and seminars that cover the gamut of saltwater angling. In fact, there are tackle items offered that can’t be found in most tackle shops or big box stores.

Now that the major hunting seasons are over and spring gobbler season has yet to get under way, sportsmen can still pursue probably the toughest, most wary and wily animal in Pennsylvania: the coyote.

The Boone and Crocket Club (www.boone-crockett.org) has announced a potentially new world record bowshot elk.

Taken during the 2016 Montana archery season, and on public land, the elk scored an astounding 430 inches after the six-day drying period.

The bull elk was taken on a solo hunt early in the Montana archery season by resident Steve Felix, who brought the bull to the attention of Boone & Crockett (B&C).