Michigan lawmakers are debating whether to adopt regulations for facilities that provide wild boar breeding and hunting. LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's current strategy for dealing with free-roaming, wild swine that destroy crops in parts of the state is basically to shoot them on sight. That's likely not a long-term solution to the state's feral swine problem, according to wildlife officials. The Department of Natural Resources says the threat stems from pigs escaping the game ranches where they're hunted for sport. Unless state lawmakers come up with an alternative plan, the DNR will begin the process of banning possession of wild boars July 8. Lawmakers are divided on the issue as the deadline approaches. Some want to let the invasive species order take effect and put it into state law so it can't easily be altered. Others say that would unnecessarily harm game ranches that rely on wild boar hunts for a major chunk of their income. Those lawmakers seek to adopt regulations for ranches, including tougher fencing standards to prevent the animals from escaping. Wildlife officials say the time to act is now, before the state's feral swine problem becomes too big to manage with either strategy. "Think of it like skin cancer,'' said Russ Mason, chief of the DNR's wildlife division. "Right now we're dealing with a couple of moles. We can get them froze off. Ignore that, it's gonna kill you.'' A state law adopted last year allows hunters and law enforcement officers to shoot wild swine they encounter on public property. The feral swine can be killed on private property with the owner's permission. But wildlife officials doubt the strategy is enough to handle the feral swine population. The wild pigs are smarter than coyotes, Mason said, staying out of sight and on the move. "They are very good at not getting killed,'' Mason said. "They have home ranges that are enormous, if they have home ranges at all. If you take a shot today over by Grand Rapids and miss that pig, tomorrow he's going to be in Muskegon.'' Federal officials say the wild pigs exist in at least 39 states with the largest populations in California, Florida, Hawaii and Texas. The pigs can top 200 pounds, ravenously eating corn, soybeans, hay and much of anything else they stumble upon. They're also considered a disease threat to domestic livestock. The roaming pigs have been reported in at least 65 of Michigan's 83 counties. Wildlife officials estimate roughly 3,000 to 5,000 may range outside of captivity, although those numbers are doubted by some hunters who rarely see the beasts outside of game ranches. "There's not 200 pigs running around this state, let alone 5,000,'' said Doug Miller, owner of the Thunder Hills Ranch in Jackson County. Miller considers the DNR population estimates a "joke'' and says game ranches are unfairly blamed for the swine's presence in the wild. The Michigan Animal Farmers Association is contesting the ban with a court case pending in Ingham County. Miller also has elk and deer on his hunting ranch, but said wild boars are the key to his business. He'd rather face the regulations than an outright ban on the boars. "I'm in favor of reasonable regulations for us,'' he said. "There isn't anything to prevent just any old person from having pigs. There needs to be some regulations.'' Game ranches would be required to pay fees for inspections, testing, applications and other procedures. Swine would have to be kept within secure fences. Different versions of the regulations have been proposed in the House and Senate. Rep. Ed McBroom, a Republican and dairy farmer from Vulcan, prefers a strategy that would implement regulations while continuing the state's see-a-pig, shoot-a-pig policy. "Let that law work on our feral pig problem, then put a law in place that allows the good actors in this state, the good businessmen, to stay in business,'' McBroom said. Opponents say anything less than banning the animals would be asking for trouble. Members of organizations representing pork producers and milk producers are among those supporting a ban, citing the risk to crops and the potential for spreading disease. "As far as I'm concerned, bringing in wild hogs to this state would be like bringing in Asian carp and putting them in a pond for fishing,'' said Sen. Rick Jones, a Republican from Grand Ledge who has sponsored legislation to put the DNR ban into state law. "There's going to be a flood and they're going to escape. These wild boars are escaping.'' If the ban were to go into effect, it would be phased in. DNR officials say ranch owners would be given time to have large scale hunts, sell off animals to ranches in states where hunts are permitted or take other steps to adjust. "We intend to structure the removal of pigs in a way that allows guys in a very reasonable way to restructure their business to assure that none of them suffer significant economic harm,'' Mason said.

South Carolina Sees Record Number of Alligator Hunting Applications South Carolina wildlife officials say they've received a record number of applications for alligator hunting licenses.   CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina wildlife officials say they've received a record number of applications for alligator hunting licenses. The Post and Courier of Charleston reported that the Natural Resources Department said more than 4,000 applications have been received so far. Wednesday is the deadline to pay $10 to apply for a license for this fall's season. Only 1,200 applications will be approved. The agency uses a computer program to select the winners, though the program gives a bonus to those who have applied unsuccessfully in the past. Those selected must pay $100 for the alligator hunting license. South Carolina's month-long alligator hunting season opens Sept. 10. Officials say more than 400 alligators are killed during the hunting season each year. Officials estimate South Carolina has more than 100,000 alligators

Michigan's wildlife policymakers on Thursday voted to end a ban on baiting and feeding of whitetail deer in most of the state's Lower Peninsula.   LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's wildlife policymakers on Thursday voted to end a ban on baiting and feeding of whitetail deer in most of the state's Lower Peninsula. The 4-3 vote by the Natural Resources Commission means baiting will be legal again in most of the Lower Peninsula from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1. The exception is a northeast section where bovine tuberculosis remains a problem, including Alcona, Alpena, Iosco, Montmorency, Oscoda, and Presque Isle counties. Bait could be "scattered'' but not "piled'' and the amount of bait could not exceed two gallons at any one hunting site. The debate isn't over, however. The commission also voted to revisit the ban in three years, if not earlier. Baiting and feeding have been banned in the Lower Peninsula since August 2008, when a deer with chronic wasting disease was found at a captive breeding farm in Kent County. No other cases have been reported. That led some to push for ending the ban, which was instituted to prevent deer from spreading diseases to each other while eating highly concentrated piles of food left by hunters and others. The new plan also would allow people to feed deer for recreational viewing year-round except in the bovine TB zone. Policies that allow limited baiting and feeding in the Upper Peninsula remain in place. Hunters have long been divided over baiting. Some advocate it in part because they say it increases their chances of a successful hunt. Others consider baiting to be unethical and say it has encouraged deer to feed at night, when they cannot be hunted. Some commissioners noted Thursday that the ban has been difficult to enforce. "This is a very controversial and emotional issue,'' said John Madigan, a Natural Resources Commission member who voted in favor of lifting the ban.

Hunting and fishing are on a steady decline in Connecticut, and the state is attempting to reverse the trend.   WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) — Hunting and fishing are on a steady decline in Connecticut, and the state is attempting to reverse the trend. The question is whether the efforts, which include more programs for children and stocking city ponds with catfish, will counteract a dwindling interest and experience in the outdoors. "Younger people aren't gravitating toward outdoor activities the way they used to,'' said Dennis Schain, spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "Lifestyles have changed, and electronics are drawing young people away.'' Fewer hunting and fishing licenses issued by the DEP means less money to stock fish and conduct other programs. It also carries a broader concern, said Schain. Fresh and saltwater fishermen pump $300 million annually into Connecticut's economy, and hunters spend another $68 million, according to a 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Interior. Additionally, "as these numbers decline, there is less of a constituency for environmental stewardship,'' Schain said. The number of licenses has been dropping as far back as 1990, when 227,510 inland fishing licenses were issued, and then grew more precipitous after hunting and fishing license fees were increased in 2009. Those increases prompted a public outcry and rollback on the cost. In 2010, Connecticut residents bought 123,405 fishing licenses worth about $4.5 million. About 41,000 various hunting licenses were issued, less than half of the 91,000 sold in 1990. Hunting license sales recently brought in $2.5 million. A combination license for both costs $38 without "tags'' for bow, rifle or muzzleloader deer and turkey hunting seasons. A fishing license is $28. Several programs have been launched to lure more people outside. This year, the state will step up efforts to invite more outdoor activities through its six-year-old No Child Left Inside programs, including Connecticut Acquatic Resources Education, which relies on volunteer involvement in school and community activities to put fishing poles in children's hands and get them involved in activities like fish stocking. "We want young peoples' attention by putting a fishing pole in their hands and connecting with nature,'' said Peter Aarrestad, the director of the DEP's Inland Fisheries Division said. In Hamden, for example, fifth-graders were enlisted to help the DEP stock trout. "They just loved getting fish slime on their hands,'' Aarrestad said. "It makes it more likely that they will go back and fish.'' Since 2007, the state has stocked catfish in ponds within city limits, hoping to get more urban residents fishing. Statewide this year, 15,000 catfish were stocked, including at Great Brook Reservoir at Lakewood Park in Waterbury. "We are trying to make fishing available to everyone,'' Aarrestad said. "Catfish, which we have stocked since 2007, are easy and fun to catch, and good to eat.'' Aarrestad said he'd also like to see the state create a new fee structure that rolls back the $28 license fee for young people between the ages of 16, when they are first required to buy a license, and 21. Increases in fees in 1992, 2003 and 2009 resulted in far fewer licenses sold the following years. In 2009, 149,000 fishing licenses were sold. The following year, 123,405 were sold. "We blew it when the state doubled the hunting and fishing license fees,'' said James Fedorich of Torrington, president of the Northwestern Connecticut chapter of Trout Unlimited and a lifelong fisherman. "It was a mistake to increase the fees on a revenue source that was already declining.'' Broader sociological changes are also involved in what is a national trend, Aarrestad and Fedorich agreed. Parents are reluctant to allow their children to be unsupervised outdoors, and fewer parents spend time outside. That's sad for Fedorich, 69, who recalls growing up fishing the upper reaches of the Naugatuck River, and shooting for practice before hunting season at local ranges. "Everybody had a fishing pole, and after school we rode our bikes with them, or your dad took you fishing on Saturdays,'' Fedorich said. "Every town had a fishing derby.'' License money: Where it goes Revenue from hunting and fishing licenses goes into the state's General Fund. Under federal and state law, an allocation is returned to the state Department of Environmental Protection to fund fishing programs and staffing that is at least equal to the amount generated by license sales. Of the DEP's $145 million budget, it costs nearly $14.8 million to fund fisheries and wildlife programs. About $12 million comes from anglers and hunters, licenses and a federal excise tax on fishing and hunting equipment which comes back to the state. About $7 million is license revenue, said Bill Hyatt, bureau chief for the DEP's Bureau of Natural Resources. Not funded by the fees are periodic capital improvement needs related to stocking, such as the replacement of outdated oxygenation equipment on stocking trucks and improvements to two of the state's three hatcheries in Burlington and Kensington. "Those projects come out of the Bond Commission,'' said Dennis Schain, DEP spokesman. "We are well aware that these are difficult financial times. The staff here is committed to making the best possible fishing opportunities available to the anglers of this state with the resources available to us.''

Get out of your stand and test your mettle against wary whitetails the old-fashioned way. by Jim Casada     Careful, deliberate movements are key when still-hunting. Stay low whenever possible.   In today’s world, the vast majority of deer hunting is done from elevated stands, which in reality might more accurately be described as “sits.” For the most part, stand hunting is a waiting game, although rattling, grunt calls and the use of various scent attractants do involve some active approaches on the part of the hunter. This kind of hunting was not always so ubiquitous; what were once common methods, namely still-hunting and stalking, have for the most part been abandoned. Yet in certain situations and geographical settings, these approaches might be the best ways to get within range of whitetails. The Skill Of Woodsmanship In one fashion or another, all traditional methods of deer hunting involve taking the action to deer as opposed to waiting for them to come to the hunter. Up until the last 40 years or so, it was how American hunters put venison on the table. Still- and stalk-hunting placed a premium on superior woodsmanship. I’ll flat-out guarantee that anyone who takes to the whitetail trail using still-hunting and stalking techniques will improve his woodscraft skills to a significant degree. The finest deer hunter I’ve ever known always hunted afoot. Joe Scarborough moved through the woods like a ghost. He was so quiet, so attuned to his surroundings, that his customary method involved shooting undisturbed deer in their beds. On top of that, he invariably shot them in the eye. Of course Joe had been a sniper who spent three tours of duty in Vietnam, and his woodsmanship was so outstanding that when walking through the woods in front of him, I constantly caught myself looking back to check whether he was still there. The man exemplified the concept that “silence is golden,” at least in a woodland setting. Most of us will never achieve similar levels of unobtrusive oneness with the world about us when hunting whitetails, but at least we can strive to do so. Ways To Stay Unseen In the course of a typical day Joe would cover a lot of ground in a measured, unhurried fashion. His was constant watchfulness, ever alert for an ear flick, a glimpse of a tail or the glint of sunlight off a tine. Similarly, there was always a lot more watching than there was walking, but even so, he could cover a lot of ground in the course of a full day. For Scarborough, as for any skilled hunter afoot, the quest takes on new, challenging dimensions once a deer is spotted. If the animal is within range and a clear shot is available when it is spotted, obviously all that is required is easing the gun into position and making an accurate shot. Otherwise, it’s time to stalk to within range. This might necessitate a belly crawl, a strategic retreat to take a roundabout route to a suitable site, or some other tactic. Whatever the choice, it’s an extended equivalent of a bowhunter picking a moment when he can make his draw unseen. Whether stalking, still-hunting or employing a combination of the two, one distinct advantage is the ability to hunt into prevailing winds. A fixed ladder stand or tripod offers no such opportunity to adjust to the vagaries of shifting or changing winds. When a front approaches, bringing winds from a different direction, stand hunters sometimes find themselves at the mercy of the deer’s first line of defense, its sense of smell.     You’ll need vegetation to cover your movements when you’re on a stalk. Keep your eyes on constant watch for the slightest hint of movement ahead.   How To Stalk Successfully Even if hunt from a fixed location, you can still incorporate some still-hunting techniques. Rather than walking hurriedly and heedlessly from a stand after a morning session, or while en route to a stand in the afternoon, take your time — lots of it — to cover the ground between your vehicle and your hunting station. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how productive this might prove to be, and it has additional advantages, including avoidance of getting “sweated up” and reducing the likelihood of spooking deer. While on the ground, be constantly alert for movement. Ease to the top of every hill and each turn in a trail or road with great caution. Use vegetation to cover your progress as much as possible, and in general allot some extra time get to and from stands. Never overlook taking a water route to deer. As is the case in many regions of the country, pressured deer near my southern home regularly seek refuge on islands in larger rivers, on elevated hideaways in flooded river basins or swamps, or in thickets bordering small streams flowing through remote regions. Often the only feasible way to reach deer in such habitat is to paddle to them using a canoe or johnboat. Hunters with sufficient gumption and a willingness to go the extra mile (or maybe several miles) can ease into an area without making much noise, leave their watercraft, and hunt afoot from that point. Then, too, a canoe or johnboat offers a much easier way to get a deer back to civilization than a long drag over rugged ground. Obviously there are times when turning to the traditional approaches to deer-hunting will be impossible. Yet in many situations the varied options offered by still-hunting or stalking can serve the hunter well. Thoughts On Safety Potential downsides to traditional approaches include safety considerations and the possibility of interfering with other hunters. Generally speaking, the techniques described here should be employed on private land, where you know you won’t encounter another hunter. However, for the really venturesome sportsman of the sort who gets back of beyond on a regular basis, doing this on really remote stretches of public land might be considered. In any case, wear plenty of hunter-orange attire and take care not to intrude where someone else might be hunting.

The best bet of tagging bucks during the second rut lies in shifting our placement strategies to revolve around the hottest food source that the area holds. by Steve Bartylla Continued from Part 1 Hunting Strategies In the Deep South, the stand placement strategies really don’t change much after the first does come into estrus. Although the comparative lack of breeding intensity may result in funnels receiving a lessened amount of buck travel for a typical day of the rut, they’re often still good choices on the last day of season. The same holds true for catching bucks prowling family group bedding areas and scent checking food sources. All three locations are still good choices for stand sites. However, that’s not the case in the Upper Midwest or northern regions. In fact, for those of you that hunt areas where deer commonly yard up during winter, the best options for tagging a buck after the first rut will be found in the next chapter. Frankly, even those that hunt the lower areas of the northern regions and the Upper Midwest would be best served to spend the remaining days of season alternating between the tactics about to be described here and those in the post rut chapter. As you will find is the case with the post rut, the best bet of tagging bucks during the second rut lies in shifting our placement strategies to revolve around the hottest food source that the area holds, keying on the areas within the food source that yield the most concentrated feeding activity. Certainly, there are times when the bruiser will still check the family group bedding area, but, unless continued hunting pressure has soured him on daylight visits to the food source, that placement option no longer wins the risk and reward comparison. Simply put, in most settings, the odds of catching him at the food source are better and offer less of a risk of altering the deer’s patterns. That’s not to say that there isn’t a risk in hunting food sources. Even more so than earlier in the season, routes to and from the stand, being properly concealed and not getting winded are challenges. To make it worse, frozen ground and reduced living plant life each reduces the natural odors that help mask our own. Throw in the fact that the surviving deer have already made it through the brunt of the war and our prey is now not anywhere near as tolerant of our intrusions. Sure, in areas of limited options, it may take a lot to drive deer completely away from using a prime food source. However, the slightest trace of danger sends them dashing for cover faster than any phase before this. Where before the old doe may have eventually disregarded a flicker of movement or slight trace of odor after a brief investigation, now she will stare, test the wind, stomp, stare and repeat the process until, more often than not, she blows and flees for cover, only to spend the next 10 minutes snorting in the woods. It doesn’t take many of these world-alerting encounters to convince the local deer that coming out after dark isn’t a bad idea. All of this makes selecting stand sites that provide good routes, cover and placement for the wind of critical importance. After the first rut, far more than during any other phase of season, I will sacrifice a stand that offers superior placement for intercepting deer for one that provides higher odds of going undetected. Far too many late afternoons filled with snorting deer have taught me that lesson well. The saving grace to selecting stands that are slightly off from where we really would like to be is that deer seldom enter a food source and camp in one location. They tend to spread out, milling around as they feed. At the same time, the more mature bucks often feel compelled to pay a visit to each new doe that enters the food source. In doing so, they often cover much of the area, presenting shot opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t be there. Luckily, there are tactics that we can use to draw bucks to our stand. The combination of still being interested in breeding and far fewer receptive females makes bucks susceptible to estrus scents. Placing several doctored scent wicks around our stand, as well as laying a scent trail leading to it, can bring bucks into shooting range that otherwise may have remained feeding out of range. Decoys are yet another way of drawing them in. However, if surrounded by does, traditional decoys can do more harm than good. Given that does already have a hair trigger at this time, an up close look at a motionless decoy often sends them running. Using the decoy as a buck can help to avoid this. Because most does don’t want to be harassed, they commonly steer clear of bucks. On the other hand, the mature bucks typically like to introduce themselves to the new guy. It’s there own special way of letting them know that he’s the man and you best mind your place. When paired with both dominate buck and estrus urines, a buck decoy can bring results. However, because of the still burning urge to breed, a doe decoy and estrus urine combination works best. One way to avoid getting it busted by does is to set it in a less popular region of the food source. Hopefully, the buck’s urge to check every doe will bring him into shooting range. A better alternative is using the RoboCoy. Produced by Custom Robotic Wildlife in Mosinee, Wisconsin, it’s essentially a full body mount of a deer. Made with real deer hide covering a foam frame, it has built in robotics that allow for remote controlled movement of the head and tail. It’s the only decoy I’ve ever used that can consistently withstand close inspections from family groups and put them at ease, along with being a deadly draw for bucks. Conclusion By switching between using scents, decoys and relying on nothing but the placement of the stand, keying on food sources during the second rut can produce. The added advantage that this placement strategy yields is that it also has the ability to capitalize on bucks that don’t have any interest in does. Because the bucks still must recuperate from the rigors of the rut, they rely heavily on prime food sources. Hunting stand sites bordering food capitalizes on both of those possibilities.  

The whitetail’s “second rut” and how to bowhunt it successfully. by Steve Bartylla   The second rut spurs another round of buck activity. Put the second rut to work for you.            In my younger days, I used to feel tremendous envy while reading stories about the second rut. Growing up in Northern Wisconsin, I believed this was a magical time saved only for those in the states that fell below my own. Truth be told, I was wrong. Unlike the southernmost states, where once the first does are bred some form rutting activity can be seen for months after, breeding is much more condensed in the north. Here, the timing of spring birth demands that the vast majority of does are impregnated in a fairly tight window of time. If she is bred to early her fawns may be born during the tail end of harsh weather conditions. If born while snow still covers the ground or in single digit temps, the odds of a fawn’s survival are drastically reduced. The same is true if the fawn is born late. In that case, it doesn’t have the time to grow as much before the hormones kick in that halt growth and inspire fat production. If the snow depths are significant that winter, not only is being small a handicap for travel, it results the fawn’s inability to reach as high to eat the buds on trees. The result is an animal that must expend more energy to travel, yet isn’t able to compete as well for nutrition. Obviously, that is a bad combination when straddling the line between life and death. Now, all of this must be combined with the fact that, over the course of a year, northern deer can’t intake the same potential amount of nutrition as the deer that live in areas that don’t have long-term snow cover. For example, a fawn born even in Illinois has a fighting chance of being able to feed on greens, acorns and the waste in farm fields until some point in January. In much of the northern herd’s range, not only are there vast areas void of any farming, but the much earlier average snow fall often buries any morsel of food on ground level, leaving less nutritious woody browse as their best choice. With the healthiest fawns making up most of the second rut in the Upper Midwest and point further north, the increased nutrition that occurs as we travel to the mid regions of the US allows a higher percentage of fawns the ability to come into estrus. Of course, in the parts of the deer’s southern range where droughts and poor soil conditions hamper the available level of nutrition a reduction in the percentage of fawns that come into estrus occurs, as well. Rather amazingly, even with all the hurdles facing the northern deer, some fawns typically do come into estrus each year. Even in the UP of Michigan, where excessive snowfall and frigid temps are the norm, an average of 5% of fawns come into estrus early in their first winter. The point is that, despite my youthful belief that the second rut didn’t exist in the northern regions, it does. It’s just far less noticeable than in areas that experience milder winters. Another factor that helps mask the North’s second rut is the drastic reduction in rutting buck activity. Much like fawns that try to survive their first winter, the bucks are also handicapped. Having burnt 25-30% body weight during the rigors of the rut, mature bucks must now contend with trying to survive winter. Because their fat reserves are depleted, they simply can no longer afford to invest their energies covering miles and miles of ground each day. If they did, chances are that it would cost them their lives. Instead, they’re primarily focused on conserving energy. Commonly, this involves in setting up reduced home ranges that are hinged upon the best remaining food source. Luckily for their chances of catching second rut breeding opportunities, the family groups are now concentrated around them, as well. Because of that, they can spend most of their day resting and still check a good number of fawns at the late afternoon food source. When one of the local girls enters womanhood, you can bet that the area’s bucks will be competing to win her favors. Of course, with freezing temps and snow cover remaining for even a week being rare in the southern regions, the deer residing there don’t face the same obstacles. In the South, adult does have the luxury of being able to successfully produce fawns born very early or late. Because of that range in birth dates, along with a host of other contributing factors, does are bred for a much longer window of time, blurring the lines between a first and second rut essentially into one elongated rut. To be continued—Put this knowledge to use in Part 2: Hunting Strategies   Courtesy Steve Bartylla.  

ROCKLEDGE -- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were called to a home in Rockledge on Wednesday after they were told a 10-year-old boy dragged a 6-foot alligator home from a nearby canal. Michael Dasher said he was fishing with his friends from the side of the canal, near Green Road and Fiske Boulevard, when something caught the hook. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Michael Dasher said he was fishing with his friends from the side of the canal,  near Green Road and Fiske Boulevard, when something caught the hook --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The line snapped," Michael said.  His friend, Kentral Welch, said he thought Michael caught a big one.  "I thought it was a really big fish until I saw his face," Kentral said.  The boys said Michael hooked a 6-foot alligator. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The boy was somehow able to capture the animal, which wildlife officials measured at 5 feet 9 inches long,  and drag it home without getting seriously injured. He did have a few minor scratches on his hands and arms. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Michael said the alligator ran at him, so he started hitting it with sticks. He said at one point he jumped on the back of the beast.  Michael was somehow able to capture the animal, which wildlife officials measured at 5 feet 9 inches long, and drag it home without getting seriously injured. He did have a few minor scratches on his hands and arms. His grandfather, Benjie Cox, said when he saw the alligator in the front yard he called the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and wildlife officials.  Cox said after he gave Michael a stern talk about what he had done, the officers gave him one, too. He said they told him that if he was older, he would have been arrested and charged with a felony. Cox said the alligator seemed like it was in bad shape, but wildlife officers said they were planning to release it back into the St. John's River.  Michael said he learned his lesson and will run if he ever sees another alligator.  

Choose the right kind of scent and technique to attract and stop a buck in his tracks. by Jack Young Most hunting-related scent products are designed to eliminate human odors. Four scent categories include: masking, odor-adsorbing, odor-eliminating, and oxidizing. Each has advantages, disadvantages, and preferred applications. Masking Scents Masking scents are most misunderstood. Covering one scent with another is a poor approach to odor management. Game possess olfactory senses many thousands times better than humans. Dousing oneself with masking scents means game animals simply smell you and the cover scent. Adsorbing Scents Odor-adsorbing products are better solution, but after active ingredients (baking soda, activated carbon, Abscents crystals/powder) reach carrying capacity they will adsorb no more. They’re certainly effective but require frequent recharging. Odor-Elimination/Oxidization Odor-eliminating or oxidizing products prove most effective on a wider variety of odor sources and have become the industry standard. Active ingredients chemically neutralize or oxidize odors. In the first case key chemicals react with odor molecules to turn them into inert, odorless compounds. Oxidizers quickly accelerate the break-down of odor compounds to make them disappear. Scent Lures And Tools Unlike masking or odor-eliminating scent-control products designed to camouflage game-spooking odors, bowhunting lures are meant to attract attention. These contain urine, glands, or hormones to arouse sexual interest from game. Some also contain “curiosity” agents that many deer feel inclined to investigate. The latter are used for early seasons preceding the rut. In general, game lures, like “doe-in-heat concoctions, are most effective during rut periods when males seek female companionship. Many over-zealous bowhunters dump entire bottles of lure around stand sites hoping to attract full-out charges from love-crazed bucks. It could happen, but it is highly unlikely. Effective approaches to sex-lure attractants include creating drag-lines to bring trailing bucks within range and placing scent pods to stop animals in desired shooting lanes. Regarding drag-lines, take care to assure that your human scent doesn’t mix with the scent line. Tie a clean length of cord to a long switch, a wick, or clean cloth saturated with lure attached to the end. Hold the branch at arm’s length. This distance, plus the added reach of the switch, will help leave your drag-lines free of human scent. If you know that your boots are completely scent-free, you can apply lure scent to your boot soles and trail in. Create a multitude of drag-lines around stand sites. Each line vectoring toward your stand can help bring a rutting whitetail buck in for a closer shot. Too, by paying attention to wind direction, you might actually be able direct animals away from your downwind quarter and avoid being winded. Scents Can Stop And Distract Using scents or lures to stop or distract animals is also effective. Place scent-charged wicks or scent pods upwind of your position to create standing shots at preoccupied animals. Placing scent pods behind stumps, tree trunks, or rocks might also stop deer while also blocking their vision, allowing you a chance to draw your bow undetected. Scents of all kinds can prove to be highly effective tools to regular bowhunting success. Use today’s array of scents to disguise your own scent, to better position animals for the shot, but do so wisely. Avoid desperate measures and always, always watch that wind to prevent educating animals in your hunting area—or sending them into retreat at the moment of truth.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to open new areas east of the Hudson River to bear hunting and establish uniform bear hunting season dates across the Southern Zone starting this year.   ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The state Department of Environmental Conservation wants to open new areas east of the Hudson River to bear hunting and establish uniform bear hunting season dates across the Southern Zone starting this year. DEC Commissioner Joe Martens says black bears are thriving in New York and have expanded their range considerably in recent years. He said expanding bear hunting will help ease homeowner and farm conflicts with bears. The proposed changes would open bear hunting in all of Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Washington counties, and the portion of Rockland that was not already open for black bear hunting. Public comments on the changes will be accepted by DEC through July 5. ___ Online: www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/propregulations.html