Commission’s elk camera up and running
If you can’t make it north to Elk County but want to view Pennsylvania’s largest mammals in their natural environment – or as close as we get to that in this state – the Pennsylvania Game Commission installed a camera on State Game Lands 311 to allow people to watch the elk live on their computers.
The camera overlooks a field that is a favorite of the local elk and off limits to humans. The best time to catch a glimpse of the elk and perhaps even hear a bugle or two is in the late afternoon.
The camera pans around the field in constant motion, so you can get a look at the entire area – though, obviously, there are times when there are no elk present.
Even if there aren’t any elk present, it’s actually kind of relaxing to put the camera view on and just watch and listen to the bird calls and crickets chirp.
To check out the elk camera, go to http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=568324&mode=2.
• According to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission reports, catfish are starting to actively feed late in the evening in most of the tributaries along the Monongahela River in Greene and southern Washington counties.
There are also reports of some nice muskies being caught in the early morning as well as late afternoon to dusk.
Largemouth bass are being caught near the area locks and dams and other structures along the river.
• It’s the time of year when people start scrambling to get their youngsters in a hunter-trapper education course.
Because all courses now require on-line registration at the Pennsylvania Game Commission web site, we no longer run a list of courses available.
But if you’d like to get your young prospective hunter enrolled, visit www.pgc.state.pa.us and click on the Hunter-Trapper Education Classes link. Remember, children must be 11 years old to attend a course and space is always limited.
• There are just under 11,000 doe licenses remaining in Wildlife Management Unit 2-A, which takes in all of Greene County and most of Washington County.
There were 43,000 available in WMU 2-A, so about 75 percent are gone. That is more than usual at this point, though the Pennsylvania Game Commission lowered the total allocation here in recent years.
In WMU 2-B, which takes in the northeast corner of Washington County, just under 30,000 licenses remain, about half of what was available.
• The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s fall trout stocking program will begin in a couple of weeks.
In Washington County, Dutch Fork and Canonsburg lakes are scheduled to be stocked Oct. 7.
The commission truck will meet those who wish to view or assist in the stocking at 1 p.m. at the township road that crosses Canonsburg Lake. It will then travel south to Dutch Fork Lake to release the remainder of its load.
There is no fall stocking planned for Greene County.
Other waterways close to home that will receive fall stockings include Dunlap Creek Lake and Meadow Run (Oct. 1) and Dunbar Creek and Virgin Run Lake (Oct. 2) in Fayette County and Raccoon Lake (Oct. 2) in Beaver County.
Remember you need a 2015-16 fishing license and trout stamp to fish for trout in those waterways.
Outdoors Editor F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.