Apr 13, 2018 4 min read

How did I do yesterday on the opening day of trout season in Western Pennsylvania? Well I can’t tell you because I am writing this a couple of days before the season begins. However, if I didn’t fall in the stream and get eaten by the fish, it had to be a better day than one at work. Predictions are for nice weather and that alone will bring smiles. As I write this, I am undecided whether to attend the gun show in Arden, which is still going on today, or go fishing. Right now, my intention is to do both.

I mention the above because occasionally a piece comes from Harrisburg that is newsworthy and I hear about it, but I have to wait until Sunday to make it well known. The seat in the position of Game Commissioner representing Southwestern Pennsylvania has been open for some time now. Finally, the Governor has sent to the Senate the recommendation of a local man to fill this position.

Denny Fredericks was the representative before so has the experience at this position and will fill the job better than most. Also, one of the bills facing the commission is related to the drilling for gas that has swept the state. Denny is retired from his position in land management for Consol and the Pennsylvania Game Commission is a huge land owner. I can’t think of one person better qualified to handle the problems associated with removal of gas from lands owned by the Game Commission. These are lands the hunter has paid for.

It is a no brainer that I would ask Fredericks what is the biggest or at least one of the bigger issues he faces as a commissioner. It’s the fact that in the future, deer numbers will probably plummet and there is little that can be done about it. The reason can be summed up in three words: Chronic Wasting Disease, of which there is no vaccination or cure. The only hope is to slow the progress of this disease or to come up with something not known to fight its progress. The disease is not caused by the usual culprits, virus or bacteria, which makes eliminating it more difficult.

• As any long term reader should know by now, I do not always agree with the Game Commission. I have never been a yes man and never will be, but I do agree with the need to keep them independent from the legislature. The commission was drawn up to be an independent agency and one that is self-supporting, yet I see attempts by certain representatives and senators to hold the Commission captive until they get their way.

Some want more liberal seasons because of a long lost cousin twice removed wants to hunt after dark. Of course, the commission nixes that proposal and the powerful politicians refuse any requests the commission asks for. This is just simply a case of poor ethics from the legislator. That seems to be the way it works and I must say thank goodness for Camera Bartolotta. She is a friend of the outdoorsperson and tries to do what is right.

• Anticipation perhaps is the biggest emotion that pulls us to the woods and fields carrying a firearm or a bow. We wait impatiently for the first day of whatever season it is, and neither rain nor cold keeps us out of the woods. We spend fortunes on equipment. Why? Anticipation, that’s why. A big buck or 20-inch trout, the big gobbler answering a call thinking you are a lovely hen.

If you haven’t felt the anticipation to go out and call a long beard, you’re just not a turkey hunter. Turkey season is just around the corner and the hunter should be getting the itch to dig out the calls and camouflage clothing. Where are those heavy turkey loads for the 12 gauge stored?

I look for turkey numbers to be a bit down this year. I saw too many hens last year with but 1 or 2 poults following her instead of 8 or 10. Those poults were this year’s adults. But remember what it was like when a gobbler sounded off as he answered your call? Now you wait to do it all again. That’s anticipation.