Kentucky Lake "Shortcasts" News and Events Paris Tennessee

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The second annual “Big Dog” Predator Hunt returns to Henry County on Saturday, February 11 and area hunters are invited to participate. First place will award a $1,000 prize in addition to bragging rights.

Registration is now underway at the Tackle Box, located at 6160 Highway 79 North. Entry fee is $50 per two-man team with an optional $10 Big Dog contest per team. All teams must be preregistered by January 31.

Points will be awarded for coyote, bobcat, and fox. Teams will received 15 points for coyote, 10 points for bobcat, and 5 points for fox. All teams are subject to polygraph and TWRA regulations apply.

There will even be a phone check-in at time of kill. Last year’s event was a success and quickly grew in popularity so the organizers have put it together again.

“We had 36 three-man teams participate in last year’s initial hunt and the sportsmen seemed to really embrace the event,” said event spokesman Randall Bowden. “This year we made a slight change and will have two-man teams in the competition but we’ve added a lot more door prizes. I think it’s going to be a good one this year.”

For additional information on the upcoming event contact Randall Bowden at 695-2412 or Shannon Bethune at 697-4938.
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Applications will be available online February 1, for the first six hunting days of the 2012 Turkey Season at Land Between The Lakes. Quota hunts not only provide unique recreational opportunities within the LBL region, they help maintain a healthy turkey population.

Three quota hunts in both Kentucky and Tennessee during the first portion of the season require a prior application. In Kentucky, quota hunts include a two-day youth hunt for hunters (under age 16 on the Kentucky portion of LBL) March 31-April 1, a two-day hunt April 5-6, and a two-day hunt April 14-15. In Tennessee, quota hunts include a two-day youth hunt (for hunters 6-16 years old on the Tennessee portion) April 7-8, a two-day hunt April 9-10, and a two-day hunt April 14-15. No hunting is permitted between these dates.

The non-quota hunting season, which does not require a prior application, is one 14-day hunt, April 16-29 in Kentucky, and two 7-day hunts April 16-22 and April 23-29 in Tennessee.

The Quota Hunt application fee will remain at $5 for an online application. Hunters can apply online at www.lbl.org February 1-29. Applicants can check the website at www.lbl.org near the end of March to see if they were drawn.
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Have an idea about hunting seasons? Maybe a suggestion on dates or bag limits? Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is soliciting comments for its 2012-13 hunting seasons’ regulations. This is an opportunity for the public to share ideas and concerns about hunting regulations with TWRA staff.

Public comments will be considered by TWRA’s Wildlife Division staff and may be presented as proposals for regulation changes. Comments may be submitted by mail to: 2012-13 Hunting Season Comments, TWRA, Wildlife Management Division, P.O. 40747, Nashville, TN 37204 or emailed to twra.comment@tn.gov. Please include “Hunting Season Comments” on the subject line of emailed submissions.

The comment period concerning the 2012-13 hunting season regulations will be open until Friday, Feb. 24.
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On the verge of another season of winter hibernating bat surveys, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and partners estimate that at least 5.7 million to 6.7 million bats have now died from white-nose syndrome. Biologists expect the disease to continue to spread.

White-nose syndrome is decimating bat populations across eastern North America, with mortality rates reaching up to 100 percent at many sites. First documented in New York in 2006, the disease has spread quickly into 16 states and four Canadian provinces. Bats with WNS exhibit unusual behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside during the day and clustering near the entrances of caves and mines where they hibernate.
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Seventy-five years ago this month, Ducks Unlimited was founded by four sportsmen on a mission to save North America's waterfowl populations. The year was 1937, and the odds were against them. Their plan: restore waterfowl by restoring water to prairie wetlands (despite one of the worst droughts in history), and pay for it with donated dollars (during the Great Depression).

It worked. Today, Ducks Unlimited is the largest, most effective wetlands and waterfowl conservation group in the world. To honor DU's 75th anniversary, Winchester Ammunition, a long-time partner of Ducks Unlimited, will present DU with its "Partners in Conservation Award" at the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show this week in Las Vegas, NV.
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The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is now accepting entries for its 2012-13 photo contest for publication in the Tennessee Wildlife Magazine. All interested photographers are invited to submit their best photos on fishing and wildlife species native to the Volunteer State, as well as fishing and hunting scenes in Tennessee.

Interested photographers must submit their photo entries by the March 5, 2012 deadline.

The photos will be reviewed for publication in the annual calendar edition of Tennessee Wildlife Magazine. If a photo is selected for the calendar edition, the photographer will receive a cash stipend of $60.

The format is horizontal digital images on disk. Only digital images in JPEG format and of high resolution (300 dpi) sized as an 8 1/2x11 will be accepted.

Each disk submitted must have the name of the photographer stamped or written on it. No prints can be accepted. (Sorry, disks cannot be returned).

Entries can be mailed to: Tennessee Wildlife Magazine, Calendar Issue, P.O. Box 40747, Nashville, TN 37204.
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Deer hunters in Henry County wound up the season in second place as to the statewide harvest. It was a good year here as hunters checked in a total of 4,752 according to the TWRA data base.

Giles County was tops among Tennessee’s 95 counties with a total of 5,377. The statewide total harvest figure was 166,978. The harvest total was up from last year’s figure of 162, 818.
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It’s never too early to start planning for spring turkey hunts.

Application period for the 2012 Spring Turkey Quota Hunts is now in progress and will last through February 8, 2012, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced.

Applications are available and will be accepted at any TWRA license agent, TWRA regional office, or online at the TWRA website at www.tnwildlife.org. Applications will not be accepted after 11:59 p.m. (CST) on February 8, 2012. Mailed applications will not be accepted.

The areas available for the hunts are listed on the instruction sheets. Hunters have up to 12 choices, but will be drawn for only one. Applicants may not use the same hunt code more than once. There are a total of 19 hunts listed. No person may apply more than once.

A permit fee will not be charged to Annual Sportsman (Type 004), Lifetime Sportsman (Types 401-406) license holders or Senior Citizen Hunters (Type 166) with an Annual Senior Citizen Permit (Type 167). TWRA will pay the agent fee for these transactions. For all other license holders, the cost is $10 per permit, plus the agent fee. When applying at a license agent, hunters must remain at the location while the application is processed. Hunters will receive a receipt with a confirmation number when the application is complete.

Hunters with Internet access may apply beginning December 14 for a spring quota turkey hunt. Hunters can click on Buy a License On-Line. Once the Internet site has been accessed, hunters can follow the on-screen directions.
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It’s “trout time” in Tennessee, to borrow a catch phrase from former Tennessee Volunteer broadcaster John Ward.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has a truck load of rainbows that will be stocked here in Paris on December 14 at the Paris City Park on Volunteer Drive. They will also make a same day stop at McKenzie City Park.

The program provides numerous close to home trout fishing opportunities for Middle and West Tennessee anglers during the winter months. These fisheries also provide a great opportunity to introduce children or first-time anglers to fishing.

If you plan to partake of the stocked fishing opportunity you must have the proper licenses and unfortunately TWRA fishing regulations or recent news releases don’t clearly inform anglers of what’s required to participate.

Thanks to some clarification from Henry County wildlife officer Clay Riley here is the information you’ll need:

To fish for trout, most fishermen will need to purchase an additional license. If you are a resident between the ages of 16 and 64 you will need either a one day Type 023 ($11) or an annual trout license Type 022 ($18) to go with the annual Hunting and Fishing License Type 001 ($28).

Sportsman license holders need no extra license. If you are between ages 13 and 15 you will need the junior hunting license Type 002 ($8). Kids under the age of 13 do not need a license.

If you are a resident age 65 and older you only need the permanent Senior citizen license Type 166 ($11).

If you are a Non Resident between 13 and 15 you need the Junior Hunt/Fish Type 070 ($9). If you are a Non Resident between 16 years of age or older, you need either the One-Day Type 083 ($16), Three-day Type 078 ($33.50), 10-day Type 080 ($50.50), or the annual all fish Type 081 ($81).

The trout will average about 10 inches in length. The daily creel limit is seven, but there is no size limit.

For a listing of statewide locations receiving stockings and their dates log onto www.tnwildlife.org
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The National Wildlife Refuge Association has launched its new website.

“Our members, Friends groups and partners are all telling us they like the new blogs, the enhanced wildlife sections and how much easier it is to find and access the donations page and our social media sites – Facebook and Twitter,” said Evan Hirsche, NWRA president.

In addition, Hirsche said the new site features six pages that highlight the group’s “Beyond the Boundaries” projects - large-landscape conservation initiatives that protect wildlife habitat and migration corridors around refuges. The site also has a new “Get Involved” section that shows viewers many of the ways they can get engaged with NWRA and refuges, including joining refuge Friends groups, participating in recreational opportunities on national wildlife refuges, entering the organization’s tremendously successful photo contest, and taking action for refuges and wildlife on NWRA’s Refuge Action Network.

One of the new areas under development within the enhanced website is a section where the organization’s affiliated Friends groups will be able to come together and share information and resources. A partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this will be one of the most-visited and frequently-used functions of the new website.

The URL for the site remains the same, www.refugeassociation.org The Facebook page address is still www.facebook.com/RefugeAssociation. The group’s Twitter account can be accessed via @WildRefuge.
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The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is offering one-time incentive payments for high value habitat practices in several USDA programs in targeted bobwhite restoration counties in 2012.

Bobwhite quail, along with other wildlife that depend on the same habitats, such as field sparrows, Bachman’s sparrows and cottontail rabbits, have been suffering from long-term population declines.

The TWRA incentives are in addition to the regular cost-share and other payments in the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program, Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Practices for which TWRA incentive payments will be offered include:

*Conversion of at least 5 acres cropland or grassland to native grassland with native shrub thicket and/or hedgerows

*Establishment of at least 5 acres of pollinator habitat (wildflowers with some native grasses and shrubs) in blocks and/or field buffers

*Performing prescribed burning, strip disking, strip herbicide application, and/or shrubby cover development on at least 5 acres of existing native grasses not currently under an active USDA contract

*Prescribed burning of thinned woodlands

*Development of shrubby cover by thinning the edges of woodlands adjacent to fields and/or renovation of existing hedgerows

*Establishment of wide (over 50 foot average width) native grass buffers in the Conservation Reserve Program

Counties in which the incentives will be offered include:

*West Tennessee – Carroll, Crockett, Dyer, Fayette, Gibson, Hardeman, Haywood, Henry, Lauderdale, Madison, McNairy, Obion, Tipton, Weakley

*Middle Tennessee – Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Lawrence, Lincoln, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson

East Tennessee – McMinn, Meigs, Rhea, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins

In these programs, a TWRA or USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) biologist will develop a management plan for your property to address the priority wildlife and other resource needs. In the WHIP and EQIP programs, your plans will be scored and ranked against other contracts for acceptance. Offers that include the identified practices are awarded additional ranking points. The CRP practices are available on a noncompetitive continuous signup basis, and will be automatically approved if the land and landowners meet eligibility requirements.

In Tennessee, the CRP now also offers, in addition to the CP33-Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds practice (typically established on crop field edges), the CP29-Marginal Pastureland Wildlife Habitat Buffers and CP30-Marginal Pastureland Wetland Buffers. These can be applied on marginal pasturelands adjacent to sinkholes and degraded stream banks.

The TWRA incentives are paid after the eligible practices are applied to the land. TWRA funds are limited, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis while funding lasts.

“We are offering the TWRA incentive payment to highlight and increase enrollment in practices that provide the best habitat for bobwhites and associated native grassland wildlife,” said Mark Gudlin, TWRA Private Lands Liaison. “Several of the program opportunities are relatively new, such as the CP29 and CP30 practices and the edge feathering and hedgerow renovation practices in WHIP and EQIP. Furthermore, we are trying to increase participation in counties that have the best chance for bobwhite recovery.”

For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or your local TWRA or NRCS Wildlife Biologist. Contact information for these offices and biologists, along with information on conservation programs and practices, is available at www.twraprivatelands.org
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Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: Hunting with firearms is safe; in fact, hunting with firearms is one of the safest recreational activities in America.

With hunting season in full swing across the country, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, has compiled data that shows hunting ranks third in safety when compared to 28 other recreational pursuits, ranging from baseball to wrestling. Hunting with firearms has an injury rate of 0.05 percent, which equates to about 1 injury per 2,000 participants, a safety level bettered only by camping (.01 percent) and billiards (.02 percent). For comparison, golf has an injury rate of 0.16 percent (1 injury per 622 participants), while tackle football topped the list of activities with an injury rate of 5.27 percent (1 injury per 19 participants).

"Many people have the misconception that hunting is unsafe, but the data tells a different story," said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of industry research and analysis. "Comprehensive hunter education classes that emphasize the basic rules of firearm safety and a culture of hunters helping fellow hunters practice safe firearms handling in the field are responsible for this good record."

To put hunting's safety standing into perspective, compared to hunting a person is . . .

          • 11 times more likely to be injured playing volleyball

      • 19 times more likely to be injured snowboarding

        • 25 times more likely to be injured cheerleading or bicycle riding

           • 34 times more likely to be injured playing soccer or skateboarding

        • 105 more times likely to be injured playing tackle football.
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As state game agencies around the country employ the internet to make hunting and fishing licenses easier for sportsmen to buy and information on sporting regulations simpler to obtain, the traditional route of purchasing a license at a local retailer before heading outdoors remains a popular option.

Research conducted by HunterSurvey.com and AnglerSurvey.com found that 58 percent of those hunters surveyed still purchase their licenses through a retailer, while 61 percent of surveyed anglers bought theirs at a local store as well. Retailers often count on their role as a sporting license vendor to lead to additional sales of hunting- and fishing-related equipment when consumers visit to buy a permit.

Game agency efforts at using the internet have not gone unrewarded however, and there is plenty of evidence that a sizable number of sportsmen appreciate the convenience on-line availability provides. As many as 24 percent of hunters and 25 percent of surveyed anglers reported purchasing licenses online.

Even with every state game agency in the country now providing regulations, season dates, bag limits and other hunting and fishing information online, as well as the popularity of digital products such as websites, apps, mobile phones and smart tablets, it is interesting to note that the printed regulations book remains a critical resource to today’s hunter and angler. More than 84 percent of surveyed hunters said they had received or expect to receive the regulations booklet. Of that number, a whopping 96 percent said they have read or plan to read the booklet, with more than 54 percent revealing they read it more than once and nearly 24 percent citing they use it as a resource throughout the season.
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Rabbit and quail seasons is open across Tennessee. Both are labeled as small game but it’s a pretty big deal for hunters who love the sound of baying beagles or watching a bird dog live up to his breeding reputation once he’s staunch on point.

This year quail season will end on January 31, 2012 while rabbit season continues until February 29, 2012. Bag limit will again be five for rabbits and six for quail.

Early reports indicate pretty good numbers of rabbits have been seen in some places but the forecast for quail hunters is again dismal. Coveys of quail are somewhat rare across the region as the saga continues as to the plight of bobwhites that have seen a steady decline for years.
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The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency would like to clarify the existing regulation concerning all apparatus classified as umbrella rigs for fishing. TWRA is taking this proactive step in the best interest of the entire fishing community.

Umbrella rigs can be legally fished in Tennessee waters as long as they comply with the regulation as described in the proclamation. An umbrella rig is defined as an array of more than three artificial lures or baits (with or without hooks) used by a single rod and reel combination.

Each blade of a spinner bait would be considered a lure. If the hook sizes are 8 or smaller, all lures or baits may have hooks (single, double, or treble). If any hooks on the umbrella rig are hook size 6 or larger, then only one lure or bait in the array may have a hook and that hook must be a single hook.

The Alabama Rig can legally be fished in Tennessee waters following the restrictions set forth for umbrella rigs. If an angler reduces the number of baits attached to the Alabama Rig to three or less it would not meet the definition of an umbrella rig and could be fished with any size or style of hook.

“We didn’t just make this regulation up to ban the Alabama Rig in Tennessee. It’s been on the books for almost 10 years” says TWRA Chief of Fisheries Bobby Wilson. “In effect since 2002, it was established over concerns about catching too many fish at the same time and foul hooking large sport fish, primarily striped bass and hybrid striped bass.”
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The North Face has awarded a $2,500 grant to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation's Great Outdoors University program, which will help low-wealth children and families explore the outdoors. Since 2006, GOU has provided meaningful outdoor experiences to more than 8,000 inner-city children in Memphis and Nashville through day and weekend camping, fishing and nature trips.

The Tennessee Wildlife Federation was selected from hundreds of applications because of the GOU program's success in reaching kids who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to experience Tennessee's great outdoors. In the final grant cycle of 2011, The North Face awarded $125,000 in Explore Fund grants to 51 projects, helping more than 30,000 kids connect to nature.

"The children participating in trips through Great Outdoors University are being introduced to a whole new realm, and it's impacting their lives and building an appreciation for the natural world that will carry into adulthood," says Sonya Wood Mahler, TWF's Great Outdoors University program manager. "We hear over and over from our program partners that these are life-changing experiences for the kids, and only through the support of organizations like The North Face are we able to do it. Many of the kids tell me it is the best day of their lives!"
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Select areas within the Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge will be closed off beginning November 15. Each year a few areas are closed to boat traffic and vehicles to avoid disturbance to wintering waterfowl.

Areas here on the Big Sandy unit that will be closed off are Swamp Creek, portions of Sulfur Well Basin, and Bennett’s Creek.

The areas reopen each year in mid-March to fishing and boating.
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Waterfowl season dates and bag limits were set by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission at its meeting in Kingsport. Statewide season for ducks will be Nov. 26-27 and Dec.3-Jan. 29 while the Reelfoot Zone will be held Nov. 12-13 and Dec. 3-Jan. 29. The seasons will maximize the number of weekends open to duck hunting and will end on the latest date allowed (the last Sunday in January)

Waterfowl biologist Tim White said habitat conditions in the Prairie Pothole region of the United States and Canada are reported to have been observed as the second wettest ever seen by officials.

Based on these conditions, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has offered a full season with no closed or partial seasons on any species. The TWRA recommendations follow the maximum USFWS frameworks regarding duck bag limits. A daily bag limit of 6 ducks may include no more than: 4 mallards (no more than 2 of which may be a hen), 3 wood ducks (during the late waterfowl season only), 2 scaup, 2 pintails, 1 canvasback, and 1 black duck. The daily bag limit of merganser would be 5, only 2 which may be hooded mergansers.

The youth waterfowl season would indicate only a calendar shift from last year. For youth ages 6-15, the Statewide Zone dates are Feb. 4-5 while the Reelfoot Zone would be Feb. 11-12.
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Hunters will see some changes this year for a variety of species and season dates. The TWRA Commission voted to adopt proposed changes for deer, turkey, and quail hunters along with bear and wild hogs.

One major change includes a continuous deer gun hunting season which will run from the traditional starting date of the Saturday before Thanksgiving through Jan. 1. The second deer young sportsman hunt will be held the Saturday-Sunday following the Jan. 1 season-ending date.

Another major change is wild hogs are no longer considered a big game animal. Wild hogs are now classified in the nonprotected wildlife proclamation.

Quail and rabbit season will now start the first Saturday of November which in 2011 is Nov. 5. Quail season will now end on Jan. 31 in an effort to conserve the quail population.

Rabbit season will have its traditional season-ending date with most other small game the last day in February, which in 2012 is Feb. 29.

The TWRA had proposed to keep the hunting regulations intact for the next two years. However, the commission during its committee meeting elected to make the regulations valid for the coming seasons only and will re-evaluate the proposals next spring.

WMA quota permits will be reduced from a $20 refundable fee to a $10 non-refundable fee.

The fall turkey season has been moved from December to October and the number of days has been increased from 12 to 14.

For additional changes on other hunting seasons ahead log onto www.tnwildlife.org

Steve McCadams is a professional hunting and fishing guide here in the Paris Landing area. He has also contributed many outdoor oriented articles to various national publications.

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