Category Archives: Fishing

Its fishing derby time

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The 25th Annual Harry A. Bateman Memorial Jimmy Fund Fishing Derby will take place on Saturday, June 3, at the Frank Controy Pavilion at Onota Lake in Pittsfield from 6:00 AM to 12:00 PM. No fishing license is required because it is Free Fishing Weekend for the state of Massachusetts.

 

The derby’s purpose is to raise money for the Jimmy Fund – Dana Farber Cancer Institute For Children.  All of the proceeds will be donated to the Jimmy Fund in memory of Harry A. Bateman a former member of Central Berkshire Bowmen and I.U.E. Local 255 who was well known throughout Berkshire County and who became a victim of cancer in 1992.

 

Many trophies and prizes will be given out to the adult and youth winners of the fishing derby.   There is even a special category for those fishing with a bow & arrow. All fish must be weighed in at 12:00 PM and can be caught at Onota Lake from boat or shore. Fishing tackle is given with the trophy prizes and 2 prizes for heaviest trout.  A sportsman award, which includes a tackle box with over $100 of tackle, is given out to a child

 

Fee is $10 for adults and $5 for children 14 years old and younger and it includes food and beverages. No alcohol is served at this event.   All children receive a free gift and they get a chance at winning a mountain bike. The carp shoot is part of the fishing derby because that was something that Harry enjoyed.   Advanced tickets may be purchased at Avid Sports, Dave’s Sporting Goods, Maces Marine and Onota Boat Livery.

 

Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club Fishing Derbies

Seventy seven anglers participated in the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club (SSC) Spring Derby which was held last Sunday at Stockbridge Bowl.  According to Club spokesman Tim Minkler, it was cold in the morning but warmed up in the afternoon.   The derby results were:  $100 Winners: Largest Trout:  John Herrington, Richmond, (4 lb, 6 oz., 20 ½ “ Brown Trout.  Wow!)  Largest Bass: John Nemec, Westfield, (3 lbs., 5 oz., 18”), Largest Pickerel: John Jones, Lee, (3 lbs., 12 oz., 24”), Largest Bullhead: Seth Slemp, Lee, (1 lb., 5 oz., 13”).

Age 12 and under Winners:  Largest Pickerel:   1st Blake Cella, Lenox, (1 lb., 11 oz., 20 1/2”)  2nd Mitchell Keenan, Lee, (1 lb., 15 ½”)  Age 8, Largest Trout:   1st Thomas Koldys, Housatonic (1 lb., 14 oz., 15 ½”) Age 11,  2nd Blake Cella, Lenox, (1 lb. 5 oz., 16”) Age 12.

The SSC also recently held its Kids Fishing Derby (for SSC Club members and their family age 12 and younger) at Minkler Pond.  There, 2 year old Dominic Curtin of Tyringham took 1st prize by catching a 19 inch, 2 lb 10 oz rainbow trout.  Son of Josh and Eden Curtin, he is on a roll.  Last year he also came in 1st for his age group and now is the reigning champ two years in a row.   Bass FishingOn Sunday, May 14, bass fishing was pretty good at the Greylock Bass Club Tournament on Congamond Lakes in Southwick, MA.  Only 1.5 oz decided 1st and 2nd places and 5 oz between 4 th and 5th.  Joe Chague took 1st place with a total weight of 14 lbs 6.5 oz.  The 2nd place winner was Mike Naventi with 14 lbs 5 oz,   3rd was Dave Behnam (DJ) with 13 lbs 6 oz, 4th was Dan Miraglia with 10 lbs 3.5 oz and 5th was Carlos Torra with 10 lb 3 oz.  The Lunker Largemouth Bass, which weighed 3 lb 10 oz was taken by Joe Chague.  After official weigh-in, all bass were returned safely to the waters.

Family Fun Day

Next Saturday, from 10 AM to 4 PM, Mass Audubon at Pleasant Valley welcomes all to its Family Fun Day, its annual day of fun and learning for people of all ages.

 

There will be kids’ crafts and educational exhibits by Berkshire Environmental Action Team, Housatonic Valley Association, Flying Deer, and Northern Berkshire Beekeepers Association.  At 10:00 am there will be Fiddle Tunes with Eric Buddington, at 10:30 am an “Owl’s for Tots” presentation, at 11:30 am and 1:30 pm an Eyes on Owls presentation show.  From 11:30 am to1:30 pm lunch from Lucia’s Empanadas, available for purchase, and at 3:00 pm, Tom Tyning’s “Fantastic Frogs” presentation..   Snacks will be available for purchase

 

Trout stockings

The following waters were scheduled to be stocked during the week of May 15 – 19:  Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida; Chickley River in Charlemont and Hawley; Cold River in Charlemont and Florida; Westfield River in Chesterfield, Cummington, Huntington and Russell; Walker Brook in Becket and Chester; Sackett Brook in Dalton and Pittsfield; Littleville Reservoir in Chesterfield and Huntington; North Pond in Florida, Upper Highland Lake in Goshen, Bennett Brook and Plunkett Reservoir in Hinsdale, Norwich Pond in Huntington, Lake Buel, Onota Lake, Ashfield Pond  in Ashfield and Windsor Pond in Windsor.

 

The following waters were scheduled to be stocked last week:  All branches of the Westfield River in Huntington, Chesterfield, Cummington, Becket, Middlefield, Russell, Worthington, Savoy and Windsor; Littleville Reservoir in Chester and Huntington, Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida; Laurel Lake, Onota Lake, Otis Reservoir, North Pond, Lake Buel, Goose Pond, Housatonic River C&R in Lee, Windsor Pond, Pontoosuc Lake, Plunkett Reservoir, Stockbridge Bowl and Richmond Pond.

 

Students liberate rainbow trout into Otis Reservoir

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Tuesday, May 2 started off with a pretty heavy rainfall, but by the time the school bus arrived at the Tolland State Forest campground beach on Otis Reservoir, the rain stopped and it cleared up a bit. Arriving in the bus were sixteen 4th graders and their teacher, Bethany Mielke, from the Farmington River Elementary School.  They arrived around 11:00 am and they had a job to do –  release about 200 of the 400 rainbow trout that were patiently waiting in the nearby MassWildlife stocking truck.  The event was coordinated by the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen.

 

MA Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) Bob Mason, Adam Hull, Mark Jester and Western District Manager Dom Sacco were there to greet them along with MassWildlife’s Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden, aquatic biologist Leanda Fontaine-Gagnon and technician Ray Bresette.

 

Bresette netted a few trout at a time from the truck’s tank, put them into empty 5 gallon pails and then handed them to the youths who then ran them to the water’s edge and tossed them into the lake.  Each of the youngsters took several turns in releasing them.  Only a couple of pails got tossed out along with the trout.  Teacher Mielke got to release some of them as well as the bus driver Darlene Deschaine and all of the DCR folks.  Even I got to carry a pailful, dropping only one trout along the way.  It was retrieved and released unharmed into the water, too.  There were no fish casualties and all of them happily swam away.

 

After all 200 trout were liberated, Andrew and Leanda answered questions from the kids as well as explained some of the many projects they work on.  Ironically, as Andrew was explaining the loon restoration project, we could hear a pair of yodeling loons on the lake somewhere off in the distance.  And as he was explaining the eagle restoration and banding project, high up in the sky above us was a soaring bald eagle.    Gosh he had to feel good, for he and his staff spent many hours over the years on their restorations in Massachusetts.

 

Later on, the remaining 200 trout were released into Otis Reservoir at a different location.  It was a great day.  The kids were all well behaved and perhaps left the reservoir that day with lifelong fond memories.

 

Trout Stocking

 

One MassWildlife stocking truck broke down recently and set back the stocking schedule, but they have a new truck now and they are stocking like gang busters.   The following waters were stocked last week:  Green River in Alford, Egremont and Great Barrington; Green River in New Ashford and Williamstown, Yokum Brook in Becket, Yokun Brook in Lenox, Walker Brook in Becket and Chester, Konkapot River in Monterey, New Marlborough and Sheffield; West Brook in Lee and Great Barrington, Potash Brook in Blandford, North Branch Hoosic River in Clarksburg, Hubbard Brook in Granville, Farmington River in Otis and Sandisfield, East Branch of Westfield River in Savoy and Windsor, Housatonic River (C&R) in Lee, Greenwater Pond in Becket, Beartown Brook and Hop Brook in Lee, Factory Brook in Middlefield,  Garfield Lake in Monterey, Big Pond in Otis, Onota Lake, Pontoosuc Lake, Stockbridge Bowl, Potash Brook in Russell, North Pond in Savoy, Depot Brook in Washington, Hemlock Brook in Williamstown, and Westfield and Windsor Brooks in Windsor.

Bass Tournament 

Although much of the focus of this column has been on trout lately, bass fishing is ongoing, too.  Recently, the Greylock Bass Club had a bass tournament on Onota Lake and the winners were:  1st Place – Dave Benham 14.13 lbs,   2nd Place – Joe Chague 13.04 lbs, 3rd Place – Mike Naventi 9.11 lbs and 4th Place – Jim Underhill 9.05 lbs.  The Big Bass winner was Joe Chague with a 4.12 lbs largemouth.  The above weights represented the total weight of all of the bass legally caught by the anglers.  The breakdown of bass was pretty much 50/50 largemouth to smallmouth.

Little bears In his May report to the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen, DFW Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden reported that the bear complaints and issues are cropping up again.  Unique this year is the fact that DFW has had 5 bears that Andrew responded to that are yearlings which weighed under 20 lbs.  They should be in the 50-70 lb weight at this point.  They picked up one in a garage that was freezing and weighed 13 lbs.  They took it someplace where it was fattened  up and then released.  He picked up another one recently that weighed 9 ½ lbs.

Madden feels that it is some kind of strange biological phenomena which may be drought related from last year or maybe food source related, he’s not really sure.  This high incidence of really tiny starving bears is going on throughout New England.  Vermont has had 6 or 7 cases of it.

Fishing Derbies

 

The Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club is having its Spring Fishing Derby at the boat ramp on Stockbridge Bowl next Sunday, May 21 from dawn until 3:00pm. Prizes of $100 will go the  heaviest trout or salmon, pickerel, bass and bullhead.  There will be free lures for all kids 12 and under.  Food will be available.  Pre-registration fee is $10 and post registration is $15.  Tickets are available at the Minkler Insurance Agency, 31 Main Street, Stockbridge, (W)413-644-3590, (H)413-298-4630 or from any club member.

 

The Pittsfield Sportsmen’s Club is sponsoring a Kid’s Fishing Day on Reynolds Pond in Cheshire next Sunday May 21, from 8:00 am until 1:00 pm.  Kids are encouraged to bring poles and fishing tackle and if they have none, extra poles will be available.  Lunch will be available.  For questions, contact Travis DelRatez  at 413-441-7979.

The attached picture shows a Farmington River Elementary student tossing some trout out into Otis Reservoir.  Standing next to him on the left is DFW Western District Aquatic Biologist Leanda Fontaine-Gagnon and to the right is teacher Bethany Mielke

 

Another successful Youth Turkey Hunt Day

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Saturday, April 22, was the day when the youths and their mentors took to the woods to bag a gobbler.  For the kids it was the culmination of classroom instructions, safety classes, shooting practice, etc. Traditionally, the special youth turkey hunting day occurs on the Saturday before the opening day of the spring turkey hunting season.  Each year I try to cover the kids at a different sportsmen’s club that has the youth turkey hunting program.   Last year I was at the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club, this year the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club and next year I hope to be at the Lee Sportsmen’s Club.

 

This year the SSC had a fairly large group of kids (20) to mentor.   As you can see by the photo, they did very well with 5 kids bagging birds and just about every kid and mentors had action, either by having toms respond to their calls or having opportunities to see some.  That’s really important for it takes a great deal of fortitude for the youngsters to get up early and be out in the woods before daybreak.  If they don’t have some kind of positive action, they may get immediately discouraged and not ever go turkey hunting again.

 

Mike Buffoni, who heads up the Stockbridge program and who also is a mentor had a memorable morning himself.  He and his accompanying youth spotted a female moose during the hunt.  Others hunters spotted a bear of two.  Mike has to be super proud of his two sons Max and Marco for they both bagged gobblers.

 

The day started off damp and raw with a few sprinkles here and there but as the day progressed, it warmed up.  When the kids and mentors returned to the club around noon, (turkey hunting must cease at noon) they were treated to a hot roast beef dinner expertly prepared by Chef Peter Delgrande.

 

After the meal, the customary procedure is to teach the kids how to dress the birds, breast them out for consumption, and save the tail feathers, beards and spurs for display.   Getting that first turkey was a big event for these kids and I’m sure they wanted to save such items for fond memories and bragging rights.

 

While one of the mentors was eating his meal, he picked at least 20 ticks off of his shirt – both wood ticks and deer ticks.  He had hung his hunting jacket on the back of his chair and they were jumping off of that onto his shirt.  He said that he had also pulled a lot of ticks off of him when he finished hunting and was leaving the woods.

 

From what I hear and see, this is going to be one heck of a year for ticks, so please make sure you use a tick repellent spray on your clothes, such as permethrin, and be sure to carefully inspect yourself when you get home.

 

Matt Ranzoni, who headed up the Lee Sportsmen’s Association youth hunt, had 6 kids participate this year and 3 of them were successful.  Donavan Coccomo got a tom weighing 21 lbs, Hunter Briggs got a 20 lb bird and Matt Driscoll got a 15 lb jake.  Travis Bush passed up a jake because he saw a tom that he was after.  The other two hunters, Dorian Page and Owen Bush had close calls.

 

No word was received as to how the kids at the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club did.

 

The Lee and Cheshire youth turkey hunt programs are similar to that of the Stockbridge Club, but I doubt very much that they had the kind of delicious meal that Delgrande prepared.

 

As of midweek, MassWildlife only had harvest numbers on what had been reported online. Many check stations still issue physical seals so they aren’t able to obtain harvest numbers until they get information back from all the check stations statewide after the season closes.

 

Incidentally, readers may recall my March 5 column, ”NE Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame inductees announced”, wherein I mention that MassWildlife’s James Cardoza was one of the inductees for supervising the recovery of Massachusetts wild turkey.  Following that article, 90-year old Joe Robinson called me to tell the rest of the story.  Robinson, a former DFW Western District biologist, retired 35 years ago, but he remembered the turkey recovery effort quite well and related the following:

 

The real credit for reintroducing the turkeys back into Massachusetts belongs to the then DFW Western District Supervisor Winn Saville, and his staff including Frank Putnam, Ed Hover, Fred Bohlman and Joe.  “We were the pioneers”, he said.  “Members of the staff traveled to New York in the early 1970’s, got the birds and released them in Beartown State Forest.  We kept an eye on them to see how they were doing.  We built feeders for the turkeys and put bags of corn into them.  The deer got a lot of that corn.”  Joe said that the first turkeys migrated to the Great Barrington area along with their poults.  After some years of reintroducing them and their own self populating, the hunting season was opened 1980.

 

Fishing Derbies

The Berkshire Hatchery Foundation in Hartsville-New Marlborough is having a free children’s fishing derby next Saturday, May 13  from 9 to 10:30am at its lower pond.  Children aged 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

 

Trout Stocking

The following waters were scheduled to be stocked with trout last week:  West and Middle Branches of the Westfield River in Becket, Chester, Huntington, Middlefield and Worthington; Littleville Reservoir in Chester and Huntington, Trout Brook in Peru, York Lake in New Marlborough, Otis Reservoir, Laurel Lake, Richmond Pond and Windsor Pond in Windsor.

 

Questions/comments:  Berkwoodsandwaters@roadrunner.com.   Phone:  (413) 637-1818

 

Front left to right; Curt Wilton III, Max Buffoni, Madison Gilmore, Nick Powers, Zack Lupioni  Back row left to right; Kadin Shafiroff, Brady Whalen, Matt Fletcher, Bailey Gilmore, Marco Buffoni, Nick Puntin, Darrin Cloran, Nate Smith.  Not in picture; Kade Groeber, Kevin Triono, John Field III, Myles Houle, Juliana Hektor, Briel Winters, Brett Smith.

Stocking trout on Earth Day

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On Friday, April 21, Earth Day, MassWildlife conducted a trout stocking event at Onota Lake in Pittsfield.  Usually, the stocking dates and times are kept secret so as to avoid “stocking truck followers” from catching a lot of fish before the trout have had time to acclimate to their new surroundings.  But this time it was different.  MassWildlife wanted the public, especially children who were out of school during school vacation to be there and to participate.  And a lot of kids and their parents and grandparents did show up.

About 350 nice sized rainbow trout were put into white 5 gallon pails, 3 or 4 at a time, and the kids and older folks scurried to the lake’s edge to toss them into the water.  They had to hurry as no water was put into the pails in order to keep the loads lighter.

It was a great day for all involved.  I couldn’t help but chuckle as some of these kids weren’t much bigger than the pails they were carrying.  MassWildlife’s Western District Aquatic Biologist Leanda Fontaine-Gagnon stood in the water in hip boots to ensure that every trout was safely liberated and I am happy to report that there were no casualties—at least not until some nearby fishermen caught some.  Derek McDermott and Ray Bresette of MassWildlife carefully  netted the trout out of the stocking truck and placed them into pails for the kids lined up to take their turns at stocking. Western District Supervisor Andrew Madden ensured that the operation went smoothly and also provided some pamphlets and animal track information.

There were a lot of smiling faces seen that day, not sure who had the most fun, the kids, their parents/grandparents or the MassWildlife team.

Pictured above, wearing the tiara, and stocking some trout was 15 year old Meghan Kalbaugh of Chicopee, MA who came to the event with her parents.  She is the reigning Miss Western Mass Outstanding Teen.  She had a beautiful sash but took it off while stocking so as not to get it wet and slimy from the fish.

Message to the young lads, turn off the smart phones and computer games, pick up your fishing rods and head for the lakes.  No telling who will be out there stocking the trout.  Look at what you missed!

Trout stocking

The following local waters were scheduled to be stocked last week:  Hoosic River in Cheshire and Adams, Deerfield River in Buckland, Florida and Charlemont;  Clesson Brook in Ashfield and  Buckland, Swift River in Ashfield,  Cummington and Goshen; Pelham Brook in Charlemont and Rowe, Housatonic River in Hinsdale and Dalton, Little River in Worthington and Huntington, West Branch Brook in Chesterfield and Worthington, Ashfield Pond and South River in Ashfield, Dry Brook and South Brook in Cheshire, Wahconah Falls Brook in Dalton, North Pond in Florida, Stones Brook in Goshen, Dunbar Brook in Monroe, Mill Brook in Plainfield, Bronson Brook in Worthington, Plunkett Reservoir in Hinsdale, Goose Pond in Lee and Tyringham,  Lake Buel in Monterey, Windsor Lake in North Adams and Otis Reservoir in Otis.

Lakes are being remapped

In his latest report to the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen, Fisheries and Wildlife Board member Stephen Sears of Dalton, reported that DFW fisheries personnel are in the process of making new maps of all our lakes. He said that they will be incredibly accurate.  They will also be available on-line.  They already mapped Onota Lake and will be doing Pontoosuc Lake soon.  Click onto the MassWildlife web page to check out the new Onota Lake map.

 

Loons

MassWildlife cautions us that Common Loons, a species of Special Concern, have been observed taking shiners on anglers hooks and hooking themselves.  They urge anglers to pull hooks baited with shiners out of the water when loons are present and continue fishing when they have passed.   Anglers may recall that the protection of the loons was a major reason why the use of lead weights under 1 oz have been prohibited in Massachusetts.  Apparently, the loons ingest them and then later die an agonizing death from lead poisoning.

 

I love loons.  Of all the sounds heard in the wilds, by far my favorite is the yodeling sound of a loon on a quiet night on or near a crystal clear northern lake.   Upper Maine and Canadian lakes provide such waters.  Loons require clear lakes because they it make it easier for them to see prey underwater. Chances are, while listing to the loons, you may also be marveling at the Aurora borealis (northern lights).  They go hand-in-hand.

 

Last year, while fishing in Labrador, I saw some loons and commented to a guide my fondness for this bird.  He did not share my feelings, in fact, he downright despised them.   He said that they can grow to 12 lbs and they eat an awful lot of fish each day.  The outfitters and guides up there get their livelihood from fishermen and they want them to catch a lot of fish so that they come back.  Loons compete with them for the fish.

 

Thinking that he was exaggerating, I checked into it when I got hone.   In one study, scientists estimate that loons eat 22% of their body weight each day.  In another study, biologists estimate that loon parents and their 2 chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period.

 

Well, even so, I still love the sight and sound of that bird and support its restoration in Massachusetts.

 

Questions/comments:  Berkwoodsandwaters@roadrunner.com.   Phone:  (413) 637-1818

Accompanied by a picture of Miss Teen Western Massachusetts, Meghan Kalbaugh, stocking trout.  Standing next to her is her father James.

 

Four honored at BCLS Conte Banquet

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About 130 people packed the Cheshire Rod & Gun Club banquet hall last Saturday evening for the Berkshire County League of Sportsmen’s (BCLS) Silvio O. Conte Memorial Awards Banquet. Award recipients included Doug Frank of Lee (2016 Sportsman of the Year), Karen Karlberg of Becket (Lifetime Achievement Award), Tom Macy of Sheffield (Sportsmen’s Appreciation Award) and Robert McDermott of West Stockbridge (John Zuber Outstanding Achievement Award).

 

All were selected by the delegates of the various sportsmen’s clubs which make up the BCLS.   Their individual feats were highlighted in my March 26, 2017 column,  “2016 BCLS Award winners announced”.  The banquet was dedicated in honor of George “Gige” Darey of Lenox.    Mark Jester of Pittsfield was the emcee for the event.  Congratulations to all of the recipients.

 

Gige Darey respectfully declined to accept an award preferring that one go to one of the above deserving recipients.   He did give a moving speech recounting his 38 years on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board.  Gige has been kept busy giving talks these days.  Recently, he received an award from the Worcester County League of Sportsmen and two weeks ago, he received a Special Recognition award from the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council.  At that banquet, Lt Governor Polito, several State Senators and Representatives and many other dignitaries honored him for his many achievements.

 

As you may know, Gige recently stepped down from the F&W Board, of which he served as its chairman for 35 of years.  During that time he accomplished a great deal.  He oversaw the restoration and recovery of the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, osprey, turkey, deer, bear and piping plover.  He was instrumental in increasing land acquisition and protection, habitat identification and management, education and outreach and the new environmentally state-of-the-art Field Headquarters in Westborough.

 

One of his proudest achievements was to getting “Presumption of Openness” into the language of the Open Space Bond Bills, ensuring that all state land so purchased would be open to passive recreation including hunting, fishing and trapping.  He led the efforts to transfer the Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program to the DFW, now a model for the nation.

 

Referred to as the champion for all wildlife, from fish and big game, to the less heralded species greatly needing our understanding and protection, it is no wonder that the 818-acre Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area bears his name.

 

Gige is not done receiving accolades yet.  On May 13, there will be an event celebrating his lifelong commitment and achievements as well as raising funds for the MA Outdoor Heritage Foundation.  It will take place at the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club, 24 West Stockbridge Road (Route 102), MA.

 

The event,  co-chaired by Bob Durand former Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Dave Peters former Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game, Wayne MacCallum former Director Division of Fish and Wildlife and Steve Sears President of the MA Outdoor Heritage Foundation Board, will take place from noon to 4:00pm. Buffet at 1pm, speaking program at 2:00pm, silent auction and raffle at 3:00pm.  The cost is $50 per person.

 

If you are unable to attend but still wish to contribute to the Outdoor Heritage Fund, of which Gige is a founding Board member,  make checks payable to: Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation (note George L Darey fund) P.O. Box 47, Westborough, MA. 01581.  You may want to consider a sponsorship and tax deductible donation that will honor and further the mission of natural resource protection which has been Gige’s lifelong commitment.

 

Some sponsorships categories are:   Woodcock -$100, Whitetail Deer-$250, Black Bear -$500 and Bald Eagle-$1000. For more information about the Foundation, visit them at massoutdoorheritage.org.

 

Fundraiser

On April 29, the Lee Sportsmen’s Association is holding a fundraiser called Aiming for Zero Steel Match.  The purpose of the event is to support the fight against veteran suicide.  Shoot times are 9:00 am and 1:00 pm with no preregistration required, $25 registration fee, $5 side match.  Centerfire pistols and .22LR pistols and .22 rifles welcome.  If you can’t attend but would like to donate, visit the Aiming for Zero/Active Heroes website.  Click on join existing club then List on registered teams.  Choose individual fundraiser and type in Paddy Sullivan. He is registered as an individual, and not with a team. He is doing this for His National Honor Society service project.

 

Trout Stocking

The following local waters were scheduled to be stocked last week. Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida; Chickley River in Charlemont, Hawley and Savoy; Cold River in Charlemont, Florida, and Savoy; Westfield River in Chesterfield, Cummington, Huntington and Russell; Housatonic River in Lee and  Pittsfield, Hop Brook and Goose Pond Brook in Lee and Tyringham, Upper Highland Lake in Goshen, Mansfield Lake in Great Barrington, Kinderhook Creek in Hancock, Norwich Pond in Huntington, Greenwater Brook in Lee, York Lake in New Marlborough, Berry Pond in Pittsfield, Buck and Clam River in Sandisfield, Larrywaug Brook in Stockbridge and Onota Lake in Pittsfield.

 

Spring Turkey Season

The spring turkey hunting season opens tomorrow in Massachusetts and runs through May 20. Immediately following harvest, hunters must fill out and affix the tag from their turkey permit to the turkey. The turkey must be reported either online via the MassFishHunt system or at a traditional check station within 48 hours of harvest and before the bird is processed for food or taxidermy. The MassFishHunt system generates a confirmation number which must be written on the harvest tag attached to the turkey; the confirmation number serves as the official seal. The tag (or metal seal from a check station) must remain on the bird until it is processed for food or taxidermy.

 

Love is in the air

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Recently, MassWildlife has requested us to report local eagle sightings to Andrew Vitz, MassWildlife’s State Ornithologist, and/or to DFW Western District Supervisor, Andrew Madden. Mark Thorne of Pittsfield has been observing and documenting the Onota Lake eagle nest for 10 years now, and the female has been the same one every year.

 

She was banded in 2002 (#T98) from the Hudson River in New York.  Now 15 years old, she may be considered middle aged as they can live up to 30 years.  The males have changed over the years, three since Mark has been monitoring them, and the current one has been with her since 2014.  He was banded (#WR8) as a chick in 2006 from the Connecticut River area here in Western Mass, making him 11 years.  They had been on eggs since the beginning of March, with both eagles sharing duties sitting on them.  Eaglets may have hatched by now.

 

Supposedly, they mate for life, but if one member of a pair dies or is killed, the other will actively court another mate.  However; there has been some contention over this nest from a third eagle.  No locked talons that Mark has seen, “just a lot of fast flying and screaming from all parties, ending with the intruder being shown the door to another part of the county”.  Sadly, Mark says, that’s how her current beau came into the picture, so we’ll have to see how this plays out.  He believes that “mating for life” depends particularly on how long the current male can withstand the challenges of other younger males.

 

Breeding Bald Eagles were extirpated from Massachusetts during the early 1900s. However, from 1982 to 1988, forty-one young Bald Eagles from Michigan and Canada were relocated to Quabbin Reservoir. Following this restoration effort, they were confirmed to breed successfully in the state by 1989.  Eagle numbers have increased slowly but steadily since that time. During 2015, an all-time high of at least 51 pairs of Bald Eagles maintained breeding territories in Massachusetts.  Around here, they were located as follows:  Westfield River (2), Deerfield River (2), Housatonic River (1), Onota Lake (1) and Lake Buel (1).    Population abundance in Massachusetts is limited mainly by amount of potential breeding habitat (i.e., number of large water bodies surrounded by mature forest and having shallow waters and abundant fish).

 

Fishermen should be diligent in proper disposal of fishing line and equipment, as eagles are known to accidentally ingest hooks. At least one eaglet has been killed in Massachusetts after becoming tangled in fishing line.

 

Be careful while driving, too. Recently, a very important bird in the history of Bald Eagle restoration in Massachusetts died after being hit by a vehicle on Rte 5 in Northampton. A veterinarian determined it had a broken back and spinal cord damage, and had to be euthanized.   Known by #W02 on its leg band, this 28-year-old eagle was one of the three first wild-born eagles to hatch in Massachusetts in modern times. Since 1989 when W02 hatched, at least 646 wild-born Bald Eagle chicks have fledged in the Commonwealth.

Poor bird, it died without a real name. RIP #W02.

TU Event

On Thursday, April 20, the Taconic Chapter of Trout Unlimited will have Ron Merly, Connecticut fishing guide and Author of Flyfisher’s Guide to Connecticut as its guest speaker.  He will be speaking about the Farmington and Housatonic Rivers.

 

An avid fisherman, Merly has been fishing the trout streams of Connecticut and on Long Island Sound for over 45 years. He has held the current Connecticut state record for sea-run trout since 2006. A self-taught writer, he was awarded first place in the Best Magazine Article category by the New England Outdoor Writers Association in 2009 and 2010. He has served as the president of the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited since 2010, and has been a member of its Board of Directors since 2000.  He has resided on the Connecticut coastline for his entire life, and has flyfished all over New England, as well as in Mexico and Honduras.

 

The event will be held at the Berkshire Hills Country Club at 500 Benedict Rd., Pittsfield.  Doors open at 6:00 pm.  The presentation is free and open to the public.  Dinner is optional.

 

Earth Week

Earth Week runs from April 17 through April 23 this year.  Numerous communities celebrate an entire week of activities focused on the environmental issues that the world faces. The most common practice of celebration is planting new trees.  Coincidentally, that is also school vacation week.

 

Friday, April 21, is called Earth Day and MassWildlife has planned a trout stocking event that day.  It will take place at Burbank Park on Onota Lake at 1:30 pm.  Andrew Madden, DFW Western District Supervisor, plans to liberate 400-500 rainbow trout into the lake.  The public, especially the youngsters, are invited to watch them release the fish.  DFW may allow some of the kids to carry pails of trout for release.  They may also have some stuff to hand out to the kids.

 

Trout Stockings

The following local waters were scheduled for trout stocking last week:  Konkapot River in Monterey, New Marlborough and Sheffield; Deerfield River in Buckland, Charlemont and Florida; Farmington River in Otis and Sandisfield, Hoosic River-South Branch in Cheshire and Adams, Hoosic River-North Branch in Clarksburg, Green River in Alford and Great Barrington, Williams River in West Stockbridge, Egremont and Great Barrington;  Westfield River in Becket, Chester, Huntington, Middlefield and Worthington;  Hudson Brook in Clarksburg, Littleville Reservoir in Chester and Huntington, Trout Brook in Peru, Green River in Williamstown, Greenwater Pond in Becket, and Big Pond in Otis.

What is the DER and what does it do?

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The Massachusetts Division of Environmental Restoration (DER) was created in 2009 with the merger of the Riverways and Wetlands Restoration Programs. DER coordinates ecological restoration to improve habitat for fish and wildlife and restores important ecosystem services that improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts citizens.  DER works with many partners across a variety of aquatic systems, from freshwater to saltwater, to restore the ecological integrity of degraded habitats for the benefit of people and the environment.

 

In 2016 alone, the Division removed 2 dams and completed 2 wetland restoration projects, restoring 285 acres and opening 13 river miles statewide.  It advanced work on multiple river and wetland restoration projects that have recently initiated construction or will begin construction next year.  Once complete, those projects will remove 8 dams, reconnect more than 78 river miles and restore nearly 280 acres of degraded wetlands.

 

Using Commonwealth funds, DER leveraged $10 million in newly awarded external funds.  Volunteers worked in 72 communities devoting more than $100,000 worth of labor towards protecting and restoring our rivers and wetlands.  The DER provided technical support and guidance in more than 170 communities and across all 27 major watersheds.

 

DER, together with its partners, has restored in total over 1,800 acres of coastal wetlands and reconnected over 250 miles.

 

In Western MA, the DER was recently awarded a $179,620 grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.  The grant will build municipal capacity to upgrade culverts and increase the pace of culvert replacement in the Deerfield River Watershed.  The Deerfield River has an abundance of coldwater streams, which provide essential habitat for fish species. In 2011 many towns were hard hit in the region after Tropical Storm Irene.  This grant, in conjunction with other DER funds will immediately advance the design and/or construction of up to 6 culverts in the Deerfield River Watershed and, in time, will lead to many more replacements.

 

DER’s Streamflow Restoration program continues to work with municipal partners in Pittsfield to improve streamflow below recreational dams.  This past winter, DER installed a telemetry station at the Onota Lake dam that measures water level and assists with lake management and downstream releases to Peck’s Brook, a tributary to the West Branch of the Housatonic River.  Last fall DER also funded a survey of macro-invertebrates in Peck’s Brook, along with several other streams in the area, to better quantify changes in the aquatic community after modifications were made to upstream dam management.  Recent monitoring shows significant improvements in both streamflow and macro-invertebrate populations in the brook, despite 2016 drought conditions.

 

In 2017, DER will be working on 11 new priority projects adding to its total roster of 62 projects.  Here in the Berkshires, the Kitchen Brook Dam in Cheshire, has a provisional status of Significant Hazard.  It has an impassable obstruction on the brook, which drains part of Mount Greylock’s eastern slope and is tributary to the coldwater trout stream Thunder Brook.  That brook is where DER previously worked with the town to removal another aging dam and to replace an undersized culvert with a fish-friendly crossing.  Removal of Kitchen Brook Dam will open up 4 miles of high quality cold water habitat for Eastern Brook Trout.

 

The Kinne Brook Dam in Chester was removed in 2014, and now two undersized culverts will be replaced in 2017-2018.  The goal is to restore river functions to the high-quality cold-water stream which is a tributary to the Westfield River.  It is abundant with eastern brook trout.  The barrier removals were done in partnership with Trout Unlimited and others.

Several years ago, the DER removed a dam on the North Branch of the Hoosic River in Clarksburg.  Now, there is an Urban River Restoration Priority Project planned for the Hoosic River in North Adams.  The goal is to modernized North Adams’ aging concrete flood chutes with habitat, river and community friendly modifications while maintaining existing flood risk management levels.   So far a concept design for the South Branch Hoosic River restoration is in place including preliminary designs for a Phase I restoration in the Noel Field area. Soil, sediment and groundwater sampling was just completed in the Phase I restoration area. Concept design work for the North Branch of the Hoosic River is just beginning and will take about a year to complete.

 

The DER is a division which reports directly to the Commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game.  Tim Purington is its Director.  It is one of my favorite state agencies because we can see tangible results which affects our lives and benefits the critters. I hope it continues to receive sufficient funding to accomplish it very important work.

 

Trout Stockings

The following local waters were scheduled to be stocked last week.  Due to the rain and high waters, this schedule was subject to change: Ashfield Pond, Housatonic River (East Branch) in Dalton and Hinsdale, Housatonic River SW Branch in Pittsfield, Pontoosuc Lake, Lake Garfield, Lake Buel, Windsor Lake in North Adams, Onota Lake, Goose Pond, and Windsor Pond in Windsor.

 

Water Safety

According to the Massachusetts Environmental Police, most boating fatalities in the Commonwealth result when boaters fail to wear life jackets while in small craft in cold water or weather. Paddlers in canoes and kayaks are required to wear life jackets from September 15 – May 15.  They also advise us to:  Make sure everyone wears a life jacket, follows navigation rules, such as safe speed and spotters, never boat under the influence and keep in touch by using cell phones, etc.  Don’t panic if you fall into the water.  Stay afloat with the help of your life jacket, regain control of your breathing, keep your head above water in vision of rescuers, and stay with the boat if possible

Pittsfield teenager will compete in National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships

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The Lee Sportsmen’s Association (LSA) recently announced that one of its junior athletes, Lena DuPont, of Pittsfield, has earned and accepted a first round invitation to compete in the 2017 National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships for Air Pistols.   They will take place at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO on April 20 – 24.  Lena is 14 years old and an 8th grade High Honors student at TEC Connections Academy.

To compete is quite an honor, as only the finest junior athletes in the nation are invited. The event provides an opportunity for obtaining possible future shooting scholarships and a National Junior Team appointment, which allows them to compete internationally.  Standing shoulder to shoulder with the best shooters in the country makes this match one of the most competitive events in which Lena will participate.

She is a member of LSA’s Air2Spare youth air pistol team, and earned a Silver medal with two teammates (Riley Laurent and Cooper Maloney) at the 2016 Baystate Games.  They were taught by Air2Spare founders and coaches Cliff and Vicki White.  Berkshire Eagle reporter Jacob Mendel, covered these winners in his August 1, 2016 article entitled, “Air2Spare air pistol shooting club continuing growth after Baystate Games showing”. Lena was also featured last summer on WNYT (Albany TV) during the Olympic games

Lena then went on and won a Silver medal at the 2016 Progressive Position Pistol (PPP) Nationals in Ft. Benning, GA in her category for the Eastern Region, and placed 7th overall in the nation.

She is excited for this opportunity and says, “I was really surprised and happy to get this invitation. It’s the equivalent of a shooting Christmas for me and the other junior shooters who were invited!”

Incidentally, Lena is fundraising to help offset the travel costs associated with attending the championships in Colorado.  Her GoFundMe link is: https://www.gofundme.com/lenadupont2017.  For offline donations, contact her mom Stephanie DuPont at (215) 668-7808 or email dupontfam5@gmail.com.

Good luck, Lena!

International Defensive Pistol Association

The outdoor matches of the IDPA and Sheet Matches seasons at Lee Sportsmen Club are starting soon.   Refer to the LSA web site calendar for a list of all match dates.    You do not have to be a member of the Lee club to participate and new shooters are always welcome.  The IDPA is a shooting sport that simulates self-defense scenarios and real life encounters.  Each stage is purposely different to force you to practice different skills.   You will need a 9mm or larger and 3 mags minimum.   The rules of IDPA are followed for safety and scoring. The matches are typically $15 to participate.  There are many IDPA videos on You Tube and they recommend this starter one:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke-20oCBTOM

 

Steel matches are typically strings of 5 targets repeated 5 times/strings. It’s best if you have 5 magazines.  These matches are rim and center fire pistol and 22 rifle friendly.  Shawn Sullivan ssullee@icloud.com is the best point of contact for IDPA and steel.    New shooters must attend a safety orientation prior to their first shoot.  Each match begins with a safety briefing.  Sign in time is 12:15-12:30 for afternoon matches.

 

Trout Stocking

The following local Western District waters were scheduled to be stocked last week:  Deerfield River (Buckland, Charlemont, Florida), East Branch Westfield River (Chesterfield, Cummington, Windsor), Housatonic River C&R (Lee), Farmington River (Otis, Sandisfield),  Pontoosuc Lake, Laurel Lake, Richmond Pond, and Stockbridge Bowl.  The schedules were subject to change.

Monitoring our water quality

While the Clean Water Act of 1972 was established to help make our rivers swimmable and fishable, most of our rivers still don’t meet that goal, especially after a rainstorm, due to the pollutants carried down the storm drains to the river. That’s according to the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA), who informs us that each of us has the opportunity to make choices that improve the water quality of our rivers and lakes.

Yesterday the HVA conducted a Water Quality Monitoring Training at the Bill Laston Memorial Park in Lanesborough.  Once a month, the trained volunteers will collect water samples at designated locations on Wahconah Falls Brook in Dalton and the Southwest Branch of the Housatonic River in Pittsfield. They volunteered for one morning, once a month, from April through October. The goal of this sampling is to determine current bacteria levels in the above mentioned waters. Segments of these tributaries are currently listed as impaired due to high bacteria levels. If the sampling shows that bacteria levels have dropped, these tributaries may be taken off the state’s impaired waters list. If you missed yesterday’s meeting, check with Alison Dixon, HVA Berkshire Outreach Manager at (413)298-7024 to see if you can still get involved.  The time commitment is 30-40 minutes per month.

Also, the HVA will be conducting Stream Team training on Tuesday, April 4 from5:30 to 7pm at the Mason Library, in Great Barrington, and Saturday, April 8 from  2:30 to 4:30pm at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield.  This spring volunteers will help complete river assessments on the Southwest Branch of the Housatonic River (Pittsfield) and the Green River (Austerlitz, NY to Great Barrington) Volunteers will walk or paddle a 1 – 2 mile segment of the river and record observations.

Our streams and rivers are also affected by acid rain.  Today, volunteers are gathering water samples from hundreds of streams and rivers across the state and delivering them to designated laboratories for analysis. This acid rain monitoring program has been ongoing for more than 30 years and good baseline data has been accumulated.  It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, President Trump’s new executive order addressing coal production will have.

2016 Berkshire County League of Sportsmen Award winners are announced

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In the BCLS’s March meeting, Doug Frank of Lee was selected to receive its Sportsman of the Year Award.  He has been a long time member and Board member of the Lee Sportsmen’s Association (LSA) and has always been there to help out.  He ran the Club’s pheasant program and was co-chairman of the skeet field.  He has always believed in promoting the shooting sports and became a NRA Certified Instructor in Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun and as a Range Safety Officer.

 

Recently, he became a NRA Certified Skeet Shooting Coach.  He has been a coach for the LSA Buckshots, which is part of the Scholastic Skeet & Trap Program, which he now runs. He is a Massachusetts Hunter Education instructor and teaches at the LSA and other places. Every year he helps out with the Youth Pheasant Hunt with his dogs.  He also helps out with the LSA Annual Ice Fishing Derby and Pheasant Fund Raising Dinner.  He always helps with the fundraising, whether at the Gala Dinner, Turkey Shoots, Raffle Tickets, and more.

 

Karen Karlberg of Becket was selected to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.  She was a long time member of the Taconic Chapter of Trout Unlimited and at one time served on its Board.  In 2005, Karen was the recipient of the Taconic Chapter’s highest honor, the Crooked Staff Award.  This award is presented to the person who best represents the ideals of TU, that being the conserving, protecting and restoring of North America’s coldwater fisheries and their watersheds

 

Karen was heavily involved with the ASERP (Atlantic Salmon Egg Rearing Program) in the Becket schools.  She helped the Becket grammar school system establish the program some 14 years ago.  In this program 3rd and 4th grade students raised young salmon fry from egg to fry and released them into Yokum Brook in Becket.  She obtained the eggs from the Belchertown Hatchery drove them to the school, and took care of them during school vacations.  After the salmon program was ended, she continued her assistance with its Trout in the Classroom (TIC) program.

 

She was involved with the Housatonic Valley Association (HVA) Housatonic River clean-ups,  taught flycasting to children during HVA events and educated youths about maco-invertibrates.  She was a stream guide for the Casting for the Recovery Program, a support and educational program for breast cancer survivors. She assisted with the MassWildlife’s Becoming an Outdoorsman (BOW) Program

 

She is involved with the Westfield River Watershed clean-ups and eradication of invasives.  She serves on its Wild & Scenic Committee and helps with trail clean-ups. She worked with the Nature Conservancy doing wildlife tracking and assessments.

 

Tom Macy of Sheffield has been selected to receive the Sportsmen’s Appreciation Award.  He has been a member of the Sheffield Sporting Club for 49 years, serving as President for 10 years, Treasurer for 32 years and on the Board of Directors for 46 years. He played a major part in moving the club to its current location and building the club house, 2 skeet fields and a trap field.

 

For years he led a 22 rifle club for the Boy Scouts and an instructional course for 5th and 6th grade students that taught gun safety and also gave them the opportunity to shoot a rifle, pistol and shotgun. Tom has maintained and repaired the clubs 4 skeet, 5 five-stand traps and set the trap field to be run by vocal release.  Tom has always donated both time and money to the Sheffield Sporting Club. The money he made driving students to high school sporting events was donated to construct the observation/porch addition to the club. He also donated enough money to enable the club to buy one of the 2 new traps last year.  This year, as in all past years, he has cleared all the fields of snow so members could shoot all winter.

 

Robert J. McDermott of West Stockbridge was selected to receive the prestigious John Zuber Outstanding Achievement Award.  Bob is a NRA Benefactor Life Member, Instructor, Training Counselor, MA and Utah Certified Instructor and a MA Hunter Education Instructor.  He is a member of the Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club, Lee Sportsmen’s Association and Agawam Revolver Club. He is the author of the Massachusetts Pistol License Course (LTC-020) that is taught to approximately 35% of new licensees in MA each year.   He teaches the Basic Hunter Ed course with the team at the Lee Sportsmen’s Association.  He has taught over 6,000 students.   In addition to teaching at local clubs, he has taught at Smith & Wesson, Savage Arms, Cabela’s and others.  He also teaches courses to raise funds for the Stockbridge and Lee sportsmen’s clubs. He was taught about firearm safety and hunting by his father, and feels that it is important to “pay it forward”  to preserve our heritage and rights.

 

The late John Zuber was recognized twice by the BCLS ( Lifetime Achievement Award and the Sportsman of the Year Award) for his work and dedication to the sportsmen of Massachusetts.  He was also recognized by the Massachusetts Sportsmen’s Council and is listed in its Hall of Fame.

 

These richly deserved awards will be presented at the Silvio O. Conte Memorial Banquet at the Cheshire Rod and Gun Club on the evening of April 15.   This year the event will also be in honor of George “Gige” Darey, recently retired Massachusetts Fish & Wildlife Board Chairman.  Tickets which cost $30 can be obtained from any BCLS delegate.

 

Trout Stocking

Leanda Fontaine Gagnon, DFW Western District Aquatic Biologist, informed us that they stocked Onota Lake in Pittsfield last Friday.  The weather and conditions have kept them from making any concrete stocking plans, leaving them to monitor local waters on a day-by-day basis.

 

It’s a world record!

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If this featured picture looks familiar, it is because I ran it in my October 30, 2016 column, and also mentioned it in a follow-up article of Val Percuoco and her sisters in my February 5, 2017 column.  So why am I fixated on that fish?

Well, last week it was announced that not only was that 3 lb 8 oz white perch a state gold pin winner and the new state record, but it is also the new world record!  That catch landed her in the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in Hayward, Wisconsin.  There, it was recently recognized as the Division 1 Rod and Reel 10 lb. Line Class World Record.  About the same time, the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) recognized the fish as the new All-Tackle World Record for White Perch.

As you may recall it was caught out of Wachusett Reservoir north of Worcester.   Check it out again, for its not every day that a world record fish is caught in Massachusetts waters.

Bald Eagles

According to MassWildlife, there are now more eagles nesting in Massachusetts than any time in the recent past, and they need your help keeping track of them. Please report eagle sightings to Andrew Vitz (MassWildlife’s State Ornithologist, andrew.vitz@state.ma.us). Many of our nesting eagles are banded with color-coded bands that identify the individual, so make sure to look for these leg bands whenever you see or photograph an eagle.

According to DFW Western District Supervisor, Andrew Madden, there will be a big push to locate nesting eagles in our area, especially in North County.   They are particularly interested in evidence of nesting eagles (e.g., birds carrying sticks or sitting in nests). When there is evidence of a new breeding territory, DFW staff verifies the report as they monitor known nests. MassWildlife will conduct its Spring Eagle Survey on Friday, April 7. The Survey consists of coordinated teams of staff and volunteers who spread out across the state to check on historic nest sites and look for new nests.

According to MassWildlife, we have both Golden and Bald Eagles in the state. Both grow to approximately the same size, but the white head and tail of the adult Bald Eagle differentiates it from the Golden Eagle. Immature Bald Eagles may be confused with both immature and adult Golden Eagles.

The adult Golden Eagle is nearly uniformly dark without the mottling found on the immature Bald Eagle. Golden Eagles at any age may have relatively sharply defined, bright, clean white patches of varying size at the base of the inner primaries and outer secondaries on the wings and a clean white area at the base of the tail. All immature Bald Eagles have whitish axillaries and, depending on age, can have extensive, “dirty” white mottling virtually anywhere on the head, body, wing linings, and tail.  The Golden Eagle’s legs are feathered to its toes; the legs of the Bald Eagle are unfeathered.

Basic Hunting Course

All first-time hunters who wish to purchase a Massachusetts hunting or sporting (combination) license must complete a Basic Hunter Education course.  There will be such a course at the Becket Town Hall at 557 Main Street, Becket on April 10, 12 and 15.  The times are: on April 10 from 5:30pm to 9:00pm; and on April 12 and 15 from 8:00am to 5:00pm.  There may also still be openings in the scheduled class at the East Mountain Sportsmen’s Club which starts also on April 10 (previously mentioned in this column).  To enroll call (508)389-7830.

 

Coyote Contest

Nineteen coyotes were entered into Dave’s Sporting Goods Coyote Contest this year, and the winners were as follows:  Jay Fortier of Washington, MA bagged the most coyotes with a tally of 6.   Joe Trybus, of Lanesborough, MA got the heaviest one which weighed 44 1/2 lbs. Congratulations to both hunters.  Keep up the good work.

 

No trout stockings in the Western District yet

 

DFW WD Fisheries Manager Leanda Fontaine Gagnon went to check some access points during the week and because of the snowstorm, they have decided they were not able to start the stocking last week as planned.  Probably they will start next week.

 

Club events

The Lee Sportsmen’s Association and Ducks Unlimited will be having its 3rd Annual Youth Sportsmen’s Gala dinner and raffle on Saturday, April 8 at the Country Club of Pittsfield.  It is billed as a night of fantastic food, great raffle prizes, music and fun.  Doors open at 4:00 pm and dinner served at 6:00 pm. The price is $100 per person.   For more information, contact Virginia DuBois at (413)446-5404.

 

The Lenox Sportsmen’s Club is having its annual Spring Ham Shoots beginning today and running for the next three Sundays beginning at 12:30 pm.  The costs are $3 per shot.   You are encouraged to bring your shotguns and .22 cal rifle or pistol, as they have a few 22 shoots during the day as well.  Prizes include hams, gift certificates and some other items. The kitchen will be open for burgers dogs, sausage and a few other items.

 

The Stockbridge Sportsmen’s Club will be having a 450 Round Indoor Archery Tournament to benefit the Aim for Higher Education Scholarship Fund on April 8 and 9.  Click onto the club’s web site, events and calendar page to find out the times, prices, categories, etc.  There will be a Chinese raffles and auction.  There will be a spaghetti dinner at 6pm on Saturday and a pancake breakfast on Sunday Morning.

 

The Cheshire Rod & Gun Club will also have turkey and ham shoots every Sunday from March 26 until Easter. They start at 1pm and the cost is $3 a shot.