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WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019

- ARCHERY -
Scholastic 3-D Archery has named Bob Gattorna of Connecticut as the S3DA Northeastern National Outreach Coordinator. Bob will work directly with State Coordinators in the Northeast region to educate them on how to be effective leaders and promoters of S3DA in their respective states.
- BIKING -
The International Mountain Biking Association will host its fourth Trail Lab in Bentonville, Arkansas on June 10-12, 2019. Trail Labs are intensive two-day workshops designed to catalyze the next generation of great places to ride mountain bikes.
- BOATING -
Susan Stocker, boating law administrator and education coordinator for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, is encouraging boaters to spend a few minutes going through the boat in their driveway to help avoid problems later on the ramp or water.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds all boaters and anglers to “Clean, Drain, and Dry” their boats and equipment this Memorial Day weekend to protect Iowa lakes and rivers from aquatic hitchhikers.
The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water together with Fleet Boat Club offer a choice of two fun on-water boat training courses taught aboard single-engine powerboats: Intro to Boating and Women Making Waves, Saturday, June 8, at the club’s location at Southpoint Marina, Rochester, New York.
- COLLEGIATE FISHING -
"It should be a slugfest at the National Championship," was the response Martin McCravy, a 4th year angler at the University of North Alabama, provided when asked about how conditions are setting up for the 2019 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.
- COMPETITION -
Over 230 students participating in the National Archery in the Schools Program traveled from Pennsylvania to Louisville, Ky. in search of a national title. The team from Montrose Elementary School, in Montrose, Pa. was crowned national champions in both the NASP National Center Shot Bullseye Tournament and the NASP National Centershot IBO 3D Challenge.

2019 marks the 120th anniversary of the Amateur Trapshooting Association Grand American World Trapshooting Championships. The tournament will be contested at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (Sparta Illinois) July 31 – August 10.
The team from Montrose Elementary School, in Montrose, Pa., Susquehanna County, was crowned national champions in both the NASP National Center Shot Bullseye Tournament and the NASP National Centershot IBO 3D Challenge.
- CONTESTS -
Anyone who finds a bird nest in a creative, quirky location can participate in the Funky Nests in Funky Places challenge, run by the Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
- EVENTS -
Watch pioneer demonstrations including blacksmithing, tomahawk throwing, and the operation of an oxen-powered 1850 haypress during O’Bannon Woods State Park’s Memorial Day weekend events, May 25 and 26.

The Arizona Game and Fish Department, together with boating professionals and enthusiasts nationwide, will demonstrate the importance of remaining safe on the water by participating in Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day on Friday, May 17.
Houston Safari Club Foundation (HSCF) is pleased to announce its entertainment lineup for their Annual Worldwide Hunting Expo and Convention, to be held January 24-26, 2020 at the George R Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.
- FIREARMS -
The Bond Arms® Texan™ with its 6-inch barrel is easily the company's largest model handgun and one of the most accurate of the bunch.
- FISHERIES -
The commercial and recreational harvest of stone crab claws in Florida closes on May 16, with the last day of harvest on May 15. Stone crab season will reopen on Oct. 15.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 34 trout streams and two lakes classified as Delayed Harvest to trout harvest on June 1 through Sept. 30.
- FISHING -
TrueTimber will be the presenting sponsor of the Major League Fishing® (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Stage Six, held at Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri. Appearing on behalf of TrueTimber will be TrueTimber’s Fishing Pro and Ambassador Edwin Evers, the current Bass Pro Tour overall points leader and the legendary Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- GEAR -
Help your dad enjoy his time in the stand while keeping him safe and your mind at ease with Primal Treestands' Emergency Descender  and Primal Treestands' ladder stands featuring the Grip Jaw and Backbone Stabilizer Truss Systems. 
Engineered to match the profile and balance of the latest bow designs, the new APEX GEAR REACTOR™ XL quiver provides a sturdy and well-balance arrow containment system for backcountry bowhunters.

- GRANTS -
This year the Michigan DNR will provide $350,000 through the Dam Management Grant Program and administer a one-time supplemental appropriation of $8 million authorized by the Michigan Legislature to fund similar projects.
Whitetails Unlimited recently issued a grant in the amount of $2,500 to the Scholastic 3D Archery program in support of their outdoor national tournament, bringing the total WTU has granted to S3DA to more than $12,500 over the past year.
- INDUSTRY -
Outdoor Solutions has added a location for their popular long-range shooting schools. Located in central Michigan, Two Hats Ranch features a luxurious lodge and suites while offering shooters a 1,000-yard range along with a climate controlled shoot house.
Zeus Broadheads are now available through Ridge Road Outdoors and to all Ridge Road Outdoors Country Club members at special membership savings.

West Marine announces the hiring of Ron Baime as Chief Merchandise Officer. Baime was formerly senior vice president at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.
- INSTRUCTION -
Panteao Productions announces the release of a new instructional video from Richard Mann: Defensive Pistol Fundamentals
- LEGAL -
Yesterday, counsel for Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), Firearms Policy Foundation (FPF), and The Calguns Foundation (CGF) submitted a brief with the United States Supreme Court calling for the City of New York’s unconstitutional firearm law to be struck down. The brief argues that many “courts have been relentless and creative in their efforts to uphold virtually any restriction on keeping or bearing arms,” and that those courts “lack the clear and firm guidance required for them to follow the law, rather than their predilections.”
- LEGISLATION -
The New York State Senate has unanimously passed A5944, the Gravity Knife Ban Repeal. Now, after two earlier vetoes, the question remains, will Governor Andrew Cuomo veto the bill?

- NEW PRODUCTS -
The new Deadwood™ Stump blind combines a field-proven, hunter-friendly, wall-hub design with new patent-pending kick-out technology to create the realistic profile of a large, dead tree stump.
Hobie is proud to announce the latest addition to its renowned lineup of pedal kayaks, powered by the brand’s signature MirageDrive®—the original pedal propulsion system for kayaking. Maintaining Hobie’s acclaimed quality and durability, the Passport was built with simplicity in mind, delivering efficiency, ease of use, versatility and comfort in a highly accessible package.
Hornady is proud to announce additions to American Whitetail ammunition, NTX bullets, Lock-N-Load modified cases, A-Tip Match bullets and new bullet seating stems.
Men's XTRATUF Realtree Fishing 6-Inch Ankle Deck Boot is crafted specifically for off-shore anglers.

For youth hunting, a truck gun, or around-the-farm varmint control, Rossi’s new Tuffy break-action, single-shot shotgun delivers many features that surpass its low ($172.00) price point.
Outdoor Edge simplifies the hunting-knife-selection process with the introduction of its new WildGuide combo set. The set is comprised of a caping knife, a gut-hook skinner and a T-handle wood/bone saw, which all fit neatly into a custom nylon sheath.
- OLYMPIC SPORTS -
Long-time Olympic sports administrator Bob Gambardella has been hired by USA Shooting for the role of Chief Operations Officer. Gambardella will begin his duties with America’s Shooting Team beginning June 3.
- ONLINE -
Hunt Masters combines the adrenaline-fueled excitement of outdoor adventure, stunning visual and the hard-earned wisdom of hunter, Gregg Ritz, in this week’s MyOutdoorTV Pick of the Week.

- ORGANIZATIONS -
During the Pope and Young Club's 31st Biennial Convention held in Omaha, Nebraska, the Club's Stewardship award was presented to the Kansas Bowhunters Association.
Thirty-five years after its founding on May 14, 1984, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) is celebrating decades of conservation success.
- PRODUCT NEWS -
Versacarry has a new holster to address two problems associated with carrying inside the waistband: sharp edges against the wearer and sweat on the firearm. The Comfort-Flex holster features a removable padded foam backing that rests against the skin of the user.
Warne Scope Mounts has updated the Skyline bipod to include Rapid Deploy legs. The new feature allows the user to instantly deploy the legs to 90° or use the button-locked positions at 0°, 45° or 90°.
- PROMOTIONS -
Otis announces its promotion in honor of Police Week. National Police Week is May 12 – 18, 2019 and includes a culmination of events in support of our men and women in blue as well as honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
As part of the Defenders Series, Springfield Armory offers the best deal ever on the 1911 Mil-Spec, with an MSRP of $549.00. Individuals who purchase the Defenders Series Mil-Spec will receive a Defender Series Certificate and an invitation to join The Defenders, an online community of enthusiasts.
- PUBLISHING -
Long-distance performance is within (affordable) reach thanks to the Performance Center Thompson/Center Long Range Rifle. Chambered in today’s hottest rifle cartridge, the T/C LRR 6.5 takes top billing in the July issue of GUNS Magazine.
- SPONSORSHIPS -
B.A.S.S. officials announced today that Yamaha is now the official motor sponsor for B.A.S.S. Conservation.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is pleased to announce that HuntPost.com has signed on to be the Platinum Sponsor of the 2019 NSSF Industry Summit.
GSM Outdoors is happy to announce a partnership renewal agreement with Heartland Bowhunter.
USA Archery is pleased to welcome Conquest Archery to the partner family. As USA Archery's newest Official Sponsor, Conquest Archery's support is focused on the USAT and Developmental teams.
- STATE PARKS -
After the spectacular wildflower season in many of Arizona’s state parks, there will be an increased possibility of wildfires throughout the state during the upcoming dry season. The departments are asking the public to be vigilant and proactive when it comes to fire safety.
- STATES -
Enjoy the best of Kentucky’s food and drink while supporting the Salato Wildlife Education Center at the 16th annual Salato Sampler in Frankfort from 6 to 9 p.m. (Eastern) Saturday, June 1.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will host a public meeting at 6 p.m., May 20, at the Chuck Gipp Decorah Fish Hatchery, 2325 Siewers Spring Road, in Decorah, to discuss a proposal to remove potentially hazardous trees located around the fish hatchery.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed legislation creating more opportunities for quality outdoor recreation by authorizing $26 million in Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants.
- TELEVISION -
The barricades, the plates, the practical, and the mover; it’s Classic Competition for the 40th year of the Bianchi Cup, and Shooting USA is there.
- WILDLIFE -
The Vermont Fish &Wildlife Department says deer fawns are being born this time of year and asks that people avoid disturbing or picking them up.
 

Be not afraid-- unless youre a carp or buffalo fish. Alligator gar feed on rough fish photo Richard Snow ODWC

Lake Texoma lies over the Texas - Oklahoma state line. This boundary water is enormous. Denison Dam backs up the Red and Washita rivers for miles. The swollen arms of several tributary streams form massive lake coves that shoulder into the main water body. Consequently, there is much open water and ample shoreline for anglers seeking to catch black basses, crappie, sunfish, blue catfish and white bass.

The striped bass fishery is of good repute. And there is something to say for the alligator gar fishery as well: alligator gar are under-studied.

For anyone with even a perfunctory knowledge of alligator gar, this may seem counter-intuitive—that not a great deal is known about one of the largest freshwater fishes in North America.

An alligator gar leaps alongside ODWC research boat in Lake Texoma photo ODWC

Consider this. Alligator gar reach an enormous 13 feet long and fatten to a plump 300 pounds. It’s a long-lived leviathan with some of the eldest individuals swimming this very moment, having hatched when Apollo 10 navigated around the Moon in May of 1969.

These giant fish have a growing, almost cult-like following of anglers, and for good reason. Hook one and hang on. An eight-foot-long alligator gar can take you for a ride. You will see a tail dance in a glistening spray of water akin to a silvery tarpon over turquoise flats in nearshore salt water—except alligator gar potentially have more heft. Get a gator gar to the boat, and with a parting flick of its round tail fin, its sinuous form slips into the murk to be caught again.

Or will it?

That’s a question that Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) research biologist, Richard Snow, seeks to answer.

“Virtually any information we glean from ongoing research is new information,” said Snow from his Norman, Oklahoma, office. Snow is seven years into research into the alligator gar’s life history and has most recently embarked to learn more on a how the fish fairs after being caught and released. The answer to this question is central to sport fishery management and has applicability well beyond the bounds of the Oklahoma state line.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program funds Snow’s research—the monies derived from excise taxes paid by tackle manufacturers and then apportioned to state wildlife agencies for essential conservation work such as his.

Snow, an Oklahoma native, has had a years-long personal and professional interest in the fish. He has long enjoyed fishing for alligator gar. He earned a graduate degree at Oklahoma State University in natural resource ecology and management where he researched how to age the fish through its ear bones. The bones, called otoliths, lay down rings much like the cross section of a tree.

Snow says he also earned something else in graduate school. “I have a greater respect for the species—they’re a primitive fish, a swimming fossil that survive from long ago,” said Snow. “They are a remarkable fish—heavily armored on the outside like a tank because their insides are sensitive.”

Now, as an ODWC research biologist, Snow has waded deeper into questions associated with catch-and-release mortality, food preference studies, and growth rates.

Richard Snow ODWC biologist and a subject of his ongoing research. The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program funds gar reseach via excises taxes paid by fishing tackle manufacturers Photo ODWC

Snow set up a hooking study with hefty captive alligator gar held in large ponds at Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery. He catches alligator gar just as anglers do at Lake Texoma and elsewhere, fishing with carp or buffalo fish heads. In the experiments, Snow allows gar to run with bait, played for 30 minutes and brought ashore, examined for noticeable internal injuries such as bleeding or air loss from the vent. The controlled environment allows him to monitor the wellbeing of the fish over a long period to detect effects of hooking that would not otherwise be noted in wild fish. The work is ongoing and results yet to be determined.

Along about May of the year, mature alligator gar move into shallow weedy coves of Lake Texoma and broadcast their eggs that adhere to vegetation. That act is replicated in tanks at the national fish hatchery where he and hatchery staff monitor the young gar.

“Alligator gar have explosive growth in their first year of life,” said Snow. “In the span of only nine days, they go from egg to a larvae with a sucker-disc on its head, and then to a predator. They pack on weight and by the end of the first growing season they’re a foot and half long.”

Alligator gar eat other fish. In examining stomach contents of adult gar, Snow determined that sport fish species make up very little of the diet. Their common foods include common carp, river carpsucker, buffalo species, gizzard shad and white bass.

“These predators typically ambush their prey, but they also actively forage or scavenge their food,” said Snow. “In the heat of the summer when oxygen is low, they gulp air into a highly vascularized swim bladder to ‘breathe.’ Bowfishers and anglers take advantage of these habits to locate alligator gar.”

Alligator gar archer angler courtesy Keith Sutton

Snow says the ongoing research will help his agency steer alligator gar fisheries toward sustainability.

Cliff Schleusner, Chief of the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, Southwest Region agrees. “These Holocene hold-overs have been understudied and the angler-funded work underway by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation adds to a woefully scant body of knowledge,” said Schleusner. “Alligator gar, an apex predator, provide an ecological balance that regulate the populations of other fish species—not to mention an angling experience unequaled.”

-- Craig Springer, External Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Southwest Region

OUTDOOR WIRE
Event Calendar

JUNE 2-5
NSSF Industry Summit

Cheyenne Mountain Resort, Colorado Springs, Colorado (Website)

JUNE 7-9
D.C. Project Foundation’s 3-Gun Fundraiser

Reveille Peak Ranch, Burnet, Texas. Contact: Dianna Muller di@pro3gunner.com Info: pro3gunner.com/team-match

JULY 30 - AUGUST 1
Import/Export Conference

Washington, DC (Website)

 
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