There were a number of interesting items in the May-June Region 9 Fish & Wildlife Monthly Highlights report.
From the Bureau of Wildlife came a report the Department of Environmental Conservation banded a total of 3,572 Canada geese statewide this year. Most waterfowl including Canada geese undergo a seasonal smolt or loss of feathers which renders them flightles for a short period of time each summer. This makes for an ideal opportunity for bird banding. On June 26-27, wildlife staff from the Buffalo and Allegany offices, along with several volunteers, banded 436 Canada Geese at two sites in Region 9. The staff banded 275 geese in South Dayton, of which 56 were recaptures. The wildlife group also banded 161 geese at a new banding site located at LaSalle Park on Buffalo's waterfront. Five of those geese were recaptures.
The same F&W report also stated that the Region 9 Fisheries did centrachid sampling on Chautauqua Lake this spring and collected over 2,800 fish over a period of six nights from 23 sites. Yellow perch made up half of the total catch. Pumpkinseed, largemouth bass and walleye all showed up in good numbers. The data from this exercise will be evaluated over the winter with a report to follow. The entire shoreline of Lime Lake was sampled one night in late May using an electrofishing boat and the results found that Largemouth Bass were the dominant predator in the lake with a good number of bluegills present .
Article Photos
OBSERVER Photo by Gene Pauszek
Canada Geese like these are unable to fly during the summer.
The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club will host its three-day walleye tournament Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Captains meeting will be at the Conservation Club on Thursday at 6 p.m. Look for daily tournament coverage of this popular tournament in the OBSERVER.
With the tournament about to start, fishing facts are hard to find, or at least accurate ones. Good numbers of walleye have been reported from Sturgeon Point, but the money fish are few and far in-between. Veteran anglers will most likely head at least a bit West and fish deep using numerous colors of lead core line and other bottom bouncers. Carry lots of nightcrawlers as rough fish like white perch , silver bass and sheephead will tag along. Yellow perch also will nab your bait and this may be the only time of year when anglers will complain about hooking up with perch. Rick Miller in Irving reports that the anglers are finding active perch but the numbers are down from Spring time catches, during the heat of the summer.
Calendar:
The Westfield Fish & Game Club will host a two-day Hunter Safety Training Course on Monday, Aug. 6 from 7-10 p.m., returning on Saturday, Aug. 11 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. This is a mandatory two-day class for certification and students must be at least 12 years old. For more information call 326-3218.
The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club will be holding its annual three-day walleye tournament on Aug. 3-5. The 100-team field is full with a waiting list, but the public is invited to watch the weigh-in and awards as well and take part in the refreshments and activities. More on this event later.
The Con Club will also conduct a hunter safety training course on Aug. 22 and 23 from 5-10 p.m., both evenings. You must pre-register at the club on Aug. 2 from 6-8 p.m. and the class size is limited to 40 students.
The Con Club will host an archery course Sept. 11 from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Students must pre-register on Sept. 5 from 6-8 p.m. Class is limited to 40 students.
This is HUGE: On Wednesday, Aug. 8 at Chautauqua Suites, 215 West Lake Road, Mayville, the No. 1 Whitetail event will be taking place. Country Western Star Ricky Lee, T.V. celebrities Pat and Nicole from their show "DRIVEN", and more will be on hand for celebrity signings, giveaways, raffles, live auctions, great Whitetail hunts and Xtreme raffles. Think of it like a Ducks Unlimited dinner for deer. Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner is at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person. Get tickets by calling Scott Dibble at 595-3897or Rich Lazarczyk at 595-3917. Time is running out so hurry!
While I am mentioning Rich Lazarczyk, who is an avid trapper and spent numerous hours manning the Trapper booth, The Trappers Association booth won best of show in the Conservation Building this year at the Chautauqua County Fair. Congratulations!
Gene Pauszek is an OBSERVER outdoors columnist. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com.
