Photo by Gene Pauszek Tim Ode Jr. shot a nice turkey at 35 yards, on Sunday during the Youth Hunt , accompanied by Joe Spayer.

There were a number of success stories as a result of the Youth Turkey hunt last weekend, some of which will appear in Sunday’s OBSERVER. You can send your success stories and photos in and I will try to post as many as possible. The regular season opens Monday, May 1.Good luck!

Off-shore fishing for yellow perch has improved with the weather, whenever the wind allows, but reports indicate that just like last year, you have to be right on top of the active schools or you will not get much activity. Most of the activity is out of Cattaraugus Creek, with anglers launching out of the “Cat” and heading east. You can find 50 to 75 trailers at the boat launch at Hanover when the weather is good.

As of Wednesday the docks at the State Launch are not in. Sturgeon Point is still being dredged also. Anglers are heading from the “Cat” to in front of Evangola State Park, or even as far as Sturgeon Point. Numerous limit catches have been reported. Note that many of the perch are females getting ready to spawn, so that may slow the bite. There were several success stories coming from Barcelona with one angler reporting finding active fish in 17 feet of water and days later, they were out at 62 feet. Finding live bait lately can be as difficult as finding active perch. Dunkirk has seen some activity, but no report yet.

Skip Bianco at Hogan’s Hut reports that the calico bite is still on with the fish moving away from shore at the north end of the lake. Bemus Bay, Long point and under the bridge have been active, but Skip commented that anglers tend to move away from a spot too soon before it starts to turn on. Try patience. Look for weed beds. Mike Sperry Chautauqua Reel Outdoors at Lakewood reports some anglers are still getting calicos near shore and the perch and bullhead bite is still decent.

Trout activity in the streams is getting a lot of competition from suckers and black bass. Anglers can expect to find trout into the month of May as long as it remains cool enough. Opening day of walleye season is Saturday, May 6.

Calendar:

Just a reminder The Regular Spring Turkey season starts May 1. Send in your success stories and photos by calling 366-1772 or 366- 3000 ext. 5 after 5 p.m. Leave a message and a contact number and time you can be reached.

The deadline for submitting youth fishing essays is fast approaching. Teachers and students are reminded to comply ASAP.

The Lakeshore Longbeards our local chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will be meeting on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Scott Dibble’s residence, located at 7805 Barnum Road Cassadaga. Topic will center around a possible Jakes (youth) Day taking place later this year. Seed corn for NWTF members will also be available at that time. Anyone interested in joining up and helping are encouraged to attend. For more information contact Bob Turk at 934-4538.

On Saturday, April 29, from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m., the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy invites area sportsmen and women to come to the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club, located at 1 Mullet street, in Dunkirk (turn toward the lake at the Country Fair Store located on Route 5), to help celebrate a major milestone in the CWC’s conservation efforts. The CWC has rescued 1,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Chautauqua County and that land is now open to the public at no cost.

During the allotted time frame, representatives from the Orvis store at the Eastern Hill’s Mall in Williamsville, will be on hand for a one hour to teach Fly Fishing 101, an Introduction to Fly Fishing, from 4-5 p.m. There is no charge for attending the course, but participants need to arrive by 3:30 p.m. Food and refreshments will be served from 5 until 5:30 p.m. At 5:30 p.m., John Michalovic, a former President of the Finger Lakes & WNY Waterfowl Association, and former treasurer and NYS Chairman of Ducks Unlimited, will give a short presentation on duck hunting.

Michalovic has also been a NYSDEC waterfowl educator and identification instructor for almost 40 years. This fun night is being billed as 1K4U and is sponsored by Luke Buehler of Summit Wealth Management of Fredonia and Jamestown. Contact person for this event is Alberto Rey at alberto@reyalbertorey.com or by calling 410-7003.

A preview of upcoming activities at the Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club include: Monthly meeting on May 7 starting at 4 p.m.; On April 30 and May 7 there will be 3-D archery shoots from 8 a.m. until 1p.m.; and on May 20, there will be a Rimfire spinner target shoot. Registration for gun events are from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. All events are open to the public.

For more information, contact Rod Becker at 485-2773. The Bear Lake Rod & Gun Club is located at 4391 Cassadaga-Stockton Road, Stockton. There will be a pistol course at the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club on Sunday, April 30, from 2:30-8 p.m. Contact Gary Dudek at 366-3397 for more information. There is a mandatory fee of $75 for taking this course.

The Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club Take-A-Kid-Fishing Day is Saturday June 3. Applications for attending this event are available at the Con Club. New kids get a free fishing rod & reel, and all youths 15 years of age and under receive a T shirt, grab bag of fishing gear, a morning of fishing and hands on activities at the Con Club from 10 a.m. until noon. Picnic cuisine is also served for all who attend and help. There is a $10 fee to off set the cost, but the smiles and memories are priceless!

There will be gun shows coming up at the following areas:

Ashtabula County Sportsmen’s Gun Show at Saybrook Banquet Centre, located at 3116 North Bend Road (off Route 20), Ashtabula, Ohio, 44004. Dates are Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., respectively. For more information on any of the shows, contact Larry Spicer at 792-9972, visit LRgunshows@gmail.com, or write to Larry Spicer at P.O. Box 294, North East, Pa. 16428.

Boating safety Courses offered by the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 34 will be held locally April 29. ABS Course at the Westfield Fish & Game Club, Ogden Road, Westfield from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.; May 13 at the Chautauqua Nurse and Rehab Center located at Temple Street, Dunkirk from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.; June 17 Paddle Sports America at CNRC Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.; and June 24 at the Ashville Firehall, 5338 Stow Road, Ashville from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. For information, or to register, call Judy at 785-2198.

If your club or organization is holding a hunter safety training/trapping course or a turkey shoot or any other outdoors event, and would like to see it posted in the calendar, send information to the OBSERVER, 10 East Second Street, Dunkirk, N.Y. 14048, or call the Sports Dept. at 366-3000 ext. 5 after 6 p.m.

Note: If you have a big-game fishing or trapping success story you would like to share, call 366-1772, or 467-2079 and leave a name, phone number and a time you can be reached. You can also call 366-3000, ext. 5, after 6 p.m.

Gene Pauszek is an OBSERVER outdoors columnist. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com