WNY outdoors in full swing this weekend
Photo by James Monteleone The weekend after Labor Day always seems to carry a little different smell in Western New York – it could be the sound of hummingbirds heading south.
Photo by Gerald Brydalski The steelhead fishing season is about to begin, and specialty flies like this with hot colors are fish-catchers.
Photo by Forrest Fisher Lake Erie walleye are moving deeper, the smallmouth bass are making adjustments too, and so are the Chautauqua Lake muskies. It’s a busy weekend for Western New York outdoor folks with lots going on this weekend.
Photo by James Monteleone The weekend after Labor Day always seems to carry a little different smell in Western New York – it could be the sound of hummingbirds heading south.
Photo by Gerald Brydalski The steelhead fishing season is about to begin, and specialty flies like this with hot colors are fish-catchers.
Photo by Forrest Fisher Lake Erie walleye are moving deeper, the smallmouth bass are making adjustments too, and so are the Chautauqua Lake muskies. It’s a busy weekend for Western New York outdoor folks with lots going on this weekend.
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The weekend after Labor Day always seems to carry a little different smell in Western New York. The mornings have a bit more bite, the afternoons can still be toasty, but still -- the leaves are beginning their annual camouflage operation. Tish are starting to act like they have somewhere important to be, too.
Lake Erie walleye are moving deeper. Smallmouth bass are making adjustments, so are Chautauqua Lake’s muskies. The big fish are paying attention. The musky binge-feeding season isn’t far away, and if you’ve ever had one of those toothy submarines decide that your lure looks like breakfast, you know the best description for the experience is probably "fun." After you wipe off the sweat and quiet the heart palpitations.
This weekend may be the busiest outdoor weekend of the summer in Chautauqua and Erie counties. Hunter education, bowhunter education, 3D archery, fishing, bass tournaments, trap and skeet, muzzleloading and one of the region’s biggest outdoor gatherings -- the big new Dunkirk Sportsman Show -- are all on the schedule.
So, if you’re looking for something to do outdoors this weekend, the problem isn’t finding an event.
The problem is deciding which one you’re going to miss.
Dunkirk may be your place to be. The Dunkirk Sportsman Show, Sept. 12-13 at the Clarion Hotel, 30 Lakeshore Drive, Dunkirk, should be at the top of the list. Admission is only $5, and youth and seniors get in free. That’s a pretty good deal these days -- especially when you consider what’s waiting inside. The show features gun sales, hunting and fishing gear, boat displays and sales, live seminars, food, crafts and outdoor television hosts and personalities. It’s the sort of place where you can go looking for a fishing lure and come home with a new idea for next year’s hunting trip, a piece of equipment you didn’t know existed and a pocketful of business cards.
Probably lots of conversations worth their weight in gold, as well. You how, the how-to, where-to, when-to stuff that you won-t find in a book. That’s part of the fun of a good sportsman show. You get to talk with people who actually enjoy the same things you do. Hunters talk hunting. Anglers talk fishing. Boat people talk boats. Everybody seems to have a favorite spot, favorite lure, favorite rifle, favorite bow or favorite story about the one that got away. Some of those stories may even be true. For information on the Dunkirk Sportsman Show, contact Josh Larsen at 716-490-4226.
Saturday is packed.
On Saturday, NYSDEC Hunter Education is on the schedule from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Erie County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 21 South Grove St., East Aurora. Robert J. Avery is the instructor. Registration: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/190, and info: 585-226-5463
West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls, hosts a NYS Bowhunter Education Class, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Registration: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/459/registrations/new; Info, call 585-226-5463
At East Aurora Fish/Game, 1018 Luther Road, the Combined Trap/Skeet Tournament benefits Great Falls Council Scouting America. Registration is at 8:30 a.m., shooting begins at 9, and team, adult and youth categories are available. Info: 716-876-7735.
The Western NY Walleye First Responders and Military Veterans Fishing Day is also happening. Call Rick Malik at 716-548-8219 or Dennis Young at 716-316-4974 for info.
On the water, the Southern Tier Bassmasters will be chasing bass on Chautauqua Lake out of Long Point State Park. Entry is $35. Visit www.southerntierbass.com or call 585-314-7142.
Sunday doesn’t slow down.
On Sunday, Allied Sportsman in Alden hosts an All Deer 3D Archery Shoot, 8 a.m.-noon, at 12846 Clinton St. There are 18 deer targets and the entry fee is $20. Call 716-725-5822.
West Falls Conservation has another NYS Hunter Education Class, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. too, for info call: 585-226-5463. Not part of the class, but there at West falls, at 10 a.m., it’s time for the Muzzleloader Shoot at West Falls Conservation. Metal swinging targets will be waiting. Cost is $5 for members and $8 for non-members. Information: 716-652-4650.
Then there is deer season, the controversial season for all time running once again this year. For hunters in designated Wildlife Management Units -- check the sylabus, the early antlerless-only deer season runs Sept. 12-20. That’s certainly a different way to begin deer hunting, in September in Western New York.
There has been plenty of discussion among hunters about what this early season means for the future of deer hunting, hunter participation and wildlife management. Many of us have watched participation change over the years, and there’s understandable concern whenever hunters aren’t seeing enough deer to keep them coming back. Hopefully, this nine-day opportunity produces a positive result -- for the deer herd, wildlife management and the hunters who venture into the woods.
Because ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to protect.
Not just deer.
Not just fish.
The tradition of going outdoors.
This weekend, Western New York has given us plenty of reasons to do exactly that.
So check the calendar, fill the gas tank, charge the phone, grab the binoculars, get the coffee cup loaded, and get moving.
If you happen to find yourself at the Dunkirk Sportsman Show, stop and say hello. Find Josh Larsen, the kid is a star. Talk with him, get to know him, learn about how he became a TV show host. He is local.
Just don’t ask him where the muskies are.
A good musky fisherman never tells.
Well…
Not until after the season.
Gotta love the outdoors.
Outdoor Calendar
Sept. 12: NYSDEC Hunter Ed, Erie County Cornell Cooperative Extension, 21 South Grove St., East Aurora, taught by Robert J Avery, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., register at: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/190, or call 585-226-5463.
Sept. 12: Combined Trap/Skeet Tournament, benefit for Great Falls Council Scouting America (Buffalo office); 8:30 registration, 9 a.m. shooting starts; team, adult and youth categories; East Aurora Fish/Game, 1018 Luther Rd., East Aurora, NY; Info: 716-876-7735.
Sept. 12: NYS Bowhunter Education Class, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St, West Falls; Register at: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/459/registrations/new, or call DEC Hunter Education at 585-226-5463.
Sept. 12: Western NY Walleye First Responders and Military Veterans Fishing Day, register with Rick Malik, 716-548-8219, or Dennis Young, 716-316-4974.
Sept. 12: Southern Tier Bassmasters tourney, Chautauqua Lake - Long Point State Park, $35 entry, visit www.southerntierbass.com or call 585-314-7142.
Sept. 12-13: Dunkirk Sportsman Show, 30 Lakeshore Drive (Clarion Hotel), Dunkirk, NY.; will feature gun sales, hunting and fishing gear, boat displays and sales, live seminars, food, crafts, outdoor TV show hosts/personalities; Info: Josh Larsen, 716-490-4226.
Sept. 12-13: Dunkirk Sportsman Show, 30 Lakeshore Drive (Clarion Hotel), Dunkirk, NY.; will feature gun sales, hunting and fishing gear, boat displays and sales, live seminars, food, crafts, outdoor TV show hosts/personalities; Info: Josh Larsen, 716-490-4226.
Sept. 13: All Deer 3D Archery Shoot, 8 a.m.-12 noon, 18 deer targets, $20, Allied Sportsman, 12846 Clinton St., Alden; info: 716-725-5822.
Sept. 13: NYS Hunter Education Class, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St, West Falls, must register at: https://decals.events.east.licensing.app/em/events/460 or call 585-226-5463.
Sept. 13: Muzzleloader Shoot, West Falls Conservation, 55 Bridge St., West Falls, 10 a.m. start, $5 members/ $8 non-members, metal swinging targets. Info: 716-652-4650.
Sept. 14: West Falls Conservation Society, monthly meeting, 8 p.m. start; 55 Bridge St., West Falls. Potential new members are invited to attend. Free dinner. Info: 716-652-4650