A giant bull elk, potential record whitetail and more outdoor news

Posted on: October 23, 2017 | Bob Frye | Comments

Pennsylvania bull elk go into the rut in September.

Delbert Someville of Bernville with his tophy Pennsylvania bill elk.
Photo: KECA

A roundup of outdoor news, including a trophy bull elk, political intrigue, a chance to help get kids outside and more …

Bull elk

Now here’s how to take advantage of an opportunity.

Delbert Someville of Bernville won the elk license raffle held by the Keystone Elk Country Alliance. That gave him the chance to hunt a Pennsylvania bull elk through the month of September.

He made it count.

Hunting with Elk Country Outfitter owner Jack Manack, Somerville took and 8×10 bull on Sept. 28. To add to the excitement, the rut was in full swing that day and the elk reportedly bugled throughout the hunt.

The bull elk had an estimated live weight of 850 pounds.

Its rack is unusual, even more so than expected.

According to Manack, one of its velvet-covered antler points broke off when it fell after being shot. The hunter and his guides found it.

After taking the bull, though, they noticed that another point was missing. It hadn’t been when they’d spotted the bull just a day earlier in scouting, so how he lost it, no one knows.

The elk’s rack is expected to gross in the 400-inch class.

Trophy whitetail

Meanwhile, in another state, a hunter may have taken a record whitetail.

According to a story in the Louisiana Sportsman, a dentist named Frank Sullivan shot a non-typical whitetail whose rack grossed 220 to 230 inches.

He killed it within the St. Francis city limits, behind his office.

The rack has three drop tines and a third main beam. There are 11 pointy sand two main beams on the left, seven points on the right.

If its score holds up after the required 60-day drying period, it could become Louisiana’s new non-typical record, at least for a deer no longer in velvet.

Amazingly, according to Sullivan, another hunter shot the deer last year. It was also hit b ya car this fall but recovered from that, too.

Not so subtle

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissioners – as at least some of them predicted – caused an uproar in the state legislature when they gave executive director John Arway the authority to trim up to $2 million from the agency budget starting July 1.

It’s the how and more specifically the where that’s the issue.

Arway told commissioners he’d likely close the Oswayo trout hatchery and stock 240,000 fewer adult trout, among other things.

The commission put out a map detailing which waters would likely not get fish as a result. They are clustered in three areas. Not mmisison.

Not coincidentally, they’re in the districts of three lawmakers who have been most vocal about not wanting to increase fishing license fees.

That’s something the commission has been seeking for four years.

One of those three representatives, Republican Martin Causer of Potter County, put out a news release the day after the commission’s announcement, taking the agency to task. He’s since said he’ll look to merge it with the Game Commission.

Now, another lawmaker seems to be taking aim at Arway in particular.

Sen. Joseph Scarnati, a Republican representing Potter and other counties, is sponsor of Senate Bill 935. It would limit the executive director of the Fish and Boat Commission to serving no more than eight years.

The bill does not mention Arway by name. But conveniently, he was chosen to serve as the commission’s executive director on March 2, 2010. He’ll hit the eight-year mark this coming spring.

Scarnati’s bill was scheduled to be considered by the Senate game and fisheries committee today. There’s been no word on whether lawmakers decided to move it forward.

Fish salvage

Tomorrow is the day. Or the first one anyway.

Starting on Tuesday, Fish and Boat Commission crews will attempt to salvage as many fish as possible from Somerset Lake prior to its drawdown.

The lake is being drained so that its dam can be repaired. Beforehand, the commission wants to remove as many fish as possible and take them to Shawnee Lake in Shawnee State Park, Bedford County; Glade Run Lake in Butler County; Quemahoning Reservoir in Somerset County and Loyalhanna Lake in Westmoreland County.

The work is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 24 to 26.

The goal is to save as many fish as possible, said area fisheries manager Rick Lorson. Some, though, will die. It’s impossible to catch every one, though.

“Fish die during any drawdown and salvage effort. Anglers and the public should expect to see this,” he said.

Following the fish salvage, the lake will be refilled up to a depth of approximately 10 feet to create a large pool for silt retention.

Construction of the new dame is expected to start in spring and take two years to complete. The goal is to have the lake ready for fishing again by fall of 2020.

Overall cost of the work is estimated at $6 to $8 million.

Gear request

Want to help get kids outside? Here’s your chance.

Gear Forward – a nonprofit group that aims to get new and used camping and other outdoor gear in the hands of children who could use it – is trying to help Cub Scouts who lost gear as a result of Hurricane Harvey flooding in Texas.

The Scout Pack has 50 boys who lost equipment. They need 50 youth sleeping bags, 10 adult bags and 40 four- to six-person tents.

Donations of “gently-used” gear can be arranged by contacting Gear Forward at gearforward@gmail.com. Put “Katy, Tx” in the subject line.

Monetary donations can be made at the group’s Facebook page.

Those who donate get stickers or – for $50 and $75, respectively – single and double Wise Owl Outfitters hammocks.

Bob Frye is the everybodyadventures.com editor. Reach him at 412-838-5148 or bfrye@535mediallc.com. See other stories, blogs, videos and more at everybodyadventures.com.

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