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September 1st signals the beginning of another hunting season in West Virginia. For many years now, September 1st is the traditional opening of dove season across a wide swath of the United States. These early seasons provide extra opportunities to get out and enjoy good shooting before the regular seasons kick in.
For such a small bird, dove hunting, or better phrased, dove shooting, is a major event. The farther south you go the bigger event it becomes with cookouts featuring the day’s...
posted Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 3:56 PM by Frank Jezioro
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“Bang, bang” and two “doves” went scampering over the tree tops untouched. In a few seconds the shooter yelled out another “pull” and two more “doves” were sent into the clear, blue sky. This time both “birds” were centered and the scorekeeper yelled out “dead and dead.” It was a Saturday afternoon in early August and this group of hunters/shooters was out for some pre-hunting season practice.
With the first cool rains of August, many of our sportsmen and women across the state are turning...
posted Thursday, August 5, 2010 at 10:59 AM by Frank Jezioro
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It was a cool evening with a soft breeze bringing the sweet aroma of freshly cut hay to the top of the knoll where we were sitting. A farmer friend welcomed our request to groundhog hunt on his farm. He explained to me where he had encountered holes and dens that he regarded as hazardous to his livestock and machinery. I had my six-year-old grandson Liam and nine-year-old Coltin with me. While they wouldn’t be shooting, they were excited about being out and about seeing birds, squirrels,...
posted Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 11:44 AM by Frank Jezioro
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For most of the trout anglers in the state, their season ends with the last stocking for the Memorial Day holiday. The casual angler believes that once the stocking stops, the trout are gone. This is far from the truth and the serious trout fisherman will find some excellent fishing in June, especially the fly fisherman.
But for many of our anglers, June kicks in the bass fishing season.
It was mid-June when we loaded the raft at Class VI and prepared for a day on the water. While we would...
posted Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 10:34 AM by Frank Jezioro
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If I had to pick one month to do all my trout fishing it would have to be May. The put-and-take stocking program is ramped up to its fullest in May as our fishery people scurry around all of our trout water putting in all the beautiful trout their hard work produced the previous season. The major streams are receiving weekly stockings and the campers are out in this great weather taking advantage of some of the best outdoor experiences of the year. Now they can hunt gobblers, catch trout,...
posted Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 11:23 AM by Frank Jezioro
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By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
It is that time of year again that West Virginians wait for with their shotguns, fishing rods and little mattocks. It is time to head for the mountains in search of spring gobblers, trout and ramps. It is one of the most beautiful of all seasons in the mountains. Soon the redbuds and dogwoods will be in full bloom. The warm rays of spring sunshine will be glistening on the backs of our wild mountain gobblers and the...
posted Friday, April 9, 2010 at 3:38 PM by Frank Jezioro
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March – The Transition Month – Crappie and Trout
By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
I normally don’t fish until the “bugs” come out, but the grandkids wanted to go and remembered that last year we had some good days on Stonewall Jackson Lake fishing for crappie. The great thing about crappie fishing is that there always seem to be enough to keep the kid’s attention. Kids like success and action in whatever they are doing to hold their attention. Put...
posted Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 12:27 PM by Frank Jezioro
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Winter Fun When You Can’t Go Hunting
By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Hunting is my passion, as my friends and family will quickly tell you, and I do it whenever I can make the opportunity. Most hunting is, by tradition and biological necessity, a cold weather activity reserved for the winter months. Hunting essentially ends in February with the closing of the seasons for bobcat, raccoon, fox, rabbit, hare and my favorite, grouse, although you can...
posted Friday, February 5, 2010 at 3:07 PM by Frank Jezioro
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January and Grouse Hunting Go Together
By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
An eerie quietness has fallen over the land as I ready the dogs for an afternoon of grouse hunting. The only sound is the soft tinkle of the little sleigh bell around Deuce’s neck and the rustle of the wind as it works its way through the tall old hemlocks where we have parked. It is a cold bleak day in early January and gone is the distant hum of the logger’s chain saw.
Also...
posted Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:44 AM by Frank Jezioro
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By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
It started snowing about an hour after dark and quit about midnight. That meant that any track we found would be smoking hot. With a good rig dog on his platform we started out across the mountain at daylight. We hadn’t gone more than a mile or so when the dogs blew up. Not only the rig dog but the dogs in the boxes were letting us know a bear had crossed the road. Checking the track it...
posted Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 10:40 AM by Frank Jezioro
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By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Changes in the deer herd populations and the locations of these herds have drastically changed the deer hunting traditions.
I grew up in Marion County and back then, as in many counties, there were no deer, certainly not enough to hunt. The closest real deer country we had was in Preston County.
If you knew someone in the Kingwood, Bruceton Mills, or Tera Alta areas, you could hunt there and have a good chance of...
posted Monday, November 30, 2009 at 10:49 AM by Frank Jezioro
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By Frank Jezioro – Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
While we have had early seasons for doves, deer and ducks, the true hunting season for most West Virginia hunters will kick off in October. That’s when the fall turkey, deer and bear archery seasons will open, as well those for squirrel and grouse. Times and traditions have changed drastically over the past 50 years since I started hunting.
When squirrel hunting was a big event
Back then, the opening of the...
posted Monday, November 30, 2009 at 10:48 AM by Frank Jezioro
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Dove Hunting Ushurs in Fall Hunting Season
By Frank Jezioro - Director, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources
Each September 1st signals the beginning of another fall hunting season in West Virginia. For many years the first day of September has been the traditional opening of dove season across a wide swath of the United States. For such a small bird, dove hunting, or better phrased, dove shooting, is a major event. The farther south you go the bigger event it becomes with...
posted Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 9:13 AM by Frank Jezioro under Hunting