DOVES AND DOES

Like New Jersey, Pennsy also has an early Canada goose season starting Sept. 1. But unlike the Garden State the mourning dove is considered a game bird across the river and there's a triple-header of seasons for those sports who want to get in on some fast wing shooting early in the year long before the pheasant and quail seasons begin.
Dove season, bring plenty of shotshells, runs from Sept. 1-29; Oct. 27-Nov 24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in the Keystone State.
Meanwhile, doe permits are going fast with 13 management units already sold out. You can find the status of each zone by going to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's website. Google it.
If you have a spot to hunt in Bucks County, there are heaps of permits left in certain zones.

SCUTTLEBUTT FOR BOATERS

If I was a real boater I would have bought the nifty T-shirt I saw down in a marina shop on the Suwanee River in Florida.
It read, "Talk Nautical to Me, Baby!"
The only nautical terms I know were the ones learned in the Marine Corps..."port, starboard, head," etc.
For the serious boater the state has launched an interactive website with all kinds of scoop from rules and regs to where to find pump-out stations.
Go to www.njboating.org and take a look.

SCAM ALERT

My colleague from New York State, outdoor writer Dick Nelson, was the target of an internet scam attempt. This was not the usual e-mail purportedly from a friend or relative locked up overseas and needs your money to get out of jail or the ones from Prince Kazbah from Lunaticovia claiming to be sitting on a half zillion dollars, but needs you wampum to "free up" the jackpot in which you'll share of course.

This con job involved the sale of an ATV, one that Dick was ready to buy until the deal began to smell fishy.

You can read Dick's account in his column by going to www.registerstar.com/columnists/outdoors/

HISSING MATCH?

The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance and the Recreational Fishing  Alliance have an interesting and entertaining tiff going on about which outfit better serves the sporting public. It's been a blog war of words between Anthony P. Mauro Sr.,  honcho of the NJOA, and Jim Hutchinson, Jr. of the RFA. The issue, in this case, how to handle the "pots off the reefs" situation when it comes to commercial fishing.
Neither of the two men are at a loss for words. There's enough verbiage between the two to fill half the sports section. But you can find the point-counterpoint arguments by going to www.anthonypmaurosr.webs.com/apps/blog/ for his side of the story and comments from Hutchinson at www.ammoland.com. Search around under "conservation" on the toolbar.
You can get the NJOA position by scrolling down the blog to "Summary: Turmoil, the Devil is in the Details."

THE RIGHT STUFF

Fish & Wildlife says it published the wrong dates for the deadline to claim awarded permits and for the sale of leftover tags.
The correct dates are: Sunday, Sept. 30 for the close of the application period and the sale of leftover permits begins at 10 a.m. Oct. 2.

COUNCIL NEWBIES

Governor Chris Christie has filed two nominations for appointment to the state Fish & Game Council to replace outgoing members.
They are  Cathy Lynn Blumig of Somerset County and Joseph G. DeMartino of Ocean County.
These nominations are routinely rubber stamped by the legislature unless there are objections.

BIG BUCKS TOURNAMENT

More than $1.5 million was paid out in last year's Mid-Atlantic $500,000, called "boat for boat, the richest marlin & tuna tournament in the world."
The half a million payout is based on a field of 125 boats. Last year 117 were entered so the base prize was less, $468,000. The rest of the wampum came from the side bets, Calcuttas, and a $380,750 white marlin pro jackpot.
The Canyon Club Resort in Cape May is the host marina and for those who run out of Ocean City, Md. it will be the Sunset Marina.
All boats must fish within 125 miles of the Cape May sea buoy but there is no limit to the number of anglers, lines or teasers.
The event kicks off with  registration and a welcome cocktail party August 19 at both marinas. From Monday, Aug. 20 through Friday, Aug. 24 entrants will pick three fishing days from the five available.
For more info and how to sign up, call (609) 884-2400 or go to the official website at www.ma500.com.

WHY GO FISH?

A story on "The Fishing Wire" had a good quote in what was basically a plug for "catch and release."
It seems a golfer said to an angler that fishing in ponds on the course made no sense since he released every fish he caught.
The fisherman said he'd yet to see a golfer eat a golf ball, though "many certainly appear to try killing them with a number of instruments clearly conceived for murder."

CRABBING NO-NO

Why anyone would want to eat blue claw crabs taken from the Lower Passaic River or Newark Bay is beyond me, but obviously some folks believe they have iron stomachs.
However the DEP says harvesting blue claws from those areas is dangerous and prohibited.
Studies have shown high levels of PCBs and other contaminants, including mercury, in the waters.
"There is no way to prepare crabs from these waters to make them safe for consumption," said Health Commissioner Mary E. O'Dowd.
That's good enough for me.

NEVER ON SUNDAY?

The issue of Sunday hunting has been going on for what seems eons in Pennsylvania with predictable for and against sides.

Now there's a new group, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting (HUSH) that was formed to challenge the legality of the ban on Sunday hunting in Pennsy according to a report in The Pocono Record.

It's odd that the group would pick "HUSH" as its buzzword since once of the objections to hunting on Sundays is to allow for a day of peace and quiet in rural areas.

But Pennsylvania still adheres to the old "Blue Laws" system in some areas. Just recently some state liquor stores opened for Sunday sales on a limited basis.