Dan's Blog

My son had to wait a year to get redemption for my mistake last season, when I left the 12-year-old's skeet choke tube in his 20 gauge and caused him to irritate -- rather than drop -- his first turkey. On Sunday morning -- with a full choked shotgun -- he killed a fat 20 pounder on the second day of Youth Season, the coldest two days of turkey hunting I've ever experienced. We called a pair of toms from 300 yards toward a brace of decoys that were silouetted against the rising sun -- and fooled the pair, one of which didn't survive the encounter and dropped in its tracks 27 yards from the young shooter. I was so fulfilled with his experience that I didn't go hunting on the opener the next day or the following---but hope get out this weekend. Hope you do too. Best of luck and hunt safe. -- Dan

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After hunting in Ohio for three decades I finally got my official hunter safety card. I am old enough top have been grandfathered in" and am not required to hold a card, but I decided to take the test with my son, when he took the single-day home study course and test at the Mt. Vernon 4H Club on a recent Saturday. My hat is off to the four volunteer Hunter Safety Instructors – and their wives – who dedicated a spring Saturday to allow us to earn our credentials. There wasn’t a single one of them under age 60, and the first-hand experiences the veteran hunters shared to help illustrate many of the lessons they taught made the day one to remember. That said, I hope there are some younger folks out there receiving the training required to fill those instructors’ hunting boots! Speaking of hunting, hunters need to educate themselves about Ohio’s new game tagging and checking procedure for the 2013-2014 seasons, which provide a more consistent tagging process between exempt landowners and those using a permit. The new game check process applies to spring turkey, fall turkey and white-tailed deer hunting seasons. A new feature this year is that hunters will need to make their own game tag to attach to the turkey or deer. Game tags can be made of any material (cardboard, plastic, paper, etc.) as long as it contains the hunter’s name, date, time and county of kill. The ODNR Division of Wildlife has a blank game tag available at wildohio.com, which is suitable for the tagging and checking process. Follow these steps when tagging wildlife during the upcoming spring hunting seasons: 1. Protect permits and game tags from the elements by placing them in a plastic bag or protective pouch before hunting. 2. Landowners and permit holders must complete a game tag immediately upon harvest and prior to moving the animal. The game tag must include the hunter’s full name, date, time and county of kill. Hunters need to make their own tag from any material they choose, and write legibly with an ink pen or permanent marker. 3. Attach the game tag to the animal immediately upon harvest and prior to moving it. 4. Permit holders must complete the spring turkey permit with the date, time and county of kill. Those exempt from purchasing a permit can ignore this step. 5. Complete the automated game check process and receive an 18-digit confirmation number. Permit holders must record this number on the permit. 6. The 18-digit confirmation number must also be attached to the animal. Hunters may also choose to write the number on the game tag. All hunters must report their turkey harvest using the automated game check system. Hunters have three options to complete the game check: *Online at wildohio.com or ohiogamecheck.com; *By telephone at 877-TAG-ITOH (877-824-4864). This option is only available to those who are required to have a permit to hunt turkeys; and *At all license agents. A list of these agents can be found at wildohio.com. Game-check transactions will be available online and by telephone seven days a week including holidays. License agents’ locations will be available for turkey check-in during normal business hours. Hunters can call the license agent for specific hours of operation. All turkeys must be checked in by 11:30 p.m. the day of the kill. Landowners exempt from purchasing a turkey permit, and any other person not required to purchase a turkey permit, cannot use the phone-in option. More information, including a pamphlet explaining the process, is available at wildohio.com. Hunters with questions can also call 800-WILDLIFE (800-945-3543).

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Just back from a cold, windy week in SW Florida with the family. We trailered our 20 foot Aquasport center console down to Pine Island, Florida, motored across Pine Island Sound to boat-accessible-only North Captiva Island and settled in for a week for the coolest weather on record for last week. We still caught fish: grouper, trout and flounder, but it was tough fishing for all but a couple sunny, warm days. No snook or reds were caught; for bait I couldn't get any pilchards within cast-net range -- even using the secret "chum" the guides down there use to attract "white bait" to their nets: Purina Tropical Fish Food. It's good to be back in the Buckeye State in time for the crappie bite -- and gobbler season. We'll be talking both subjects over the next few weeks on the radio show, so please tune in!

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We'll be talking to reps of the Ohio Taxidermy Association and the Cinti Lure Collectors about their respective shows, which are open to the public, on the March 30 and April 6 Buckeye Sportsman broadcasts -- as well as getting reports on the walleye runs in NW Ohio. Tune in!

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This week's guest, Corey Snoke of Bremen, discusses searching for antler sheds and arrowheads, and tells us that mid- to late-March is prime time for finding both -- especially on overcast days after a spring shower when the light-colored sheds stick out and flint points can be seen protruding from the dirt of farm fields. Next week we will learn what it takes to become a wildlife officer, just in time for the new training academy to get underway, and talk about spring muskie fishing with fellow radio show host and Ohio fishing guide Calvin Pyle. Meanwhile, I hope to see you at the Ohio Deer & Turkey Expo this weekend. Speaking of outdoor expos, last weekend's Dayton Sportsman Show was a success, and it will return in 2014. And last week's opening of Ohio's first Cabela's over in Columbus was a madhouse. I look forward to a visit or three to do some real shopping now that the crowds have thinned a bit. Welcome to the Buckeye State, Cabela's.

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