News about bears, ducks, cranes, bass and PSO
Bear season still open
It appears there will be a muzzleloader season for black bears in southeastern Oklahoma.
The number of black bears taken by Oklahoma bow hunters as of Monday morning (Oct. 19) was 16, leaving four more bears that can be killed before the season is closed. Only one bear was checked in over the weekend.
The hunting has gotten tougher as the acorns started falling and natural food became more abundant. Bears are no longer coming to bait as often as earlier in the season.
Baiting bears is allowed on private land in Oklahoma but not on public hunting areas.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation placed a limit of 20 bears that could be killed during the state’s first black bear hunting season, which opened Oct. 1.
If 20 haven’t been taken by Saturday (Oct. 24) – the opening day of deer muzzleloader season – than a bear muzzleloader season also will open and remain open until the limit of 20 is reached or when the nine-day deer and bear muzzleloader season ends on Nov. 1.
No, it’s duck season
Duck season already is open in the Panhandle and Saturday is the season opener in duck hunting zone one, which covers northwest Oklahoma and much of north-central Oklahoma.
The season opener for the rest of the state – duck hunting zone two – will be Nov. 7. The first half of the waterfowl season closes Nov. 29 in both zones one and two but reopens Dec. 12.
Duck season will remain open through Jan 17 in zone one and Jan. 31 in zone two. Duck hunting continues uninterrupted in the Panhandle counties through Jan. 6.
Changes to this year’s waterfowl season include expanded opportunities for pintails and canvasbacks as well as wood ducks.
This season, Oklahoma waterfowlers can hunt pintails and canvasbacks throughout the entire waterfowl season as well as take an additional wood duck (three instead of last season’s two) as part of their daily limit of six ducks.
Ribeyes in the sky
Sandhill crane season also opens Saturday west of Interstate 35. Dubbed the ribeye in the sky, the daily limit of sandhill cranes is three. The season goes through Jan. 24. Hunters must have a federal sandhill crane permit, which costs $3.
Muskogee angler takes sixth
Sheri Glasgow of Muskogee finished sixth in the Women’s Bassmaster Tour Championship on Lousiana’s Cypress Black Bayou Lake over the weekend.
Glasgow picked up a check for $3,250. The event was won by Judy Wong of Many, La. Pamela Martin-Wells of Bainbridge won the Angler of the Year title and locked up a spot in the Bassmaster Classic to fish against the men.
Glasgow was the 2007 Angler of the Year on the Women’s Bassmaster Tour but at that time BASS did not award the women’s AOY champion a spot in the Bassmaster Classic.
Power company joins National Wild Turkey Federation
American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) has agreed to become a member of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Energy for Wildlife program.
As part of the program, the groups will work cooperatively to identify, develop and implement programs to enhance the environment and habitat for a number of wildlife species on AEP-owned lands and transmission rights of way.
This is important for Oklahoma as AEP is the parent company of Public Service Co., of Oklahoma (PSO).
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As a participant in the first two weekends of Ok Bear season I have a few thoughts for next years season. For archery baiting is the number 1 approach and with the lack of large areas of fresh clear cuts about the only approach available to archers. I can understand the down side of large barrels of rotting meat left all over the public forest lands. Perhaps we could even the playing field between privet land owners and public land hunters by allowing a limited form of baiting on public land. Let’s call it “Luring” what and how much food stuffs can be left out on the public lands. A few sardines or sacks of corn are not going to present a problem to the scenic beauty but will drasitcly increase a bow hunters chances next year.If there is some agreement with other hunters perhaps we can patietion the legislature.