SPORTS

Controlled hunting drawings coming soon

Dick Martin
Columnist

It might be the heat of the summer now, but fall is coming soon and waterfowl hunters are being invited to participate in drawings for controlled hunting opportunities.

The Division of Wildlife will hold drawings in northwest Ohio at the following locations:

•Pipe Creek Wildlife Area Waterfowl Hunts: The drawing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at Osborn Park, 3910 Perkins Ave., Huron. Registration is from 5 to 6:20 p.m.

•East Sandusky Bay Metro Park Waterfowl Hunts: This drawing will be at the same location and time as above.

•Magee Marsh Wildlife Area Early Teal and Goose Hunt: The drawing will be held at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 17. Registration is from 5 to 6:20 p.m. at the Magee Marsh beach parking lot, 13229 W. State Route 2, Oak Harbor.

Island Green Week

Readers who love to visit Lake Erie's Bass Islands are invited to participate in Island Green Week, scheduled for Aug. 6-13. The event is open to the public, and all fundraisers will benefit island nature programs.

The week will allow visitors to enjoy activities from the newest Put-in-Bay lakefront nature preserve and a Stargazer's Cruise aboard a ferry to hikes at rarely explored island sites, a look at Stone Lab and Gibralter Island, a pig roast, lighthouse tours, visits to the aquatic enter and fish hatchery and lots more. For specific days and events, visit lakeerieislandswildlife.com.

Yellow perch project

Yellow perch fishermen are being asked to help fishery managers by taking perch they catch this year in Lake Erie to be scanned for microchips at one of seven stations along the coast. It's a collaborative project among several organizations that aims to study fish behavior, migration, population size and the rate of death by natural causes using data the public's scanning efforts will provide.

The microchips, called PIT tags, are about the size of a grain of rice and the part of the fish containing the tag is removed as a part of normal cleaning, so tagged fish are safe to eat.

To view a map of PIT tag scanning locations, visit go.osu.edu/perchscan.

Save Our Heritage Rally

The Sportsmen's Alliance will host its 20th annual Save Our Heritage Rally on Sept. 10 in Columbus.

There will be fun, food, auctions and games, with all proceeds to protect hunting, fishing and trapping from legislation and to fight court battles. More than $50,000 in guns, bows, hunting and trapping gear will be waiting.

For information, email info@sportsmensalliance.org or call 614-888-4868.

An expensive lesson

How much can an Ohio largemouth bass actually cost? Quite a lot in some cases, such as when State Wildlife Officers Chad Grote and Maurice Irish saw a man and woman walking to their vehicle at Alum Creek Lake.

They were both carrying fishing poles, and the woman had a bass still attached to the hook on her pole. The woman said she had caught the bass, and when asked for her fishing license, said she was headed to go buy one. The man didn't have a fishing license either, and the pair paid a $160 waiver each in the Delaware Municipal Court. An expensive lesson.

Dick Martin is a retired biology teacher who has been writing outdoor columns for 30 years. You can reach him atrichmart@neo.rr.com.