Syracuse.com - Figura writing about Bass Pro Shops Northern Open, dog retriever contest and a rabid bobcat

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Pete Gluszek, of New Jersey, won the Northern Open event last year when it was held on Cayuga Lake. He's returning this year to defend his title.Lauren Long 

Just got back from a week's vacation of camping in the Adirondacks and the summer outdoors scene is in full swing.

Things I'm writing about this week include:

- The Bass Pro Shops Northern Open on Oneida Lake, which kicks off Thursday and concludes Saturday with an awards ceremony on the parking lot at Bass Pro Shops at the Fingerlakes Mall. More than a dozen top bass fishing pros in the national are fishing this event. Good stuff.

- Another CNY Shoreline Fishing Hot Spot (the three small ponds on the northern edge of the village of Homer.

- A wrapup of the recent NYS Trapshooting Championship held up in Cicero earlier this month.

- Dog retriever trials being held up in Baldwinsville this Saturday.

- A rabid bobcat that bit a guy, his dog...and then the guy shot and killed it. Interesting stuff.

- A Q&A interview with winner of last year's Altheta Iron Girl Syracuse Triathlon winner...who's looking for repeat this Sunday.

- How membership at local rod and gun clubs has increased with the advent of the SAFE ACT.

Other stuff I'm working on:

- Panfish lesson: How do tell a sunny, from a bluegill, from a pumpkinseed?

- High-quality,high-comfort camping for those who don't like to rough it.

- The CNY triathlon culture. Triathlons, and the people who do them, are a big thing and more and more people are getting into them.

- An update on the Cornell Ornithology lab and its most recent compilation of recordings of more than 4,000 bird calls from across the world.

- Which fishing rod do you use for bass fishing? The choices today are numerous and ever-growing.

- The Cornell Vet School emergency room, and all the strange cases of domestic and wild animals that it deals with on a daily basis.

THE FIGURA CHALLENGE

I laid out the "The Figura Challenge" over the Memorial Day weekend -- challenging readers to to check out 15 Central New York outdoors destinations during the summer. Several readers have already taken me up on it and I'm getting comments and pictures. It's not too late to get started!

Each Thursday on this blog through the summer, I'll give an update on reactions, stories and photos submitted by readers about their travels to these destinations.

Send your impressions and photos of the places you visit on the list to [email protected],

ANYTHING ELSE READERS OF THIS REPORT WOULD LIKE TO SEE ME WRITE ABOUT?

The effectiveness of this report is two-fold. First, it lets readers know what's coming up story-wise. It also allows readers a chance to affect coverage and provide sources for upcoming stories. Bottom line: Keep in touch and give input. You could make a difference as to what appears week to week on the outdoors page! Email me at [email protected] or call 470-6066.

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FIGURA ON FACEBOOK:

For those who are on Facebook, I also have a PS Outdoors page, which I check several times daily for feedback and story ideas. I also post personal fishing and hunting and other outdoors-related photos from time to time and I ask members to do the same. When you join, please be sure and hit the "like" button.

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View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog