Syracuse.com - Figura writing about urban wildlife, Atlantic salmon on Oneida Lake and the increase of memberships at rod and gun clubs

HuntingNY-News · August 14, 2013

I'm planning a story on the DEC's big aquarium that's set up at the state fair every year. What goes into to putting it together each year? Where do they get those fish?

Been a busy week. I've been working on a number of issues and developments. They include:

- Urban wildlife, including the huge number of deer in the city of Syracuse. I have a panel discussion set for Thursday at the Syracuse Media Group's new offices at 220 Warren St. in downtown Syracuse. I have more than dozen attending (there's still time to get in) and I'll be typing up the questions (and answers) for a full report online, with excerpts in Sunday's paper.:

- Several things concerning Oneida Lake

1). An angler recently caught and released a 27-inch Atlantic salmon on the lake, the biggest on record since the Fish Creek Atlantic Salmon Club began stocking Fish Creek (a tributary of Oneida) with two-inch fingerlings 17 years ago with the hope of re-establishing this once-native fish to the waterway.

2). The DEC-run, volunteer staffed cormorant harassment effort has started once again on the lake.

3). An update on the algae bloom situation on the lake. What caused it to be so bad this year, and what's been the impact on fishing?

4). The acquisition by Madison County of a $115,000 Boston Whaler boat for use on Oneida Lake that's full equipped for marine law enforcement activities. The money for the boat came from a federal grant.

- The law of the lake. There's a wide variety of law enforcement agencies represented on Oneida Lake -- with Onondaga County having the biggest presence, even though the lake is not in the county. What's with that?

Other stuff I'm working on:

- A look at how the SAFE Act and other factors have contributed to increased memberships in local rod and gun clubs.

- I'm planning a story on the DEC's big aquarium that's set up at the state fair every year. What goes into to putting it together each year? Where do they get those fish?

- CNY shoreline fishing hot spots . Thinking about doing a piece on public piers that stretch out into the Fingerlakes (Ones at Skaneateles, Owasco and Seneca lakes.. are there any on Cayuga?)

- Great CNY canoeing/kayaking stretches

- 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.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog