Syracuse.com - Figura writing about Elite Series tournament, duck hunting, Three Rivers

[HuntingNY-News]

Winter is here and I've already started going through my ice fishing equipment in my garage.

The regular deer hunting season with firearms in the Southern Zone is over, but the muzzleloader scene still has a few days to go. (Keep sending those deer photos in!)

Meanwhile, the local ski slopes have been open the past two weekends and with the cold and snow this week it appears they will continue to be open.

Winter is here and I've already started going through the ice fishing equipment in my garage. I have the portable shanty and the portable propane heater all set up and ready to go.

Meanwhile, here's a list of the stories I've been working on this week:

- An Elite Series bass tournament will be held this coming summer on Cayuga Lake. The event will features a separate contest, 'The Governor's Challenge,' in which Gov. Andrew Cuomo will fish, along with other local and state officials.

- Snowy owls. Snowy owls were linked to five bird/airplane incidents down at several NYC area airports last week and by the weekend several were actually shot down at JFK...cooler heads have prevailed and the approach has been changed trapping and relocating the birds. Meanwhile, folks at Hancock here in Syracuse say they haven 't been a problem.

- Snowy owls2 -- I've received about 5-6 pics and a number of comments reporting sitings from readers on snowy's elsewhere in Central New York. Hope to post story later this week.

- Big Bucks 2013: Hope to post a photo slideshow by the end of this week or beginning of next on more than a dozen buck bucks shot by hunters this fall.

- The Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area: Interview DEC official Mike Putnam about a new plan for the popular hunting area.

- Duck hunting on Onondaga Lake. So, with all the dredging and stuff that took place this summer, what's the story for duck hunters on Onondaga Lake this winter?

- Heroes of Conservation: The nominations are in. Picking top 5. Stay tuned. Feature will run Dec. 22.

Next week and beyond:

- New Year's Day hikes. A number of people take a hike to kick off the New Year (either in boots or snowshoes). I come up with 15-20 great locations to start the New Year off right.

- Extreme Outdoors winter adventures. Folks do all sort of daring and dangerous things each winter around Central New York and the Adirodacks.

- Small, community ski slopes and the expensive need to have snow-making equipment to stay open. A new trend.

- The special Tompkins County deer hunting season that spans the month of January. What worked, what didn't work about it last year and why.

- A Q&A with Stephen Wowelko, departing president of the Onondaga Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs.

- My outdoors bucket list for 2014.

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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View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog