Patoka Sportsman 6-29-19

Patoka Sportsman 6-29 & 6-30-19

There will be a 3-D Broken Arrow Archery shoot Sunday July 14th at Beaver Lake CR 325 E Jasper IN. Sign-in will be from sunrise till noon. A practice range will be available, and concessions will also be sold. There are new lower prices for entry fees. The entry fee is $10 for all adults, $8 for children age 11-17, and free for the cub class (10 and younger) and active military members. From Jasper, take State Road 164 east to County Road 325 East, turn left and follow the road to the clubhouse on the right. For more information , call cliff fleck at (812)630-0454 or karla brames at 812-827-3756.

The 8^th Annual Young Life Clay Shoot will be held on July 19 & 20 at Cool Springs. Cost is $400 per a team of 4 shooters. Individual shooters can also participate for $100. There will be 12 stations and 100 sporting clay targets. Ammunition and lunch will be provided. Various sponsorship levels are also available. For more information contact Terri Neukam at 812-631-8834 or email [email protected].

Enjoy a fireworks display at Patoka Lake Beach on Saturday, July 6, presented by Dubois County Visitors Center. Fireworks will start at 10:00p.m. Bring your family and friends, lawn chairs, blankets, refreshments, and bug spray. Already camping at Patoka this weekend? Then there is no need to drive down to the beach. Just go to section C of the Modern Campground for your own viewing area of the fireworks display. The beach area is currently closed due to high water. The beach parking area will open around 6:30p.m. however swimming will not be permitted during this time. All vehicles must vacate the parking area immediately following the fireworks display. Tune your radios to WITZ-FM 104.7 radio for themed music during the event. They are also streaming at www.witzamfm.com or from an iPhone or Android smart phone app. Come out and enjoy this spectacular show over the waters of Patoka! The entrance fee of $7 per vehicle for Indiana residents ($9 out of state) is required for the Newton Stewart State Recreation Area, Patoka Reservoir, located north of Wickliffe Indiana, Highway 164.For more information regarding this program or other interpretive events, call the Nature Center at 812.685.2447.

Dove Draw Hunts

Applications are accepted online July 1 through July 29, 2019.
Properties: Atterbury, Jasper-Pulaski, Kankakee, Kingsbury, Pigeon River, Blue Grass, and Winamac Fish & Wildlife Areas.
Due to excessive spring rain, dove fields were unable to be planted at some Fish & Wildlife Areas. Those properties will not be participating in the dove draw hunts this year. Also, because of inclement spring weather, properties that are participating in the dove draw hunts may have prepared fields with a variety of crops other than sunflowers.

Youth Deer Hunts at Muscatatuck NWR

Applications are accepted online July 1 through Aug. 26, 2019.
Youth must be age 17 or younger on the hunt date and accompanied by a mentor, defined as a licensed hunter, 18 years old or older. The mentor is not eligible to hunt or carry a firearm during this hunt.

Deer Hunts

Applications are accepted online July 1 through Aug. 26, 2019.
Properties: Deer Creek Fish & Wildlife Area, Tern Bar Slough Wildlife Diversity Conservation Area, Fairbanks Landing Fish & Wildlife Area, Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, and Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge.

Military/Refuge Hunts

Applications are accepted online July 1 through Aug. 26, 2019.
Properties: Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, and Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge.

Youth Pheasant Hunts

Applications are accepted online July 1 through Sept. 16, 2019.
Youth must be age 17 or younger on the hunt date and accompanied by a mentor, defined as a licensed hunter, 18 years old or older. The mentor is not eligible to hunt or carry a firearm during this hunt.

Pheasant Hunts

Applications are accepted online July 1 through Sept. 16, 2019.
Hunt dates and Game Bird Areas are chosen through a random draw.

Waterfowl Hunts

Applications are accepted July 1 through Sept. 16, 2019
Properties participating are Goose Pond, Hovey Lake, Kankakee, Kingsbury, LaSalle, and Willow Slough Fish & Wildlife Areas. Monroe Reservoir and Province Pond Wetland Conservation Area are also participating.

The Patoka Lake Watershed Steering Committee encourages individuals, families, friends and service groups to save the date for the 13^th annual Patoka Lake Clean Up on Saturday, August 24, 2019 at the Patoka Lake Dam. Participants of all ages and abilities can sign up on location at 8 am EDT and will be assigned an area to pick up trash and recycling along the shore.

At 11 am, all volunteers return to the dam to be treated to a fish fry, music, door prizes, goody bags and of course, a free event t-shirt! Service and youth groups are asked to please register in advance! Join in the fun and help rid Patoka Lake Watershed of unsightly, unhealthy trash!

Each year volunteers pick up over 2000 pounds of trash and recycling during this event.

All supplies are provided; volunteers just need to show up! The event takes place at the Patoka Lake Corps of Engineers office at the Patoka Lake Dam at 4512 N. Cuzco Road, Dubois. For information or to register a group in advance, call the Patoka Lake Nature Center

at 812-685-2447 or check the Patoka Lake Watershed Steering Committee Facebook page for updates.

More than 100 people are needed to assist kids around the Fishin' Pond during the 17 days of the Indiana State Fair, which runs Aug. 2-18. Volunteers get free admission to the fair on the day they work, a free Fishin’ Pond T-shirt, and the opportunity to fish with kids for a few hours at the pond. Volunteers can also help sign up kids to fish and help them with a fish coloring activity when they are finished fishing.

It’s that time of year again when turtles are making their precarious journey across the road. If you find a turtle, move it across the road in the direction it was heading. If you see a turtle in your yard, garden, or crossing the road this summer, it may be a nesting female. Do not relocate or take these turtles. When turtles are removed from the wild, they can no longer contribute to the population. It is illegal to take protected species from the wild.

The DNR’S turkey brood survey runs from July 1 to Aug. 31, 2019. While you are out this summer, you are asked that you help them count the number of young wild turkeys (poults) with turkey hens. These surveys provide the DNR with information about turkey poult survival and inform wild turkey management. Create an account and start reporting your observations at on.IN.gov/turkeybrood.

Boaters preparing for the Independence Day holiday should be aware that Indiana Conservation Officers will be on high alert for violations of boating-under-the-influence laws as part of national Operation Dry Water. Operation Dry Water (operationdrywater.org), a year-round program, will be in heightened effect July 5-7. Indiana Conservation Officers, in partnership with the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and the U.S. Coast Guard, will focus on educating boaters about safe boating practices, including keeping alcohol off the boat, for both operators and passengers. Officers will be on the lookout for impaired boaters. Boaters will notice an overall increase in patrols, both on the water and at recreational boating checkpoints, to remove dangerous and impaired boaters from the waterways.

Operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol or drugs is illegal on all bodies of water, and can lead to serious injuries and consequences. In Indiana it is illegal to operate a vessel with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or higher, the same BOC for land vehicles. Indiana Conservation Officers remind boaters to always boat sober and to wear a life jacket when on the water. (2017 U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Statistics)