Patoka Sportsman 8-13-22

Patoka Sportsman 8-13 & 8-14-22

Faith Baptist church in Loogootee will host a Hunter Ed. Class on Friday September 16 from 6-9:30 PM and Saturday, September 17 from 8-4. ICO’s and volunteer instructors will teach safe firearm use, hunter ethics, conservation management, game identification, archery, tree stand safety and much more.  It’s sponsored by West Boggs Park and Faith Baptist church.  For more information and online registration go to Indiana Hunter Education dot com, pass it on Indiana dot com or contact Kendrick Fuhrman or Tony Mann at 812-837-9536.

Patoka Lake is hosting a kayak tour on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 9 a.m. The tour leaves from the Fisherman’s Campground boat ramp. Participants will have a chance to see an active bald eagle nest. Other wildlife including beaver and osprey can also be seen. Bring binoculars, kayak, cameras, preferred refreshments, and sunscreen for this two-hour long journey. Participants should arrive at 8:45 a.m. to unload equipment and get their boat in the water so the tour can leave promptly at 9 a.m. For more information regarding this program or other interpretive events, please call the Nature Center at 812-685-2447.

Monroe Lake will dive into the history of several local cemeteries during two open houses. The events are part of Salt Creek Valley History Week, a celebration of the Salt Creek Valley’s past that runs Sept. 10 to 16. The first open house on Sept. 10 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. will share information on three small cemeteries that are located south of Monroe Lake in Hoosier National Forest and named after the Hays family. The open house will be at the Paynetown Activity Center, 4850 S. State Road 446 in Bloomington.
If you have photos, documents, stories, or other records pertaining to people buried in one of the Hays cemeteries, Monroe Lake naturalist Jill Vance encourages you to bring them to contribute to the park’s history. Vance will be able to digitally scan items during the open house, so you can keep your original records.
On Sept. 11 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., Monroe Lake will host a second open house, “Before the Water Rose”, at the Allens Creek Cemetery at 7650 E. Allens Creek Road in Bloomington.
When Monroe Lake was constructed, seven cemeteries were relocated to create the Allens Creek Cemetery. Attendees can walk through the cemetery sections with Vance to learn about where these cemeteries were originally located, how they were moved, and hear stories about some of the people buried there.
Susan Snider Salmon, a trained headstone restorer, will demonstrate the proper technique for safely cleaning historic grave markers. Attendees can also talk with Kel McBride, a cemetery coordinator with the Monroe County History Center, who will share the best techniques for photographing gravestone details. For further information on these open houses, as well as a list of other programs scheduled during Salt Creek Valley History Week, see bit.ly/SCVhistoryweek2022.
Both open houses are free to attend; however, an entrance fee of $7 per vehicle with Indiana license plate and $9 per vehicle with out-of-state plate applies for Paynetown SRA. Questions should be directed to the Paynetown Activity Center at 812-837-9967 or email [email protected].

Put/Take Pheasant Hunts begin the Saturday before Thanksgiving and continue through the Sunday after Thanksgiving. This year, the Put/Take Pheasant Hunt dates will be Nov. 19–27. Registration costs $30 per slot and is first-come, first-served. Once the daily hunter quota is reached, the area becomes unavailable. Hunters should print their registration confirmation sheet and bring it with them on the day of their hunts. The bag limit is two pheasants per person per day. The Fish & Wildlife areas participating in the Put/Take Pheasant Hunts are Atterbury FWA, Glendale FWA, J.E. Roush Lake FWA, Pigeon River FWA, Tri-County FWA, Willow Slough FWA, and Winamac FWA.

The Dubois County Sportsmen’s Club will have a meeting on Monday, August 15 at the St. Anthony Conservation Club.  Doors open at 6 and the meeting starts at 7.  Raffle tickets will be available to all members. Antler measurers will be on hand to measure for this years big buck contest. Any questions about the Big Buck Contest, you may contact Kevin Mehringer ([email protected]).

Indiana’s squirrel season opens on August 15 with dove season opening on  September 1. Due to poor sunflower growing conditions locally, wildlife management staff at Patoka Lake will not conduct in-person drawings for controlled mourning dove hunting opportunities this year. Instead, the two sunflower fields on South Ramp Road within Newton-Stewart SRA will be open for mourning dove hunting on a first-come, first-served basis. The routine drawing process for mourning dove hunting opportunities is expected to return in 2023. Hunters are reminded to procure the proper licenses, stamps, and their federal Harvest Information Program (HIP) number. Hunters are required to sign in at a property hunter check-in station and ensure they have a One-Day Hunting Permit on their person. Hunters are also reminded that they are federally required to use nontoxic shot of size 6 or smaller, in addition to having their firearm plugged so that it can only contain three shells at any time. Regular shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset through the legal season(s).Hunters should contact Indiana DNR Law Enforcement at 812-837-9536 regarding specific questions on federal or state laws, statutes, and rules. For other information on the controlled hunt, call Patoka Lake at 812-685-2464 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. and ask for the wildlife specialist.