Jul 5, 2009 5 min read

Nuisance bears continue to make news. Northern Fayette County Wildlife Conservation Officer Jason Farabaugh has been dealing with them quite often in the past couple of weeks. “Yesterday (Wednesday) I had a big one, according to chest measurements – at least 403 pounds. It was the biggest one I ever had my hands on,” Farabaugh said.

The hefty bruin was trapped at Henry Clay Villa on Route 40 East, where he had been getting into the dumpsters.

“Several have been coming in to visit the dumpsters there,” he said.

Thursday he trapped a “research” bear on Game Lands 51. “It was a 165-pound female,” Farabaugh said. “Deputy Dave Anderson helped me process it.”

Farabaugh also picked up a bear cub that wandered into a yard near Lemont Furnace.

“It weighed 8 pounds,” Farabaugh said.

“At the same time we were dealing with the cub, we had another small male in a trap just down the road. It was a male. He weighed between 110 and 120 pounds.”

The bear Farabaugh trapped near Henry Clay Villa was released at Zebley Flats, and the small male he caught last week was taken to Somerset County.

The small male bear was previously trapped in Armstrong County and released in Somerset County in March and ended up in Lemont Furnace last week. “He is a traveler,” Farabaugh said.

June 20 a bear was killed on the Route 40 near Atlas. It was a 145-pounder.

Farabaugh noted that the female trapped last week appeared to have had cubs last year, while the one killed on Route 40 never had cubs.

In commenting on the bear trapped at Henry Clay Villa, Farabaugh said, “We were waiting on the big one to wake up, when another one came out in the field.”

Farabaugh said that bears were getting into bee hives and bird feeders early in the spring, but most complaints lately have been of them getting into dumpsters.

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Despite the relatively wet spring Farabaugh said that he has been seeing “a lot” of turkeys with poults.

“I would say I’ve been seeing more than last year. I think the population is better in the lowlands than in the mountain area of my district,” Farabaugh said. “I’ve been seeing birds of all different sizes. The small ones are like guinea hens, and the bigger ones are about the size of regular chickens.”

Farabaugh said the size difference could be because they nested twice, but they could have also just been bred at different times.

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Farabaugh has also been seeing “a fair number of deer and a lot of fawns.”

“What I’m seeing the most of is grouse,” he said.

“There are grouse everywhere. I’m even seeing a lot of small ones. I see them every time I go to Game Lands 51.

When asked about the coyote population, Farabaugh said, “People talk about them, but I haven’t seen one since I’ve been here, although I did check a few coyote hunters one night in January.

Those who frequently use the rifle range on Game Lands 51 near Dunbar will be happy to know that a 50-yard backstop will be added this summer. It should be operational in the next month or two.

Farabaugh noted that hunter education classes were filled in March, but as spring progressed and summer arrived attendance has been getting lower and lower. There were only eight students in one class that usually has 40.

“I think the kids are too busy with summertime sports and stuff,” Farabaugh said. “Attendance has dropped way off compared to last year.”

Besides classes already scheduled, there should be a couple of late ones in the district.

On the move

I caught up with Scott Gates at S&S Bait and Tackle at Chalk Hill Plaza and he was in the process of moving.

Gates is moving his store just across the parking lot to the former Dollar Store location, where he will have more space.

Besides moving he has “been selling a pile of hunting licenses.” He said, “Everyone is getting ready to send in their antlerless deer license applications.”

He said that the trout fishing is real good and nobody is complaining.

“The walleye seem to have disappeared from the lake (Yough Dam), but the bass fishermen are catching some smallmouths,” he said.

“Where the Castleman comes into the Yough, they are catching a little bit of everything. Nobody seems to be doing any good on walleye, but reports are that they have been doing well on walleye at Deep Creek.”

Meadow Run is still hot. Gates noted that one guy caught 16 one day and 13 the next.

“They stocked the tailraces, so a lot of guys came in today for bait. Some days we see a ton of fishermen and other days just a handful. Today it has been pretty steady.

Gates reminds anglers to mark Aug. 29 on their calendar, as that is when the second annual Fish For Life tournament to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fight blood cancers will be held.

This year’s tournament, which will again feature bass and walleye classes, will be on the Monongahela River at Ten Mile Park in Fredericktown.

More details will be announced plans advance, but eager anglers can pick up an entry form at S&S.

Bentz third

Last week’s announcement of the winner of Marra’s Mountaineer Sport Shop’s annual spring gobbler contest were incorrect.

Tim Dillon was listed as the third-place finisher.

Actually, Matthew Bentz was the third place finisher, with Dillon finishing fourth.

Herald-Standard Outdoor Editor Rod Schoener can be contacted on-line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com