PITTSBURGH — First detected in Pennsylvania 13 years ago, a fatal, contagious disease affecting deer and elk has yet to be confirmed in Allegheny County. That could change, and soon, as chronic wasting disease continues to spread across the state and was recently detected in an animal in Armstrong County's Freeport — near the Allegheny ...Read more

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Captain Marc Pincus doesn’t think sharks get enough credit.

“They are smart,” Pincus said. “They adapt.”

The owner of Reelin Charters spends his days taking tourists out shark fishing on the waters around Hilton Head Island, where the currents, water temperatures, bait and other factors add up to an area ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Department of Natural Resources roadside counts for August 1980 reported about 105 pheasants spotted per 100 miles driven on long-established southern Minnesota routes. The next year the number jumped to almost 134.

Compared to the five previous years, those were good tallies for Minnesota pheasants. In 1975, only 35 pheasants ...Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — During a recent, failed push to ban shrimp trawling in North Carolina sounds, an opponent mentioned a study commissioned by the General Assembly expected to shed light on the state’s coastal and marine fisheries.

The report is now released and doesn’t take a stand on whether a trawling ban is needed to save fish ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Seventy years ago this month, Leech Lake muskies went crazy.

Until that time, the big silvery fish barely gained notice from most of the lake’s anglers. Instead, walleyes were the lake’s major attraction.

But a stifling heat wave that settled over northern Minnesota in early July 1955 changed everything. Walleye action shut...Read more

BOISE, Idaho — Idaho Fish and Game is asking anglers to “catch, kill and keep” a nonnative fish that threatens the populations of other fish species at a popular reservoir in Canyon County.

The guidance comes as Fish and Game officials say a walleye population has “established” itself after illegal introduction to Lake Lowell in Nampa...Read more

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. — On a crisp, overcast morning on the dark, greenish-blue waters of Lake St. Clair, Dave LaVigne's fishing pole bowed like a candy cane as he reeled in what he hoped was a big fish.

A smallmouth bass fought, but LaVigne stayed focused. Wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat backward, he reeled and reeled until the fish,...Read more

RICE LAKE, Wis. — Lever-action rifles, revolvers, gun barrels, trigger assemblies and other firearm components lace the sprawling manufacturing floor here at Henry Repeating Arms, a leading U.S. gunmaker with ties to Minnesota.

Hundreds of skilled plant workers, many sporting hunting apparel, tattoos or merch from the Green Bay Packers, make ...Read more

MIAMI — In Florida, you can’t kill a tarpon — a silver-plated game fish prized by catch-and-release anglers — without a special permit. You also can’t spearfish in almost half of the Florida Keys.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies say a Port St. Lucie man did both on Sunday, which landed him in jail.

Brayan Martinez Perez, 23...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A trail camera — a small, battery-operated camera marketed to hunters to track wildlife movements — likely helped authorities find suspected shooter Vance Boelter on Sunday.

Modern trail cameras can transmit images instantaneously to an owner’s cellphone even when the camera is out of Wi-Fi range.

Brian Smith, an outdoor ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Ben Strege helps get people into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

But after the news last week that trip fees there could substantially increase, the part-time wilderness guide said he couldn’t help wonder how many paddlers it might deter in the years ahead.

A new Forest Service proposal would more than double the ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Charlie Wedes didn’t look like a revolutionary when, 16 years ago, he and another grade-schooler puttered around Lake Minnewashta in the metro’s western suburbs, casting for largemouth bass.

Just 6 years old at the time, Charlie already knew the thrill of pitching a Whopper Plopper to a bed of lily pads and watching a ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — A couple Sundays ago I awoke early in a cheap motel that was overpriced, with no coffeepot and the shades pulled down on the only cafe in town. But the sun was shining and the truck stop on the way to the county fairgrounds offered a choice between French roast and ultra caffeinated. The guy ahead of me poured a cup of the high ...Read more

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state of Alaska is once again asking the Board of Game to allow wildlife managers to shoot bears from helicopters in a rural part of Southwest Alaska in the interest of increasing caribou numbers.

The board is scheduled to hold a special meeting on July 14 in Anchorage to consider the revised proposal to expand its ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota foragers have won a place at the table to set new guidelines for gathering mushrooms and picking berries on state land, under a new task force approved by the Legislature.

As part of a broader environment and natural resources bill expected to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz, the state would create a Sustainable Foraging ...Read more