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Busted! No more false advertising

May 23rd, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Hunting

Ask any hunter about his number-one handicap in the field and no doubt he will mention something about his scent. No matter how hard we try to fight it, woodland creatures can pick up an intrusive human’s odor as if it is a giant neon billboard in the middle of the woods. If there was a product we could buy that would eliminate our scent or even greatly reduce it, hunters would pay big bucks for it.

If you pick up any hunting publications or watch hunting-related shows on TV, you probably have seen the ads from Scent Lok claiming to have exactly what hunters have been searching for, “scent-eliminating” clothing. With the help of its hyperbolic advertising campaign, Scent Lok products became an overnight must-have for hunters afield.

But, as a handful of hunters from Minnesota claim, no clothing can “eliminate” odor and make a hunter “scent free” as Scent Lok so often claimed. They took their distrust to courts and earlier this month, U.S District Court Judge Richard Kyle found the company liable for false or deceptive advertising. Even worse, the guilty verdict took Cabela’s and Gander Mountain, because they sell Scent Lok licensed products, down as well.

While the case will now move deeper into the country’s court system, we know a couple of things for sure. Scent Lok won’t be doing much advertising in the near future and the world’s hunters are forced to continue their search for the miracle product that eliminates are telltale scent.

Popularity: 62% [?]

A mistake that should not have been made

May 19th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Fishing, Conservation
I don’t mind dealing with my mistakes. I make enough of them that I am fairly proficient at fixing what I broke. But dealing with somebody else’s mistakes? That can be tough — especially if it affects my passions.
I read a quote this morning that sent my blood pressure soaring. “This spill, in all likelihood, will affect fish and wildlife resources in the Gulf and across North America for years, and maybe for decades,” said Rowan Gould of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on the Gulf oil spill. Now that tar balls are washing up on Florida’s beaches and are threatening to hop a ride on the Loop Current, which would eventually put the oil on the East Coast’s doorstep, the situation to our south is going from bad to worse.
Earlier this week, NOAA decided to ban fishing on 19% of the Gulf’s federal waters. Not good, but the fisheries will be reopened. In the meantime, the ecological destruction is spreading. So far, officials have reported 156 dead sea turtles, a dozen dead dolphins and 35 oiled birds.
“What concerns us most is what we can’t see,” continued Gould. He’s right. Thanks to record levels of dispersants poured into the Gulf, there are huge underwater clouds of oil coating everything in their path.
The true fallout from this spill won’t be felt this week, this month or even this year. This has turned into a decades-long catastrophe that will undoubtedly affect generations to come. That’s a mistake that never should have been made.

Popularity: 63% [?]

A place to learn the facts

May 8th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Conservation

With the large, uncontrolled oil spill in the Gulf, many Pennsylvanians are turning a skeptical eye on our state’s latest fossil-fuel boom, the Marcellus Shale formation. With a renewed interest in the region’s natural gas resources, drillers are quickly converging on the area and legislators facing a massive budget deficit are eagerly signing off on new leases.

Over the past few years, all sorts of statistics and rumors have been tossed at us. Some folks see the situation as a modern-day gold rush that we need to take advantage of. Others see it as a time bomb quietly waiting to destroy Pennsylvania’s vast beauty. All sides of the story, from the “tree huggers” to the oil “barrens” themselves have spewed varying degrees of propaganda.

What’s the truth? How safe is shale drilling? How much of Pennsylvania’s state-owned land is opened to drilling?

While it may not be a perfectly unbiased source (I have yet to find one), the DNR’s Gas Exploration website offers detailed information and some answers to the questions we’ve all asked. If you are at all interested in educating yourself on what’s happening in our backyard, take a few minutes to check out the site.

A little knowledge can go a long way, especially when it comes to preserving Penn’s Woods.

Popularity: 52% [?]

Fueling an addiction

May 6th, 2010 | No Comments | Posted in Fishing, Fly Fishing

I think I may have found something as rewarding as fishing - teaching somebody how to fish. Earlier this week, I was asked to give a bit of a fly fishing demonstration and teaching session at a local church. I’ve done plenty of on-the-run “teaching” as a guide, but nothing formal. Although this was far from a professional seminar, one of the participants went from a full-on rookie that had never picked up a long rod to a fly caster that could tackle just about any situation a local stream could throw at them.

We often talk about teaching a kid to fish — and that’s great stuff — but there are plenty older folks that have never been properly introduced to the angling world. I learned firsthand this week that young or old, the joy and reward are just the same.

But I must admit a tinge of guilt. After all, I introduced a person to fly fishing, a sport that is addictive and over flows with glitzy catalogs filled with “must-have” gear. I might as well have opened the guy’s wallet and dumped it down the sewer. Next thing I know he’ll be sporting two new rods, matching reels and a truckload of accessories to boot.

Even if he does go broke, I won’t regret introducing him to my passion. After all, money can’t buy the kind of happiness you find along a trout stream.

Popularity: 40% [?]