Courtesy of Bob Frye and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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Young hunters get a taste of waterfowling

By Bob Frye
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Monday, October 4, 2004

A little less fog would have been nice, but with birds in the air and eager eyes looking for them, the youth waterfowl hunt organized by some local sportsmen turned out pretty well.

Volunteers from the Whistling Wings of Western Pennsylvania Chapter of Delta Waterfowl took eight children -- seven junior hunters and one 10-year-old brother who was tagging along for the experience -- hunting at Moraine State Park's Lake Arthur Sept. 25. The occasion was the state's one-day youth waterfowl season.

The oldest of the young hunters was 14. The rest were 12 and 13. They didn't kill a lot of birds, with one Canada goose, one hen mallard and one hen wood duck put in the bag.

Everyone had a good time, though, said Jim O'Brien of the Whistling Wings chapter, even if some of the youngsters were a bit shocked to find out just how early a day in a blind really begins.

"When you're dealing with 12- and 13-year-old kids, 4:30 a.m. comes real early. But it was worth it," O'Brien said. "All of the kids got shooting. It was a good day."

The young hunters -- Kyle Henderson, Chad Larkin, Curtis Markosky, Darren Deltando, Ryan Fotia, and Justin and Brandon Holub -- hailed from various communities, stretching from Ligonier to Pittsburgh to Ellwood City.

Their day started out with a presentation on safety and bird identification delivered by Pennsylvania Game Commission waterfowl biologist Kevin Jacobs. Next, they and a parent were partnered with a guide from the Whistling Wings chapter.

Dave Gass, the group's conservation chairman and one of the key organizers of the hunt, was one of those guides. O'Brien was another, along with Bob and Darren Dunsey, Tim Kimmel, George Shultz, Mike Fotia, Sean Swanboro, and Jeff Giger.

Each guide took their young partners out -- sometimes in a canoe tucked against shore, sometimes in a fully loaded boat blind -- and set them up over a raft of decoys.

About four hours later, they brought them back to shore for a cookout and presentations by Game Commission wildlife conservation officer Randy Pilarcik and Moraine State Park ranger Rick Carson.

Before going home, each young hunter also received a duck call, waterfowl identification book, shell box, box of shells, game strap, Delta Waterfowl hat, and a youth membership in the Whistling Wings chapter.

"They all got about $100 worth of stuff handed to them," O'Brien said.

Things went so well, and everyone went away so satisfied, that chapter members are already planning to hold another youth hunt next fall.

"We'll definitely do it again, and hopefully we'll get twice the kids and twice the birds," O'Brien said.

For information on the Whistling Wings of Western Pennsylvania Chapter of Delta Waterfowl or future hunts, call O'Brien at 724-837-1612 or 724-875-4140.

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Copyright 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Republished here with the permission of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. No further republication or redistribution is permitted without the express approval of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.