OFAH ZONE J JULY 2015 NEWSLETTER
Transcript of OFAH ZONE J JULY 2015 NEWSLETTER
The OFAH Zone J Annual Youth Camp
returned to the Brant Rod & Gun Club for a
fantastic weekend of outdoors learning and
camping experience. 75 youth ages 8 to 17
yrs participated in a free weekend of lure
making, compost building, archery, pellet gun
shooting, pond fishing and solar ovens.
Brant Rod & Gun Club volunteers provided
breakfast to the campers both Saturday and
Sunday. Continued on page 3...
Inside this issue:
Special Points of Interest:
Report on the OFAH Zone J 27th Annual Youth Campout
Please attend the OFAH Zone J Membership Meeting
OFAH Zone J youtube channel and video blogs
OFAH Zone J Annual Youth Campout LOGO CONTEST WINNER
BRANT ROD & GUN CLUB HOSTS OFAH ZONE J 27TH ANNUAL YOUTH CAMPOUT
Did you catch a big one!
Get your entry in!
ontarioanglerawards.com
OFAH ZONE J JULY 2015
NEWSLETTER
Follow us on
www.ofah.org/zonej
OFAH Zone J 2
Executive Contacts
MARK YOUR 3
CALENDAR
OFAH Zone J August 4
Membership meeting
Did you Know? 6
Exercise for Accuracy 7
Message from the Chair 8
Camp Logo contest 9
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OFAH ZONE J
To have something added to the OFAH Zone J website,
please send an email request to
www.shopofah.org
OFAH ZONE J EXECUTIVE 2015-2016 CONTACT INFO
Chair, Brian Moore Watford area [email protected]
519-919-1520
1st Vice, Pud Hunter Aylmer area [email protected]
519-773-7245
2nd Vice, Ray Boilard Fonthill area [email protected]
905-892-9389
Secretary/Treasurer, Kathy Moore Brantford area [email protected]
(also Newsletter Editor) 519-756-9386
Past Chair, Tony Jackson Stratford area [email protected]
519-273-4193
Past Chair, Felix Barbetti Fonthill area [email protected]
905-892-4381
OFAH Zone J is now on youtube!
Visit us there to watch our video blogs (vlogs) on items of interest in OFAH Zone J!
Just go to www.youtube.ca and search OFAH Zone J
Some of the vlogs currently posted:
Ontario wild turkey research study by University of Guelph
OFAH commend the passing of Bill C-42
Making noise doesn’t always make a difference
Ontario family license-free fishing days
OFAH calls for better black bear management in Ontario
Moose management
Microplastics and Live Bait in Ontario
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OFAH ZONE J
Mark Your Calendars
THANK YOU TO OFAH ZONE J 27TH
ANNUAL YOUTH CAMPOUT SPONSORS
Brant Rod & Gun Club
Tri-County BASSmasters
Greg Balch
Brokerlink
Royal City Fishing Club
Foodland Burford
The Burford Times
Boston Pizza
Tiger Cat Industries
Aub’s Gas Bar/Pioneer Petroleum
Brantford Tourism Centre
OFAH Get Outdoors
Fitzsimons Financial
St. John Ambulance
Invading Species Awareness Program
Community Hatchery Program
Ontario Family Fishing Events
Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources and Forestry
Ontario Out of Doors
OFAH/OPG Tackle Share
Ontario Federation of Fur Managers
Grand River Conservation Authority
And a huge THANKS to all of the
volunteers, mentors and campers!
2015
August 23—OFAH Zone J membership meeting hosted by
Southwest Outdoors Club, Wheatley Legion
2016
January 10—OFAH Zone J membership Meeting hosted by
Halton Sportsmen’s Assoc. (Milton)
April 2—OFAH Zone J Annual General Meeting
& Election, Twin Creek Sportsman Club, near Alvinston
June 10—12—OFAH Zone J 28th Annual Youth Campout
hosted by the German Canadian Hunting and Fishing Club
August 21—OFAH Zone J membership meeting, hosted
by St. Catharines Game and Fish Association, near Thorold
Many Thanks to the OFAH Member Clubs who have
stepped forward with their interest in hosting OFAH Zone J
Meetings and Youth Campouts.
Youth Camp continued from front page…..
while OFAH Zone J Executive provided lunch on Saturday.
Rudy Kruppa brought out a couple of golden eagles on Satur-
day evening. The campers were awestruck by these beautiful
birds of prey. Scouter Randy MacPherson assisted with the
entertainment during the evening campfires.
Our sponsors and supporters provided a door prize
for each camper. OFAH Zone J Youth Camp Chair Brian
Moore said “Every camper had a smile on their face. The
s’mores cooked in the solar oven was the favourite activity.
The volunteers, mentors and families made this one of the
best campouts ever.” St. John Ambulance volunteers provid-
ed first aid coverage for the event and fortunately had a very
boring day.
We look forward to visiting the German Canadian
Hunting and Fishing Club in Mannheim for the next two
OFAH Zone J Annual Youth Camps! Dates are as follows:
June 10, 11 & 12, 2016 and June 9, 10 & 11, 2017
As always, you must pre-register for the youth camp
and registration will open on April 1, 2016. You may register
by phone (519) 919 1520; email [email protected] or thru
our website www.ofah.org/zonej.
Migratory Game Bird Hunting Permit
Can now be purchased on-line at
http://www.permis-permits.ec.gc.ca/ S’mores in a solar oven—yummmm
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OFAH ZONE J
Hosted by Southwest Outdoors Club and held at the
Wheatley Royal Canadian Legion Branch 324 27 Erie Street North, Wheatley, ON
Sunday August 23—Tentative Agenda
0830 hrs—coffee and snacks
0900 hrs—meeting called to order
0915 hrs—reports and discussion
0930 hrs—Presentation on Management planning and hunting opportunities by Kevin Money,
Director of Conservation Services, Essex Region Conservation Authority
1000 hrs—coffee break
1015 hrs—more reports and discussion
1200 hrs—lunch on site $15 perch, fries, coleslaw
1245 hrs—reconvene to finish reports
1300 hrs—Presentation on Asian Carp
1400 hrs—adjourn
A few of the topics that will be covered during the meeting:
: deer management in southern Ontario : FMZ Council reports
: moose tag allocation
: the health of white tail deer and wild turkey populations
: Thames and Grand River walleye : Firearms Legislation changes
: land use and public access : neonicotinoid pesticides
: Lake Erie blue green algae
Directions to the Wheatley Legion :
from the west (Windsor) Hwy 401 take the Tilbury exit to Mill Street (County Road 42)
and go into Tilbury
: turn right on to Queen Street (South)
: follow to Wheatley—turns into County Road 1 (Erie Street)
from the east (London) Hwy 401 take the Tilbury exit to Queens Line and go into Tilbury
: turn left on to Queen Street (South)
: follow to Wheatley—turns into County Road 1 (Erie Street)
From Highway 3 (Talbot Street) go north on Erie Street
Nearby accommodations: Comfort Inn, 279 Erie St E., Leamington 1-(855) 973-7216
Howard Johnson Inn, 201 Erie St N., Leamington 1-(800) 340-9841
OFAH Zone J August Membership Meeting
41st Annual OFAH Conservation Lottery
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OFAH ZONE J
Congratulations to all Winners!
The OFAH Conservation Lottery draw was held Friday May 29, 2015 the OFAH Head Office in Peterborough.
Many of the OFAH Zone J Executive were on hand to assist in the draw.
42nd Annual OFAH Conservation Lottery Tickets for Club sales should be available the third week in September with tickets
going out to individual members in early December.
When you sell a book of Conservation Lottery tickets for your Club, your Club will receive a rebate of $9.00 to use towards
Conservation projects. Many of our Clubs use the Conservation lottery as a major fund raiser! Start planning now on how your
Club can raise funds thru the sales of these tickets.
To get your ticket order placed early, please send an email to [email protected] or call 705-748-OFAH.
Landowner
Permission
Form Can be found at
www.ofah.org
Look under “HUNTING”
2015-2016 Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Board of Directors. Photo by Shawn Cayley
The Threat of Asian Carp continues
Two male grass carp have been found in
contained ponds near Tommy Thompson Park
in Toronto. These carp are able to reproduce
unlike the ones found in the Grand River near
Dunnville in 2013 and 2014. At this time it
is not known how these carp got into these
ponds. One of the ponds was created just 6
months ago. It is illegal to posses live Asian
carp in Ontario. These two fish will be ana-
lyzed in the US to see if they have lived in
Canadian waters for very long.
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OFAH ZONE J
Did You Know? Your Safety Flares are approved for four years from date of manufacture. This means that your flares need to be
replaced every third or fourth year—It’s the Law. You may NOT dispose of expired flares in the trash, nor
may you fire them. Disposing of expired flares has always been
difficult. This year, Transport Canada teamed up with CPS-ECP and selected CIL dealers who hosted Safety Equip-ment Education and Flare Disposal Days. Please check out www.cps-ecp.ca for details on where you can go.
IF you cannot find a date/location near you, please ask you local Police department or Fire department. They are
usually willing to dispose of them for you.
Did You Know….TURKEY
the distinctive turkey gobble can be heard over a mile away?
have over 20 distinct vocalizations—keep practicing your purrs, clucks, chucks and gobbles!
are smart and extremely social. They like people and dogs and can create long social bonds
Some can reach 55 mph for short bursts of flight
Benjamin Franklin wanted the wild turkey as the National bird of the USA instead of the bald eagle
Mayans, Aztecs, Toltecs and other ancient Mexican cultures considered the turkey sacred and called them “jewelled birds”
Each bird has more than 5,000 feathers
Turkey meat contains tryptophan in the same level as other meat. It’s the whole Thanksgiving meal that makes you tired
Did You Know….MASSASAUGA RATTLER
The only venomous snake in Ontario and Michigan. While they have comparatively short fangs their venom is very po-
tent –among the most lethal among rattlesnakes
Color pattern consists of a grey or tan ground color with a row of large rounded brown/black blotches/spots down the
centre of the back and three smaller rows of alternating spots down each side
vulnerable to many predators including wild turkeys and also wantonly killed by irrationally fearful people who generally
destroy/ persecute other species of snakes as well.
Adults are only 60 to 75 cm in length
Habitat ranges from swamps and marshes to grasslands
Listed as a “threatened” species
ONLY Ontario snake with vertical pupils
Has heat-sensing pits on each side of its smallish head and scales are keeled
The word massasauga means “great river-mouth” in the Chippewa language
Diet is small mammals, lizards, snakes, centipedes, rodents, frogs Information courtesy of Felix Barbetti and Wikipedia
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OFAH ZONE J
How much do you practice with your shotgun during the summer? Do you wait until September to pull it
out to start practicing or do you handle your shotgun all summer long?
In days gone by, we could just head out into the country and hand throw a few clay birds into the air and
blast them. Well….there were a lot of things we “used to” do. Now you have to drive to an approved shooting
range and pay hard earned cash to get some practice time.
I would like to share a couple of things that I do with my shotgun that help me to stay fluent and fluid at
the range and in the field. I live in a very urban townhouse complex. Not much room outdoors to swing a shotgun
without 911 being called so I practice indoors. I have always found that I lack upper body strength and would tire
easily when shooting trap or waterfowl hunting.
To assist in building muscle memory and upper body strength, why not exercise with your shotgun? I use
a comfortable, light weight shotgun for hunting and trap shooting but to build some strength and endurance I prac-
tice with a heavier gun. Make sure the gun is unloaded and position yourself in your shooting stance. Relax and
take a deep breath. Now shoulder your gun making sure you get it tucked into your shoulder correctly. Count to
three then lower the gun and relax. Count to three and do it again, repeating as many times as possible. You are
weight lifting, toning and strengthening the muscles required to shoot.
I put on whatever clothing and shoes I wear at the range, including my shooting vest, ear protection and
eye protection. I then take my favourite trap gun, making 100% certain it is unloaded, and stand in front of a mir-
ror, preferably a full length mirror. I take my shooting stance and raise the shotgun to shooting position. I make
sure I feel “right” then I look in the mirror to see what my correct stance looks like. I do this over and over again,
developing muscle memory and a “feel” for the right position. I don’t just do this once during the summer – as
with any exercise, you need to repeat is regularly to retain the benefit.
While practicing my stance I pay attention to how my weight is shifted onto my front foot; how my trigger
arm elbow is raised horizontal to my shoulder; is there any gun weight on my front hand; how tight is the butt into
my shoulder; is my cheek pressed into the stock. Over and over with my eyes open and with my eyes closed. If
you do this for an hour a week all year long, your trap/skeet scores will improve as will your hunting harvest.
Maintaining good physical condition and stamina is very important for accurate shooting of any kind.
Compound and cross bow accuracy also depend on good upper body strength and strong posture. I’m sure you
could do the same type of exercises for bowhunting and archery.
Yours In Conservation,
Kathy Moore, OFAH Zone J
Exercise for shooting accuracy
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OFAH ZONE J
On Father’s Day weekend, OFAH Zone J, in partnership with the Brant Rod and Gun Club (BRGC) held
the 27th Annual OFAH Zone J Youth Camp-Out. This camp is open to youth of ages 8-17 and is totally
free to the participant’s. The weather was perfect and all 75 youth in attendance had a great time learn-
ing about archery, fishing, pellet gun shooting, solar cooking, falconry and even windowsill composting.
With the assistance of hordes of volunteers and sponsors, this camp continues being a huge success!
The German Canadian Hunting and Fishing Club in Mannheim will be hosting the Camp in 2016 and
2017.
The Ontario wild turkey by University of Guelph PdD Candidate Amanda MacDonald and Nicole
Nemeth, Assistant Professor was mentioned in the August issue of the Ontario Out of Doors Hotline.
OFAH Zone J is producing a vlog that will bring us up to date on how this project is going. Watch OFAH
Zone J youtube channel, facebook page, website or our twitter account for the release!
Sharing information with our members via social media has been our focus during the past few months.
We have produced vlogs on things such as: live bait in Ontario; black bear management; microplastics;
passing of Bill C-42 and other important issues. This method of reaching our members is in its infancy but
we are receiving excellent feedback.
The main concerns aside from moose management continue to be deer and turkey populations; the impact
of pesticides on our fish and wildlife; the health of our fisheries; the threat of invasive species; the protec-
tion of species at risk as well as sharing our knowledge of our heritage activities.
We are seeing an increase in wildlife/human encounters within urban areas. OFAH Zone J has had at least
3 incidents this summer of deer being dispatched by local law enforcement because they had been injured
in urban settings. A black bear has also been seen in Puslinch Township, between Guelph and Hamilton.
Educating people on what to do during an urban encounter (leave them alone) is the approach OFAH
Zone J been taking.
Wishing everyone a safe, fruitful fall season!
Yours In Conservation,
Brian Moore, Chair
Message from the Chair
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OFAH ZONE J
CALL TO ALL MEMBERS
The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Zone J is seeking nominations for the Annual OFAH Zone J Outstanding Achievement Award.
Deadline for Nominations is December 31, 2015 This award is to recognize an individual’s outstanding effort towards Stewardship, Conservation, and/or the promotion of angling or hunting in Southwestern Ontario as selected by the OFAH Zone J membership. Members of OFAH Zone J may nominate anyone, does not have to be an OFAH member, for this award. Nominees for the 2015 award may be submitted to the Zone J Secretary/Treasurer no later than December 31, 2015. Please include a description of the work the nominee has done as well as photos, news articles, etc. The Zone membership will vote on the winner at the January 2016 Quarterly meeting at the Halton Sportsmen’s Association, with the winner being announced at the Zone J Annual meeting in April 2016 at Twin Creek Sportsman Club. We know there are many deserving volunteers who quietly devote their time, energy and money to conservation, hunting and angling within our Zone. Please help us recognize them by submitting a story about their dedication and passion.
OFAH Zone J Youth Campout
Logo Contest
WINNER!!
The Youth Camp
attendees were given
ballots to vote on the
logo submission of
their choice. The
resounding winner is:
Emily Moore.
Congratulations Emily!
Many THANKS to all submissions!! We will incorporate this logo
into our 2016 OFAH Zone J Youth Camp!
OFAH Zone J Logo
Contest
WINNER!!
The Youth Camp attendees also let
us know which OFAH Zone J logo
submission they liked the best. This
information was then taken to the
OFAH Zone J Executive and they
voted on which logo submission they
preferred. The new OFAH Zone J
logo will be unveiled in a vlog later
this summer….stay tuned.