Pennsylvania Woodsman

There are over 200,000 bear licenses sold in Pennsylvania annually, and 3,500-4,000 bears are killed every fall. With odds like this, how can there be people who have killed multiple Pennsylvania bears in their lifetime and others who never kill one? The answer is the same as the guys who consistently kill big bucks. Preseason homework needs to be done if you expect success! Finding food is key, and to do that you may need to put some miles on via vehicle and boots to find it.This week we chat with Mark Lesher who has killed half a dozen Pennsylvania bears, and passed nearly as many. He shares a camp with his brothers and family in the northern portion of the state that has harvested dozens of bears since the 1960s when the season first opened back up. Growing up in a camp comes with many traditions. Some traditions include hunting the same areas and the same ways as previous generations. Mark and his crew have learned to do way more than make bear drives and holler, they’ve learned how to be methodical and kill multiple bears annually in their camp. If you’re and avid bear hunter, grab a pen and paper because class is in session; you do not want to miss out on this information! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How many times have you heard someone say that the rut was, or will be, early or later than normal this year? If the rut truly is different every year, then why are fawns born the same time every spring? The truth is, whitetail does are bred relatively the same time each and every year, regardless of moon phase, weather pattern, or how much hunting pressure is in your area. So, when you hear someone say the rut timing was off, what that person is really referring to is observing a chasing, or rutting behavior during daylight hours. In this episode, we will discuss the context behind some common sayings during the rut, which hopefully will help you determine the best time to be in the stand.Did you request your time off for a “rut-cation”? Or what may even be a better question, SHOULD you request time off of work for the rut? In short, the answer is more then likely “yes”. But how many times have you taken a week off of work in November that turned into a dud? Usually, the lack of activity is caused by inclement weather that may reduce overall deer sightings. Just because some phase of the rut is occurring, doesn’t mean it’s the correct day to be on stand. We will discuss stand strategy, and how to slant time off towards favorable hunting conditions one day at a time, instead of putting all your eggs into one basket during a favored historical timeframe. Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered By Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If you read this title and think you’re going to find out the exact date, time, and location to harvest a buck opening week this year – you may be crazy! Hunting strategy content has flooded social media, and while there is a lot of fantastic advice, it can become overwhelming to utilize in your hunting area. It is also extremely easy to over-think your hunting strategy and let emotion overcome reason. Should you hunt in the morning during early season? Should you get close to bedding areas immediately? When should I dive into my best stand? There really is no one size fits all method.Think in your mind who the two best whitetail hunters are in the country – while they may have some similarities, often their background in whitetails can lead to contradictory advice. It does not mean that one is right and one is wrong – but it can surely be confusing! This week, Mitch provides his mindset on when to be aggressive, and when to be patient. You’ll find that first keeping it simple and assessing food, bedding, and surrounding hunting pressure, can put you in the ball game quickly before steam shoots out of your ears from overthinking. But one major piece of missing context – how large is private or public parcel you are hunting? Ponder this as we scratch the surface for hunting early season. Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this week’s episode we interview John Wakefield with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. John is the Fire Program Manager for the state and leads the agency in planning as well as being a “Burn Boss”. We begin the episode with tips and techniques to break down a tract of public land with a recent burn history or a plan to. Burn units are an extremely attractive area – both for game and for people! Use this to your advantage when concentrating your stand locations.From here, we dive into all things fire. From the program start, why units are burned, and the goal of each burn unit. The benefits of burning 12 months out of the year greatly outweigh the drawbacks of vegetation loss during hunting season. Burns will be attractive soon after burns, and typically within 1 growing season will be lush with different browse and forbs. We discuss different habitat types and how each are managed – decide for yourself how to adapt your hunting strategy this fall!Want to know more about prescribed fire in PA?Pennsylvania Prescribed Fire Council (paprescribedfire.org)PrescribedFire (pa.gov) Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

First, tune in on some follow up to the previous podcast, “Are your food plots a step above the rest?” Did your planting get missed by much needed rainfall? If so, then take note for some rescue treatment advice. The window is far from closed on highly attractive fall food plots! Fall plots will transition into the story of a giant 170” typical killed in 2020 by your host Mitchell Shirk; tune in for the story and strategy! A two-year story for a deer named “Goliath” ended on October 23 with the deer falling a mere 35 yards from the base of the treestand. What is more amazing, is this deer was killed in a ½ acre wood lot outside of a busy town. Do you think it’s not worth your time to create habitat improvements on your small parcel of land? Listen to the quest for this 4 ½ year old 170” deer and maybe you’ll change your mind! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Continuing with the Bruiser Bucks series, this week Cole Seitzinger shares his hunt breakdown in 2020. Cole is just as busy as the next Woodsman – he is working two jobs and is a father of 3 children. As time goes by, we all know how difficult it can be to get out in the field. Cole digs into how he manages his time throughout the fall to key in on mature deer in this pressured state. Cole is no stranger to chasing deer 4 1/2 + years old and older. Over the past few seasons, he has wrapped his tag around numerous mature deer. This year happened to be his largest PA whitetail to date. To keep it an even greater challenge, Cole has chosen to stick with his compound bow from the beginning of archery until season closes after the New Year. That’s right, Cole puts down this bruiser during the statewide rifle season with stick and string. Talk about the ultimate accomplishment! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Food plots truly have been revolutionary in the world of whitetail hunting. Information on how, what, where, and when to plant has flooded the internet and magazines to the point where it can be extremely difficult navigating through good vs. bad information. It is a common misconception that there is a “one size fits all” food plot program. Food plot species, timing of planting, planting methods, herd dynamics and most importantly, SOILS are very different from one farm to the next. Learning what fits best on your farm with the time and equipment you have available can be a daunting task without good experience.Tune in to what the farmer and agronomist with a hunting problem have to say on their fall food plot planting strategies in fall 2021. They discuss ways to plant with very little equipment onto rolling out tractors with large drills and planters. Most importantly, the conversation directs to how the food plot species and planting styles relate to the hunting strategy and the goals they set for the season. Don’t wait to listen to this episode until after you are finished with your fall plots, you may decide to make some last-minute changes! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We are back with another exciting bruiser buck story on this week’s episode. Tune in as Brendan Fink shares with us a bazar journey of punching a tag on an absolute stud during the 2020 PA archery season. If you are an archery hunter, you know that practicing with your equipment is vital to being successful. Even the most prepared hunters can be consumed by the adrenaline rush during the moment of truth and cause things to go haywire.Brendan’s story is one of perseverance. He experienced the highest of highs watching this giant whitetail approach his stand and the lowest of lows when the arrow did not perfectly hit its mark. Thankfully with hard work and a little bit of luck, he was able to wrap his tag around a 168” bruiser buck. Pennsylvania is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we chat with John Royer – the host of YouTube channel Leatherwood Outdoors. John and his crew are no strangers to enjoying Creation. For over a decade they have been documenting their outdoor adventures of deer, bear, turkey, and small game hunting, as well as fishing, trapping, mushroom hunting and more. You will find their channel informational as well as entertaining!One of John’s many passions in the outdoors is rattlesnake hunting. John shares with us how he began this new hobby and tells stories as well as helpful hints to anyone who may want to pursue this summertime adventure. Rattlesnakes are often demonized and given a bad reputation. John explains that while rattlesnakes can be dangerous, if given respect they will leave you alone and often you won’t know they are there in the first place. Don’t let snakes keep you from hiking and enjoying the outdoors this time of year, instead, learn from John how to hunt them! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This week we kick off a new series breaking down stories from Pennsylvania hunters who found success harvesting mature buck this past season. With just shy of 1 million licensed hunters in PA, many of which are deer hunters, it can be a daunting task setting your sights on bucks that are 4 to 5 years of age or older. What can be more difficult is taking the step to pass a young buck. We encourage all hunters to be fair chase, ethical, and most importantly pursue what makes them happy! Every hunter needs to enjoy their time in Creation and harvest standards should be made by the individual. This series aims to provide hope to those who want to take the next step chasing big whitetail bucks but still remain skeptical of letting a younger bucks pass.This week, Dustin Adam shares his introduction into hunting and how over time he became infatuated with mature deer. Not only do we get to hear the story of his back-to-back bruiser’s taken with a bow, he shares his frustration of learning the patience needed to shoot big bucks. He also talks about the importance of passing on the hunting heritage with family and friends, and how he includes family during his time in the woods. Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pennsylvania is home to more than 83,000 miles of streams, many of which hold respectable native trout populations. In the past decade, many high rain events have devastated creek channels thus affecting food webs and trout populations. In addition to weather, there are a number of point and non-point pollution sources that continue to impair cold water streams. This week we interview fisheries biologist, Clayton Good, who has participated in monitoring “unassisted “streams and patterns of native fish in North Central Pennsylvania.Clayton has spent the last 8 years collecting data with state and private organizations like Trout Unlimited. In that time his passion for the sport of fishing has only grown! We tap into a bit of his working career as a fisheries biologist, the hurdles that our streams may be facing, and of course, fishing! Passion drives persistence and he has not struggled to find a way to land trout with his fly rod, whether it be in stocked creeks or the many mountain tributaries that hold native brook trout. Tune in for real time information as well as fishing stories and strategy! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered. by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Catering more toward private landowners this week, we will be discussing spring food plots. As farmers are advancing with fertilizing, spraying, and planting crops, every year wildlife managers are eager to pull the trigger and begin spring food plots. While there is nothing wrong with spring and summer food plots, ask yourself are they truly needed for your property? Hunting and management goals need to be considered as well as the property itself and the surrounding neighborhood. If your focus is whitetail deer, are you building a herd or attracting a herd? What is the lowest hole in the bucket?With their background in agriculture as a farmer and an agronomist, your hosts Devon and Mitchell will shed light on their perspective of spring food plots. Soil management and preparation is key – it starts with the soil! Should you plant, what should you plant, how should you plant, and how do you manage your chosen crop? And last but not least, how do your food plots relate to your management goals? Tune in for quality food plot information and some outside the box ideas! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After being pummeled by numerous snowstorms this winter, cabin fever has finally dissolved! Days are lengthening, temperatures are rising, vegetation is blooming, and we are ready to spend time in the woods! Throughout most of the state it has been nearly 4 months since deer season has closed, and turkey season is a great way to “scratch the itch” until next fall. For some, this may be the season you wait for all year long! Pattern your guns, tune your bows, and practice your calls, spring turkey season is here!As anticipation builds prior to season opener, it’s easy for turkey hunters to envision a bird you roosted the night before fly into your set up after sweet talking him with the tree yelps and fly-down cackle you’ve practiced all winter long. The calling interaction and a bird’s response is typically what fires up any turkey hunter. But how often does the plan come together the way we pictured it in our heads? This podcast will touch on a few tips and experiences that may help you after that roost bird decides to throw away your script! We hope the turkey talk excites you as much as it does us! Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the Pennsylvania Woodsman Podcast where you will find both educational and entertaining conversations about the great outdoors. We will cover everything from deer hunting in the fall to turkey hunting in the spring, and let's not forget a variety of fishing opportunities that our state has to offer. Our goal is to talk with everyone from the experts in their field to the Average Joe and weekend warriors as well as those who work for our conservation departments. The Keystone State has many different outdoor opportunities for just about everyone, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. Pennsylvania Woodsman is Powered by Simplecast Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.