Plenty going on outdoors in the Natural State this Winter

Plenty going on outdoors in the Natural State this Winter

From Randy Zellers AGFC Communications

Make a conversation starter for turkeys at Fort Smith nature center workshop

FORT SMITH — The Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center will hold a special turkey hunting workshop that will focus on turkey calling at 6 p.m., March 8. Not only will participants learn the basics of how to attract turkeys with a friction call, they’ll build their own call they can use to chase down their bird.

The yelp of a hen turkey may sound like fingernails on a chalkboard to some people, but to male turkeys it’s a siren song. Over the years, hunters have imitated these sounds with all sorts of instruments, but one of the most popular is a wooden striker dragged across a piece of slate or glass that’s mounted on a soundboard to amplify the vibration. Participants in this workshop will use materials provided by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to create their own working call under the direction of Chad Lowe, an AGFC education program specialist and resident turkey hunter at the nature center.

“We’ll give workshop attendees the slate material as well as a plastic base and a soundboard to glue together,” Lowe said.

“We’ll also make our own strikers from oak dowels.

Then we’ll rough up the surface of the slate with a piece of sandpaper and start working on our technique.”

Lowe says many different sounds can be made from the slate call that will be created, and they can be extremely effective with a little practice.

In addition to building a call, workshop attendees will learn a little about turkey anatomy and their life history. The more knowledge hunters have about their target, the more they can adjust their hunting techniques to increase success.

“[The nature center] has 10 to 15 hunting-focused in-depth workshops similar to this on all sorts of species each year in addition to all the standard outreach we offer,” Lowe said. “We try to offer a good balance of watchable wildlife, boating and paddling as well as hands-on hunting and angling here at the nature center.”

Being an avid turkey hunter, Lowe carries one of the calls made in the workshop in his vest every time he heads to the field.

“This is a great friction call, and I’ve used one of these exact ones to harvest a bird in Arkansas,” Lowe said. “Of course this is just one of many tools a turkey hunter may need.”

Lowe jokingly calls his call collection he carries to the woods his “arsenal.”

“There’s no telling which sound a particular gobbler will respond best to, so I carry a variety of calls to sound like different birds,” Lowe said. “But one of the best calling techniques I have is to just go and listen before you start trying to entice a gobbler. If you can find a bird that is already calling naturally, he’s going to be much more receptive to your sounds than one you have to gobble from a shock call to locate.” Winter tagged trout program coming to a close LITTLE ROCK — The tagged trout program that has been running since Thanksgiving in Family and Community Fishing Program Ponds will be coming to a close at the end of March.

Thousands of rainbow trout were stocked around the state in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s Family and Community Fishing Program locations throughout winter, while the fish could survive in the cold temperatures. Among these fish, 300 were fitted with special fluorescent pink tags that can be redeemed for a special prize in addition to the good meal they provide.

Many anglers have turned in the tags of fish they caught so far this winter, while a few tags remain unclaimed.

“Some of these fish may still be waiting to be caught, but some may have already been caught and the tag simply has not been mailed back,” said Maurice Jackson, FCFP coordinator for the AGFC. “We still have prizes to give out for the tags and the grand prize drawing will be drawn very soon from all of the people who submitted their tags.”

This year’s grand prize is an overnight stay and fishing trip at Rick Evans Grandview Prairie Conservation Education Center near Hope. This will include fishing in the center’s lakes that are teeming with giant largemouth bass as well as trap and archery shooting.

All tags must be mailed to the AGFC and postmarked by March 22, 2019, to be eligible for the drawing.

For more information or to find a location near you, visit www.agfc.com/familyfishing or call the stock- ing hotline at 866-5403474.

Arkansas’s redesigned mobile app wins AVA digital award LITTLE ROCK – The Information Network of Arkansas announced the recently redesigned Arkansas Game and Fish Commission mobile app won a Platinum AVA Digital Award in the Government App for Citizens category. This award recognizes outstanding work in the concept, direction, design and production of media that is part of the evolution of digital communication. Out of 2,500 entries from throughout the United States, Canada, and 23 other countries, only sixteen percent of the entries won this top award.

“When the app was first launched over a decade ago, it was a very innovative and progressive initiative for a resource management agency like AFGC,” said Spencer Griffith, AFGC Marketing Coordinator. “With all the changes in game checks, wildlife observation reporting, digital licenses, and more, we decided to completely overhaul the app to take advantage of technological advancements and to provide Arkansans a modem app that is easy to use and enhances their outdoor experience.”

AFGC partnered with INA to build the new app, featuring an updated, clean look that makes it easy for users to find what they need. The app provides hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts with features, such as:

• improved game check process

• ability to store license data digitally

• location-based weather and forecasts (wind direction and speed, barometric pressure. Moon phase and more)

• a hunting area locator to help hunters find likely places to pursue their game

• updated wildlife observation reporting section

• hiking and water trails that offer a richer outdoor experience for adventure seekers

• feeds for the AGFC waterfowl report, fishing report, and latest news The app is available through both the Apple App store and Google Play store.

Randy Zellers is the Assistant Chief of Communications for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. Contact him at randy. zellers@agfc. ar.go>.

Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center