Backyard & Beyond

It takes you and me to introduce youth to the outdoors
Blogger shares on-the-water, in-the-woods bonding experience with grandkids.
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Game Fair 2019 Sounding Board: Excited about the fall [video]
What youth hunters are saying about the upcoming hunting seasons.
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Student fishing league catching on in Minnesota lakes country
By its inaugural season last summer, the newly formed Heart O'Lakes fishing league had 14 schools and 280 students signed up to fish competitively. And it hasn't slowed down.
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Cherishing our public access to public waters
Visit to a pay-to-fish facility in Texas on Father’s Day boosts the author’s appreciation for the lakes and rivers that citizens in the northern United States can fish for free.
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Young or old, when the bass frenzy arrives, be sure to make the most of it
A single day where you can barely do anything wrong in the boat adds a lot of fuel to the tank for future trips, and that’s no small thing for keeping the interest up in youngsters.
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Take a Kid Fishing Weekend is June 7-9
Minnesota residents can fish without licenses if they take children 15 or younger fishing.
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2019 St. Croix Rods Customer Appreciation Day
Customer Appreciation Day Fast Approaching For Junior Pro Team Partner - Wisconsin-based St. Croix Rods Park Falls, WI -Mark your calendar now! Wisconsin’s most popular fishing-related event, St. Croix Rod Customer Appreciation Day, is fast approaching—and with it one-of-a-kind special events, unique product discounts, seminars, and a whole lot more.…
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Student archers capture national titles
This past weekend was a big one for Pennsylvania’s student archers.
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School of fish: Ohio school kids embrace Trout in the Classroom program
"They are getting a solid education and understanding of how these fish go through their early life cycle, how important the aquatic environment is to the survival of the trout, and the overall biology of trout habitat."
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Gobbler season 2019: Building tomorrow’s wild turkey hunting addicts
Glorious May spring weekend produces first gobbler for Minnesota teen – who’s already planning turkey hunts in 2020 and beyond.
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For the first time, a girl reigns in massive Cornhusker Cup shoot
The three-day event drew 830 junior high and 1,576 senior high shooters.
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Mentors can learn from novice hunters
Dane County 12-year-old’s enthusiasm captures his mentor’s attention.
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High school anglers come to the rescue during fishing tournament
Rescued two other high school competitors whose boat was sinking on a lake in northwestern Alabama.
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Pennsylvania aims to hook anglers young, spur interest
Pennsylvania fishing license sales are down, and the state is trying to improve participation by focusing on water quality and nontraditional fishermen.
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New York youth wins National Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest
Pennsylvania youth finishes third in the annual competition.
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Youth hunters kick off Ohio spring turkey season
More than 1,300 wild turkeys harvested in Ohio’s 2019 youth spring wild turkey season.
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Study: Opportunities abound with high school fishing clubs
Study shows opportunity to engage new audiences in high school fishing clubs; gives details on membership, economic impact.
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Where trapping, kids converge
U.P. Trappers Association offers midwinter kids workshop Feb. 2.
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Young Maine hunters might get own season for wild turkeys
Politician has proposed the creation of a special season for the wild turkeys that would take place around Thanksgiving.
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Archery gains popularity in Iowa high schools
The DNR reports that the Iowa program has grown from 20 to 300-plus schools in 12 years. Some 650 Iowa students were initially involved in competitive tournaments – now there are more than 3,000, according to the program's state coordinator
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Nominations open for Bassmaster High School All-Americans
Judges will select up to two student anglers in each state. These All-State Fishing Team members will become semifinalists in the selection of the 12-member All-American Team. Criteria include success in high school fishing tournaments and involvement in conservation efforts and other community service activities.
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National high school shooting league adds skeet
The inclusion of skeet shooting as an option to the hundreds of schools that participate in the league will provide exciting new clay target shooting opportunities to tens of thousands of students nationwide, the league said.
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A sturgeon-sized undertaking, but high-schoolers up to the task
Georgia high school mechatronics students build massive replica of lake sturgeon for Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute. The Lake Sturgeon is a state-endangered species in Tennessee, having almost disappeared from the river system by the 1970s. Since the formation of the Lake Sturgeon Working Group in 1998, the Aquarium and its…
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Firearms safety course to be part of PE curriculum in 2 Iowa school districts
Firearm safety is being added to the curriculum in Iowa’s North Butler and Clarksville Community school districts.
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‘A better way of life’ – foundation embraces mentorship through outdoors, archery
About 600 people attended the Wisconsin event, with 30 volunteers and mentors teaching kids basic archery and hunting skills through 3D archery, crossbow shooting, tomahawk throwing, a TechnoHunt and target practice. Covering safety, handling skills and technique, trained instructors brought the outdoors in for the morning.
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Junior pheasant hunters rise above wind, rain
This second-annual event marked the continued success of a decades-long collaborative to restore habitat and wild pheasants back to the Keystone State, an initiative for which Pennsylvania hunters have demonstrated their support.
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Ohio youth gun harvest sees big increase, surpasses 6,500
This year's total of 6,563 well above last year's harvest of 4,958.
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