The older I get, the less comfortable I am with change. This year has been especially difficult, especially when I look at the political situation and all the changes being thrown at us because of COVID-19. Since this is intended to be an outdoor column, I will try to refrain from bringing politics and health issues into this narrative. However, nonetheless, there are still important changes that we outdoor types need to be aware of.

Of course, one big change that we are all already aware of is the opening day of the regular trout season being moved up two weeks earlier. For me and a number of other fishermen, that was not too hard to adjust to since, for years, some of us have been hitting the special regulation, catch and release stream sections several weeks before the regular opening date. For those who, for years, banked on the opening day, the second Saturday in April, the change may not have been welcomed — especially when snow covered the ground prior to opening day. I will say, however, the weather did finally cooperate, and opening day was pretty pleasant.

Now that fishing season is well underway, we can now look forward to some more changes as we approach the fall hunting seasons. Unlike the changes that came to fishing regulations, however, it seems that changes that come to hunting regulations often involve more controversy.

Just recently, the Pennsylvania Game Commission approved a statewide two-week concurrent buck and doe season that will run from Nov. 27-Dec. 11; Sunday (Nov. 28) will also be open to deer hunting. More recently, 10 of the 23 WMUs had a concurrent buck and doe season while the other 13 WMUs had the first week of does only, followed by a week of concurrent buck and doe.

The game commission has pointed out that this change is not intended to decrease the deer herd but rather to increase hunting opportunities. As expected, there are those who are concerned that the deer herd will suffer from the change, but it should be pointed out that the game commission will also be reducing the doe tags that will be issued by 7,000. It’s also interesting to note that 52 percent of those polled in the 2020 deer hunter survey were in favor of the new regulations.

Another significant change will be coming to the fall turkey hunting season; commissioners have voted to ban the use of rifles and handguns for taking fall turkeys. Crossbows, shotguns, muzzleloaders, and archery equipment can still be utilized. Season lengths have also been reduced in 14 WMUs. The commission has cited declining turkey numbers as the reason for the change. Surveys show that only 14 percent of Pennsylvania’s fall turkey hunters use rifles, but rifles are responsible for 33 percent of the fall turkey kill. It’s believed that the new regulation could reduce the harvest numbers by 20 percent.

To be honest, I have never been a fan of using a rifle or handgun in turkey season, mainly from a safety standpoint. The thought of me sitting out there in camouflage with a turkey decoy set up 20 yards in front of me and someone aiming a rifle at that decoy and not seeing me on the other end never appealed to me.

Besides that, I think the real art of a fall turkey hunt comes into play with a call or breaking up a flock and then calling a bird back to the gun range.

Well, these are a couple of the big changes we are dealing with, there are some other changes, but space doesn’t permit. Be sure to check your regulation manual when you pick up your license.