We are now coming up on the most important time of the year and I consider it as the one opportunity to make a difference, election time. Unfortunately this opportunity to vote by sportsmen and the general public is not taken advantage of.

With all the early voting opportunities there is no excuse for not voting! I am tired of the excuse like” my vote wont make a difference”. Quite often These non voters are the first ones to complain about their elected officials. Voter turnout in many of our region 9 counties is usually quite low, hopefully this wont be the case during a presidential election year. Sportsmen in particular must vote, if every legal gun owner in the state would vote it would send a powerful message to our politicians who I think tend to overlook the millions of sportsmen in New York State.

The first thing I ask a sportsperson when they complain about certain politicians is  “did you vote”, if the answer is no the discussion ends right there. So the bottom line is get out and vote, take your family along let them see the process and become familiar with it. It the only thing we have that will make a difference!!

Joseph Fischer
ECFSC Vice President
Voting Inspector – Cheektowaga

Fall is here, the Erie County Fair is over and the Erie County Federation of Sportsmen (ECFSC) is looking forward to National Hunting and Fishing Day which is September 28th this year.  The ECFSC will once again be hosting the general public at the Elma Conservation Club located at 600 Creek Rd. in Elma NY – starting at 10 AM and finishing at approximately 4 PM.

This is a great event to bring children to as there will be many opportunities for children to participate.  They will be able to shoot a crossbow, fire a rifle and shotgun, fish in a pond (last year’s fishing was so good the children did not want to quit at 4 PM), learn about trapping, etc.

 The New York State of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) will be there and will answer all questions regarding fishing, hunting and trapping.  Fishing pole combinations will be given away as prizes.  The GRAND PRIZE will be one lifetime license for a child who resides in Erie County.

Free food and beverages will be provided.

Well summer is here and the Erie County Fair is just around the corner. The Erie County Federation of Sportsmen (ECFS) along with many of its member clubs will be working booths in the Conservation Building at the fair so be sure to stop in and say hello. The ECFS booth will once again be giving away 2 rod/reel combinations daily and you will also be able to get information on the ECFS lifetime license program for children of Erie County . The ECFS has given away about 40 of these in the last few years at an estimated value of 500 dollars each!

Don’t miss a stop at the onsite aquarium which contains examples of almost all the warm and cold-water species of fish in our local waters along with a large snapping turtle. For more information on the ECFS and its approximate membership of 40 sportsmen clubs go on line to the ECFS website which has been greatly improved by our webmaster Joe McAdams.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) will also be present to answer any questions you may have on all things regarding hunting, fishing, trapping etc. in Erie County and New York State. They can also give you information on some of the newer species to the area like the Fisher cat.

There will also be a booth for several days with “Stella”, an approximately 120 pound mounted Sturgeon with a lot of information on the rebounding Sturgeon population in Lake Erie which is primarily due to the much improved water quality of Lake Erie. In fact, the sturgeon population has rebounded so well that a fishing season for them might be implemented in the future. Stop at this booth ,you  or your child might be able to get a picture with “Stella”!! Check the building’s schedule to see when the sturgeon will be on exhibit.

Hands on exhibits for the children will also be highlighted with worm harness  and fly tying etc. This building has greatly improved its hands on displays for children. The Erie County Trappers also have a hands-on display. Supervisor Frank Miskey has worked hard on improving all the displays in this building and it should not be considered as a “walk through” with no stops  building. See you there!

The Erie County Federation of Sportsmen (ECFS) recently had their first fishing clinic of the season at the Tifft Nature Preserve in Buffalo. It was attended by over 100 children on a sunny day in early June.

After the children were registered, they went through a number of learning stations which included knot tying, casting, where to fish, fish identification, rubber and plastic baits, etc. This was required before they would receive equipment and bait for fishing. This part of the clinic was improved from previous years with the addition of the artificial baits which was manned by Mike Elam who drove in from Orleans County to participate!

Incidentally most of these learning stations were manned by members of the New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame and our own Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

After completing the learning stations the children were given bait and fishing equipment and proceeded to fish for several hours at the preserve. Volunteers from the ECFS patrolled the shore to assist where needed with problems like snags, malfunctioning equipment, handling hooked fish etc. A good time was had by all with the only problem being that the fish weren’t cooperating with very few bites and fish being caught.  As I told one of the children “fishing isn’t always about catching as many times, no matter what you do, the fish don’t bite’

If you missed this event another will be held in 2 weeks (June 22}at Chestnut Ridge Park but I do believe we are close to closing the allowable entries for this annual clinic, check on the ECFS website for info on this! These are well organized events with great learning stations which have come a long way in the last few years due to the skills of chairman Bob Avery. He does a great job and I admire his skill as I have trouble organizing my tackle box!

                                                                                                                                   Joseph Fischer