Sports

Frenchman Lake

For those who have been willing to brave the cold weather and get out fishing, the rewards have been good.

Frenchman Lake has iced over and the ice, at least in some places, is thick enough for ice fishing. There are reports of at least 6 inches of ice at the dam. Anglers using Powerbait and night crawlers have been catching limits of fish running from 12 to 20 inches.

Hunting with passive night vision equipment?

Q. I have an important question regarding the use of “passive” night vision equipment when legally night hunting non-game mammals and non-game birds in the state of California.

My research indicates that it is perfectly legal to hunt non-game mammals (e.g. coyote and bobcat) using passive (which means it does not project an infrared beam of light or other artificial light) night vision equipment (e.g. rifle scopes, binoculars, etc.) that do not conflict with the California Penal Code for legal possession.

1/5/2011 - Billy Bugenig, an assistant coach for the Feather River College rodeo team, tied for first place in steer wrestling at the 2010

Billy Bugenig, one of the top steer wrestlers in the country, helps coach rodeo at Feather River College. Also pictured is his horse, Smarty.

National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, earning almost $70,000 in prize money over the 10-day event Dec. 2-11.

For the past three years, Bugenig has been competing full-time in professional rodeo. This was his first year to reach the national finals, although he came close to qualifying the previous two years.

To qualify for the National Finals Rodeo, Bugenig had to finish among the top 15 money-earners throughout the year in his event.

At 6 feet, 1 inch and 220 pounds, Bugenig has the perfect build for his steer wrestling event, also called bulldogging.

Dog owners in the Feather River drainage area are reminded to take precautions to protect their pets from Salmon Poisoning Disease. Salmon Poisoning Disease can be contracted by dogs that come into contact with fish from infested waters throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the southern Cascades and northern Sierras to the Feather River drainage.